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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Unexpected Expectations!

Posted on October 27, 2014 by Pieter Stok

It still surprises me that I don’t always react as I would have expected. After 6 children and over 40 years of marriage, my wife and I heard the news that (finally) we are going to be grandparents.  We have always told our children that whether they have children or not is their decision and our thoughts should not come into the equation. These decisions are between them and God.

Then we heard over the weekend that we are going to be grandparents.  I have to admit it was a thrill to hear the news.  The level of thrill surprised me.  I can’t even tell you why I am so excited. But I am. I am chuffed!

I suppose some of the reasons are that I believe my daughter and son-in-law will make wonderful, dutiful and loving parents, and the grandmothers, in particular, will make the most overwhelming duo a grandchild will ever meet!  Other grandparents tell me that the best thing about being a grandparent is that at the end of any given day you just hand the child back. The sleepless nights are somebody else’s worry.

At the same time this announcement brought back many frightening memories of when I was a young clueless dad. Being a new parent was both exciting and scary. What do you do with them and how do you do it? Babies are such frail helpless creatures and I remember being a helpless lump. By the sixth I think I got over it.

However, I remember clearly the most overawing  words that were spoken to us when we were expecting our first child came from our pastor. He reminded us that when a child is conceived it is conceived for an eternity and as parents we must do all we can to ensure that it is an eternity in the presence of God.

And I suppose that is the other reason for the thrill. When a child is conceived it is a another creation reflecting the image of God – which it will do perfectly, in Christ.

Categories: Children, Family, Uncategorized | Tags: , | 4 Comments

I Have a Violin

Posted on June 24, 2014 by Pieter Stok
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Dad’s Violin

I have a violin, which may seem strange, as I can’t play a note.  Next month I will have had it for 20 years and I still don’t play a note.

It is my father’s violin. I say “is” because even though he died 20 years ago it will never be mine.  It will always remind me of him – playing in the evening, in a group or even doing a duet with one of his granddaughters on keyboard or recorder.

The violin goes back as far as I can remember in my distant recollections – back to Holland. My dad had many musical instruments over the years: pianos, harmoniums, keyboards, recorders, pan pipes …   He tried all sorts, even a guitar but his fingers were too short for the neck which made the violin ideal.  He played by ear so it was not always enjoyable when he first got hold of a new instrument.

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Dad and his violin

But the violin is the oldest.  It is the one instrument that is always part of my memories of my father.  Yes there are many other memories like dad packing my mother’s vacuum cleaner into a soundproof box so it could push air into the harmonium with the result that he didn’t have to pedal – and mum didn’t have a vacuum cleaner.  Yet over all these moments the image of my father and his violin remains the most enduring.

It will be 20 years next month when my dad was promoted from being an earthly fiddler to a player in heaven’s orchestra with some of his favourite composers and musicians. I can imagine dad under the musical direction of J. S. Bach.

But even after 20 years I still miss his playing – the good and the bad.

Categories: Family, my dad, Reflections, Uncategorized | Tags: | Leave a comment

Good Books

Posted on June 4, 2014 by Pieter Stok

Good booksDSC_0006
open worlds
reveal unexplored vistas
introduce wonder
delight
and … questions

 

Good books
unsettle
dig deep
and make us think
of others
the world
and possibilities

 

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grow us …
our minds and hearts
hopes and passions
and sense of now and eternity

 

Good books
are never the same
when you turn to
the same page
or chapter
but always morphing
and growing
as we
morph and grow

 

Good books IMG_1071
are friends
faithful companions
who are always
with us
even when the shelf
is empty

 

 

Categories: Poem, poetry, Reflections, Uncategorized | Tags: , , | 2 Comments

Words Jesus Didn’t Say

Posted on May 25, 2014 by Pieter Stok

Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked them.

Jesus replied, “Send the children around the corner to a children’s program that one of my lesser disciples is running. She will look after them.”

Categories: Child Theology, Children, christian | Tags: , | 7 Comments

The Budget Betrayal and Christians

Posted on May 24, 2014 by Pieter Stok
The Word in Hand

Whom do we follow?

Some time has passed since the Federal budget. In that time I have been reflecting on the responses by fellow Christians and non – Christians alike. Why has there been such an outcry? Politicians have lied to us in the past. There is nothing new about that. Why are people so affronted now?

I think I have one reason.  After the confusion and lies of the previous Labor government, Australians were looking for something new and fresh, something different from the turmoil and back flipping that had been going on.  They were tired of it.  Tony Abbott, astutely, played to that confusion and promised certainty and no more lies.  We all knew that the “lie” bit was a lie but we hoped anyway.  This desire of the people to have politics played differently was strong. We have seen that in the move to independent members of parliament and minor parties.

So when the budget came out and promise after promise was broken at a scale never before seen in Australian politics, many people felt betrayed and, I believe, justifiably so.  Even worse, the most vulnerable were targeted with the budget decisions – here and overseas.  If promises had to be broken why wasn’t the Paid Parental Leave scheme, delayed?  Is it too cynical to suggest that most of these people who would benefit would vote Liberal?  Why wasn’t the abolition of the Mining Rent Tax shelved – just as money was starting to come in?  Is it that the miners are too powerful?  There are many more uncomfortable questions like this.  Do I believe that we have to live within our means? Certainly, but there are different ways to go about it.  Starting from the weak up is not it.

But personally, I feel betrayed at a different level as well.  As a child of the King, and many in the Government claim to be His, I cringe when I see fellow children of the King, in politics, obfuscate, justify and support policies that would make the King weep.  Christ directed his followers to support the needy, weak and vulnerable.  He modelled it for us.  He, in fact, has given power to these brothers and sisters in politics and claims their first allegiance – before all else and that includes the Party.

So what is my job now? Matt 18 reminds me that when a brother or sister sins or sins against me I need to go them and speak to them.  And yes, undermining the safety net we have for the vulnerable, I believe, falls into that category. That will have to be my first step.  A step I need to take in grace – even when I feel angry and betrayed.

Categories: Ethics, Obedience, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | 11 Comments

When they see among them their children …

Posted on May 20, 2014 by Pieter Stok

20130425-165731.jpg22 Therefore this is what the Lord, who redeemed Abraham, says to the descendants of Jacob: ‘No longer will Jacob be ashamed; no longer will their faces grow pale. 23 When they see among them their children, the work of my hands, they will keep my name holy; they will acknowledge the holiness of the Holy One of Jacob, and will stand in awe of the God of Israel. 24 Those who are wayward in spirit will gain understanding; those who complain will accept instruction.’

Isaiah 29 22-24

These verses come in the midst of God’s frightening judgement upon Jerusalem before Judah’s exile in Babylon.  In contrast to the prophecy of the horrors to come, the passage quoted looks beyond this time of exile to a future when there will be joy and genuine awe in the worship of God.

Many commentators when considering this passage jump on the word “children” and translate that as “future generations”.  There is no problem with that, except we lose the critical idea of being a child and the uniqueness of childhood. Too often commentators suggest that we are dealing with a generation of adults in the future. This, in my view, waters down the intent of the passage.

But why does Isaiah/God use the word “children”?

Which parent has not on occasions sat back and quietly mused on the joy of their children – their exploits, wonder, faith and accomplishments. Our hearts are warmed in the knowledge that they are products of our union! I know there are moments when the opposite occurs but let us stay with the positive for the moment. Children are a symbol of amazing potential and promise. In this passage they are reminders and metaphors for naïve and innocent wonder at the character and actions of God.

Children can remind jaded adults of the joy of the discovery of faith and the wonders of God and His creation and most important, the relief and exhilaration of salvation. They are God’s “sacrament” (symbol or image if you prefer) of new faith, new hope and new future – a crucial idea in the passage above.

In the Isaiah passage children are prophecies of awe filled worshippers (in the fullest sense), of God.

I believe this passage is pointing to Christ but also to his second coming when we will see, completely, how all things will be made new. In the meantime, while we wait for the return of the King. Our children are still heralds of faith and future. We jaded, cynical and worldly-wise adults need to make sure that we do not squash that vision in our children  – or our own hearts.

Categories: Bible, Child Theology, Children, christian, Christianity, Church, Uncategorized | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

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