HOW MUCH DOES HAPPINESS COST?

Can money buy happiness? We naturally recoil at the suggestion but a very large survey (450,000 people) conducted a few years back concluded that, up to a certain point, it does. That point, according to the survey report was $75,000 a year.

Princeton researchers Kahneman and Deaton analyzed data collected in 2008 and 2009 for the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index. They found that: “the effects of income on the emotional dimension of well-being satiate fully at an annual income of ∼$75,000.”

In other words, below that figure, people tended to experience emotional stress, anxiety and anger. Above the $75,000, the emotional factors levelled out.

Bruce Kasanoff, a ghostwriter for business and social innovators, comments: ” This makes intuitive sense; if you can't afford a decent place to live or enough food to feed your family, more money substantively improves your situation. But few would agree with the statement that the happiest moments of their life was when they had the most money.”

My own experience certainly backs this up. My wife and I have never been rich but there was a moment in time when our level of income increased to a comfortable level. (Nowhere near $75,000, I hasten to add!) The bills were all paid, there was a little bit of money in the bank, and we could enjoy a few little luxuries here and there,

The culture we live in pushes or defines our expectations of life. Some people expect to participate in  a culture that necessitates expensive club memberships, hobbies and travel. I believe that the Christian culture encourages modest living, offset by the knowledge that there is something infinitely better waiting for us in eternity.

When Christians, in community, outwork a culture of moderation and frugality, they can experience a contentment that significantly lowers the financial cost of happiness.

WHERE IS CULTURE HEADED?

In recent weeks, in this blog, I have discussed the cultural confusion that seriously began infecting Western society in the 1960s and the cultural confusion that we see now. No longer is there a deeply shared worldview or faith. Australia is multi-cultural. But where are we headed? What sort of cultural outlook do we have as a nation?

Let me suggest that a cultural vacuum cannot exist for long. Something will inevitably arise to fill the void. And, at the moment, the leading contender for this role, unfortunately, is Islam.

Many Australians are genuinely shocked that Islam continues to make inroads into Western society, despite the bad worldwide press of Islam-ists who carry out obscene acts of violence and terror. Every week we see reports on the latest atrocities of Boko Haram, or some other radical Islamic group. Today, there are reports of a Christian woman in Sudan, Meriam Yahia Ibrahim Ishag, who has been sentenced to death by hanging for the “crime” of “apostasy”, ie, leaving her father’s Muslim religion.

So how come more and more Western nations are bending over backwards to accommodate Islam? The answer has to do with culture.

You see, Islam self-identifies as more than just a religion. Islam has a strongly defined culture. Some Muslims are happy to live on the very edge of that culture but Muslims who take the Koran more seriously naturally want to centre their whole lives in Islamic culture. Islam is making inroads because culture, like nature in the proverb, abhors a vacuum.

Butter cannot stop a hot knife from penetrating and neither can a disjointed, anything goes “multi-culture” resist the penetration of a strong, clearly defined ideology that keeps pushing. Yes, I know there are divisions within Islam. And yes I know that not all Muslims want to live under Sharia law. But the ideal of multiculturalism, that it can safely and helpfully accommodate every possible culture, was flawed from the beginning. And now it is facing its most severe test.

Christianity should be the culture rushing to fill the void in Western culture. It has a very defensible worldview (ultimate truth, really) and a Christian culture based on love and compassion can do no harm where it is fully adopted. But, alas, Christianity in Australia is still not walking in the unity that God requires.

Multiculturalism is being tested but so also is Christianity. These are critical times and the cultural outlook of nations like Australia in twenty or thirty years will depend on who stands up strongly to shine a light through this present cultural darkness.

CULTURAL CONFUSION NOW

Last week, I quoted extensively from a biography about J.R.R. Tolkien which, I believe, accurately described the cultural confusion of the 1960s. ‘The Lord of the Rings’ became incredibly popular in an era when people, especially young people, were abandoning the moral worldview of previous generations.

Rightly discerning the times in which we live is not as easy as it might appear. Who really knows how this decade will be viewed in another forty to firty years? But it seems to me that the phrase “cultural confusion” pretty neatly sums up what is happening now.

No longer do we see in Western society an undergirding faith in the Christian God (who, by the way, is still the only TRUE God!) What we see is a religious supermarket where each individual feels free to choose any faith that takes their fancy. Or no faith, if that’s what they prefer. Or maybe a syncretistic combination – a little bit of this and a little bit of that.

But worldview, including belief in God, gods or no gods, profoundly influences how we live our lives. So does our concept of what happens at death. We fill our days (and minds) with social networking, celebrity gossip, sports, quiz shows and countless forms of entertainment but it’s all superficial stuff. It’s all an escape from the realities of life. More and more people, perhaps in an attempt to break the obsession with mindless trivia, find meaning in compassionate struggles for justice in various places around the world. But the bedrock of life, which must be some kind of faith, is still missing.

Australian society is not likely to settle on an agreed faith any time soon. But the Christian Church has all the ingredients, if we will only realize it, for a culture that is neither confused nor fragmented. More than ever, the world needs the Church to demonstrate a lifestyle where moral standards are inseperably linked to a credible worldview.

And it’s not just a theoretical issue. Jesus really is alive. God really is Creator of the Universe. The Holy Spirit still brings truth. The world needs a dynamic, Spirit-filled Church to live a holistic culture that is based on solid truth.

THE GREAT 1960’s CULTURAL CONFUSION

I’ve been reading an interesting biography about J.R.R. Tolkien and one of the chapters opens with what I considered a brilliant explanation about why The Lord of the Rings was such a success, especially in America.

So here’s an extended quote from pages 133-134 of “J.R.R. Tolkien, Architect of Middle Earth” by Daniel Grotta, originally published in 1976.

“The Lord of the Rings burst on the campuses of American colleges and universities like a rainstorm over a parched desert. Since the early ‘60s, when the American dream had begun to turn into a nonstop nightmare of presidential assassination, dirty wars in Southeast Asia, black power tirades and white backlashes, urban riots and campus disorders, many younger people began to feel dissatisfaction with and alienation from the mainstream of contemporary life. The vision of perfection that had enchanted a post-war generation – shopping centres, suburban split-levels, two-car garages, and color television sets – failed to satisfy their children; in fact, almost everything about middle-class America became anathema to rebellious youth. At first, the great social issues of the decade attracted their allegiance, spearheaded by an almost fanatical idolization of a youthful, dynamic president. The New Frontier meant the Peace Corps, VISTA, civil rights, the war on poverty, the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, and a man on the moon by the end of the decade. But after John F. Kennedy was killed in Dallas came the disenchantment of war, civil strife, social upheaval, government wrongdoing, and increasing abuse of the environment. The disenchantment became alienation, the alienation produced a polarity, and one extreme of that polarity became manifest in the hippie movement, drug abuse and student protest.

Large numbers of intelligent, educated young Americans found no pleasure in the present, no solace in the past, and little hope for the future. “Be here now” and “do your own thing” reflected the agonizing, hedonistic frenzy of a confused culture. A benign cynicism towards existing institutions inspired a search for new gods: the occult, mysticism, psychedelics, Eastern philosophy, ecology, and back-to-the-land movements. Some found rootless answers and temporary solutions, only to move on in deep dissatisfaction to a new guru, a different movement, another relationship.

In ancient cultures mythology provided continuity from past to present by creating acceptable points of reference, reassurance that acts of hope and heroism were possible. In the West, mythology was in large part superseded by organized religion. Religion provided gods, heroes, and hope for centuries until Darwin, Marx, Freud, and the rise of modern industrial society fatally undercut its foundation. Religion was replaced by nationalism, communism, materialism, and other temporary surrogates. But what was needed were new myths, believable gods, acceptable roots in the past.

Tolkien wrote The Lord of the Rings as an attempt to modernize the old myths and make them credible. Apparently he succeeded beyond his own expectations, because his work was so well written and his mythology so well constructed – but perhaps equally because the modern need for a new mythology was so great.”

Now, as a Christian, I cannot agree with all Daniel Grotta’s conclusions – I definitely don’t think the world needed new ‘gods’. But there are themes in this that, God willing, I will explore in this blog over the next few weeks.

ANZAC DAY BOOK REVIEW

Australians and New Zealanders are today “celebrating” Anzac Day. I put ‘celebrating’ in quotes because it’s a very sombre affair, remembering the massive loss of life in WW1. This year, I wanted to read something relevant in the lead up to Anzac Day so here is my review of “IN GREAT SPIRITS - The WW1 Diary of Archie Barwick”.

This is a truly extraordinary book. Archie Barwick enlisted at the first soundings of war in 1914 and experienced first-hand the horrors of Gallipoli. As if that were not enough, he spent a further three years fighting the Germans in France, injured badly on a couple of occasions but otherwise surviving miraculously. Through the whole ordeal, he kept a colourfully detailed diary. As the title of this book suggests, his diary highlights the positive attitude of the Australian troops and he glowingly reports their achievements and the esteem in which they were held by the French and English, yes and even the Germans. He graphically describes the terrible mud-soaked conditions in the Somme campaign, the ravages of "trench-foot", and the frightful artillery battles, with huge shells whistling around his ears or over his head. Yet, when the weather cleared up and opportunity arose, he relished the scenery and hospitality of the war-torn France.

The following entry from 19th May, 1916, conveys something of the tragic, yet whimsical style of Archie's writing. "Today is the first anniversary of the great Turkish attack on us at Anzac. This day last year we were getting a bit of our own back, by nightfall we had slaughtered no less than 7000 Turks and taught them a very severe lesson. I wonder where I shall be this time next year; daisy pushing perhaps, or if my luck still sticks to me, home in Australia, for I don't think the war will last another year at any rate."

Wisely, the editors of this volume have left Archie's idiosyncrasies in tact. He always used the ampersand & instead of the actual word. Good things were "bonzer", the Germans were "Old Fritz", and British soldiers were "Tommies".

Some things, in the end, really did get to Archie; the long wait to be cleared of the flu when the war was over, the homesickness, the mud and snow, the thousands of dead bodies. It truly is hard to believe that anyone could survive all these things but, apparently, Archie did.

This is an unforgettable diary of a very forgettable time in history.

TIME FOR CHRISTIAN CULTURE TO BE MORE VISIBLE

In my book “Our Culture in Christ” I wrote the following about Christian subculture. “It means living a Christian lifestyle in full view of a fallen world. It’s not about the clothes we wear as Christians, or the food we eat (although even these things can be important) but it’s about showing love and mercy, kindness and gentleness, faithfulness, hope, joy, peace. It’s not about bumper stickers and Christianese slogans, but it’s genuine righteousness, courage, inspiration and integrity.” (p22)

I am currently in the process of establishing a bookshop in the town where I live and people who know me might assume that it would be a specifically Christian bookshop.

But that’s not the case.

Bookshops in Australia have tended to stock a very poor range of Christian books, partly because it’s a market they haven’t bothered to understand but also because that market was covered by church-run Christian bookshops anyway.

But times are changing. It is no longer financially viable to run an exclusively Christian bookshop in anything less than the major cities. And I think this presents an opportunity.

It’s an opportunity for Christian books to be marketed right alongside a range of other books. If customers come in to browse the shelves, why shouldn’t they see Christian fiction on the same shelf as general fiction? Why shouldn’t they see Christian biographies in the biography section? If they are looking for lifestyle/ self-help books, why shouldn’t they get some Christian options on the same shelves?

This is not about compromise, this is about getting Christianity into the marketplace where every other –ism and –ology has been openly displayed for a long time. If we are not ashamed of our Christian culture, isn’t it time that we stopped segregating it away?

When the apostle Paul went to Athens, he went to the marketplaces and to the Areopagus. He met with the philosophers and Gentiles on their own turf and he was able to reason with them because he knew something about their ideas.

(By the way, I don’t agree with the Bible teachers who say that Paul’s ministry in Athens was a dismal failure. There were some significant conversions there – see Acts 17:34.)

My point is that, while Christian bookshops, Christian radio, Christian TV and Christian everything are helpful to Christians (very helpful, I’m sure), it’s a tragedy if that means that Christianity disappears from the worldly marketplaces.

 

I believe we are living in critical times and it’s critical that genuine Christian culture (rather than the sinfully distorted version that makes the nightly news programs) becomes more visible.

WHAT ARE THEY FRIGHTENED OF?

In today’s blog, I want to turn the tables on a favourite anti-Christian argument. After all, isn’t it time the anti-religion brigade had a taste of their own ‘medicine’?

How many times have we, as Christians, been challenged as to how same-sex marriage will hurt us? (Lots of ways, actually, but that’s not my point today.) How many times have we been told that profanity, sexual promiscuity and blasphemy are OK on TV because “if you don’t like it, you don’t have to watch it”? How many times have we been accused of trying to stuff our religion down people’s throats?

Well I happen to believe that Christianity should be a privileged faith in Australia. As Cory Bernardi so eloquently points out, the freedoms and riches that we enjoy in this country have come about through the Christian heritage that has always (until now) undergirded our sense of who we are.

Christian churches, rather than mosques or temples, have always dotted our towns and regional areas. We celebrate Christmas and Easter, not Ramadan or Hanukka. The Bible, not the Quran, has been our moral compass. Our Parliament still acknowledges God as does our Constitution.

So what are they so afraid of? What terrible things do they think will happen to their children if they are taught about Jesus and Christianity for half an hour each week? Do they imagine that Christians will formally gag anyone who dares disagree with their beliefs? Well that’s what they continually try to do to us, so maybe they’re frightened that, if Christians actually were allowed to speak up, that we might reverse our own Golden Rule and do to them what they have been doing to us!

I sometimes wonder how a truly Christian society would handle social problems like pornography, drug abuse and sexual promiscuity. I think we would have to discern between victims and perpetrators. We would have to show compassion on the former and prosecute the latter. For instance, we would not lock gays and lesbians in prison but our laws would prevent them from proselytizing, especially among children and teenagers. We would not forbid Buddhists or Muslims from practising their religion but we would not allow them to impose their culture on us, eg by bringing in aspects of Sharia law. We would respect all law-abiding, peace-loving people but we would expect the same respect in return, eg there would be laws prohibiting blasphemy against Jesus or God.

A truly Christian society would actually be a wonderful society, with a rich but fair culture, and the Church in Australia still has the opportunity to demonstrate that – in our own ranks to begin with.

I’ll tell you why people are afraid of Christians having any power in our nation. They don’t want their freedom to sin to be curtailed in any way. They are willing to tolerate other religions coming in if it means that Christianity is locked away in a box, preferably a coffin-shaped one. They want Australia’s social conscience to be forever silenced, so they can be free to do whatever they want, whenever they want. In biblical terms, they want to cast off all restraint (Proverbs 29:18).

Our goal as Christians, living as a Christian subculture, is not to “shove our religion” down anyone’s throat, but to demonstrate the benefits of a culture based on righteousness. This is the all-important challenge of the times in which we live.

DOES CHRISTIANITY LEAD TO CLOSED MINDS

Today I’d like to address what I think is a very important question. Does Christianity lead to closed minds?

To begin the discussion, let me first confess that the prevailing attitude in the Pentecostal church when I first became a born-again Christian was: “God said it – I believe it – that settles it!” Hey, I even had a poster on my wall, purchased from the little bookstall at church, with exactly those words.

As a young teenager with no real understanding of theology, it was not a bad thing for me that the Bible was treated as the ultimate authority on all things spiritual. I still believe that the Bible is true and exceedingly “profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness (2 Tim 3:16).”

But I have long since abandoned the old habits I acquired (no fault of the churches I attended, I hasten to add) whereby a single verse, in context or otherwise, was sufficient to end any debate.

Some fellow Christians from those early years were notoriously narrow-minded in this regard. They had made up their minds (on pretty much everything) and showed no patience for those unfortunate souls who were not so biblically enlightened.

When it came to witnessing to those who didn’t, as yet, believe in Christ, these fellow Christians were ruthless in their compassion for the lost and impatient of actual dialogue.

This kind of polemic Christianity seems to have faded somewhat as the times got more and more complicated. But I submit that, in general terms, today’s Christians are more likely to have done the intellectual work to establish a credible worldview than most non-Christians. They are more likely to apply sound logic in expressing their points of view, and they are more likely to try to understand other people’s views.

I love what Jesus said when “a certain lawyer” asked Him what was required to obtain eternal life. Jesus responded with two profound questions. “"What is written in the law? What is your reading of it? (Luke 10:26)"

In posing these two questions, Jesus addressed the issue of Bible interpretation. We must first discern what the Bible actually says. Then, and only then, we consider its meaning.

So yes, Christianity can, for some people, lead to a closing of the mind, but it most certainly should not. Nor should any refusal to think critically about matters of faith be characteristic of Christian culture.

CHOOSING CULTURE BY DEFAULT

There are some things in life that we don’t get to choose. Our parents, where we are born, our racial characteristics, our DNA, our gender. (OK some people these days like to think that we choose our gender – I won’t touch that hot potato here. The fact remains that, at birth, the overwhelming majority of us are either male or female.)

Moving on…

In today’s blog, I would like to question the common assumption that our culture is another predetermined reality. Culture is not something that we are born with but something that we may be born into. If I am born into a Christian family, or a Muslim family, or whatever, the culture of these things will be progressively incorporated into our lives, depending on a significant number of variables.

But, to the extent that I can look at cultures objectively, I can accept or reject aspects of those cultures. Some Americans, for instance, choose to distance themselves from the gun culture that prevails in parts of their nation. Young people in many cultures these days reject some aspects of the traditional culture that they were born into. Personally, I have chosen to distance myself from the alcohol culture that typifies Australian culture.

Western culture is often dictated by the fluctuating trends of popular media. It is a fluid culture with only the vaguest possible underpinning worldview. As a young man coming to faith in Christ, I realized quickly enough that “worldly” culture was not something that I wanted to build my life on. I realized that, to a very real extent, I could choose my own culture.

There are, no doubt, sociologists and anthropologists who would strenuously deny what I have just written. They would say that I am simply unaware of the extent to which I have imbibed the culture I grew up in. Choosing a different culture to that into which we were born is difficult but, with enough cultural awareness, it is certainly possible.

I believe that Christianity is more than  a belief system. It is, in fact, a fully rounded culture, with a definite worldview, a relationship with a loving God, a whole set of moral standards and paradigms for living.

If we accept Christ on an intellectual or emotional level, but continue to live in some other culture, our walk with Him often fails. But when we choose to follow Christ with our whole life, adapting our lifestyle accordingly, the Christian culture becomes a powerful unifying force in our lives.

In this blog, I always aim to demonstrate the benefits of Christian culture. But for today, the message is simply that we can all choose to live the Christian life. We can choose a vague worldly culture by default or we can deliberately choose Christian culture.

THE CULTURAL BENEFITS OF WORSHIP

Worship is a vital and distinctive aspect of Christian culture that has no equivalent in secular Western culture.

When we, as Christians, worship our God, we acknowledge that He is infinitely higher and greater than us. He is the Creator, we are created beings. We freely acknowledge our moment by moment dependence on Him  - for the life that we enjoy and the very air that we breathe. We admit our smallness in comparison to His vastness and we admit our frailty in contrast to His strength and power.

This promotes an attitude of humility which, I believe, is much saner and healthier than the modern secular attitude that tries to make every individual feel “special”. If I am special, then everything should work out perfectly for me, and I should fight anything or anybody who gets in my way. If things don’t work out, I am susceptible to anger and depression because, after all, such things should never happen to me because I’m special.

In contrast, worship promotes the attitude that we don’t deserve special treatment but we can look to God for wisdom and strength in every situation. This is much better!

In some forms of Christian worship, there is also an admission of pervasive sinfulness in comparison to His holiness. As in the oft repeated phrase: “Forgive us, for we are miserable sinners.” Contrition and repentance are good things but, if we never move on from there, we will be doomed to hopelessness and futile struggling against ourselves.

The true Christian understanding of sin is that we were all sinners but, through Christ, we are declared righteous. This encourages a life of eternal gratitude which, in turn, is a better motivation to holy living. When we are born again, through faith in Christ, we enter a relationship with God based on forgiveness and grace. No longer must we strive to be accepted.

Worship also provides perspective. It places us accurately and realistically in the cosmos. We are not important because of what we are but because of who we are, beloved sons and daughters of God.

This warrants much more study but this brief summary of the benefits of worship surely demonstrates that true Christian culture promotes good emotional health and helpful attitudes to life.

BOOK REVIEW – SEX, GOD & MARRIAGE – Johann Christoph Arnold

As well as being a writer and social activist, Johann Christoph Arnold is a pastor with Church Communities International, formerly known as Bruderhof. This book was originally published as "A Plea for Purity" back in 1996 (which explains how it is possible for Mother Teresa to write a foreword for a book published in 2008!)

Fifty or sixty years ago, this book would not have been so counter-cultural because so-called "sexual liberation" was only just beginning to break out in Western society. The message about marriage and sexuality would not have been any different back then because true biblical principles don't change. But, because Western society has changed so dramatically, this book is now a call to stand up for purity and fight against the destructive moral laxity of our times.

The generally Catholic tone of the book is reinforced at the end by "A Call to Purity", jointly signed on behalf of both CCI and the Catholic Archdiocese of New York. But this is not a book on doctrine so Protestant readers would gladly concur with most of what is written here. Exceptions might include the portrayal of divorce, masturbation and contraception as always sinful in the sight of God. (Some Protestants may also take exception to the author's strict views on homosexuality, sex outside of marriage and abortion, but I think he is spot on in his assessment of these things.)

This is actually a very spiritual and very compassionate book. It emphasizes our need, in all the temptations of life, to rely on God and pray for His strength to always do His will. Some might see this as a bit "pie-in-the-sky" but I don't believe the author has in any way minimized the reality of temptations that people face these days.

In his closing argument, the author writes the following: "We must demonstrate that a new way exists and show the world a new reality, the reality of God's righteousness and holiness, which is opposed to the spirit of this world... In order to demonstrate God's will, the church must first take concrete steps toward forming a genuine sexual counter-culture." (p158) Personally, whilst I totally agree with the sentiment, I would rather think in terms of a Christian sub-culture existing in full view of the wider society than a counter-cultural community that may, to some extent, hide itself away. In other words, Christian community can exist even where people don't literally share a living space.

Overall, though, in these sex-crazed, maniacal times of anything goes, this book is a sane, well-balanced call for God's people to rise up in His strength to a life of profound purity.

BOOK REVIEW - ONE HUMAN FAMILY

Many excellent books in the past few decades have demonstrated the scientific credibility of creationism. Other books have compared the effects of evolutionary thinking with the effects of a worldview that takes the book of Genesis seriously. This lavishly produced book by Carl Wieland, Managing Director of Creation Ministries International builds on previous work to tackle the contentious issue of racism.

The thesis of the book is obvious from the beginning; both the Bible and modern science affirm conclusively that we are all one human family. Therefore racism doesn't make sense. The evidence for a recent common ancestry brings the family connection even closer.

But racism in our modern context is a complex issue. This book has seventeen chapters, all treating different facets and implications of our human tendency to define each other in terms of race. Readers will find semi-technical scientific explanations, historical reviews on matters like slavery or the impact of Social Darwinism, analysis of examples that evolutionists have put forward as evidence of man's evolution from ape-like creatures, and much more. The alleged biological differences between different races are seen to arise more from differences in culture and religious worldview assumptions. There is a substantial chapter on South Africa and the Apartheid regime. All of these matters are handled uncompromisingly (this book would never pass the PC test!) but in such a way as to promote genuine understanding, something which is often lacking in discussions about race and racism.

'One Human Family' is encyclopedic in scope, well illustrated and well-referenced, with several interesting feature pages. Christian readers will greatly appreciate this book for the way in which controversial issues are addressed. Non-Christian readers, if they are open-minded enough to consider the evidence marshalled here, will find their whole world turned upside down!

The physical weightiness of this book is definitely matched by the weightiness of it's content. A very important contribution to the literature on one of society's most divisive issues.

NOTE: I thought this was worth posting on my ‘Culture Insights’ blog because this book speaks directly to so many culture-related issues.

HAS ‘CULTURE’ BECOME A MEANINGLESS WORD?

Once upon a time, cultures were more easily defined. People lived in smaller, more homogeous communities. A common faith provided the backbone for a common culture.

But now?

People live in a worldwide multi-linked community. There is no common faith in our cities and towns. Cultural influences come from everywhere to everywhere. The latest hit song becomes part of our ‘culture’, even though it may have absolutely no connection to any shared worldview, shared paradigms for life, or shared values.

TV shows, designed – let’s face it – to make money through the entertainment industry, become cultural ‘icons’. National celebrations, as discussed last week, cannot bring any sort of cultural unity because our society (in Australia at least) is such a hotch-potch of competing cultures.

Patchwork quilts, where dozens, maybe hundreds, of ladies each contribute a square according to certain guidelines, can be beautiful. Unfortunately, popular culture is like a patchwork quilt with no guidelines whatsoever. The composite result will be meaningless (unless the meaning is diversity – which then cancels out any other possible meaning).

Multicultural society cannot, by definition, have a true culture. But any people group within that broader society, if there is that sense of shared worldview, shared paradigms and shared values, can still be a culture. Or, more precisely, a subculture.

This, my friends, is the level at which culture can be meaningful. What a wonderful opportunity for the people of God in Christ!

So the answer to the question in today’s heading must still be ‘no’. Culture is still meaningful, but only to the extent that it relates to a group of people, however large or small, who can share it at a meaningful level.

THE GREAT AUSTRALIA DAY DEBATE

The day that was intended to bring all Australians together has sadly become a sharp bone of contention. Some are even now referring to it as “Invasion Day”.

This unfortunate term is, of course, a politically motivated anachronism because there is no way the arrival of the First Fleet in Sydney Cove on 26th January, 1788, was intended (or viewed) as an invasion. At the time, aboriginal sovereignty over the land was neither understood nor appreciated.

To judge eighteenth century history according to twenty-first century knowledge is the worst kind of historical revisionism.

But that’s not the point I wish to make here. I believe that the concept of an Australia Day is important because this is actually a wonderful country.  Many different cultures can flourish here, including all the various aboriginal cultures.

It is a mistake to talk about Australia as a single, unified culture.  We are one society but we are not one culture.  Even before January 26th, 1788, there was no one single culture here.

As a Christian, I would like to see more public recognition for the Christian heritage that has helped shape our nation.  Australia Day, for me, is an opportunity 1) to thank God for the blessings we share and 2) to celebrate the freedom that we have to promote and enjoy a Christian way of life, a Christian culture.

Aboriginal culture, despite the atrocities of bygone years and centuries, currently enjoys a highly esteemed status in a modern Australian society.  There are important inequalities that still need to be addressed but these inequalities are recognised and attempts are being made to rectify them.

The date for celebrating Australia Day should not be a problem.  Rather than seeing it as an invasion, we should see January 26th as the difficult and often painful beginning of something that eventually would bring opportunity to work together towards a society marked by harmony and understanding. 

It’s not about looking back with guilt and condemnation; it’s about celebrating who we are as a nation now.  And the Christian faith has historically had a huge role in developing Australia as the great nation we currently enjoy. 

SEXUAL EXPECTATIONS IN CULTURE

I think many people expect the Bible to present some sort of consistent picture of sexual morality, from start to finish.  You know.  Just don’t do it!  Unless, of course, you’re married.

But different cultures have different ideas about what is right and wrong regarding sex. The ultimate example may well be Mohammed, the founder of Islam, who married a six-year old girl named Aisha and consummated the marriage only a few years later. To Western thinking, influenced as it has been by Judeo-Christian morality, this is abhorrent in the extreme, yet no Muslim would dare accuse their prophet of wrong-doing in this regard.

In the book of Genesis, it must be admitted that standards of sexual morality were not yet fully evolved or defined. Chapter 34 depicts a horrendous clash of cultures over the issue of sexual morality.

Jacob’s daughter, Dinah, innocently ventures out to meet other young women in her new neighborhood.  The son of the region’s prince, a young man named Shechem, falls in love with her and, in modern terminology, rapes her.  Surprisingly, though, the writer of Genesis paints Shechem as a decent, honourable young man - v19 literally states that he was “more honourable than all the household of his father”!

Jacob doesn’t know how to handle this situation.  Having made every effort to befriend the men of the area, he doesn’t want to cause trouble.  But two of his sons, Simeon and Levi, devise a (brilliantly) deceitful plot to avenge their sister.  They end up murdering Shechem, his father the prince, and all the other males in the city!  Then, with the help of the other brothers, they plunder the city, taking captive all the girls and women!

I would have thought this was a bit extreme.  But when Jacob challenged his sons, they simply said: "Should he treat our sister like a harlot?"

We are led to believe that Shechem honestly didn’t think he had sinned in defiling Dinah.  There is absolutely no evidence that he thought of her as a harlot.  In fact, he desperately wanted to marry her.  In his culture, he was a good man.  But he fell foul of a culture clash with a group of men who apparently believed that the rape of one sister was so reprehensible that it warranted the murder and plunder of a whole city.

There is no mention in this story of Dinah’s feelings.  Our modern sensibilities, like those of her brothers, are outraged.  But, from her perspective, things may have been rather different.  She might not have been so outraged.  Shechem loved her and would undoubtedly have given her a good life.  There are many instances in Scripture of women learning to adapt to marital circumstances that, today, we would find objectionable.

So what’s my point?  Just this.  Sexual morality in the Bible is a gradually unfolding thing.  After Genesis 2, the ideal of one man, one woman marriage doesn’t really reappear until the New Testament and the teachings of Jesus.  It is common for Old Testament heroes to have more than one wife, often treating them as commodities or possessions. 

We affirm that sex outside of marriage is wrong but we cannot back this up from the Old Testament.  Even the laws of Moses make provision for polygamy (Ex 21:10) and rape in the case of an unbetrothed virgin (Deut 22:28,29).

The Christian view of sexual morality is based primarily on the teachings of Jesus and the later epistles.  Our standards are part of Christian culture, which I think are easily defensible as the best and highest culture in this regard.  But people whose culture puts them outside the people of God in Christ have different standards.  And this is what we see around us today. 

Can we allow this to challenge our thinking and attitudes?  Shechem would not have understood the sexual morality of Jacob’s family because his culture was different.  Likewise, there is no point in Christians castigating (let alone trying to punish) non-Christian people for their sexual immorality if we have not attempted to demonstrate why our cultural perspective on sex is better and more honourable than theirs.

I believe that, increasingly, Christians will be called upon to defend their moral positions in a world of competing cultures.  But mere ranting and raving will not help.  There are many Shechems who simply don’t know any better.  How would Shechem and his people have reacted if Jacob and his sons had carefully explained their standards?  The evidence of Genesis 34 suggests that they would have adapted their culture to accommodate Israel.

It was a cultural clash matter back then and it’s a cultural clash matter now.

THE HEART OF OUR CULTURE

This week, I enjoyed reading “The Happiest Refugee” by celebrity comedian Anh Do.  Anh comes from a Vietnamese background but, despite several traumatic events, his book is almost outrageously positive. His story is rich in cultural insight, not just about the Vietnamese culture of his birth but also about his family’s adaptation to Australian culture.

Marriage is a crucial aspect of any culture and, when Anh married an Aussie girl, the coming together of two vastly different cultures and backgrounds made for some wonderful reading.

Most Australians really enjoy the interaction with people from different cultures. Different food, different protocols, different rituals. These are just some of the things that we can enjoy about our multicultural society.

The difficulty with multiculturalism, however, lies at a much deeper level of culture. Every culture has a core of worldview which, in turn, gives rise to a range of moral values. At this level, we cannot have a foot in different camps. A syncretistic worldview, drawing bits and pieces from here, there and everywhere, can only lead to confusion and frustration.

Why? Because, as someone said, the different religions could all be wrong but they certainly cannot all be right!

Jesus once asked His disciples if they wanted to join some others that had stopped following Him. Peter replied: “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words that give eternal life. We believe, and we know You are the Holy One of God (John 6:68,69 – NLT).”

Following Jesus means that we cannot also follow Buddha, Mohammed or any other teacher or guru. For Christians, the very heart of our culture is Christ Himself. He is the Way, the Truth and the Life (John 14:6).

Cultural differences at the surface level are (usually) harmless and fun. Cultural differences at the deeper levels, however, are far more serious. It’s good to understand something about these differences but, for Christians, everything comes back to Jesus. Why would we want to study alternatives that would negate our commitment to following Him?

THE CULTURE OF ALCOHOL

Alcohol is such a huge part of Aussie culture that people find it hard to imagine any kind of celebration without it. Because I don't drink myself, I've sometimes been accused of being un-Australian.

This is one of the reasons why, several years ago, I decided that my nationality might be Australian but my culture is actually Christian.

I came across this humorous (but thought-provoking) quote about what you can't say when you're drunk.

Click here and scroll down.

Responsible drinking of alcohol is fine. Of course! No-one would dispute that. But I would suggest that it's binge drinking, rather than responsible drinking, that characterises Aussie culture.

Even as I'm writing this, an advert comes on the TV - "If you drink... and then drive, the party's over."

Earlier today, there was a great deal of talk about young men being seriously injured by alcohol-fuelled "king hits".

"Schoolies week", a time of wild partying at the end of the school year, is another alcohol-related headache for authorities.

All this reaffirms what I've been saying for years. There are bad things in every culture that need to be challenged.

I hope Christians can take a leading role in promoting a healthier, more responsible culture when it comes to alcohol.