The Majesty of Grace

Hi guys, there's a new Resistance Thinking video available titled The Majesty of Grace. This encapsulates Titus 2:11-14 in a creative and challenging way.

In an attempt to broaden the amount of people who have access to this video we have given you the ability to download it and show it to your church, youth group or Christian Union. The download is available on the Resistance Thinking website.

 

Australia

Legalising drugs

In Australian news there has been an increased push to legalise drugs. A report by Australia21 announced that "[t]he prohibition of illicit drugs is killing and criminalising our children and we are all letting it happen". This position is based upon a belief that the "War on Drugs" has failed. The leap between suggesting that the "War on Drugs" had failed and the calls for the decriminalising of drugs is too far. It is the allowance of a very dangerous activity on the basis of a one-day roundtable. Do not be deceived.

 

Heritage rights vs safety

Magistrate Stewart Brown brought a baffling verdict when he ruled this week that a mother had access to her two-year old daughter despite her history of drug abuse, violence and mental illness. Magistrate Brown specified "[t]he essential nub of the case is how best to balance (the girl's) need for security and safety ... with her right to maintain and enjoy strong cultural connections to the indigenous peoples to whom she is matrilineally related".

 

Essentially this child's right to maintain her Aboriginal heritage has been ruled to be more important than the dangers that such a right may cause. To put this into perspective if the mother was of European descent such a ruling would not be handed down. It is a dangerous form of "positive discrimination" that is seen as allowable because it benefits a minority group. Unfortunately, such discrimination undermines what is in the best interests of the child in this case.

 

Read the article here.

 

Requirement to Promote Women

Another example of this "positive discrimination" practice can be found in the Federal Government's Equal Opportunity for Women in the Workplace Amendment Bill 2012. This amendment will cause companies that get taxpayer-funded assistance/government contracts to meet certain promotional targets for women. This ridiculousness amendment is pushed by equality advocates. This is ironic as such an amendment will only create inequality.

 

It is logical that the best person for the job should be offered a job. This amendment would result in a significant amount of cases where men are disregarded for promotion purely because a company must meet certain promotion targets for women. Again, this shows the absurdity of employing a "positive discrimination" mindset.

 

Read the media piece here.

 

 

Shootings in America

One Goh shooting

A saddening shooting occurred at Oikos University this week. This private Christian university was shocked when One Goh, an expelled student, walked into his old class and opened fire with a semi-automatic pistol. Seven students were killed and several more injured as Goh executed what-were his fellow classmates.

 

Goh's actions reveal the depravity of human nature without God at the centre. He was cold-blooded in his execution of people who have intrinsic value to God. There is some hope in this story. It is likely that many of those seven killed having a lasting relationship with our redeemer. Thus, this tragedy may not result in lost chances rather in the coming home of a people precious to Christ. Still, it is a situation that deserves prayer and contemplation.

 

Read the article here.

 

Zimmerman shooting

Another recent shooting occurred when Neighbourhood Watch volunteer George Zimmerman opened fire on Trayvon Martin. The result has been wide-spread belief that this was a racially stereotyped shooting where George Zimmerman mistakenly and maliciously believed that because Trayvon was African-American and wearing a hoodie that he was worth pursuing and confronting resulting in an altercation that caused Martin's death.

 

There are several issues in this case. Initially there is the police response when they got to the scene (and did not test Zimmerman for drugs or alcoholic use). Another was Zimmerman's response when the police told him not to approach Martin (which he did). There is also "strand your ground" legislation that is in place allowing for the use of lethal force when defending yourself and how that interplays with Zimmerman's actions in approaching Martin. Finally, and most worryingly, has been the absolute condemnation and outrage against Zimmerman before there is any establishment of guilt or innocence.

 

Many celebrities have spoken out about Zimmerman not being arrested on the spot. There have been rallies and social media stand-offs. Hollywood director Spike Lee made a bungle when he released what he believed to be Zimmerman's personal address on Twitter. It turned out to be the wrong address, thankfully. Perhaps, most dangerous is the Christian leaders who are baying for Zimmerman's blood. Rev. Jesse Jackson and minister Al Sharpton have been leading such a charge. The latter has called for civil disobedience until Zimmerman is arrested. Regardless of Zimmerman's guilt in this instance such a call is immature and does not align itself with a proper understanding of Romans 13. It has to be hoped that Church leaders avoid being influenced by media outrage and concentrate on where true justice lies.

 

Entertainment

Prometheus

A movie soon to come out is Prometheus. From director Ridley Scott this movie discusses the origins of humanity by pointing to an extraterrestrial source. This is where the reference to Greek mythology plays out. Prometheus was a Titan who stole the Zeus' fire and gave it to mortals (humans). This movie is revealing of Scott's unbelief. For him, and someone like Richard Dawkins, it is more plausible that humanity was developed by some version of aliens rather than an all-knowing and relational deity.

 

Game Of Thrones

From sci-fi we turn to fantasy. Game Of Thrones is a television series based on the fantasy book series written by George R. R. Martin. The first season has just appeared on the shelves of my local Blockbuster and the second season is about to hit the television screen over in America. This book series bucks the fantasy norm by being a series with no inherently good guys and no particularly bad guys. There's just a mesh of grey. For many readers this is quite endearing. They believe that the characters are more fleshed out because they are not "straight" black and white, good and evil characters.

 

Unfortunately, this series merely exemplifies humanistic understandings of the world. What we see are people who act more like animals with the specific knowledge that they must kill or be killed. This leads to an incredible amount of self-interested individuals. Yet, there are darker sides to Game Of Thrones. The books (nor the TV show) does not hesitate in discussing concepts of incest, rape, horrific killings, unsubstantiated wars, pillaging and general godlessness. There are pagan gods that exist through-out the series but there is none that displays attributes even remotely close to Yahweh. We are left with humanity fighting amongst themselves for a throne that no-one can stay alive long enough to enjoy. This series is devoid of hope and any redemptive message. It is also rated R for a reason.

 

The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games also falls into the fantasy/sci-fi genre (though it plays out more as a drama) written by Suzanne Collins. This trilogy describes a post-apocolyptic world where teenagers are forced (usually) to battle teens from other districts in order to keep those districts in servitude to the Capitol. This hit the big screen two weeks ago and has been phenomenal at the US Box Office. Yet, there are many themes that are dangerous (particularly as this is tailored towards a teenage audience). The heroine, Katniss, is seen as good because she volunteers for the Games to save her sister. This immediately endears her to the audience/readers however, as the story of the first book/movie progresses she shows her ruthlessness in dispatching other children. Katniss also has a very subtle religious belief that when she a pendent in her possession she will be saved from all harm. This is known as animism and is counter-intuitive to a biblical understanding of God's role in the world and approaches idolatry of inanimate objects. Kevin Swanson, has a great discussion of many of the themes that are dangerous in The Hunger Games with his daughter, Emily. Check it out here.

 

These are just some of the stories that you should be aware of. If you see a story that you believe is worth discussing shoot an email to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

 

In Christ,

 

Cameron Spink

RESISTANCE THINKING CO-ORDINATOR