Bishop John | an Imaginary Diocese blog

Elder abuse a Tassie reality

Posted on November 19, 2011 by Bishop John

The Tasmanian Government’s reduction in funding for a helpline, advocacy and counselling service for elder abuse as reported by the Guardianship and Administration Board shows enormous disregard for elderly Tasmanians.

I urge the Tasmanian Government to return the funding to at least its present level.

The Guardianship and Administration Board’s annual report brings no joy but the reality of elder abuse in our community strengthens my opposition to euthanasia/ assisted suicide.

Read the following article and the case studies with tears: Cuts fear for elder aid Board President Anita Smith,

“The board continues to see examples of ruinous financial abuse of incapacitated elderly persons, who ought to be at an age when they can reap the rewards of hard work and prudent investments but instead are reduced to crippling poverty by the very people that they trusted the most.” . . .

CASE 1: AN 87-year-old demented woman was admitted to an aged care facility after carers noted she was being neglected. When the Public Trustee took over her affairs, it was discovered the woman’s daughter and granddaughter were living in her home, had disposed of her personal belongings and had emptied her banks accounts, while refusing to pay for her aged care fees.

The Guardianship and Administration Board’s annual report was tabled in parliament on Thursday but has not yet appeared on their website, here.

I support the Council On The Ageing Tasmania in their Bid to cut elder abuse,

“Elder abuse is something we are very concerned about in the Tasmanian community and we call for additional resources to support advocacy and a helpline for those in need to contact,”

The reality of elder abuse must inform the Tasmanian Parliament’s deliberation of euthanasia legislation.

Elder abuse is a reality: euthanasia legislation brings the possibility of a death sentence closer to our abused elderly.

See, Euthanasia and elder abuse and in the USA Elder abuse: a fraction reported.

Gambling Reform Survey

Posted on November 18, 2011 by Bishop John

I support the letter from the Australian Churches’ Gambling Taskforce and encourage you to fill in the survey on gambling/poker machine reform as set out in the Churches’ Taskforce letter:

Good morning gambling reform advocates,

Malcolm Turnbull, Liberal Member for Wentworth and Shadow Minister for Communications and Broadband is conducting a survey on poker machine reform as part of the Coalition’s consultation on gambling reform.

Rev Tim Costello, Chair of the Australian Churches Gambling Taskforce welcomes the survey. This video is also available on Malcolm Turnbull’s site.

http://www.malcolmturnbull.com.au/media/tim-costello-welcomes-problem-gambling-survey/

The survey contains useful links to research and data and will take about 15 minutes to complete.

If you decide to complete the survey, it might be worth noting that the Australian Churches’ Gambling Taskforce supports:

Mandatory pre commitment measures on high intensity machines

$1 maximum bets

Removal of ATMs from gambling venues

Additional resources for counselling

Addressing live betting during sporting matches

The Churches’ Taskforce does not support *Voluntary pre commitment measures

The survey is available here: http://www.malcolmturnbull.com.au/uncategorized/survey-on-problem-gambling/

For background on the Australian Churches’ Gambling Taskforce’s position please visit www.gamblingreform.org

Members of the Australian Churches’ Gambling Taskforce include the heads of the major Christian churches in Australia and their social services arms.

Science as religion

Posted on November 14, 2011 by Bishop John

I recently had an extended conversation with a young person who was totally convinced that science had all the answers to everything. Quite a claim. It was near impossible to develop a dialogue. Science as the explanation for all of life is referred to as ‘scientism’.

This issue of ‘scientism’ or science as religion is addressed in an excellent article by Age writer Barney Zwartz. Here’s a sampler:

Where Lightman really impressed me was his acknowledgement that science, as a philosophical commitment rather than the specific practice of it, also requires a leap of faith. He talks of the “Central Doctrine of science”: “all properties and events in the physical universe are governed by laws, and those laws are true at every time and place in the universe. Although scientists do not talk explicitly about this doctrine, and my doctoral thesis advisor never mentioned it once to his graduate students, the Central Doctrine is the invisible oxygen that scientists breathe.”

Thus, the doctrine goes, though we do not know all the fundamental laws now, and what we do know may change (as Einstein’s law of gravity replaced Newton’s), they exist and are in principle discoverable by humans. But of course, as Lightman admits, this cannot be proved. It is, as I said, a leap of faith.

Read Barney Zwartz’s excellent article (and some of the 235 comments!): Science as religion.

See my brief post, Science and faith.

Congrats Revd Jill McCoy

Posted on November 10, 2011 by Bishop John

Congrats to The Revd Jill McCoy on receiving these awards at the Royal Hobart Show! Just a few of her many hidden talents:

2nd Prize at the Royal Hobart Show in the "Garment made from felted fabric" category for the felt alpaca jacket

1st Prize at the Royal Hobart Show in the Beanie category for the "Cloche"

“Religion under attack”

Posted on November 10, 2011 by Bishop John

I am interested to hear what ABC Radio National’s The Spirit of Things has to say in, Religion Under Attack,

One third of the world’s population is experiencing increased religious persecution according to Pew Research Center’s recent study on religion in the public sphere. Brian Grim, Director of Cross National Data, talks about the implications, while Gregor Puppinck of the European Centre for Law and Justice discusses the seminal case which challenged the presence of the crucifix in Italian schools.

This is a huge issue for us, not just because Christian communities are being persecuted and attacked, but because God calls us to love our neighbour as ourselves. Read Jesus’ words in Matthew 22:37-40.

In the words of the prophet Micah (6:8), No, the Lord has told us what is good. What he requires of us is this: to do what is just, to show constant love, and to live in humble fellowship with our God. [PS These words form the centre piece of the stained glass window at the front of All Saints Anglican Parish, Swansea which celebrated its 140th anniversary last Sunday 🙂 ]

This Sunday 6pm 13 November, repeated Tuesday 1pm and Wednesday 2am. Presented by Rachael Kohn.

Exposing the harms of pornography

Posted on November 10, 2011 by Bishop John

On November 21, 7.30pm at 15 King Street Newtown, Sydney, Melinda Tankard Reist (MTR) will be at the Centre for Christian Living (CCL) to speak on “Exposing the harms of pornography”. Melinda is a writer, speaker and media commentator, see, www.melindatankardreist.com.

The Centre for Christian Living (CCL) interviewed Melinda (MTR) about pornography.

CCL: What led you to start thinking about pornography and its harmful impact on society?

MTR: I suppose it was a natural progression from my third book Getting Real: Challenging the sexualisation of girls. The rise of the internet, meaning easier reach and accessibility of porn, especially hardcore forms, has meant more people than ever are affected by it. There was also a raging debate on the filtering of internet porn. The messages of porn were taking over public space.
I thought it would be good to get experts together on the subject to contest the idea that porn is just harmless fun.

CCL: Many of us would prefer not to think about pornography, even though we agree that it is a terrible thing having a big impact on the world that we live in. Why do you think we need to address these issues, even though we will find it unpleasant?

MTR: Pornography is all about subordination. It is about selling back to us industrialised, commodified, commercialised porn sex. It is impacting relationships, destroying marriages, moulding boys into brutal masculinities. It is teaching girls that they are merely sexual service stations for boys. The average age of first exposure to pornography is 11.

Given this, it’s obvious that we are all affected by it, even if we don’t want to acknowledge it. There is a greater need than ever for people who care about authentic intimacy and connections to be able to model healthy sexuality. We need to understand pornography so that we can address its impacts in our own lives and in the broader world in which we are trying to be salt and light.

If in Sydney on 21 November why not hear more of Melinda’s wisdom on this very difficult topic. Also the chance to buy Melinda’s newly published book, Big Porn Inc for the discounted price of $35. Check out a great review of her book Big Porn Inc by Bill Muehlenberg here.

Melinda’s excellent previous book: “Getting Real: Challenging the Sexualisation of Girls”

Tasmanian Anglican Articles – October 2011

Posted on October 28, 2011 by Bishop John

May I encourage you to read the interesting articles about life and ministry of the Anglican family in Tasmania and beyond!

Tasmanian Anglican (October 2011)

Christians living with depression

Posted on October 25, 2011 by Bishop John

Depression is a major health issue for us and there are no easy solutions. I have learnt a little of loving and praying in the midst of a Christian community living in the resurrection hope of Christ.

Seeing in the dark by Barney Zwartz reflects on the resources Christians can bring to their struggle with serious depression.

Should believers have a better chance of coping with serious depression than those without faith? According to a Christian psychologist, yes they should, because religion is about hope and depression involves the absence of hope.

Although religious belief is not necessarily any defence against becoming depressed, it may provide extra resources in overcoming the problem, according to Christian psychologist Ed Welch. . . .

Welch quotes American Psychologist as saying recently that the failure of hope was at the crux of our modern predicament. ‘‘We need to grasp the implications of this conclusion: medication by itself can’t supply hope; trying to think positively won’t do it either; nor will shock treatment. These treatments don’t actually help us understand why we should have hope.’’

Welch suggests believers benefit from a sure morality and a sense of purpose. He agrees that secularists can certainly live principled and moral lives, ‘‘but it’s less likely that a person will have a clear moral vector or a sense of purpose if they are committed to atheism’’, he says.

He argues that if we include depression in the wider category of personal suffering, then the Bible has much to offer. In particular, it offers hope in the midst of suffering, plus (ideally) a community of care.

Questions @ the Pub

Posted on October 22, 2011 by Bishop John

“God must love us – He made beer!” was the theme of a “Q&A with the Bishop” at a local pub recently. I responded to a range of questions including …

Where has the love gone?
Why do good people get the raw prawn?
If God is all loving and compassionate, how can he allow children to suffer disease, torture and abuse?
Why are people so unkind to one another?
What is love? Is family more important than the church?
God helps those who help themselves, God help those that help themselves to my stuff…
What’s the difference between a bishop and a pope?
What’s the difference between Church of England and Christian?
Why bring religion into the pub? I just want a beer in peace!
Which God is the correct one, Jewish, Muslim, Christian or Jehovah?
Which religion is the correct one?
Why does the church actively protect people that appear to be working against the interest of children? Namely apparent protection of pedophiles?
How can the church justify its million in cash assets when there so many starving?
If all different religions got together you could call them the God squad.
Why do we accept the boat people when we have Australians suffering? They get more than Aust. pensioners for what??
Is the separation of church and state still a priority for the Anglican Church or is there a place for the church in politics i.e. social advocacy?
Honour they Father and thy mother?

Thanks to the participants for a stimulating and civil conversation.

The issue of suffering is the number one question I am asked at pubs, schools, radio, churches. A helpful article is, Easter & the meaning of suffering and the series of articles on Suffering; see Christians respond to suffering #1.

Bishop’s Blog via email

Posted on October 21, 2011 by Bishop John

It is now possible to receive my blog posts automatically via email subscription. This is convenient for those who don’t want to continually check for new posts or wait for From the Bishops Desk to point to new content.

If you would like to subscribe to the blog via email there are three ways to do it:

1) Go to http://imaginarydiocese.org/mailman/listinfo/bishopjohnsblog and follow the instructions to sign up; or

2) Email bishop@anglicantas.org.au and request to be added.

3) Send an email to bishopjohnsblog-subscribe@imaginarydiocese.org and responding to the confirmation email (check spam filter if it doesn’t reply)

Happy reading! 🙂