Salt Shakers Journal Summary July 2007

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Editorial (in full below)
Biblical revisionism is impacting the church so much today that sometimes we do not even notice when people misquote the Bible to suit their own agenda. A few weeks ago I [Peter] was reading an email from Sojourners, an American ‘social justice’ group who are trying to win votes from the ‘conservatives’, sometimes called fundamentalists, sometimes called the religious right etc. etc.

Social Justice and the Social Gospel
Dr Murray Adamthwaite looks at the origins and theological influences of the social gospel and its’ ‘child’, social justice.

News and Action
RU 486; Cloning around the states; South Australia: Euthanasia; NSW: Heroin injecting room; WA: Homosexual Adoption

Homosexual adoption, IVF and Surrogacy
The Victorian Law Reform Commission final report on IVF, surrogacy and adoption, called “Assisted Reproductive Technologies and Adoption” was tabled in Parliament on 7 June 2007. The Commission began analysing these laws in 2002. They wrote a Consultation paper, and since published research papers and three ‘Position Papers’.

Join us for three coming events!
‘Amazing Grace’ film night; Salt Shakers Dinner: 8 September 2007; and Intelligent Design meetings

A Link between TV and decline in moral values
Heavy television watching parallels a decline in moral values and a sense of personal responsibility, a new study by the Culture and Media Institute of the Media Research Center has found.

Abortion: Suffering in silence no more
Speakers from Operation Outcry, an organisation of American women hurt by abortion, toured Australia last year. John Ballantyne reports...“The instant I heard my baby’s helpless body hit the garbage can, I knew! I had just killed my own flesh and blood, an innocent life.”

Vic: Relationships Register
The Victorian government announced in late April that they would introduce legislation to establish a ‘relationships register’ for homosexual and heterosexual couples, and also for caring relationships.

Cervical Cancer Vaccines
A second cervical cancer vaccine, called Cervarix, has been approved by Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration to be used by women aged from 10 up to 45 and may be available within months, according to maker GlaxoSmithKline.

Politicians and Religion
Jenny Stokes looks at the recent Sojourners forum which hosted Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards.

Amnesty and abortion (and homosexuality)
In April 2007 Amnesty International adopted a controversial policy that supports the ‘decriminalisation’ (really legalisation) of abortion worldwide.

A sperm bank child writes
I had two moms and no dad as a child. Children accept their parents out of love and respect - and to not accept them would be to devalue their own self-image.

Lesbians child support case USA
A judge in Pennsylvania has ordered that Carl L Frampton Jr, who provided sperm to a lesbian couple so they could have children (now 8 and 7), is liable for child support.

World News
Netherlands: Homosexual rape; UK: ‘British Oppression’; UK: SORs; UK: Hybrid embryos and IVF; NZ: Smacking.

Editorial (full version)
Biblical revisionism is impacting the church so much today that sometimes we do not even notice when people misquote the Bible to suit their own agenda.

A few weeks ago I [Peter] was reading an email from Sojourners, an American ‘social justice’ group who are trying to win votes from the ‘conservatives’, sometimes called fundamentalists, sometimes called the religious right etc. etc.

Sojourners leader, Jim Wallis, was talking about their grandstanding effort to promote three of the Democrat candidates for the next US Presidential election. See Jenny’s article on page 16.

Jim was saying that there was not much time in the forum and so he did not get to ask some of the questions he wanted to ask

When reading the unasked questions I was suddenly shocked to see how blatantly he changed a word in ‘The Beatitudes’, that well known start to Matthew 5 when Jesus was teaching the disciples.

Jim’s second ‘unasked’ question was: “In the New Testament, the beatitudes offer a vision for the world with statements like: “Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom ... Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice: for they shall have their fill ... Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.” How would this biblical vision of the world shape your leadership and politics?”

Did you see it? Firstly the Beattitudes are not about the ‘world’ they about us. Secondly,“Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice:”???

JUSTICE? Where did that come from?

Most Bible translations, including the New King James, NASB and the NIV clearly say “Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.”

The Greek word is ‘dikaiosunç’ which, in a religious and moral sense, means ‘righteousness’ or ‘uprightness.’ Ironically, Wallis’ translation does have an element of truth – after all, the best deceptions are those closest to the truth – in that the English word for justice also comes from the ‘dikai-’ root in the Greek. Technically, the word could therefore be translated as ‘justice’ – but justice in the sense of what God will deliver, namely something pure, and not some form of distorted understanding of the English word which relates more to striving for one’s ‘rights’ or the ‘rights’ of others.

This subtle, seemingly innocuous half-truth is therefore extremely dangerous and gives a totally false understanding of what Jesus said. The problem with these liberal translations that separate the concept of righteousness from justice is that they lead to a ‘me-centred’ Gospel.

Jesus DID NOT say blessed are you when you hunger for justice - for ‘rights’. The Beattidudes are ALL about God, about us surrendering our ‘right’ to anything, because HE is sufficient. No matter how poor, how rich, whether we have freedom or are slaves, whether we live in China, India or even North Korea we are free in Christ. It is all about HIM.

Justice is a nice sounding word and so often attached to ‘social’ justice’, peoples ‘rights’, rather than God’s righteousness.

We even hear today that the main work of the church is ‘social justice’ and that is why Jim Wallis re-invented verse 6 to suit his social agenda, but while caring for our neighbour is important, our task is to seek HIS righteousness, first, so that we can minister the gospel of salvation to the poor in spirit, not the financially poor.

May we never be guilty of changing God’s Word to suit our own agenda.

Yours in His Service
Peter & Jenny Stokes