Category - Faith

… I’ve only just got around to it.

I recently joined a bunch of wonderful young people who rode their bikes to raise money for the distribution of Bible Society literacy materials in Indonesia. The materials are scripture portions that are used in literacy training.

The kids are part of Endeavour Christian Gathering. Thanks to Pastor Max Randall for sending me a scan of the article that appeared on the front page of the local paper in Joondalup.

Posted by Rodney Olsen

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It’s no accident that The Life of Brian is set for re-release. It’s all part of a plan to cash in on the success of Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ.

Python member Terry Jones didn’t mince words about why the troupe’s own take on the life of the Son of God was being rushed into re-release this month.

“It’s shameless commercial opportunism on our part,” he told the Philadelphia Inquirer.

The original plan was to get the movie out for a re-run in August – the month that marks the 25th anniversary of the Python’s tale of an accidental messiah.

Then came Gibson’s epic which has taken the world by storm.

“We just saw the opportunity and thought we’d take it,” Jones said. “We’re definitely trying to cash in on Mel’s enormous success.”

Posted by Rodney Olsen

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I was reading Judges 6 today and was struck by the story of Gideon.

11 Then the angel of the Lord came and sat beneath the oak tree at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash of the clan of Abiezer. Gideon son of Joash had been threshing wheat at the bottom of a winepress to hide the grain from the Midianites. 12 The angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, ‘Mighty hero, the Lord is with you!’

13 “Sir,” Gideon replied, “if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? And where are all the miracles our ancestors told us about? Didn’t they say, ‘The Lord brought us up out of Egypt’? But now the Lord has abandoned us and handed us over to the Midianites.”

How often do we do just what Gideon did? We have bad stuff happen to us or around us and so we asume that the Lord is not with us or that he’s abandoned us. We might not say that but how often do we feel that way? We can’t base our lives on our feelings which are so changable. We need to rely on God who doesn’t change and take him at his word.

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As part of my job I’m trying to collect a number of stories about how The Passion of the Christ has impacted people and how it has been used as part of evangelistic strategies.

I sent an email to a number of church leaders yesterday to try to gain some responses. Here is some of what I wrote.

Over the last year much has been said and written about Mel Gibson’s movie The Passion of the Christ. The movie has had a major impact on public and private discussion as millions of people have sought to share thoughts and ideas on Mel Gibson’s interpretation of the last 12 hours of the life of Jesus Christ.

I know that many people have been touched by the movie. I have already heard of many instances of lives being turned around for Jesus. If you have a story to tell, we’d love to hear it. We would like to collect a number of testimonies of how churches and individuals have used the movie and the impact it has had.

If you know of someone else who has a story to tell, please ask them to email me. We would like to hear as many of the stories ‘first hand’ as possible so that they can be verified.

Our aim is to share these stories to give God the glory for the way he is working through The Passion of the Christ. We are not wanting to lift up the movie but lift up the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We also understand that while reaction to the film by Christians has been overwhelmingly positive, there are some who have not been so keen to promote the movie for a number of reasons. If you are one of those people we also welcome your input.

If you have a story to tell please add it below in the comments section or email me.

Posted by Rodney Olsen

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In a profile on Mordechai Vanunu, The Guardian begins:

An imprisoned hero, a Nobel prize nominee, a victim, or a traitor: Israel’s nuclear whistleblower represents many things to many people. How will he and his country react when the day of his release from jail dawns next week?

The article is several days old and talks about his impending release. Mordechai has now been released and has spoken to a waiting media contingent. While his jailing was obviously about his breach of security, he feels that the harshness of his sentencing and his treatment while in prison had much to do with his faith.

I suffered here 18 years because I am a Christian, because I was baptised into Christianity, if I was a Jew I wouldn’t have all this suffering here in isolation for 18 years.

It will be interesting to see what happens in the next chapter of this man’s life. Many of his supporters are fearful for his safety if he stays in Israel. He has been released under strict regulations and even speaking out, as he did upon his release, could see him in trouble with the authorities yet again.

Posted by Rodney Olsen

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