Long Shadows: Seeking Common Ground on Aboriginal Rights

The latest edition of Case Magazine considers the rights and wrongs of Aboriginal policy reform in Australia. Talk about the need to understand Indigenous issues is common, but action that makes a difference is harder to find. This has been brought to our attention in varied ways in recent times. Noel Pearson has pointed out in his significant Quarterly Essay, that there has been a litany of promises, tears and disappointments. He quotes the lament of Aboriginal leader and activist Galarrwuy Yunupingu who, when he looks back on ‘a lifetime of effort’ sees ‘that we have not moved very far’ (p11). Pearson and Yunupingu both identity deeply with those who faced the invasion of white explorers; ancient tribes and nations who were slaughtered or had rights and freedom removed. Pearson seeks to challenge us to identify the wrongs and make things right by supporting constitutional recognition of Aboriginal Australians. He also wants us to stand with those who still yearn for true inclusion and the honouring of their ancestors. Pearson is bravely looking for common ground! This should, in Pearson’s plea, recognise four key grievances of Indigenous people: identity, territorial lands, language and culture.

There have been many well-intentioned actions, apologies and programs in the past. But true economic independence for Indigenous Australians, control of their lives and their children’s futures, equality of health and education, and life expectancy have not been achieved. There is a despondency within the Indigenous community, born of failure to progress discussions of a treaty and constitutional recognition. While there have been good intentions with some political leaders, there has not been sufficient progress. Yunupingu goes further to suggest that even when some leaders in the past have talked of failures and regrets, their tears are often for personal failures rather than the injustice faced by Indigenous Australians. The churches have been connected in various ways to the injustices of Indigenous people. Collectively, there is a need by the church to consider its actions, the depth of collective regret, and the responsibility to help right wrongs.

When we conceived this issue of Case, we were determined to include the voice of someone who is living the relationship between Aboriginality and Christianity, with all its complexity. To that end, we have included an interview with Pastor Ray Minniecon, who discusses Aboriginal spirituality and the challenges he faces being both Aboriginal and Christian at this point in Australian history. Ray’s comments reflect the heart of an Indigenous man of Christian faith who cries out for his people, and like Pearson and Yunupingu, wants to see true healing.

Above: Pastor Ray Minniecon

Part of the struggle Aboriginal people face when considering Christianity stems from the chequered history of the interaction of Aborigines and Christianity over the past 200 years. Many of the episodes in this history are appalling, and for these there should be genuine shame. Others involve well-meaning but, with hindsight, deeply misguided attempts to ‘civilise’ or ‘protect’ without concern for the dignity, rights and culture of arguably the world’s oldest people. As well, at times, the church has been unfairly blamed for the action of governments. As Australians, we all share the blame. But there are also many stories of positive action by Christians and churches and significant interactions between Christian missions and Aboriginal people. Dr John Harris is an expert on this history—both the good and the bad—and provides an insightful account of the institutionalisation of Aboriginal children and the role of Christians in this. Looking back further, Dr Peter Carolane writes of Victorian missionary, John Bulmer, who worked to both bring the gospel to the Aborigines of Lake Tyers and advocate for Aboriginal rights from the 1860s to the early 1900s.

Another barrier between Aboriginal people and Christianity, as Pastor Ray Minniecon points out, is the gap between the message of Christianity and the complicity of Western churches in the wrongs Aborigines have suffered, including first and foremost, the dispossession of their land. This is an issue that must be addressed both for the sake of non-indigenous conscience and of removing this stumbling block to the gospel of hope for Aborigines:

Any conversation of this type must begin with genuine apology. Chris Swann helpfully explicates the nature of biblical apology. As well as sorrow and repentance, this includes accepting responsibility for the wrongs done, and repentantly changing behaviour as part of genuine apology. Christians are committed to ‘apologising in such a way as to seek to rebuild and restore the relationships that have been damaged or broken by this wrongdoing’. But in the face of such a complex situation, what can be done? Peter Adam addresses this question in his challenge to hear and act to resolve the Aboriginal cry for justice—a challenge that springs from the Bible, and in which it is fitting that Christians take the lead.

Subscribers to Case should have received the magazine recently. If you'd like to read more on this topic you can obtain a single copy from CASE. You can place an order online HERE.

We hope that you find our contribution to this important issue helpful. It will be confronting! As Peter Adam reminds us, ‘old sins cast long shadows’. But we earnestly pray for deep regret and identification with a people who have faced great wrongs, and the wisdom and courage to respond in appropriate ways.

1. Noel Pearson, ‘A Rightful Place: Race, recognition and a more complete commonwealth’, Quarterly Essay, 55, 2014.

2. Galarrwuy Yunupingu, ‘Tradition, Truth & Tomorrow’, The Monthly, 41, 2008 (pp32-40).

Science & Religion: Myths, errors and new possibilities

One common view of science and religion is that they are in direct competition with each other, offering incompatible explanations for the same phenomena. Hence, conflict between science and religion is seen as inevitable. Projecting this idea back in time, the whole of Western history can be understood as a protracted battle between science and religion. Science seems now to be winning that battle, even though there remain significant pockets of religious resistance.

Above: Image courtesy of Wiki Commons

In recent years, historians of science have attacked this idea of a perennial conflict between science and religion, demonstrating the numerous ways in which, over the course of history, science has been supported by Christian ideas and assumptions. These positive relations came about partly because the boundaries of science and religion were understood quite differently in the past. In the 2014 New College lectures Professor Peter Harrison discussed how these boundaries shifted across the centuries, and the way this offers insights into science-religion relations in the present.

In the first lecture Prof Harrison began by looking at how we have come to understand the world in terms of the distinct categories “science” and “religion”. He explored how we came to separate the domain of material facts from the realm of moral and religious values.

He spent some time unpacking how the use of the Latin word ‘religio’ in pre-modern times, was not the same as the later English translation ‘religion’. Rather than signifying specific beliefs and practices, it was seen as a form of worship. He cited varied sources including Augustine, who described ‘true’ religion as involving a form of inner worship rightly directed at God. Early Christians he stressed saw ‘religio’ as a form of worship not just propositional content to be claimed and accepted.

In the second lecture he outlined how modern science was invented. He argued that for centuries Natural Philosophy like Theology was also seen as an inner quality, not just knowledge and propositions. Aquinas building on Aristotle’s teaching, argued that science too was an inner ‘habit’, an intellectual virtue that was a gift from God.

But while in the pre-modern period Christianity and Natural Philosophy were seen as rival spiritual practices, by the 19th Century we were to see Religion and Science replacing Theology & Natural Philosophy, and the unfolding of a fierce conflict between what were now seen as two incompatible sets of beliefs.

In the final lecture on night three, Professor Harrison considered how the myth of conflict between Science and Religion developed and offered an insight into the narrative of the two contending powers. He also considered the work of New Atheists and their failure to understand how and why faith and reason, or religion and science can be held in relationship to one another.

For my part, this has been an extremely engaging series of three wonderful lectures. If you would like to listen to all three lectures visit the New College website for the lectures and a copy of his powerpoint presentation that you will need while listening to them.

You will find Lectures 1 and 3 on our website as well as the powerpoint presentations for all three lectures HERE

We are unable to provide the second lecture as the audio file has been corrupted.

Exploring the Territories of Science and Religion - 2014 New College Lectures

Have you ever been asked by someone "How can you reconcile your faith in God with what science has proven?" Have you doubted what you believe because of science? Has a child asked a question that challenges your ability to speak about the relationship between science and religion, faith and reason? If so, don't miss the chance to hear Professor Peter Harrison speak on the theme 'Exploring the frontiers of science and religion' this week (9-11 September 2014) at New College at the University of New South Wales in Sydney. If you're not living close then keep an eye out for the talks online after the lectures.

Overview

Some see science and religion as in direct competition with one another, offering incompatible explanations for the same phenomena.  Conflict is seen as inevitable.  Projecting this idea back in time, the whole of Western history can be understood as a protracted battle between science and religion.  Science is now winning the battle, in spite of minor religious resistance. 

But historians of science have demolished this idea of a perennial conflict between science and religion, instead demonstrating how science has been supported by Christian ideas and assumptions. In part, this reflects a different understanding of the boundaries of science and religion.  The 2014 New College Lectures will focus on the changing boundaries of science and religion, and consider how these positive interactions of the past, offer insights into science-religion relations in the present.

Lecture 1: Is Christianity a Religion?  (9th September, 7.30pm)

The first Christians did not consider themselves to be subscribers to a religion in the modern sense, but rather as part of a ‘new race’ or ‘way of life’.  This lecture offers an account of the emergence of the modern idea of religion—understood less in terms of a way of life, and more in terms of explicit beliefs—in the seventeenth century.   This idea of religion plays a key role in modern understandings of the relationship between science and religion.

Lecture 2:  The Invention of Modern Science (10th September, 7.30pm)

Close examination of the history of ‘scientific’ endeavours reveals that the study of nature, up until the nineteenth century, was vitally concerned with moral and religious questions.  Only in the nineteenth century were theology and morality definitively excluded from the sphere of science.  This nineteenth-century invention of modern science fixed the possibilities for future relationships between science and religion.

Above: Image of Chromosones (Wiki Commons)

Lecture 3:  Relating Science and Religion (11th September, 7.30pm)

This final lecture considers the ongoing legacy of these two ideas, ‘religion’ and ‘science’, suggesting that some of the problematic aspects of their present relationship arise out of the history of the ideas themselves.  It asks, in particular, whether the idea ‘religion’ is a helpful one.

Speaker:  Peter Harrison BSc, BA (Hons), PhD (Qld), MA (Yale), MA, DLitt (Oxford), FAHA. 

Peter Harrison was educated at the University of Queensland and Yale University. In 2011 he moved back to Queensland from the University of Oxford where he was the Idreos Professor of Science and Religion. At Oxford he was a member of the Faculties of Theology and History, a Fellow of Harris Manchester College, and Director of the Ian Ramsey Centre where he continues to hold a Senior Research Fellowship. He has published extensively in the area of cultural and intellectual history with a focus on the philosophical, scientific and religious thought of the early modern period. He has been a Visiting Fellow at Oxford, Yale, and Princeton, is a founding member of the International Society for Science and Religion, and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities. In 2011 he delivered the Gifford Lectures at the University of Edinburgh.

Marriage Reconsidered

I was born in the 1950s and have lived through extraordinary social, cultural and technological change. As a 6 year old there was just one television in my street, a single phone, about four cars and two parent families in every house.  For mothers work was usually 'home duties' (as defined at the time). Our news came from newspapers and radio (the internet was not to arrive for 40 more years). There was increasing cultural diversity, but of course the White Australia Policy ensured that few immigrants were Asian. Nuclear war was a constant threat and there were fears of ‘Reds under the beds’. Religious tensions were mainly between Protestants and Catholics, with daily fights in my school playground.

Much has happened since then, and many would suggest the progress has been good. Technology has changed the way we communicate, religious and racial tolerance is promoted (at least, officially), and immigration patterns have changed dramatically. Marriage and family mores have also changed and with them, the very structure of society. Australians now find normal and acceptable, things that during my childhood would have been unthinkable: de facto relationships, IVF, surrogacy, stay-at-home dads, same-sex relationships, prenuptial agreements, multiple remarriages. Divorce was rare in the the 1950s, seen as a terrible and shameful thing, and was announced in the papers (in full detail). Unwed teenage girls disappeared when pregnant, and the fathers of their children often ended up in prison convicted of ‘carnal knowledge’. Abortion was illegal, and rarely mentioned except in discreet conversations or gossip.

It is hardly surprising that some have called for marriage to be reconsidered. But should it be? Many Australians are clearly doing so. Laws relating to relationships and family have undergone significant changes to keep up with the changes society has made ahead of them. While writing this introduction, there have been calls for changes in surrogacy laws to cope with the most recent challenge: the birth of twins to a surrogate mother. One twin, born with Down syndrome, seems to have been unwanted and the transaction between adults about the two young lives has gone wrong. The latest issue of Case magazine grapples with some of the complexities around this topic as society reconsiders what marriage is and might be, and the many issues that arise as a result.

We haven't been able to cover every aspect of the discussion, but we've tried to cover a number of issues. Social researcher Hugh Mackay helpfully examines changes in attitudes and practices regarding marriage and family. He finds that while marriage was once the only option for those wanting to start a new family, people now prefer more flexible arrangements. Even those who do marry no longer see marriage as an inviolable institution, but something you stay in only as long as it’s working well.  David Phillips extends this by examining the current status of civil unions in Australia and the implications of this legislation for traditional marriage.

Yet another way in which marriage has changed over recent decades relates to increasing globalisation. In 1998, 52% of all marriages in Australia were between people from different birthplace groups (see Australian Bureau of Statistics, ‘Family Formation: Cultural diversity in marriages’. 4102.0, Australian Social Trends, 2000) and more recent figures show 87% have the same religion (Australian Bureau of Statistics, ‘Couples in Australia’. 4102.0 - Australian Social Trends, 2009. Canberra). My co-editor Dani Scarratt looks at one aspect of these changes, the phenomenon of intermarriage, and particularly at the experiences of Christian couples who marry across a cultural divide.

It needs to be asked whether, given these changes, Christians should continue to insist on a biblical view of marriage, for better or worse?  Or should we reconsider whether the traditional requirements for Christian marriage should be adapted to this new social order Australians find themselves in? Tim Adeney and Stuart Heath look at what the Bible says and argue that when it comes to the basic structure of marriage, Christians should stand firm.

The remaining two articles look back to marriage from the past, and project forward to the future of marriage respectively. David Sandifer delves into the oft-mocked Victorian era of ‘prudery’ and innocence to find what drives the stereotype, and asks if we can learn anything from the Victorians about good marriages.

Changing gear, Jenny Kemp takes us into the immensely popular world of young adult dystopian fiction, to find out what such titles as The Hunger Games and Divergent are telling its readers about love, romance and marriage.

Our hope in bringing these varied articles together is that they will provide multiple lenses for reconsidering marriage and help us to understand why most Christians continue to argue for a biblical view of this God-given relationship between a man and a woman.

As always we provide one of the articles free to readers of this blog (HERE). You can subscribe to Case if you would like to receive our quarterly publication, including this latest issue on marriage.

Subscribers to Case should now have this issue. Individuals can subscribe to receive four issues per year (in hard or soft copy) for as little as $20 AUD per annum. Institutions can subscribe for $120 per annum (there is a special rate for schools and churches). You can also purchase single issues online. Explore all the options HERE. 

'Home'

What do we mean when we use the word ‘home’? Often we seem to mean dwelling or place, but surely a home is much more. My wife and I sold our house recently and said to friends a number of times ‘we sold our home’. But did we? Surely our home was more than the bricks and mortar and the land on which they stood. We are now living in a small apartment at New College before moving to another house. It is nothing like our old house, and yet it feels like ‘home’. We’re happy being together with a small smattering of our possessions. What makes this small apartment feel like home? Surely, in large part, that my wife and I are together in this place. But what if you are the sole occupant of your residence? Is it still home? Can a person living alone be at home? Of course! So home must be more than just a dwelling or cohabitation.

We also use the word ‘home’ to speak of our nation or ‘land’. For Indigenous Australians connection with the land is something that leads them to speak of ‘home country’, a place associated with continuous occupation by their ancestors. Such places are intertwined with shared history and stories. Newcomers to any country can take time to feel at home, and immigrants can long for landscapes lost. Travellers returning to their place of birth also speak of going home and mean more than just a place. Rather ‘home’ means nation, cultural identity, and connection with race and ethnicity. Separation from one’s nation can cause alienation and a sense of loss.

The Israelites experienced what it meant to be aliens and strangers at the hands of the Assyrians. The Psalmist wrote of their experiences:

By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept
when we remembered Zion.
There on the poplars
we hung our harps,
for there our captors asked us for songs,
our tormentors demanded songs of joy;
they said, ‘Sing us one of the songs of Zion!’
How can we sing the songs of the Lord
while in a foreign land? (Psalm 137:1-4)

The longing of the Israelites is similar to the longing we have, to be in a place where we can sing our own ‘songs of joy’ with those we love. But more than this, the foundation of this longing for home is rooted in our relationship to God. True ‘home’, as God planned it, is a place of opportunity for fellowship with him, and service that brings glory to him. It is also a place where we can know love, peace, kindness and grace, and in turn understand the need to share this with others.

Graeme Goldsworthy

This idea of longing for home is a key theme in the latest issue of Case magazine published by CASE. There are a number of essays that explore the theme. One piece by Graeme Goldsworthy traces ‘home’ from Eden, through the wanderings of exile, to the New Jerusalem, an eternal home unlike the transient and decaying dwellings of our world.

Alison Payne explores the language of homesickness. This is a sense of disconnection, ‘rootlessness’, loss of shared cultural understanding, and a longing for common stories that bind us together. An echo of Eden lost, which one day will be restored. This longing may account for the distorted ideas of home we find around us—if it could just be bigger, have polished floors, a pool—maybe then we would be satisfied.

In another essay Gordon Menzies and Susan Thorp remind us, a house can become an idol rather than a foretaste of heaven. And at the other end of the spectrum, Michelle Waterford explains that the Australian housing crisis means that finding a place to live is an increasing problem for many people, Internationally, we also see thousands forced from their homes due to persecution, war, and natural disaster. Those of us who live in safety and sufficiency have the opportunity to show hospitality to those in need.

Finally, Erin Goheen Glanville examines the metaphor of ‘hospitality’ and calls for a refreshed understanding of the concept. Christians are to show hospitality to refugees. That is, as strangers we are to help strangers.

The Bible reminds us that while we can experience ‘home’ in this life, ultimately our true home is a heavenly one. In this life we may experience a sense of belonging in nations, places and homes—though many are denied even this—but our true ‘citizenship’ is in heaven (Phil 3:20). One day we will be fellow citizens with God’s people in his heavenly household with Christ as the cornerstone (Eph 2:19-22). We will dwell together, bound by a love founded on and in Christ. This is an experience of belonging that passes understanding and can never be realised in our attempts to capture some sense of what it means to be at ‘home’ on earth.

Subscribers to Case should now have this issue. Individuals can subscribe to receive four issues per year (in hard or soft copy) for as little as $20 AUD per annum. Institutions can subscribe for $120 per annum (there is a special rate for schools and churches). You can also purchase single issues online. Explore all the options HERE. 

Yes is the new Maybe

A Post by Ben Gooley


Two team members arrived at our meeting with a pizza in each hand. I asked where the food came from and they explained that the event they’d just come from had unwisely catered based on the number of Facebook RSVPs.
 
“But, you know, ‘yes’ is the new ‘maybe’ and ‘maybe’ is the new ‘no’, so we all ate and there was still a whole pizza left over for each person who actually came.”

To what extent is this shift a reality, and what are we to make of the shift in meaning for the RSVP?

Late last year, Henry Alford mused on the issue in The New York Times: How the Internet has Changed the R.S.V.P., in a piece that was careful to scatter blame liberally but only lightly. Alford acknowledged the reality of the shift, and its unfortunate nature, but largely saw it as an inevitable consequence of the transition to the ease of the electronic medium for invitations.  Facebook itself has perhaps recognised the problem, now using ‘join’ for those wanting to indicate a positive response to an event invitation. Christians are far from immune from this societal drift. 

What might a Christian response be? Jesus told his disciples

“Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything more than this comes from evil.” (Matt 5:37 ESV). 

James expands slightly on this when he writes

“But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your ‘yes’ be yes and your ‘no’ be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation.” (James 5:12 ESV)

That seems pretty straightforward, except that I suspect many of those who use ‘yes’ to mean ‘maybe’ and ‘maybe’ to mean ‘no’, do so in an attempt to be gracious to those inviting them.  Rather than appear negative by actively and publically declining an event without their reason being clear, indicating ‘maybe’ offers a way to try to show some level of support without committing to actually making the event.  This is a potentially fraught approach, but does offer some scope for giving a public response which can be followed up privately with more detail.

Similarly, joining a large, anonymous event without actually following through by attendance may not have particular negative relational consequences and is perhaps justifiable in certain contexts.  However, responding ‘yes’, or joining an event for which your response has relational and planning implications for the event organiser, but then not attending, seems to be a fundamental breach of trust.  This would appear to fall foul of the principle behind the texts above.

The Christian should be one whose word can be trusted, and whose pledge is solid.  Christians are those who have staked their life on the promises of the One they deem faithful and so godliness is reflected in their own faithfulness to their commitments.  While there will remain times when circumstances overtake a genuine commitment – illness and honest misadventure – the Christian showing the fruit of the Spirit will exhibit faithfulness among their works (Gal 5:22).

There may be legitimate contexts in which ‘maybe’ can be used in place of ‘decline’ and where ‘join’ can be used in place of ‘maybe’.  But the Christian ought to take care that their integrity is maintained.  Paul’s words to Titus still ring true:

“Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us.” (Titus 2:7-8 ESV).

Taking the time to be a Father

Post by Edwina Hine

Lately, I found the following article (German vice-chancellor takes time off to be a dad, The Guardian) very interesting.  As I was reading it, I was reminded of Case Magazine #12 with the theme 'Family Foundations: What’s important for marriage, parenthood and family life.'

In Case Magazine #12  Professor Trevor Cairney writes about families, and in particular The Role of Fathers: Aligning biblical wisdom and research. It is an in-depth look at fatherhood and explores many issues that affect parents particularly dads. In the essay he sets out with two central aims.

To encourage fathers (and mothers) "...to develop an understanding of what God expects of fathers as men of God; and, second, to encourage further discussion relating to how we can work at reshaping our lives so that those of us who are fathers spend time with our families, loving them, teaching them, instructing them in God’s ways and modelling what it means to “love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”

Photo sourced from SMH

Prof Cairney draws on demographic research to illustrate the changing structure of the family, and discusses how changes in employment patterns have impacted on the family. He discusses how research suggests that changing working patterns are having many adverse effects on families. In particular, highlights that atypical hours of work are problematic with negative impacts on health, relationships, families and children’s well being. He also reminds us what the bible teaches on God-centred families and in particular fathers.

Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. Eph 6:4

The article referenced in this blog post is available as a free download from the CASE Website. CASE Associates receive Case magazine 4 times per year as part of their benefits. For blog followers who are yet to be CASE Associates you can sign up HERE or order a single copy HERE.

The Heavens Declare His Glory

Guest post written by Patrick Chan

Recently my wife Vivian and I went to the Sydney Observatory at night for our first wedding anniversary. It was a wonderful experience. We managed to learn a bit about astronomy, but we also had a real sense of the 'heavens declaring the glory of God'.

Today, the Sydney Observatory is in the middle of the city near the Rocks, where the First Fleet landed. However, it's set atop a hill so we could see the southern hemisphere's constellations - or at least some of them. Of course, we could see far more - and far more clearly - than if we happened to be in the Central Business District (CBD) or city centre or downtown of Sydney.

Nevertheless, the Sydney Observatory has not functioned as a research facility for several decades primarily due to its location which predisposes it to heavy light pollution. The city lights outshine the starry nights.

Perhaps because we both hadn't been out to simply stare and take in the skies at night in quite some time, we were taken aback by the sheer beauty of it all. Let alone when we peered through the observatory's telescopes and were able to observe celestial objects like the planet Venus and the Moon. And yet, we had to be warned by the astronomer not to expect Venus, for instance, to look anything near as lovely as a digital photograph, and to be reminded that the real privilege lay in seeing the real Venus with our naked eye as well as via a telescope.

Above: Image courtesy of Wiki Commons

As I said, it was all a sight to behold, and it filled us with a sense of awe and humble praise to the Lord God who has "set his glory in the heavens," who, when we considered "the work of [his] fingers, the moon and the stars, which [he has] set in place," in turn echoed in our hearts, "what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?" (Ps 8).

Indeed, the moon and the stars serve as fixed points in the present night sky, rotating in concentric circles around the south pole in the music of the spheres, some dipping under the horizon only to rise again in full crescendo. But though they're 'fixed' points, they're not permanently fixed, for the heavenly vault looks different now than it did in days gone past, and distant generations in future millennia to come will see what Vincent Van Gogh or Caspar David Friedrich did not.

Above: 'Starry Night Over the Rhone' Vincent van Gogh (courtesy Wiki Commons)

What Viv and I saw left us with great reverence for God. I can only imagine what previous generations of Christians must have seen, and how it affected them, for I suppose most would not have been city dwellers accustomed to skies occupied by skyscrapers and silence pushed out by the constant hum and background noise. I doubt they would have had to work so hard to peer beyond the fog and daze to see the cosmos glittering with its splendid gems and crystals. Perhaps they had a different, 'better' weight of glory to bear.

Media Matters

The latest edition of Case magazine is set to arrive in mailboxes this week. Our topic is 'Media Matters'.  Why? Because the media we engage with impacts what we do and what we think. It affects how we communicate and who we communicate with. In our varied contributions we reflect on how media is changing the world, and the impact—both good and bad—of those changes.

The first article is by Dr Jenny Taylor of Lapido Media, who discusses the ‘religion taboo’ within the news media. News stories are frequently written by journalists with little understanding of the religious issues involved, and some ignore religious factors altogether. Taylor looks at why this is, how it is changing, and what Christians can do to overcome religious blindspots.

The focus then moves to digital technologies—the new media. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, and the like. There is little doubt that digital media has changed the way we communicate. It has enabled the establishment of new forms of virtual communities. It has given voice to millions who would previously have found it difficult to share their thoughts and ideas. We see YouTube videos ‘going viral’ as funny, profound, and sometimes even banal images of life spread across the globe in hours. We observe music and books being self-published and promoted in ways that would never have been possible in the past. Individuals and groups like change.org use social media to influence public opinion and to lobby governments. And we have vast virtual stores of information, knowledge and images available globally from desktops and via varied media.

Yes media matters, and how it is used also matters. But there is a tension that has arisen as a result of the massive shift towards digital technology in the last five to ten years. Does this shift serve to enhance social engagement, or do the manufactured personae we inhabit online in fact undermine genuine relationship? Does it facilitate social activism, or an illusion that deceives us and others into thinking we care? Is the removal of constraints that embed us in ‘real’ social and moral contexts liberating or isolating? Do the dangers of being consumed by technology addiction and idolatry mean that Christians should avoid getting too involved, or is the greater danger that of becoming obsolete in a world that has moved on? These are some of the questions we need to consider.

Julia Bollen addresses the reality of the pervasive forms of media that are ‘always on’, and what’s more, ‘always-on-us’. She asks us to think about the impact of the extensive use of new social media, and argues that the Bible places a special importance on face-to-face relationships and our ordained nature as embodied communicators. Looking at a different aspect of social media, Justine Toh exposes the emptiness of its role as a,

‘court of public opinion where we crowdsource notions of justice, right, and what are acceptable or unacceptable views’. 

In her view it is simply an aggregate of individual free choices, isolated from any context against which good choices can be made.

Scott Stephens (well-known ABC media presenter and writer) offers an insightful critique of the art and assumptions of Thomas Hirschhorn. Hirschhorn claims that his art, consisting largely of disturbing images of human carnage resulting from war and trauma, is an attempt to remove the artist-as-mediator to allow the viewer to genuinely engage with a reality usually censored by mainstream media channels. Stephens seeks to turn Hirschhorn’s argument on its head by revealing that his presentation of reality comes with its own form of mediation. In counterpoint, Stephens considers the transformative power of the often gruesome religious images of Christ and martyrs, which, he suggests, have an integrity and connection to deep truths absent from the work of artists like Hirschhorn.

In a short essay and interview, David May highlights the potential digital media has for the church in building up believers and reaching non-believers. The practical essay argues that as Christians we,

‘are privileged to communicate the greatest message of all, so it's worth embracing technology and media for the sake of the gospel’. 

In a brief interview David also explains how he has implemented some of these ideas in his capacity as communications director with his church.

Finally, this issue also includes a fascinating exploration by New College staff member Jonathan Billingham, who considers archetypal narratives and how they can be used by Christian artists. He illustrates his brief essay with his composition, 'Servitude'. A final segment—‘On holiday with C.S. Lewis’—is a collection of short reviews and reflections on the life and work of C.S. Lewis, testament to his ongoing influence on Christians today.

If you are not a subscriber to Case you can always read one or two articles free online from our website or you might sign up to receive your own quarterly edition in paper or digital form for as little as $20 per year. Subscribe HERE.