Loose-Fish

Some wisdom from nutty Ishmael, who had better written an encyclopedia than a book:

I. A Fast-Fish belongs to the party fast to it.
II. A Loose-Fish is fair game for anybody who can soonest catch it.
. . .
Some fifty years ago there was a curious case of whaletrover litigated in England, wherein the plaintiffs set forth that after a hard chase of a whale in the Northern seas; and when indeed they (the plaintiffs) had succeeded in harpooning the fish; they were at last, through peril of their lives, obliged to forsake not only their lines, but their boat itself. Ultimately the defendants (the crew of another ship) came up with the whale, struck, killed, seized, and finally appropriated it before the very eyes of the plaintiffs. And when those defendants were remonstrated with, their captain snapped his fingers in the plaintiffs' teeth, and assured them that by way of doxology to the deed he had done, he would now retain their line, harpoons, and boat, which had remained attached to the whale at the time of the seizure. Wherefore the plaintiffs now sued for the recovery of the value of their whale, line, harpoons, and boat.
. . .
[T]he very learned judge in set terms decided, to wit, - That as for the boat, he awarded it to the plaintiffs, because they had merely abandoned it to save their lives; but that with regard to the controverted whale, harpoons, and line, they belonged to the defendants; the whale, because it was a Loose-Fish at the time of the final capture
. . .
A common man looking at this decision of the very learned Judge, might possibly object to it . . . . But often possession is the whole of the law . . . . What was America in 1492 but a Loose-Fish, in which Columbus struck the Spanish standard by way of waifing it for his royal master and mistress? What was Poland to the Czar? What Greek to the Turk? What India to England? What at last will Mexico be to the United States? All Loose-Fish.1

And so it is with our country.


1 H Melville, Moby Dick (first published 1850. Here, London: Penguin Books, 1994), 379-81.

A question

I've spend the last few days trying to work out a Project question. I'd love to do something with biblical theology, but the things I've got in mind have been done before. I'd like to start with the Bible - I don't get excited at the prospect of comparing two theologians. Any suggestions would be gratefully heard, though there's every chance they won't be taken up as I'm very fussy ;-) Now there's a challenge for someone. Oh, and it has to be fairly contained as I've only got 8000 words to play with. Anyhow, here are my two areas of interest:

1. A biblical theology of the relationship between city and nature - including Isaiah 65:17-25 and climaxing in the vision of the New Jerusalem and the New Eden/Land/Paradise in Revelation 21 and 22.
2. A biblical theology of feasting and abundant produce (including numerous Old Testament references to wine and oil, milk and honey, which reach their zenith in Isaiah 25: 6-9) - and also looking at marriage - and at how the marriage feast in heaven (Revelation 19:6-9) will eclipse all earthly blessing and marriage.

Shine like stars

The Christian message is about a gift freely received, and the Christian life is all about expressing gratitude. An attitude of thankfulness to the God who is there should be one of the hallmarks of every Christian. But it's not always our natural inclination. One of the ways I've helped myself be more thankful is to create a formalised, concrete opportunity - a book of thanks, in which, from time to time, I list things I'm thankful for. Doing this even allows me to see hard things from a different and more appropriate perspective. If you're like me, the book itself must be a thing of beauty, to symbolise the pleasure that a grateful attitude brings.

Shalom

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition is like heaven. The people who receive a new home are struggling valiantly through life, but they've reached a point where they're overwhelmed and at their wits' end. Fathers have been shot in the line of duty; Mums have had cancer; houses have burned down; family members are disabled; children have died. They're living in caravans or in houses that are falling apart or that are inaccessible to wheelchairs. So their community bands together, local businesses donate their services and, in a week, a new house is built. This show is a testiment to what is good in American culture.

The show's like heaven because these people receive a free gift out of someone else's generosity - and because that gift is extravagant. The houses are opulent and designed to delight and satisfy the needs and wishes of the family. (Check out photos of a house, a little girl's room and a couple of master bedrooms.) It's also like heaven because of what the recipients say:

My wife is my best friend. Through this tragedy she's been there with me from thick and thin and this master bedroom is just a quiet place where she can escape to and she is finally going to be able to relax a little bit, and that is, it's just a huge blessing.
Carlton Marshall

When I first walked in the house, I was blown away. The old house was filled with stress and worry and the new house is absent of any of that. It's filled with joy.
Nathan Montgomery

I don't think I've ever been as happy in my life until I was at that moment right there when that bus moved . . . the thought that I'll never have to sleep in that trailer again - it's a wonderful feeling - the new home is more than I've ever dreamed about - and it's so beautiful. It screamed 'Here's your future, and it is bright'.
I was speechless when I walked in that front door - it is the most beautiful house I've ever seen . . . . I feel like I can take a deep breath and feel comfortable. That's the greatest gift ever.
Joey Stott

Having this new house, life is going to be 100% better, and I'm forever grateful to everybody who helped build a new home for me.
James Terpenning

I thought the direction of my life had come to an end, but after today I quickly
realised that I still have a life. The life you've given me back is a tremendous, tremendous thing.
Carlton Marshall

I will be thanking everybody for every day for the rest of my life.
Joey Stott

These words are a shadow of what is to come:

Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."
He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Revelation21:1-5

So Moses blessed them

Noland also talks about how to lead artists. His points are:

1. Be gentle and sensitive - "not because they're fragile but because they're vulnerable. When you're an artist, you constantly put yourself on the line." You must be especially careful to listen to their feelings and thereby gain their trust
   
2. Love them - "take an interest in their talents and take an interest in them as people."
   
3. Exhort them - "We need to urge our artists to achieve all they can for the glory of God, to fulfill their calling, to flourish in their giftedness. Listen to their ideas and their dreams and urge them onward. If you can't use something they do, urge them to do it outside the church, with your full support and blessing."
   
4. Encourage them - "You don't have to tell them they're the greatest; just remind them that they're gifted and that God's using them in a mighty way. Artists really respond to encouragement . . . . If an artist falls short, be honest about his or her shortcomings, but reaffirm the artist's talent and future. Many artists go through self-doubt when they fail. They start feeling incompetent and wonder if they've lost their giftedness. Be there to tell them that one failure doesn't mean they can never be used again."
5. Implore them - "We want the truth. If it's done in a loving way, your honesty will help us to be better artists. It will help us to live up to our potential."1

Mikey always says he doesn't know how to lead artists, but reading these points, I have to disagree :-).


1 Quotes from Noland, The Heart of the Artist, 264-69.

Oddball leaders

Ministry and study both take a lot of emotional energy. They both come with certain structures and tasks you are expected to follow. This is the way of most work. I never really enjoyed my work or my study until I changed jobs and started my church apprenticeship. I wasn't unhappy before, but I wasn't thriving. I think it was because I'm a creative sort of person and I feel stifled when my time and 'procedures' are (too) prescribed. I can't be myself unless I'm allowed some space and freedom. Happily in ministry - and even study - it is possible to carve out, or to be given, these two. But you've still got to make sure you've got enough emotional energy left to engage your creative side.

Rory Noland touches on this in The Heart of the Artist. He talks about feeling that being both a leader and an artist was impossible, and yet he did not know which to choose. Then he saw that God had called him to be both.

[T]he secret to doing both is that we've got to stop seeing ourselves as half artist, half leader. We are full-time artists and full-time leaders . . . . How do you balance the tension between being an artist and being a leader? By throwing yourself into doing both.1

1 R Noland, The Heart of the Artist (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1999), 249.

The things you have heard me say entrust to reliable men

It's not just missionaries who are working out how to cease from being arrogant colonialists and become something better - I was reading a Communication Therapy International study day report, and it said things like:

Both Gender and HIV/AIDS messages no matter how important and responsible were met with great resistance initially, because the messages imposed from western ideology and science were not disseminated in a way that respected cultural social structures or that allowed time for messages to be interpreted, absorbed and transformed in local cultural practices.1

The Brundtland Commission through looking into environmental issues defined sustainability as ' Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of the future generations to meet their own needs.'2

We also noted the difficulty of having to decide between working with a patient/client with an immediate need versus taking time out from direct work to plan for sustainability.3

Sounds very much like what Christians are saying about how to work appropriately in another culture.

1 R Gondwe, "Disability Services in Malawi" in Communication Therapy International Study Day Report 15 Nov 2008 Disability Projects in Developing Countries . . . the bigger picture
2 ibid
3"Sustainability Workshop" in the above publication

Discerning gifts

One way to work out the gifts God has given you is to work out what's normal for you. You might need a friend's help here. Or a poster's:

It wasn't until I read this poster that I saw how unusual my love of reading might be. I'd never need tips like these - I read any moment I can. There was a time when I tried eating breakfast without reading, as I thought it might be good to just be - but I couldn't keep it up. To me this is wholly unremarkable. What's unremarkable for you?

Best of both worlds

I've been seeing the best of Sydney over the last few days. On Friday I walked from Manley to The Spit. I'm still trying to comprehend the fact that running through the heart of this big city is such an exquisite coastline and beaches.






Then on Saturday I went to the Sydney Festival First Day. Five stages were set up in the CBD and the roads were closed off. It was a stinking hot day - everyone was walking around in a shared sweaty experience. This is Chifley Square going off later that night:

The top photo is from here.

The wrong place

Intriguingly, Chesterton doesn't seek to defend Christianity by minimising the more offensive or difficult of its dogmas, like original sin and the fall. Instead, he emphasises these particular dogmas because of their unique explanatory power . . . The fall was the key that unlocked the reason for both present, residual beauties and present, unwanted evils . . . it was a huge relief to discover that he and the worldwere abnormal. "The modern philosopher had told me again and again that I was in the right place, and I had still felt depressed even in acquiescence. But I had learned that I was in the wrong place, and my soul sang for joy, like a bird in spring." That the world wasn't right, but wasn't wholly wrong either was the reality that had to be accounted for and only the oddness of the doctrine of the fall did justice to the oddness of the reality.

G Furnell, "What I'm Learning from G.K. Chesterton - Part I" in Studio: a journal of christians writing No 106, 2007, page 33.

Sydney photos

You're under no compulsion but

If you wouldn't mind, I would appreciate you reading this post on my other, longer blog.

Never born

I have been putting this post off for a long, long time. It's about abortion you see and I sometimes find it really difficult to talk about, like it's too much to bear. But I wanted you all to be aware of what I learned last year. I was researching for a pro-life prayer group I started at college. I don't trust anyones' second-hand stats, so I went to the effort of finding stuff out for myself. But before I tell you the facts, I'd like to urge you to look at photos of aborted babies. I've only done it once, sometime last year, and don't feel up to doing it again. But the reason I'd encourage you to do it is because it makes the situation plain. These foetuses have perfect, tiny little hands and feet, funny looking heads with eyes, noses and mouths, little rib cages and spindly arms and legs. And they're lying there lifeless and crushed, with blood all around. And it's not some advertising fabrication to pull at your heart strings - that's actually what it is. It's hard to go on talking about it until you can grasp what it is I'm talking about. So here's a link. You might want to ask God for his strength and hope before you look at the photos though.

Okay now you are ready to find out how much of a problem this is in Australia. Before I tell you, you need to understand about how people of all ages die in Australia and in what numbers. The only reputable figure for numbers of abortions in Australia is for the 2003-2004 financial year. So I looked at the deaths recorded by the ABS for the 2004 calender year (abortion is not included in these statistics).

In 2004 the total number of people who died in Australia was 132, 508. The ABS found that the leading cause of death was 'malignant neoplasms', which killed 37, 989 people. The number of children and adults who were murdered was 164.

Meanwhile on the 31st January 2005 Senator Boswell asked the Minister representing the Minister for Health and Aging a number of questions about abortion figures in Australia. These questions were answered by the Minister, Senator Patterson, on the 10th May 2005. Abortion statistics aren't recorded anywhere centrally, so the Minister had to compile the statistics from a number of sources (eg Medicare rebates). The figure he came up with for all of Australia (in roughly the same time period as the ABS statistics I quoted above) was appoximately 90, 000 abortions. He then forwarded his findings to each state health minister and they all agreed with this figure (except the NSW minister who didn't reply in time).

This means that for approximately the same time period, deaths due to abortion accounted for more than double the highest recorded number of deaths due to any other single cause. If they were to be included in the ABS figures, the 90, 000 deaths because of abortion would add a further 68% to the total number of people who died in Australia that year. This figure of 90, 000 far outshadows the 164 people that the ABS recorded as murdered.

So you see why I think this is one of the most major issues to face the church today. And why I think that history will be even more confounded and disgusted by our inaction than we are at those German Christians who stood by while their Jewish neighbours disappeared. But I also think this is a highly complex and clearly sensitive issue, and that ignorance and tragically misplaced good intention are part of the mix. So I'm in no way advocating a heavy-handed approach. In fact, I'm inclined to think that only those who are particularly gifted should do things like lobby. But that doesn't mean there's nothing for the rest of us to do. We can pray hard. We can celebrate pregnancies and families. We can care for single Mums and families in crisis. And we can share God's forgiveness and comfort with women who've had abortions.

Women's ordination

A friend kindly lent me Fit For This Office: Women and Ordination1. Now this isn't the place to defend what I think the Bible says about women in ministry, but suffice to say that I don't think women should take major leadership positions (like that of a pastor or priest) or preach to a regular Sunday congregation. Obviously I think that women should be able to exercise leadership over other women and over children, but when it comes to men, I think that the way God set up the world was so that men might lead and women follow and assist. I know it all sounds horribly patriarchal, but I think it's beautiful, like a dance.

Anyhow, the women who contributed to this book would most certainly not agree with me. Some because they've interpreted the Bible differently to me. Others, however, because they've take a more pragmatic, felt approach. The editor, Barbara Field starts by simply observing that:

Until fifteen years ago, women were non-existent in the official ministry of the Anglican Church. Public and liturgical functions were carried out by men. The
administering and governing of the Church were done by men. There were no women in the three orders of minstry - deacon, priest and bishop. The people in the sanctuary were men. The people in the procession were men, except for members of the choir where women were allowed because there were not enough men who would join. The whole public face of the Church was, and indeed mostly still is, male. The chief contradiction to this up-front male scene was that most of the congregation were women, and most of the people at prayer meetings and Bible studies were women.2

She simply assumes that lack of leadership equals lack of respect and value. This assumption echoes throughout the book and results in talented, caring women experiencing great pain and suffering. As they see it, God has given them gifts to lead his people that they are unable to exercise. This is something that they feel very deeply. And it is because of this that they put themselves forward - not because they're ball-breaking feminists, but because they believe they it is what God is calling them to do. They accept the leadership positions and responsibilities that their denomination or area is prepared to give them, and humbly, patiently wait for that time when they will be given more.

I'm really glad I read the book. It helped me understand why people are so ardent about women needing to be ordained. But it made me sad that (as I understand it) these women have too quickly bought into our society's view that your worth is measured by your function. This belief has all manner of ugly repercussions - like for the elderly and people with disabilities. But God sees things differently. Everywhere in Scripture women are respected, affirmed and told their worth, and men are commanded to treat their women well. But Scripture also presents two different sexes, each with a different, complementary role. And fulfillment of gifts can be found within that role.

The book ends with some very wise words from Beatrice Pate:

Above all, we must have confidence in God. We are members of his Church, visible and invisible. Victory is his; it was won through the Cross. Each of us called to follow him will share that victory with him. How dare we suggest that only those who view the world in a particular way are being true to him - he had called us all, with all our differences and in spite of our wilful sinfulness. We must treat each other as brothers and sisters, with love and acceptance. This applies to a person totally opposed to the ordination of women when approaching a women who is ordained. It applies to the proponent of ordination of women when faced with one who rejects even the possibility that ordination could 'work' on a women . . . . The model I am proposing calls for us to act with love towards each other, to begin to grow to maturity in him in whom we will all one day come to completion, and to stop squabbling like two-year-olds deprived of their toys. What I suggest is easy to reject. Those opposed to the ordination, believing right is on their side, feel obliged to fight the ordination question as a matter of fundamental importance. Similarly, those in favour of the ordination of women can easily beliee that as a part of a persecuted 'minority' they must stridently demand their 'rights'.

. . . . But this does not let us ignore the call to continue striving in the path of love.3

1 B Field (ed), Fit For This Office: Women and Ordination (Melbourne: Collins Dove, 1989)
2 Field, "Introduction," 1.
3 Pate, "Rights or Reconciliation: A Personal Statement," 121.

Intimidation

Though I love cities, I'm not a city girl. I'm a big town girl. I grew up familiar with every building in my tiny city (read: big town) and forming webs of connectedness amongst its people. Hobart has a population of 219 000 which means that there's many people I don't know and have never seen before. It also means that most times I walk down the street I'll see someone I know. It's safe and predictable and I know where I fit.

In a lot of ways I love living in Sydney, but I've had trouble feeling confident here. Getting back after Christmas I realised that it's hard to be yourself in a city. You step out the door and not only are you not going to see anyone you know, maybe they'll attack you or snatch your bag or just be drunk or wierd. So you become this closed-off person while you're out. And then even when you get where you're going, you don't know these people. You didn't grow up with them around - they're all new and there's a lot of them.

I'm getting better at it now. I'm learning that people are people and relationships are relationships whatever the setting, and that I mustn't let the environment throw me off course.

Do any of you, my city-born readers, have tips for making your way in the big smoke?

An artist

There's a whole lotta shows on TV where people grow as artists under the tutelege of experienced mentors (MasterChef, Australian Idol, So You Think You Can Dance). And there's also shows where experts critique other peoples' or their own creative endeavours (Grand Designs, Video Killed the Radio Star, also the Paris Review books). I love it that God created patterns that reach across all of these crafts. You hear the same things time and time again:

You must master and attend to foundational skills.

You must have the humility to follow proven rules.

You must break the rules if you need to.

You must follow your heart and never let anyone stop you.

Motherhood statements and bells at eucharist

I reckon that once a year all gospel believers should get along to a liberal or Roman Catholic church because it forces you to:

1. think through what's going on and what's being said (eg what do the prayers for the dead say about what was achieved on the cross?),
2. have the guts to call heresy masquarading as truth by its proper name,
3. have the humility to rejoice in your unlikely (and even undesirable) brothers and sisters in Christ.

On the streets //2

- and while I'm on the topic, can I just say how disturbing I find collection receptacles where everyone can see how much money you gave. Isn't every Christian troubled by these? How did they ever come into existence?????

On the streets

It's standard procedure for missionary/ministry organisations to let their workers see their bank statements. This allows the missionary to gauge how their financial support is actually going, and to see if anyone who committed to giving money has forgotten about it and needs a reminder. It's all very practical, but it makes me uncomfortable.

I know that the start of Matthew 6 is more about attitude than direct practical imperatives (eg I doubt we're meant to literally follow the command to not let our left hand 'know' what our right hand is doing). But perhaps Matty chose giving as his example because money is particularly seductive.

So I'm reluctant to enter into an arrangement where the person giving me money knows from the outset that I will see how much they give and how often. I'd much prefer it if the organisation would just give me:

• updates on how my overall financial support is going,
• names of anyone who's not giving what they said they would (but not the amount!), so I can remind them,
• a list of my financial supporters, so I can thank them and keep in touch.

Almost every time I've mentioned this to someone, they don't seem to share my concern. Am I missing something here?

Heart, soul and strength

For Christmas my Mum gave me St Jude's: A girl from Guyra, a school in Africa and the patron saint of hopeless causes by Gemma Sisia. It's an autobiography of a lady who moved to Tanzania and set up a school to provide high quality education to children who are very bright and very poor. She has done the most fantastic job and I respect her. The book rings with zeal, determination and hard work. The results are concrete and life-transforming. Many, many people, both in Tanzania and Australia, have put many hours of work into getting the school running and seeing it flourish.

When I think about sharing the eternally life-changing news of Jesus with people, and seeing them grow to be more like him in their everyday life, I don't match these peoples' zeal. And I have experienced that transformation and I know that it is the greatest treasure a person can have. This is madness. I need to see that our lives are like the grass that withers, but the next life will never end. It's good to transform peoples' living conditions and opportunities in this life, but that zeal should be o'errun by our desire to see them welcomed into the kingdom of God.

Last Year's Revelations

Over on my other blog, I've added a couple more things to Things to live by and The living's easy.

Last Year's Revelations

I've learned a lot this last year. I've written about a couple of things over on my other blog. Here's the first:

Whatever my talents, I'm an ordinary person.
There are things I'm at a loss to understand, and that's okay.
There are many good things in my life, for which it makes sense to be thankful.
There are also bad things, as there are for everyone.
God is over the good and bad. He has always been there for me and has shown he is worthy of trust.

And here's some of the second:

I've prayed that I will share myself with people, and put them first. I like it when God answers this prayer because then I'm a little more like Jesus, the relationships are a little more like they will be in heaven and I'm more myself than at any other time.

Over the last few weeks I've been learning a couple more. The third actually slots in just before the second. Here it is:

I'm to be myself. I just need to relax and be authentic, trusting that I'm okay, that things are okay between me and God and always will be. I need to stop myself being fakely cute or witty, vivacious or tomboyish or PC and just be myself, even when that is unimpressive or displeasing.

I was wondering how this is different to the secular conception of being true to yourself. I don't think that it is different - but I do think that only a Christian is really free to do it. That's my experience anyway. Being the person God made you to be requires humility, peace and trust, none of which I used to enjoy. Back then I had to look out for myself, protect myself and manage my image, all of which left little room for authenticity.

The fourth thing I've been learning jumps off the thankfulness I spoke about in 'lesson one'. It applies to me now because life's not too bad. It does not apply to people who are enduring great trials or suffering. In those times, it's enough to just get through the day in dependence on God. So, the fourth thing:

I'm to live life. Even when it's not what I would want, I still have today and I
am still a worthwhile person. I can chose to embrace the life that is given me,
leaving the future in God's hands, trusting that he will keep and bless me in
the present.

Again it strikes me that this is something a non-Christian person would agree with. And again I think the difference is that only a Christian is truely free to live this way. Thank God!