Theology
Punk Theology
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- Written by: Peter Corney
Peter Corney reflects on his youth and the present and comes up with a New Theology
Punk Rock was created in the UK by the Sex Pistols in 1975 with Johnny Rotten, joined later by Sid Vicious; they were closely followed by another creative Punk band The Clash. They took the rock scene by storm and created a whole new wave of music that was a vehicle for a radical form of political dissent from the establishment. Their concerts often ended in a riot! They also inspired new styles in dress and fashion. Later this was followed by Punk art, Punk poetry and even Punk film such as the classic “The Decline of Western Civilisation.” They were anti-establishment, anti-authority, anti-capitalist, nonconformist and iconoclastic. They were for freedom, equality, direct action and free thought, opposed to selling out to the dominant culture.
The name and image has been hijacked now by all sorts of alternative and New wave arts and social movements who want to challenge the established artistic or cultural scene. There is even a self-styled “mystic Punk-art collective” called “Punkasila” based in Jakarta of all places that is to perform in Melbourne soon.
As someone who survived the 70’s it occurred to me that some contemporary theology could be described as “Punk Theology” - iconoclastic, rejecting the historic tradition and anti-authority. But where it differs from authentic Punk is that strangely it is not opposed to selling out to the dominant culture, a strong theme in genuine Punk. In fact much contemporary liberal theology is accommodationist – reducing and adapting the Gospel to the prevailing culture and its plausibility structure- what it finds easy to believe and is congenial to its morality. Despite its radical pose it is oddly intellectually provincial, reflecting the attitudes and values of its times. Rather than offering a critique of the contemporary culture and its values from the foundation of the historic faith it does the opposite. A visit to a “Progressive Christianity”, “Progressive Spirituality” or “Emerging Christianity” website will be enough to reveal how un-Punk much contemporary liberal Christianity has become. Alternatively read Ross Douthat’s very insightful book “Bad Religion” (Free Press 2012).
Ascended Fullness
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- Written by: John Yates
John Yates writes under the conviction that the ascension is one of the most neglected of all Christian doctrines. This brief article is written under the conviction that the ascension is one of the most neglected of all Christian doctrines. As a doctrine concerning the life of Christ its implications for our perspective on the nature of the Church and Christian ministry are numerous. Perhaps the lack of teaching on the ascension derives from the fact that apart from brief descriptions provided by Luke (Luke 24:50-52; Acts 1:9-11) the translation of Jesus to heaven is simply assumed throughout the rest of the New Testament (Acts 2:30-33; Eph 4:8-10; Heb 10:12).
Whatever the reason for overlooking the ascension, it is the pinnacle of the redemptive purpose of the Incarnation, the “taking of humanity into God” (Athanasian Creed). Unless Jesus returned to the heavenly glory he had with the Father before the world was made (John 17:5) we could never be “partakers of the divine nature” (2 Pet 1:4). My hope is that by focusing on the ascension we will be more deeply grasped by “the immeasurable greatness of his power towards us who believe” (Eph 1:19-20).
Christianity’s Radical Challenge to Cultural Relativism
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- Written by: Peter Corney
Peter Corney builds on some of the insights in Peter Sutton’s book (reviewed last issue by Joy Sandefur), critiques the cultural relativism of our society, and suggests ways in which Christianity challenges it.
A couple of years ago I read the most profoundly disturbing book that I have read for a long time: ThePolitics of Suffering:Indigenous Australia and the end of the Liberal Consensus, written by Peter Sutton, one of Australia’s leading anthropologists and an expert on Aboriginal culture. I recommend it to anyone who wants to try and understand why the results of our public policy on indigenous affairs have become such a tragic mess.
Peter Sutton speaks from the inside and he cares passionately about Aboriginal people, but he is deeply critical of the failure of many of our policies since the 1970s. One of the reasons he states has been the unwillingness to name and tackle a number of very negative practices and values embedded in Aboriginal culture that have been exacerbated by colonial conquest. One of the reasons for this is the influence of a romantic view of indigenous cultures that took hold in the early 1970s and the pressure of political correctness that protected it from any critique and has allowed it to go unchallenged until recently. This view is an example of ‘cultural relativism’.1
This raised a bigger issue for me and that is the wider influence of ‘cultural relativism’ today on Western culture generally.
Read more: Christianity’s Radical Challenge to Cultural Relativism
The Atonement Debate that is dividing evangelicals
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- Written by: Allan Bate
Allan Bate comes to grips with the ongoing debate about the atonement.
After 15 years in fulltime stipendiary ministry within the Anglican Church in Australia I decided to enrol myself in a MA(Min) with the Australian College of Theology so as to receive some much needed professional development.
This year I enrolled in a theological subject which looked at the Meanings of the Atonement. One of the reasons I enrolled in this subject was to assist me in my discussions with my liberal colleagues who argue against, and even strongly oppose my views, on penal substitutionary atonement (PSA). The other reason I chose to enrol was because of the rise in evangelicals who are choosing to leave this doctrine behind, which probably includes even some members of EFAC Australia.
As an isolated evangelical working in a non-metropolitan diocese issues like this sometimes fail to come up on my radar and so it was for this reason that I thought that I would take the opportunity to share some of my insights with you. (I would love someone to do a similar article on Tom Wright and The New Perspective in another issue of Essentials). (In the meantime here is a link to a paper by Tom Wright on the New Perspective)
Read more: The Atonement Debate that is dividing evangelicals
Friendship
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- Written by: Peter Brain
Bishop Peter Brain proposes friendship as the challenge to our idolatrous exaltation of sex.
‘Friends will go anywhere with you, friends share the good and the bad,’ is a truth that resonates with us all.
Kenny Marks’s song squares with God’s intention, ‘It is not good for man to be alone’ (Gen 2:18), the proverbial wisdom ‘there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother’ (Prov 18:24), and the longing of every human heart for a ‘kindred spirit’.
My reason for writing this article on friendship is the long held conviction that friendships are the antidote to loneliness and the means by which God would meet our deep longings for intimacy and by so doing keep us from adopting the wrong strategy of seeking this intimacy in sexual relationships prior to or outside of marriage.
If we are to win the battle of encouraging sexual fidelity, we must demonstrate the wonderfully positive benefits of a whole range of friendships given to us by our loving Creator. In so doing we will understand the God given purpose of our sexuality, and the restraints he has put on it.