Jon's Deep and Meaningful

Jon and Communism

Since I have been accused by Markk of being a communist, I should define myself in that regard!

I was attracted to socialism as a teenager looking to help create a better world, without injustice and poverty and war. Lots of my generation were marching against Vietnam war. I joined the Socialist Club at Sydney University in 1966, which was largely dominated by Trotskyites (Trotsky was Lenin's henchman in the communist take-over of Russia but was later driven out by the rise of Satlin and eventually murdered while in exile in Mexico) and I took part in some pro-Labor rallies in the 1966 elections, won overwhelming by the Liberals under Harold Holt. I also joined the Sydney University Settlement, which helped poor people in the old slums near Redfern. I was also motivated by a desire to be a good Christian, as God was drawing me but I had a fairly distorted idea of Christianity.

But I came to realize that political action was not the answer to the world's problems. It doesn't address the sinfulness of human beings. I'd experienced enough of that as a boarder at Barker and it was crystallized for me thru the book and movie "Lord of the Flies". And the track record of socialism wasn't very good. Also I started really hearing the gospel for the first time, realizing that peace with God did not come by good works but by faith in Jesus and being born again. A significant conversation took place on the door step of an old poor lady in Chippendale when we were visited by a Moore College student. She was a Catholic but really knew the Lord, and so did he. Then a few weeks later I was led to Christ by a charismatic Baptist at the uni. After that I gradually lost interest in politics as the Answer to the world and instead I was gripped by a new vision of sharing Christ.

It's been interesting to see some Christian Laborites rise up recently: Tony Blair, Kevin Rudd. Maybe that could've been me, but I don't regret my change of priorities.

Ruminations around Sydney

Yesterday (Oct.27) I spent the whole day in and near Sydney CBD. Caught train to St Peters, a station near Newtown, and walked right through Newtown's King St ( a fascinating mix of old and new, raffish and upmarket, lots of coffee shops and restaurants) to Moore (Anglican) College to look up a new book on Revelation that no other library in Sydney seems to have. It's called "Spectacles of Empire: Monsters, Myths and Martyrs" (or something like that) and is a fairly postmodernist approach that compares Revelation with the spectacles put on by the Romans for the entertainment of the masses and also the erotic novels of the day. In my thesis, I also used these novels to draw out the romance plot in Revelation, but this author was doing a much more explicitly sexual thing with them.

After I read enough of that to make sure he hadn't stolen my ideas and glean some good ideas from him, I took the train from Newtown Station (on another line) to Circular Quay, where Mum and I had lunch before she collected our passports from the Indian consulate: less than 3 weeks before we leave for India!! Then after coffee (of course!) Mum caught the train home and I decided to stick around.

During the various train trips, etc I was reading Tim La Haye's book on Revelation (the theory behind the Left Behind novels). It has some good thoughts, but overall his thesis doesn't stand up; his attempts to read the pretrib rapture into Revelation are quite lame, for example. But it's good to read, not only because I want to refute it in my book, but also just to clarify what I do think about Rev. I'm lecturing on it next year at Tabor.

Anyway, after Mum left, I wandered up to St James Church, King St, after which St James station is named. It's the oldest church building still standing in Sydney (1824 I think), designed by Francis Greenway in Georgian style, so it looks like some of the churches we saw in London. You may not realise it, but my parents were married there and I was christened there. Quite "high class" and more "high church" than Sydney generally.

While there, I saw they were having a public lecture that night, so I decided to stay on and attend. It was about how our universities are going, compared to the ideas of a bloke called John Henry Newman, an Anglican minister who eventually became a Catholic in the 19th century. He made some speeches that became a book called "The Idea of a University." Anyway the lecture was no great shakes, but it did raise some interesting ideas about universities which stimulate my thinking on the subject. I have been feeling for years that I should be involved in starting a Christian university in Australia. Possibly I am in a good place for that, as the Tabor campuses are deciding to re-integrate again and possibly become a multi-campus Christian university as they grow to the right size! Meanwhile my task in the short term is to help Sydney Tabor become more credible academically and spiritually. Getting my Ph.D. will help!

I do enjoy exploring Sydney. It has so many interesting nooks and old buildings that mean a lot to me because of the history behind them. Maybe sometime I'll give you a historical tour if you can handle it!