Peter Singer – Animal Liberation. A short, almost satirical review

I have recently been studying a unit in Ethics. Frustration has come and gone throughout the course, but reached a paramount high this morning. Each day we are required to review an article prescribed to us. Today, Peter Singer’s opening chapter from ‘Animal Liberation’. Below is my summary, vexed, unedited, and unfiltered. Hopefully this affects some people positively.

Singer claims that the animal liberation movement is particularly of modern origin, regarding 19th century onwards activism as the only form of anti-animal suffering that has ever existed. Contructing several strawman arguments, and lovingly embracing a deeply flawed eastern religion viewpoint claims that Jesus didn’t care for animals. As interesting as it may seem, Peter Singer’s opening introduction has just proven the problem with every modern philosopher – thinking they have discovered the newest and  most groundbreaking concept that has ever existed, and committing what CS Lewis deems ‘chronological snobbery.’ I digress. Singer then points out that human beings are not equal, because we come in different heights, sizes and shapes. Singer argues that it is entirely a mindset that has resulted in equal treatment of human beings. Evidently, he has ignored slave trading and human trafficking in every country on earth. But this is not meant to be ad-hominiem, let us keep reading. Cleverly, Singer points out that just because one human is smarter doesn’t give him more rights than a person who is not smarter – so why should we not give the same rights to animals? Singer tugs on heart strings as he uses a Bentham quote that likens all of us to the lovely horse in Johnson’s paddock. Why can’t they have our rights? What really makes them different? At this point Singer enters dangerous territory. Perhaps someone who is mentally handicapped should be on the same level as my pet dog, Ollie. After all, this person is not capable of rational thought! And Ollie can almost chase a ball all on his own. Of course, we should kill the person instead of Ollie! Gladly, Singer moves on now from his deeply flawed and entirely moronic worldview to explain the aims of animal liberation. He puts forward some good points. For example, animal experimentation. For entirely superficial results, I concur. Makeup and the like should not be tested on animals. As for cancer treatments, the animal had cancer already. So I don’t quite see Singer’s equality movement shining through. Grandly, Singer puts forward the notion of rabbit-food over traditional meat based diets. What Singer ignores is the complex proteins and testosterone-forming molecules that are vital for young men to mature and stop being children. Singer closes with a lovely summary of how animal liberation is moving forward, and his hopes for the future. Perhaps my tone has been condescending. Singer, like every other modern philosopher, doesn’t understand humanity, because they don’t understand the image we reflect. The only reason that humans should be treated differently is because of the Amago Dei, the idea that we are created in God’s image. We then have the responsibility to lovingly care for, steward and nurture those created beings below us. Never abuse them, or hurt them, but never ever put them on the same level as a child with autism or down syndrome. This is the type of logic that leads to necessary murder, or the abortion of defenceless children. People like Peter Singer have the right idea – animal abuse is wrong. But if they continue defining animals as lower functioning humans, I fear for the future of the world.

Peace out.

Relentless Reliance on Repentance

For some reason, Christians are often concerned with ‘the other people’, concerned about the sins of the world, despairing at others sin – it seems to continually hold a focus on the lives of others. This sort of focus while not necessarily bad, can lead to a gross imbalance where a focus on making converts overtakes the focus for the Gospel. This may seem confusing for some us, so allow me to elaborate.

The Gospel can be (possibly) summed up by four questions;
Where do we come from? The answer to this questions is God. God creates us, God loves us, and God moulded human kind in His image. This is essential to understanding the other points – from love, God created people.

What went wrong? This is the fall. People, with full knowledge of who God is and their perfect relationship, they chose in selfish ambition to pursue that which he warned us not to. As a result, people are separated from God by sin. The punishment that we deserve for this sin is death and eternal separation from God. 

What can fix it? This is Jesus. Jesus Christ, being fully God and yet fully human, came into our world where He lived a perfect life as a man. Despite His perfect life, Jesus was wrongly accused and wrongly murdered for who He was. This murder involved Jesus being sent to the cross to die a death that every human being deserves. His murder was brutal and undeserved. Three days later, Jesus rose from the grave, conquering Satan, sin and death. This is to provide the payment that allows God to forgive sin, as all sin requires a penalty. This is important – our sin (your own, and my own) was so grave that God Himself needed to die. Bear that in mind.

How do I get right? This should naturally follow – if that is how it is fixed, then what do I do? The answer; repent, and believe. This suggests, then, that one must understand that Jesus’ sacrifice was so real that it demands a response, and this response is repentance and faith in Jesus Christ (which, incidentally, are the same thing). If someone repents, it means that they have faith in Jesus’ ability to save them – thus, belief and repentance, by rights, go hand in hand.

This becomes a problem for religious people, because they really really really like rules. So much so, in fact, that they asked Jesus when He was alive which rule was the best of them all and that they could follow. Jesus’ answer is rather curious – He claims that in order to have one, you in fact require two: love God, and love others. How curious! For someone who is a Christian, I can openly state that I have not always been loving to God, and certainly not to others. I would suggest that this is the case for all people, unless they are Jesus. This brings me to the first major point – when it comes to sin, there are two categories: Jesus, and us.

Now that we have this established, I want to talk about repentance. For some whacky reason, many Christians have decided that repentance is for those who are yet to meet Jesus. Curiously, Martin Luther (the great German reformer) claimed that Christian life should be one of continual repentance (see his 95 theses on the Bible). Acts 8:21-23 is just one example from the New Testament of repentance being essential to returning to rightness with God. This is where I openly state that church leaders need to call their congregations to repentance continually.

That may seem like a jump, but in reality, it is anything but. If people are not called to repentance it is unlikely they will do so of their own accord! This is in fact the crux of the modern church: we should be continually calling all people to repentance and faith in Jesus’ power of forgiveness. This can be in all matters of life! There seems to be a weird focus on getting numbers or getting converts, and then leaders scratching their heads when everyone leaves. The uniqueness of the Gospel and the uniqueness of Jesus is that both of these do not claim a truth, or a small form of truth, but they claim total truth. This truth should transform, engage and shape the way that we live our lives. This, then, brings out some highly practical advice:
For non-Christians, the gospel calls them to Jesus.
For Christians, the gospel calls them back to Jesus.
Most people in the world want good relationships, they want good finances, they want good marriages, they want to be good people and mostly want people to love them. The gospel does not disagree with this! It merely shows and encourages a better way to do it. A short example is one of marriage. A non-Christian marriage can indeed succeed. This couple can love each other, forgive each other, give to one another and sacrifice for each other. However, this is entirely dependent on receiving love in return. In a Christian marriage, you are continually being loved, transformed and changed by the Holy Spirit, and should be continuously responding to the grace of the Gospel. This will, in turn, reflect on your spouse in immeasurable ways. When a spouse sins against you, your response is not one of anger, but one of forgiveness, for you know that yourself deserve nothing more than death and eternal separation from God for your own sin! This motivation is unparalleled in this world.

Thus, seek to be called back to repentance and faith in Jesus. Don’t get complacent and okay with your level of mediocre faith! Pursue more of Jesus, pursue His grace and love and holiness. Encourage others to pursue this as well, and allow your life to speak bounds of love to others. Pursue Christ. Pursue grace. Pursue love. As you have faith, build faith, and practise faith, let your hope for the future increase, let your desire for hope increase, and as a direct result allow your love of Jesus to reflect to the world around you.

Grateful for the response to the Gospel

Over the past few weeks I have been attempting to memorise Colossians. While this is proving harder than I first anticipated, it has shown immense quantities of goodness already. This attempt to memorise has triggered a few very important thoughts, some of which I thought would be good to unpack online, where people can show me where I am wrong or if I need to refine my thoughts. In particular, I am hoping to discuss an issue that so many modern day churches seem to chase after – professionalism. For some reason, a polished serviced and a perfect sermon seem to be extremely high up on the priority list, and volunteers seem to be the people taking the brunt of this 9-iron swing.

It is clear in the biblical narrative that voluntary work, serving and giving generously are all focal points of the Church – the Church being the group of believers who have responded to Jesus. Acts depicts people making hugely generous and selfless moves to sell property and livestock for the sake of the Gospel. The entire Old Testament seems to revolve around a sacrificial system. Most of Paul’s letters will indicate at some point or another that selflessness and the giving up of one’s self in service are of paramount importance to the Christian faith.

Why bring this forward? To indicate that I am a full advocate for service in ministry. It should go without saying that if you are a Christian you are serving in a church. This can be as simple as standing on a door greeting people, or as complex as playing lead guitar for the worship team. The debate will never be ‘should I serve’, but will always be ‘how can I serve?’ For the majority of my own church, this is definitely the case. However, I want to discuss the concept that Paul brings forward in Colossians 1:3-14. This whole section confused me at first, but the more I read it the more [I think] I understand what Paul is saying, and it is extremely relevant to today’s modern church.

How many of us can appreciate the professionalism of a good concert? Or the smoothness of a TV advertisement? I would argue that most of us love a great, professional presentation. I will never forget the first time I saw a band live – it was the Rogue Traders (don’t judge me), and it was seriously one of the most professional things I had ever attended. It was part of a Scout Jamboree over in Victoria, with around 12,000 people in attendance. The stage went dark, smoke came billowing out from somewhere, lights began to strobe and the crowd cheered, goosebumps formed and excitement grew. They started big, and started with a bang, and it was so clean, so polished, so professional that it is a moment I have never forgotten. This concert has set the standard for any and all musical presentations for me for probably the rest of my life. In reality, however, I shouldn’t have expected anything less. Every single person involved in that show was being paid, and every single person has trained, practised and learnt how to be the best at their chosen job – literally, the best.

This small anecdote may seem unrelated and a waste of time, but I have left churches and said to myself ‘Well that was pretty professional!’ The difference between these two scenarios, however, is the inevitable comparison between a response to stimulus (money, pride, excellence) and a response to the Gospel. Essentially, most church services will (and arguably should) happen as a result of responses to the gospel. Bruce, who mixes sound, does so voluntarily because he is responding to Jesus. Emily, who greets people on the door, is responding in service to Jesus. Anyone that is involved in any form of voluntary service (and paid) in a church is doing so as a response to the servant love modelled by Jesus Christ. Do I think that these responses should be done well? Of course. Do I believe that these volunteers should learn how to do their jobs better? Of course! But do I believe that their performance should be a means to grade their voluntary service? Not in the slightest.

This is the danger of modern day church professionalism. A community built on service needs to remember its foundation; namely Jesus Christ (Philippians 2). Jesus washed his disciples feet to prove that true leadership is service. And this is essentially what Paul is addressing in these verses of Colossians, and I think it is something that every modern church needs to understand. Paul does not thank the church of Colossae for their method of service, or for their fancy new auditorium, or their wonderful new sound system, or their beautifully professional church service – he thanks them for their response to the Gospel. He thanks them for their faith in Christ, and thanks them for their love for one another. I wonder if we will ever understand this to its full extent? Paul literally thanks them for the Gospel, thanks them for their faith in it, reminds them that the Gospel is powerful and that it is spreading.

If you are involved in church service, voluntary or paid – please understand this. The Gospel is the foundation, the Gospel is the origin and the Gospel is the reason for everything you do. While it might be nice to have a professional church service, the Gospel is more important. Moreover, the fact that you are serving to spread the gospel? That is literally the Gospel in action. You have heard the truth, you responded to the truth and you are now living the truth. So I would like to thank you, on the behalf of all Christians, for the hard work you put in, for the training you do, and for your response to the Gospel.

This post may appear to have little direction and little flow (which it probably does), but I cannot overstate the importance that we respond to the Gospel in love and faith. We are first loved by Jesus, in whom we put our faith, so we have hope for the future. Jesus Christ is the King of kings and the Lord of lords, and he exemplified and esteemed servant leadership to an entirely new level. If you are a Christian and not involved in service of some sort, please do so. Church does not happen without volunteers, so if your church is passionate for the Gospel, passionate for truth and mostly passionate for Jesus, get plugged in, get involved and start serving. As I said previously, for those of you that are, the Gospel is flourishing, people are getting saved, they are growing in faith – and your service and faith to Jesus is proof of this. Thank you for your response to the Gospel, thank you for your faith in Christ, and it is my hope and prayer that you truly believe that Jesus is alive, He is good, and He is saving people from their sin every single day. If you have never heard it before: we are grateful for your response to the Gospel.

Cultural relevance versus cultural reliance

Most modern, thriving churches will posit that this is a result of cultural relevance and hard work. Mars Hill Church, in Seattle, for example, has been listed as one of the top 10 fastest growing churches in America for the last seven years. Lead teaching Pastor, Mark Driscoll, claims this is a result of tailoring their ministry to the city of Seattle, and the specific issues therein. If we look closer to home; Kingdom City Church in Wangara. This church has transformed from a small congregation of around sixty people to a little under three thousand in around four years – this kind of growth is phenomenal. Both of these churches are modern, fast paced, culturally relevant and (from most reports) a loving welcoming environment.

While this is all well and good, I struggle sometimes to intimately grasp the concept of super cultural relevance. I do agree, most wholeheartedly, we need to do as Paul says and ‘become like the Jew’, but where do we draw the line between being relevant and being reliant? Ultimately, churches should be a result of the Gospel, but often times I am not convinced this is the case. The question you should most likely ask is why the sudden anti-culture argument? To tell the truth, it was attendance at a Youth Alive conference a fortnight ago that has triggered this thought pattern. This conference was filled with more undercuts and hipster boots than New York. For someone who was not the stereotype of ‘popular’ in high school, floods of memories of not fitting in and being excluded came rolling back. This was confusing for me, because just like in high school I have quite a few people who I would call friends – and yet in attendance of this conference I almost felt like I could lose them all for not wearing the right clothes. 

Right now you’re probably thinking that I am some sort of desperate emotional young adult who needs a counsellor and more prayer, but bare with me! If I, as an adult, with significantly less hormones and a lot less reliance on popularity can feel uncomfortable in this church culture, how will the kid who does have these feel? For arguments sake, lets say that this indie-hipster trend is the culture, and it is how we should be relevant. This does pose one or two issues. Firstly, as pointed out, what about those that aren’t indie-hipsters? Secondly, what if, in our pursuit of cultural relevance, we just become a secondary part of the existing culture? These two questions are some that I personally have been asked by some of the older generation, so I thought it should be good to discuss these in depth, and as to where I personally stand.

Jesus Christ lived in a time of agriculture and huge family values. Thus, whenever he taught or spoke with others, he modelled parables and stories around these two core units of society. Jesus also wore (from what we understand) cultural footwear, and can probably be assumed cultural clothing. We know this because Jesus could not have been significantly different to the culture around Him, because He came to preach to the culture around Him. If Jesus was markedly different, it would not have been questioned if He was God, and more than likely would not have been murdered for His claim. So it is safe to assume that Jesus, who the entirety of Christian faith is based on, was culturally relevant in his dress. This does not necessarily mean that we should go to our local department store and spend $1000 on a new wardrobe that is on the cutting edge of fashion and culture, by any means! What this posits, however, is that wearing a Jeep t-shirt and some Ruggers may not be the most suitable attire for talking to a group of youths dressed as hipsters. This, I feel, prepares us for the first question – what about those that aren’t indie-hipsters?

The answer, realistically, is quite simple. Anyone that was not popular in high school can probably confirm that they wanted to be, and would have liked to have worn the clothing that those ‘popular’ kids wore. That is because most people wish to be a part of culture. All people desire community and inclusion, and often times fashion trends will define culture. In our current time period, skinny jeans, snapbacks and big t-shirts are the standard for young people – fifteen years ago, however, it was big jeans, skate shoes and plain shirts. The sad truth of the matter is that those who are not part of this fashion culture do want to be part of the fashion culture, because it represents community and inclusion. Mark Francey, a pastor from Boysie, Idaho, claims this for his ministry – if you can affect the people that affect culture, you will likely have a cultural effect. Moreover, there is already a stereotype for Christianity that is irrelevant and a group of culture-haters. If we hope to engage a culture and affect a culture, we need that culture to realise that we are relevant and that we love them. For those of you who are Christians and refuse to be relevant to the culture around you, I would posit that most people will write your opinion off as irrelevant and a waste of time. I would also like to point out that cultural relevance does not always mean following current fashion trends – but being relevant to the culture that you are wishing to minister to.

The second question that was raised to me needs a serious address. If you are defined by what you wear and who you hang out with, this will likely end in disaster. In fact, Christianity will likely become an insignificant part of culture if this were the case. However, as David Platt claims, Jesus Christ asks for radical belief, radical faith, and radical ministry. Jesus does not say ‘go out and be culturally relevant and hope that through your relevance people will repent and be baptised.’ He says, plainly, ‘Go, and make disciples.’ I would argue that anyone that claims that God creates will not disappear into culture. Anyone that believes that people chose against God, and thus created a humanity that was evil by nature and choice, is unlikely to dissolve into a society of possessed with logical positivism and self esteem. Anyone that claims Jesus Christ as Lord and God Who has paid the price for the propitiation of God’s wrath is definitely not going to sublime with the cool water of culture, and anyone who claims that eternity is real, with two distinctly different destinations is highly unlikely to be accepted as another facet of the existing culture.

The truth of the matter is that Jesus Christ, His gospel, and His bible are offensive, and none of them are easy to swallow. Culture demands inclusivity and tolerance. If you are already on the back-foot by appearing irrelevant, these truths are even harder for people to take seriously. This brings me to my concluding point – if you do not understand the culture you are a part of, you are unlike to enjoy preaching the gospel to the culture you are a part of. Study your culture, learn about them, figure out what makes them tick – musical style, television programs, language use, fashion trends. This is what it means when Paul says ‘be all things to all people’. Do not become an unimportant subset of culture, but become culturally relevant in order to bring relevance of the gospel to the culture.

1 Corinthians 9:19-23

Sunday, Second June, Twenty thirteen

Today was an interesting day. Not only did I successfully manage to procrastinate from all but twenty five minutes of study, I managed to start (but not finish) watching a Driscoll sermon on Acts.

It’s easy, I think, to become lost in our lives. We go through day by day, doing what it is that we do, and then when that thing we do gets boring, we get bored. Maybe that’s where I am at. I am trying to do this university thing, but it doesn’t appear to work. I can’t stay committed and I feel like it isn’t doing justice to God. Do you ever feel like this? Maybe this is happening in your life, too. The thing though, is to understand that we don’t write our books, God does.

Suresh Murthy spoke tonight at Carey Church. He said that alot of people spend alot of time worrying about how they are authoring their book, when really they should be worried about the Author of The Book. If that makes sense. Jesus wrote an incredible bible for us to churn through, and we all sort of sit here lost in our lives and we don’t turn to the thing that God has already written for us. It’s like it sits there, screaming at us ‘HERE YOU FOOL!’

Jesus is my King. I don’t know if He is yours. But know this: wherever you are, lost, directed, no matter what – if you aren’t living for King Jesus, not empowered by the Spirit, not living to the glory of the Father, it won’t be fulfilling. I am only just realising this now as I type this, but our God is loving and incredible beyond all comprehension, and we sit here and complain about our problems, while he sits their with the solution.

Innercity Church is nothing at the moment. Maybe one day it will be. I don’t think it matters – we are all the Innercity Church. Jesus loves His church – we are His church, so we should act as though the God who made the world (and us) loves us.