Monthly Archives: November 2014

Values and Discrimination

Posted on November 11, 2014 by Pieter Stok
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Tossed to and fro …

There is an election coming up in my state and one of the issues that has arisen is the possibility that some of the elements of the Discrimination Act which allows Christian Schools to employ only Christian staff will be removed.

For our school, which was set up by a group of Christian parents to support each other in the task of nurturing their children in the Lord, this is a serious issue. Not just our teaching staff but also the ancillary staff (administration, cleaners, bus drivers, aides) are seen as part of that process in a Christian community.  As with any community, this side of heaven, it is not perfect but our aim is to use Christian principles and values to guide and lead us through the vagaries of life.

I have to confess that I tend to become annoyed having to fight these battles on a continuing basis. Christians seem to have to justify themselves daily. I say to myself, why can’t other people see how obvious and consistent this thinking is even if they don’t agree?  However, on calmer reflection I realise that the majority of people, including Christians, live lives based on a higgledy piggledy set of values which are often in conflict and not consistent. So why should governments be sympathetic to our values when we treat them with intermittent disdain anyway?

So for me, the challenge is not (just) about standing up against society’s attacks upon my Christian values and principles but it is more about me living out my Christian worldview consistently so that my life and decisions are a reflection of a Biblical undersdtanding. Every time I am hypocritical, judgemental or shallow, I give people around me ammunition to suggest that the Christian faith is not the radical change of heart and life that Jesus and Bible claim it to be.

My consistency and that of the Christian community to a gospel life style should be the first line of defence against assaults on Christian values and principles.

Categories: christian, christian education, community | Tags: , | 5 Comments

Is it that time again?

Posted on November 8, 2014 by Pieter Stok

It is that time of year again when I have to farewell another group of Year 12 students going out into the world.  It never gets easier. In fact it gets harder. This made me think, why is becoming more difficult to say good-bye?

One reason maybe my age.  I have now encountered many of the pains, frustrations and sorrows that life can throw at us and I know that these enthusiastic students will encounter them too – possibly worse – a lot worse.

However, I think it has more to do with my unease with our culture and the changes I have witnessed over the last 60 odd years.  Not all the changes have been bad. The improved status of women and the greater openness about sexual assault are just two areas where we have learned somewhat.  Yet the decline of Christianity in Western countries, the even greater commodification of sex, the loss of childhood and innocence, and the decline(in my view) of idealism are just some of the concerns I have.

sunrise newThey are some of the reasons for my “dis -ease”. But there are positives to this.  It is becoming harder for Christians to sit on the fence and be nominal. To live a life of faith is requiring a greater sense of radical lifestyle.  This in turn will mean that there will be more opportunities to make a difference.

So once again, I wish my students God’s richest blessing and urge them to hold on to Christ with a God inspired passion.

Categories: christian, christian education, Christianity, Faith | Tags: , | 4 Comments

MDCCLXXVIII

Posted on November 4, 2014 by Pieter Stok

I am a sucker for old books. No, not the dog-eared silver fish nibbled paperback that you had to read for High School English but old books – books that have an odour acquired over the years, solid covers – often leather-bound and a history that can be traced well over 100 years. My oldest treasure is a Jonathan Edwards book printed in 1778 or MDCCLXXVIII as it is written on the Title Page.

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Finding a home for EB9

Some people rescue stray animals, my weakness is stray books. Recently I acquired a 9-10th edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica plus Wilson’s Tales of the Borders and Scotland Illustrated.  All up, it means I have to find over 3 metres of heavy duty book shelf space on my over-full book shelves or a family member with the same sensitvity and compassion.  The added problem is that I already have a 9th edition of the Britannica.

You may consider me greedy or just plain loopy but the problem is that these books have a lineage and pedigree that needs to be preserved.

The 9th edition of the EB comes from a time when scholarship was taken seriously. It wasn’t the democratic hodge-podge of Wikipedia but a collection of the most renowned thinking of the era. Mind you, as with all learning it has to be read with discretion. Julius Welhausen may have been a great classical scholar but I still don’t have to agree with his article on Israel.  It reflects a time when science and engineering inspired enthusiasm and excitement. The car, planes and the space race were still to come but the possibility was in the wind.

When a book was printed it was an event – it made a statement. In the C16th a person could be put to death for having a copy of Tyndale’s New Testament in their possession. Now we can buy books by the kilo and recycle them as soon as we are done with them. Some of us have transitioned away from books altogether and swan about imperiously with our loaded Kindles.

I was once asked what heaven would be like. I answered, “The biggest and most comprehensive library ever!” The closest I got to heaven on earth was my visit to the British Library in London a few years ago.  Its collection of old treasures is amazing. A few years ago it purchased St Cuthbert’s Gospel which came from the C7th. Now, that is old!

Wait, a phone call has come in.  A stray volume has been discovered wandering and alone. I must go and rescue it.

Categories: History | Tags: , | 2 Comments

A New Start

Posted on November 3, 2014 by Pieter Stok

photo (2)Now that my studies have finished for this semester I hope to have more time to write and read blogs. It is an activity I have come to love but being in the “non-essential” category it has been relegated down the list.

Returning to tertiary study has been a interesting activity.  I had forgotten how demanding it could be if one wanted to do it well.  The intensive reading, focussed researching, reviewing and writing extended essays were skills that had dulled more than a bit over time.  Hopefully all this brain activity will keep the neurons active.

I have regained some understanding of what my students go through.  For me however,  this study isn’t “future determining” so I don’t want to put it in the same category as my Year 12 students who are seeking opportunities for future directions.

Reflecting on my own Form 6 or Year 12 experiences I have come to understand that  2014 is a different world to 1968. Back then I was competing with other students in my town or state. Students today are, in effect, competing with the world. I have the utmost respect for my current students as they strive to keep the focus and passion in a tough environment.

Moreover, employment in 1968 was under 2% and that included young people. I remember driving past the Ford factory in my final year at Uni and getting work on the afternoon shift without a hiccough.  Now the Ford factory is closing and the unemployment rate for young people is astronomical.  To obtain work, Uni places and receive an income are no longer values we can blithely assume.  So before we start criticising our youth, an audit of how we would fared in today’s climate might be sobering.

Yes, the world is a different place.  But I haven’t changed … much.

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