Signs of the Times - April 2022

LIVING IN THE

IN-BETWEEN THE REALITY OF LIFE ON THE STREETS

TIM COSTELLO'S ETHICAL JOURNEY

A CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE ON THE WORLD TODAY

IN THIS ISSUE

APRIL 2022

LIVING IN THE IN-BETWEEN

Why Easter Saturday says the

most about hope PAGE 32

12

CURRENT

4

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WHAT IN THE WORLD EATING YOUR WAY TO A BETTER WORLD Doing good by eating veggies

32 LIVING IN THE INBETWEEN What happened between Good Friday and Easter Sunday?

WELLBEING

12 HOW TO AVOID TOXIC

POSITIVITY

Learning to deal with unhappiness 60 RECIPE: SWEET POTATO

CHIPS

FIND US ON SOCIAL MEDIA 2

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54

FAITH

18 INSTANT REGRETS,

MEMORY WIPES AND FREE WILL Growing into a better you 24 ASK PASTOR JESSE Your questions answered by a religious minister 26 TIM COSTELLO'S ETHICAL

JOURNEY Faith, justice . . . and politics?

38 EARTHQUAKES AND BIRTH PAINS The surprising link that brings us hope in unstable times

CULTURE

44 THE REALITY OF LIFE ON THE STREETS How love and grace found Jasmine when she needed it most 54 SHOULD WE TRY TO

UNDERSTAND?

Movie review: Nitram

SCIENCE & TECH

52 THE CUTTING EDGE Engineering, science

and technology news

FUN

62 CROSSWORD AND

SUDOKU

Have you been paying

attention?

/SIGNSMAG

TRANSITIONS Change is hard—unexpected challenges, grief for what is lost and hopefully, eventually, celebrating what is found.

Our team is experiencing its very own time of transition. Daniel Kuberek, our assistant editor, moved house, got married in February and is now moving to a new job opportunity. His faithful dedication has seen us through the pandemic and there are no words to describe the gratitude we have for his work on this publication, our podcast, website, social media and our sister publication in the US. We're thankful for his work and look forward to seeing where new opportunities will take him. The team has been joined this year by Jesse Herford, who was working as a pastor in New Zealand before joining us. We are excited by the talents Jesse will bring (demonstrated in his new column “Ask Pastor Jesse”, p24).

Times of transition and change can be challenging, but also provide opportunity for growth and development.

Even though they can be hard, hope that there is something better on the other side often keeps us going.

The team at Signs want our magazine to represent hope in a world that is constantly changing. Easter represents new beginnings. It is a story of death and resurrection, and demonstrates that there is always hope of something better, and that good always triumphs (“Living in the in-between”, p32).

Things will get better. Easter reminds us that even death and the grave can be overcome, if you look to Jesus. If you are going through some challenges and want to reach out, you can at <signsofthetimes.org.au/help>.

Jarrod

JARROD STACKELROTH Editor

VOL 137 NO 4 ISSN 1038-9733 EXECUTIVE PUBLISHER Brad Kemp EDITOR Jarrod Stackelroth ASSOCIATE EDITOR Jesse Herford ASSISTANT EDITOR Daniel Kuberek COPYEDITOR Tracey Bridcutt GRAPHIC DESIGN Theodora Pau'u Talia Valderrama Nerise McQuillan PHONE +61 2 9847 2222 EMAIL info@signsofthetimes.org.au WEBSITE signsofthetimes.org.au ADDRESS Adventist Media PO Box 1115, Wahroonga New South Wales 2076 SUBSCRIPTIONS Kelli Geelan PHONE +61 3 5965 6300 Australia/New Zealand, $A26; South Pacific countries, $A41; Other countries $A51 Published since 1886, Signs of the Times is printed 11 times a year by the Seventh-day Adventist Church and is registered as a periodical.

Seventh-day Adventist Church (SPD) Limited ABN 59 093 117 689 NOTE The inclusion of a person or their image within does not imply their endorsement of the Seventh-day Adventist Church or its beliefs.

Unless otherwise stated, Bible verses are from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, Anglicised. Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc®. Used by permission of Hodder & Stoughton. All rights reserved worldwide.

COVER ILLUSTRATION:

Talia Valderrama, Pexels

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CU

R RENT

WHAT IN THE WORLD LEADING THE WAY IN DISHONESTY AUSTRALIA

HIGHEST INFLATION IN 30 YEARS NEW ZEALAND

New Zealand has joined many countries around the globe in being hit by inflation rates that are described as the highest in 30 years. Fuel and housing costs as well as a tight labour market have all been listed as contributing factors. The expected annual rate for 2022—6.2 per cent—will be the highest since 1990. Analysts have attributed rising inflation to imbalanced supply and demand due to Covid-19.—RNZ 4

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BERMIX-STUDIO, THOMAS COKER, KEN MATHIASEN, DIEGO GONZALEZ—UNSPLASH

Twenty per cent of Australian businesses had experienced fraud in the past 18 months, according to a study by the Global Integrity Report—a rate more than double most other developing countries.

Australians are also more likely to use unethical practices to get a pay rise.

45 per cent said they wouldn't report misconduct in fear of damaging their career prospects. 64 per cent said they were pressured not to report it.—Financial Review

EATING PLANTS OIL AND GAS ARE OUT-OF-BOUNDS GREENLAND

All oil and gas exploration is now off-limits in Greenland, with the country’s government citing environmental concerns. While significant oil reserves have recently been found off the island’s east coast, a statement by the government says, “The future does not lie in oil. The future belongs to renewable energy, and in that respect, we have much more to gain.”—The Optimist Daily

“PLEASE CUT MILITARY SPENDING” AFGHANISTAN

“Please cut military spending by two per cent over the next five years”— that´s the core message of a recent open letter written by more than 50 Nobel laureates. Arms budgets have been on the rise recently due to the threat of global conflicts—the United States Congress approved a $US768 billion military budget for 2022, the largest figure since the Iraq war, and larger than when the United States was engaged in the Vietnam War. —The Guardian, Vox

the new trend

AN ESTIMATED 500,000 AUSTRALIANS ARE VEGAN, OR 2 PER CENT OF THE TOTAL POPULATION.— VEGAN AUSTRALIA

The worldwide vegan market is expected to be worth $US22 billion by 2025.—Pawsome Advice A study found vegetarianism is on the rise in New Zealand, with one in 10 people claiming to be vegetarian in 2019.—Health Navigator New Zealand According to Google Trends, New Zealand ranked fifth in the world for veganism in 2021.—Stuff.co.nz

CU

R RENT

EATING YOUR WAY TO A

BETTER WORLD

Eating your vegies. One simple step that can change your health—and maybe the world.

BY BRADEN BLYDE

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PEOPLEIMAGES—GETTY IMAGES

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E

at your veggies.”

It’s been the catchcry of mums and dads across the years.

These three words have been seared into our collective memories since childhood.

And for good reason–eating the vegetables served on your plate avoids wastefulness, improves your health and, according to a newly launched campaign, can make the world a better place for everyone.

But is a plant-based diet really the answer to all of life's problems?

Let’s take a look at some of the key arguments for eating your vegetables–and maybe, only your vegetables.

reason 1: plants are good for your health After travelling the globe to discover the secret to long-life, National Geographic fellow Dan Buettner published a best-selling book that highlighted five so-called “blue zones” where people enjoyed remarkably long and full lives.

The 8

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Seventh-day Adventist Community in Loma Linda, California, made the list–with their vegetarian diet being a major contributor.

Buettner found the residents live “as much as a decade longer than the rest of us”, with other studies finding Adventists also have lower rates of cancer and cardiovascular disease.

Adventists’ vegetarian diet is based on their faith—often citing Genesis 1:29: “Then God said, ‘I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.’”

But science continues to back up their choice. Nutrition Australia reports that plant-based eating is also associated with reduced body weight and type-2 diabetes when compared with diets that include meat. One of the reasons plant-based diets can result in better health is their positive influence on our gut bacteria because of higher levels of fibre and a greater diversity of plant foods consumed.

Longer and healthier lives? Faith– or no faith–a plant-based diet is a good choice for a better life.

reason 2: the animals will thank you

For many who choose a plantbased diet, the decision comes down to animal ethics. Do all animals deserve the level of care we give to our pets at home?

Without a doubt, what we eat has a direct correlation with the quality

and length of lives that the cows, chickens and other animals that contribute to our diets experience.

The reality is that animals are more intelligent and complex than many of us realise–and when we eat meat, we are choosing to kill them.

As part of his research into animal psychology, Dr Donald Broom, a professor at Cambridge University, discovered that cows enjoy mental challenges and get excited when they use their intellect to overcome an obstacle. When cows figure out a problem, he says, “The brainwaves showed their excitement; their heartbeat went up and some even jumped into the air.”

Clearly, they aren’t just “meat on legs”.

Scientists also now know that pigs have the cognitive skills of three-year-old human children and chickens form complex friendships and social hierarchies, along with cultural knowledge that is passed between generations.

Sadly, as populations grow and the demand for meat products increases, more animals are spending their short lives in harsh conditions.

Far from the romantic open-plains paddocks, factory farming sees animals crammed into small pens, fed unnatural diets and treated harshly, all in the name of quicker and cheaper meat production.

A shift to plant-based eating avoids this animal suffering.

reason 3: it’s better for the environment

Launched in late 2021, alongside the COP26 climate meetings in Glasgow, the Plant Based Treaty is a landmark international treaty that draws attention to the role that food systems have on the global environment.

According to organisers, it’s the first time that what we eat has been placed at the centre of what some are calling a “climate crisis”. While a lot of attention has been placed on the impact fossil fuels have on the environment, modern food systems have just as an important part to play.

Carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide–the three main greenhouse gases–are at record levels and rising. Animal agriculture contributes to all three and is the main driver of methane and nitrous oxide emissions globally.

A shift to plant-based food systems would see far fewer cows and other livestock emitting methane.

This in turn would dramatically reduce the CO2 being released into the atmosphere by permitting reforestation of land currently being used for grazing and raising feed crops.

The Plant Based Treaty proposes APRIL 2022 • SIGNS OF THE TIMES.ORG.AU

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three clear steps to improve the global environment through plantbased food systems: 1. No longer allow the change of land use, including deforestation, for animal agriculture.

2. Promote plant-based foods and actively transition away from animal-based food systems.

3. Reverse the damage caused by animal agriculture by restoring key ecosystems and reforesting the earth.

The campaign is not only backed by high-powered celebrities including Paul, Mara and Stella McCartney, but faith leaders from across the globe. A letter signed by these leaders and presented to COP president Alok Sharma reads, “we are doing this because our world, the world that God initially was able to call ‘very good’ (Genesis 1:31), is now threatened as never before.”

No matter where you stand on climate science, The Plant Based Treaty presents a compelling case for doing more to reduce the impact of our food production on the planet.

so, can we eat our way to a better world?

If choosing a plant-based diet means a healthier mind and body, a happier life for the animals around us and environmental conditions closer to those that God created in the beginning, the answer would appear to be a resounding “yes, you can”.

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If you haven’t yet made the jump to a plant-based diet, or want to do more for your own health or the health of others, here’s a few ideas to help you on your journey.

- Order a vegetarian or vegan option next time you eat out (or get takeaway).

- Visit plantbasedtreat.org to learn more and help call for change.

- Replace meat in your meals with a tasty plant-based substitute (see our list on the next page for some ideas).

- Ask a vegan or vegetarian friend for their favourite recipes (and be willing to share your own with others).

There’s a running joke about vegans (but you could substitute the word with vegetarians or any other plant-based eaters) that goes: Q: How do you know if someone is a vegan?

A: Don’t worry, they’ll tell you within two minutes of meeting them.

As always, there’s a bit of truth in the jest. But when you can improve your health and make the world a better place, then what we eat and the way we produce it is worth talking about—don’t you think?

Braden Blyde is a freelance writer based in Adelaide, South Australia. When not writing, Braden can be found riding bikes or getting outdoors with his family.

Find out more about going healthy for your own good and the good of the planet by completing a free Living Well course online at: <discover.hopechannel. com/living-well>.

PLANTS IN PACKETS New plant-based meat alternatives are regularly popping up on supermarket shelves. These products can help reduce the amount of meat you eat, or provide a tasty addition to your plant-based diet: The Alternative Burger from The Alternative Meat Co–touted as being the closest thing to real meat you can taste.

Quorn Mince–a versatile substitute made from mycoprotein (grown using a fungus called fusarium venenatum).

Vegie Delight Sausages–a range of vegetarian favourites including hot dogs, as well as classic and thick BBQ sausages.

Fable Food Co–A new Australian company with products based on shiitake mushrooms.

… plus many, many more!

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W

ELL B EING

HOW TO AVOID TOXIC POSITIVITY Expecting to be happy all the time comes with a plethora of side-effects. Learning to live with unhappiness is the key.

BY BROCK BASTIAN AND ASHLEY HUMPHREY

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LYNDON STRATFORD—GETTY IMAGES

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he term “toxic positivity” has people place a high value on their received a good deal of attention own happiness it can lead to less haplately. Coming off the back of piness, especially in contexts where the “positivity movement” we are they most expect to feel happy. beginning to recognise while feeling This tendency to expect happiness happy is a good thing, overemphaand then to feel disappointed or to blame oneself for not feeling happy sising the importance of a positive enough has been linked to greater attitude can backfire, ironically depressive symptoms and deficits in leading to more unhappiness. wellbeing.

Yes, research by the American As the line to a cartoon by Randy Psychological Association shows Glasbergen depicting a patient happier people tend to live longer, confessing to his psychologist puts it: be healthier and enjoy more suc“I am very, very happy. But I want cessful lives. And the Association for to be very, very, Psychological very happy, and Science has that is why I’m found “very miserable.” happy people” However, rehave more of these benefits search published relative to only in Emotion has averagely happy observed when Pursued in certain people. But purpeople prioritise behaviours that sued in certain ways, happiness or maximise the ways, happiness positivity can become likelihood of or positivity can their future hapbecome toxic. toxic Our research, piness—rather published in than attempting The Journal of Positive Psychology and to directly increase their levels of involving almost 500 people, was happiness “in the moment”—they inspired by these apparently inconare more likely to experience imsistent findings—pursuing happiness provements (rather than deficits) in may be both good and bad for our their levels of wellbeing. wellbeing. We aimed to uncover a This may mean engaging in key ingredient that turns positivity activities that provide a sense of toxic. achievement or purpose, such as volunteering time, completing difficult tasks or constructing daily routines expecting the best, feeling worse that support wellbeing.

Some studies, like one published This work suggests pursuing in Emotion, have shown that when

“

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happiness indirectly, rather than making it the main focus, could turn our search for positivity from toxic to tonic.

ASIAVISION—GETTY IMAGES

valuing happiness versus prioritising positivity We wanted to find out what it was about making happiness a focal goal that backfires. To gain a better understanding, we measured these two approaches to finding happiness: valuing happiness versus prioritising positivity.

People who valued happiness agreed with statements such as “I am concerned about my happiness even when I feel happy”, or “If I don’t feel happy, maybe there is something wrong with me”.

People who prioritised positivity agreed with statements such as “I structure my day to maximise my happiness”, or “I look for and nurture my positive emotions”.

We also included a measure of the extent to which people feel uncomfortable with their negative emotional experiences. To do this, we asked for responses to statements like: “I see myself as failing in life when feeling depressed or anxious”, or “I like myself less when I feel depressed or anxious”.

People who expected to feel happy (scoring high on valuing happiness) also tended to see their negative emotional states as a sign of failure in

life and lacked acceptance of these emotional experiences. This discomfort with negative emotions partly explained why they had lower levels of wellbeing.

On the other hand, people who pursued happiness indirectly (scoring high on prioritising positivity) did not see their negative emotional states this way. They were more accepting of low feelings and did not see them as a sign they were failing in life.

What this shows is when people believe they need to maintain high levels of positivity or happiness all the time to make their lives worthwhile, or to be valued by others, they react poorly to their negative emotions. They struggle with these feelings or try to avoid them rather than accept them as a normal part of life. Pursuing happiness indirectly does not lead to this same reaction.

Feeling down or stressed is not inconsistent with finding happiness.

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So, it appears the key ingredient in toxic positivity is not positivity itself after all. Rather, it is how a person’s attitude to happiness leads them to respond to negative experiences in life.

The prospect of experiencing pain, failure, loss or disappointment in life is unavoidable. There are times we are going to feel depressed, anxious, fearful or lonely. This is a fact. What matters is how we respond to these experiences. Do we lean into them and accept them for what they are, or do we try to avoid and escape from them?

If we are aiming to be happy all the time then we might feel tough times are interrupting our goal.

But if we simply put a priority on positivity, we are less concerned by these feelings—we see them as an ingredient in the good life and part of the overall journey.

Rather than always trying to “turn a frown upside down”, we are more willing to sit with our low or uncomfortable emotions and understand 16

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that doing so will, in the long run, make us happy.

Learning to respond rather than react to these emotions is a key enabler of our happiness. Our reaction to discomfort is often to get away and to reduce the pain. This might mean we employ ineffective emotion regulation strategies such as avoiding or suppressing unpleasant feelings.

If we do, we fail to engage with the insights an unpleasant experience brings. Responding well to these experiences means getting “discomfortable”—being comfortable with our discomfort. Then we can be willing to feel what we feel and get curious about why those feeling are there.

Taking this response allows us to increase our understanding, see our choices and make better decisions.

As the saying goes: “Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional”.

Brock Bastian is a professor at the University of Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences. Ashley Humphrey is a lecturer in Psychology at Federation University Australia. This article first appeared on The Conversation website and is reprinted under a Creative Commons licence.

CAPUSKI—GETTY IMAGES

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FA IT H

MATTHEW HENRY—UNSPLASH

ME

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INSTANT REGRETS,

MORY WIPES & FREE WILL

Living a life free of regrets may be just a dream but there is a way to transform in that direction.

BY RYAN STANTON APRIL 2022 • SIGNS OF THE TIMES.ORG.AU

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the last time we caught up. In the moment I was mortified, but looking back at the pattern it’s something that makes me and my friends laugh.

Nowadays I try to avoid those jokes, no matter how good natured, and my friends are always remembering to update me on the status of their relationships so I don’t blunder into yet another situation like this.

Unfortunately, more often than not, our past mistakes are a source of discomfort rather than laughter.

Regret has a way of sticking with you. At least once a week I find myself thinking back to one of a variety of cringe-inducing incidents from my past. Often the memory will fill me with such shame I feel my fists tightening and hear my thoughts berate me for my mistakes.

Almost everybody has done something they regret and wish they could undo. The question is, how do we learn to live with and avoid doing things which can cause more regret in the future?

For me, I find my answer in the Bible.

MARCOS PAULO PRADO—UNSPLASH

H

ave you ever done something you immediately regret?

Perhaps you’ve said something particularly harsh to a friend in the heat of a moment—you wish you could take the words back the moment they left your lips. Or maybe it wasn’t something you said, but something you didn’t; you held your tongue when you should’ve spoken up. Maybe your confidence led you to say something categorically wrong, and your friends were all too eager to mock you when they corrected your error.

Words aren’t the only thing you may regret.

Perhaps an argument turned physical. Maybe your friends urged you to do something you’ve regretted ever since.

Sometimes we may look back on these incidents fondly and laugh.

When the damage is repaired, we find humour in the circumstances.

Personally, I have—on no less than four separate occasions—made jokes about a friend’s relationship with their partner, only to find out they had broken up with them since

freedom in . . . death?

At the root of the Bible and the Christian faith is the story of a man who died to save everybody from the ultimate consequences of their actions. Humankind deviated from our intended design and has been inextricably tied to actions which will cause others harm. The consequences for this deviation should be an eternal death and separation from our Creator. If you think you’ve ever regretted something before, imagine how much regret Adam and Eve, the first people to stray from this original design, must have felt. They were given life forever. All they had to do was follow God’s word. Instead, they were forced to experience suffering and ultimately die.

Thankfully, according to the Bible, a solution had already been provided that solved this problem.

That solution was Jesus, God Himself, who lived as a human and died in our place before defeating death and taking away the separation from life and God. In dying on the cross, Christ gave us a second chance. In choosing to follow Him and His actions the Bible tells us that we “shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

Choosing to follow Him is a radically life-altering decision for many. Some passages in the Bible highlight the immensity of this decision by comparing it to a metaphorical death, while others focus on the ways in which we are made new as a result. 2 Corinthians

5:17 states: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old is gone, the new is here!”

His death on the cross freed us from the punishment due from all our regretful actions. All we need to do is believe in Him and His sacrifice.

So what happens after we are made anew?

a new creation

The “new life” given to us through faith is not as simple as flicking a switch marked “Salvation”.

This isn’t to imply that salvation requires work—the Bible clearly states “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no-one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8,9). It’s clear by this statement that there is nothing that we can personally do in order to save ourselves. It is only by accepting the gift given to us by God that we are saved.

But this gift, as mentioned, fundamentally changes us—and part of that change should be a desire to follow the example of how to live set forth

by Jesus. Becoming a new person should be evidenced by a change in behaviours and patterns. As the verse immediately following states: “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10).

But does this mean that we will instantly become able to do all these great things?

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respect and love are paramount: that, and the life of a scoundrel, so the analogy isn’t perfect.

Knowing all this, just one question remains: what do these “good works” prepared for us look like?

the sheep and the goats

The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John (the first four books of the New Testament) have plenty examples of Jesus’ works which we can follow. Jesus cared for everybody, including those who society at the time labelled as unclean. He treated everyone equally and humbly. He did not shy away from action, even if it was controversial and would call out corruption and injustice when He saw it. Above all else, His interactions embodied the love that God has for everybody, no matter their gender, race, sexuality, religion or . . . anything.

To be transformed by faith creates a desire to imitate Jesus’ pattern in our lives. We will undoubtedly fall short of His example—but it should be the bar we strive to reach, understanding that it is only possible to do so with His help.

ANTONELLO FALCONE—UNSPLASH

Well, it doesn’t happen immediately. Taking the steps to follow Christ does not instantly free us of guilt and regret or wipe the memories of past actions from our mind.

Change takes time, progress and effort. Mistakes are an important part of growing and learning from our past actions is a necessary step in understanding where we went wrong and how we can improve.

“Live as free people, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as God’s slaves” (1 Peter 2:16).

The imagery here of being “God’s slaves” may be confronting, but that’s in part due to our historical perceptions of what being a slave is like. Unlike slave masters throughout history, God is somebody who cares for us, wants the best for us and will always look out for us. An analogy from popular culture that I find apt is the relationship between Han Solo and Chewbacca from Star Wars.

Chewie owes Han a life debt—something which some may compare to slavery—but the resulting relationship is not one of exploitation; it is instead a true friendship where

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The result of this transformation is summed up in a parable Jesus told His disciples. At the end of our time on Earth, God will divide the people of all nations into two groups: sheep and goats. The first group, the sheep, will receive their inheritance of eternal life, because of what they have done in His name. God explains why they received this gift: “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me” (Matthew 25:35,36). When this group notes that they do not know when they did this, God responds: “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40).

The other group—the goats—are chastised by God who notes that they did not help Him when in need, even as they claimed to follow Him. “Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me” (Matthew

25:45). This group is forever separated from God and His gift of life.

The message here is clear: faith in God is evidenced by the transformation that follows.

Interestingly enough, it is the group labelled as the sheep who are the ones to receive God’s gift. In the present day, to call somebody a sheep is an insult—often used mockingly to describe those who do not aggressively question authority.

A scepticism of earthly authority can be healthy—indeed, those in charge have repeatedly been revealed to be corrupt or self-serving throughout human history. But unlike humanity, God is not flawed, and His plan for us will work to keep us safe.

If a shepherd has the best interests of his flock in mind, how much more so does God have our wellbeing as His focus. In this way, being a sheep in His flock should not be interpreted as a negative. Truly following His example is the best way to grow into a life without regrets.

Ryan Stanton is a PhD student at The University of Sydney, and an editorial assistant for the Australia/ New Zealand edition of Signs of the Times.

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Hi! I’m Pastor Jesse, and I don’t have all the answers. Here’s why that’s a good thing.

As a church minister, there are certain questions I have encountered again and again. Often, when faced with hard questions, we Christians rush to the tried-and-tested answers, and end up sounding like “know-it-alls” in the process.

We think we have all the answers to life’s questions, even if sometimes we just end up sounding obnoxious.

As I’ve grown as a person, my relationship with difficult questions has grown, too.

They’re sometimes about theology and the Bible, but most often they’re about everyday life and the world we live in.

They’re the kind of questions that can’t be answered with a one-liner or a textbook response. If you’ve never had the opportunity to ask a pastor tough questions about life, faith and culture, this is the place for you! I don’t have all the answers, but I’ll do my best to respond to your questions honestly, authentically and biblically.

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SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU/ASKJESSE

Why can't individuals connect directly with God instead of joining a religion? -Anonymous There’s a funny thing that happens when we compare the Jesus of Scripture to the Church of Reality. Jesus forgives us, doesn’t judge us and offers us a new life.

Sometimes it feels like churches don’t do those things. Unfortunately, putting your trust in Jesus doesn’t make you a perfect person. Even good Christians with good intentions sometimes hurt those around them. This is a sad reality of the sinful world we live in. If you’ve ever been hurt by a church, you know this all too well.

So, do we jump ship? Do we rely on our relationship with Jesus alone, and hope that will be enough? In our individualistic culture, that seems the easier option.

However, Christianity isn’t just about what we’re saved from; it’s also about what we’re saved for. In Ephesians 2:19–22, Paul talks about how, when we become followers of Jesus, we become a brandnew person. Paul uses the metaphor of a building, a holy temple. Though to us it sounds strange, he’s inviting us to imagine that we are the materials that make up this temple. Together, with our imperfections, flaws and weaknesses, we are called to be the Church of Jesus Christ.

We are not simply saved from the ruinous powers of chaos and sin; rather, we are also saved so that together we might reflect the goodness of God and give this broken world a taste of heaven on earth.

Jesus didn’t just die for us individually; He also died for the Church.

If we choose not to participate in the body of Christ, we run the risk of missing out.

Yes, it’s messy. Yes, we don’t always get it right. However, in the midst of the mess, there’s beauty, love and transcendence that you won’t be able to find anywhere else.

How would you explain God as a Father to someone who has only had negative experiences with their father and male authority figures? –Anonymous Sadly, you’re not alone here. Not everyone was blessed with a good dad, and for many of us, the thought of God as a Father figure brings up all sorts of painful memories, whether because of our biological fathers or even other religious or fatherly figures.

We all deserve love and respect, and if that’s not your story, I’m so sorry. The good news for you is that the God of the Bible understands your hurt and if you’re willing, is inviting you to experience Him as a good Father. If your dad was abusive, God invites you to experience Him as merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in loyal love (Exodus 34:6). If your dad was judgemental and harsh, God invites you to experience Him as gentle and supportive (Psalm 18:35). Finally, if your dad was absent, He reassures you that He will never leave nor abandon you (Deuteronomy 31:6).

For those of us who haven’t had good fathers, accepting such an invitation is difficult, but my best advice would be to take your time, surround yourself with loving, supportive people, seek professional help if necessary, and build your courage over time to truly taste and see that God is good (Psalm 34:8).

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One of Australia’s leading voices for faith and justice reflects on his unexpected life and career trajectory.

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e’s worked as a lawyer, a church pastor, a city council mayor, CEO of one of Australia’s largest charitable agencies, a spokesperson on a variety of social and justice issues, and continues to be one of the nation’s highest profile Christian voices, but Tim Costello admits it is not a career path he could have plotted or even imagined. In his recent memoir—A Lot With a Little—he reflects that “this is an ethical journey, not a career plan”.

He explains that when younger people ask him for career advice, he experiences a momentary panic.

Except for his first job as an articled clerk in a suburban Melbourne law firm, he says he has never applied for a job. “There was certainly no linear plan,” he reflects. “The light I have got has only ever been enough for the next step—and then taking that next step.

But the ethical pivot at each point has been, ‘Is this the right step?’”

Having grown up in a committed church family, Costello’s early focus was on becoming an evangelist.

“Even as a 21-year-old university student, I had been doing open-air preaching,” he recalls, “and I saw the task very firmly as getting as many people to heaven, saving as many souls as possible.” But, as president of a Christian student club at Monash University, he hosted a visiting preacher from South Africa who caught young Tim’s attention by pointing out that “the people who devised apartheid and maintain apartheid [at that time]

are church-attending, Bible-reading, and specifically to the story of Jesus, prayerful Christians.” identifying the Bible’s twin terms of “I can’t tell you how much that righteousness and justice as relating shocked me,” says Costello, “because to both personal and social good, I had always assumed that if we could representing what the world would be get enough people saved, justice and like if God’s will was done—as Jesus other problems in the world will sort prayed. “So justice has both left and themselves out because Christians right dimensions to it,” he explains. would do the right thing. This began “On the left side, it’s care for the me on a journey that eventually took environment, for refugees, for equality me to theological college.” He arrived and for the poor. On the right side, at the conclusion that structures, it is family, marriage and low enough systems and cultures in our world taxes so there is an incentive to work also need to be hard. And I often redeemed. say to Christians “Caught in that I can’t see the those structures, point of voting systems and for the same cultures, even party all your good Christian life. It’s a waste of Structures, systems hearts—as in democracy. I’m apartheid in a swinging voter and cultures in our South Africa— because someworld also need to be can do the wrong times we need to thing.” support the left redeemed.

With this side of justice, now-matured sometimes we understanding, Costello insists that need to support the right. Given faith-based voices can still be an our understanding of sin and our important conscience in a largely understanding that power corrupts, it secular society. He argues that many is fantastic to be able to vote governof the virtues that are still valued in ments out, allow them time to reflect our society are derived from Chrisand then bring them back.”

But beyond serving as the last tian virtues, so “even when secular mayor of inner Melbourne local Australia is judging the church, the council St Kilda—it was later amalfascinating thing is that they are judging the church on Christian gamated by the state government— criteria—mercy, forgiveness, humilCostello has resisted invitations to run for political office. He explains ity and justice”. that Christianity has been “small-p When asked specifically about political” from its earliest assertion justice, Costello returns to the Bible

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“The Australian government has to find a conscience again. We are right at the bottom of the OECD [the list of developed economies] when it comes to generosity in the form of aid. Australians like to think that we’re generous, that we carry our share of the burden, but when it comes to aid, many would be shocked to see what has been done. It has been mean, it has been unfair and it has cost lives . . . So we at Micah have said that restoring that aid is a practical expression of loving the poor. Now Australians are still very generous at giving privately. And, for technical and political reasons, it is complicated to communicate what the Australian government is giving, but it is about 19¢ per AU$100 of GDP, while our promise is 70¢, which shows how far we are off that. It seems we have given ourselves a leave pass on compassion.”

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that “Jesus is Lord” as an alternative to the dominant culture’s assumption that Caesar was lord. “I think it is great that Christians might also choose to be ‘capital-p Political’ as members of the Liberal, Labor, Greens or whatever,” he says. “But faced with offers to go into parliament, I have turned them down. My calling is to be small-p political.”

Costello explains this—again, in biblical terms—as a prophetic role among the legitimate ministries of the church. He admits that this can be difficult to do, without sounding arrogant, self-righteous or lecturing.

“We need to have proximity to power, but without being in the pocket of power, in order to speak truth in love to power,” he reflects.

He references the work of Micah Australia—a coalition of Christian justice and development agencies, of which Costello is executive director—describing their approach as “relational advocacy”.

“The power of it is that we aren’t advocating for ourselves,” he explains. “We are advocating for the world’s poor. This surprises politicians: Most lobbyists want something for themselves, from us or from our budget—they say—but you want something for people who will never vote for us?

“I think that’s prophetic. Because we believe God is sovereign, we believe all power is delegated and we will hold you accountable for the use of that power. The mark of Christianity is that we exist for others, so

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we will ask ‘how is power being used for others?’”

In this sense, Costello believes public engagement should draw on the earliest centuries in the history of the church. “The story from the first 300 years, when Christianity was exploding in its growth, was that Christians didn’t have power,” says Costello. “They actually loved, served, opened the first hospitals, they preached the gospel and they healed. They had the sense that they could take risks now in serving—even in plagues, healing the sick—because they believed in the resurrection. That means they did not have to fit everything into this life and take no risks.”

Throughout our conversation, Costello continually brings his work, public engagement and advocacy back to its grounding in the Christian faith. This belief also informs the nature and method of this work.

“I think Christians are the purveyors of hope because of the resurrection [of Jesus],” he urges. “At the heart of our faith, we have this hope that death is defeated. The greatest fear we all have is that life is meaningless,

and that death proves how meaningless life is. In the gospel, that great fear is addressed, and evil is addressed.

“When it comes then to politics, it does not mean that politicians can institute the kingdom of God, but they can have policies that are closer to or further away from the kingdom of God.” Speaking up on issues including global poverty, Australian aid, gambling and refugees is not necessarily a path to popularity—or even success.

“I have been tempted at times to cynicism,” Costello muses. “For 25 years, banging my head against the brick wall of gambling—my kids saying to me, ‘Dad, is there any campaign you have ever won?’

“But I have always been very clear that I am not the messiah and that this is God’s world. Because I believe God is engaged with this world, it invites me to do my little bit. And I need to be faithful, whatever the results.”

Nathan Brown is a book editor at Signs Publishing Company. You can follow Tim Costello’s work with Micah Australia at <micahaustralia.org>. This article was adapted from an ADRA Australia masterclass between Nathan Brown and Tim Costello.

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CU

R RENT

Living in

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IN–

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the

–BETWEEN Jesus died on Easter Friday, He rose on Easter Sunday. But

have you ever wondered what happened on Saturday?

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good friday

Good Friday? It’s a funny name, really. The day we remember the violent death of Jesus—an innocent man who was tortured and killed by the Romans after He was rejected

by His own community—should be called anything but good. It was a day of tears and suffering, of torture and loss. What’s so good about that? Well, Good Friday is indeed good, but only if we remember what happened on Easter Sunday.

easter sunday

Very early on Sunday morning while it was still dark, some of the women who were Jesus’ friends, including Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of Jesus, Joanna and

the biblical account

The sequence of events we now refer to as Easter is found in all four of the Gospels in the New Testament—Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Each writer has their own unique spin on exactly what happened, however they all agree with the key events: Jesus was crucified on a Roman cross on Friday morning, He was buried in a borrowed tomb on Friday evening, He lay dead in the tomb on Saturday—and just like was prophesied centuries before—He miraculously rose again on Sunday morning. Each writer clearly outlines the sacrificial death of Jesus; and in an understated, stick-to-the-facts way, capture the outpouring of grief and shock from those who loved Him. 34

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Good Friday is indeed good, but only if we remember what happened on Easter Sunday.

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aster is a significant time in the modern calendar. A long weekend, Easter eggs, hot cross buns—what’s not to love? But for Christians the world over, Easter is much more than chocolate bunnies and egg hunts. More people attend church at Easter than any other time of the year—for good reason. It’s a time of remembrance and reflection, a time of recalibration and renewal as we remember Jesus’ death and resurrection. Church events are anchored around Good Friday and Easter Sunday, two very important days in the crucifixion-turned-resurrection narrative. But why exactly are these days so important? And what happened on Easter Saturday in between these two days?

Salome went to His tomb (Mark 16:1; Luke 24:10). It must have seemed like a bad dream to them.

The Friend who they loved, the Man they had followed and believed in for three years as He travelled the countryside teaching, preaching and healing was dead. It had all happened so suddenly they didn’t even have the chance to anoint His body with spices, as was their custom. The sorrow must have been unbearable as they walked in darkness to the tomb.

But when they arrived, the stone blocking the entrance to the tomb had moved and Jesus’ body was gone! There was initial confusion, but soon after they encountered a living, breathing Jesus and exclaimed with great joy, “He is Risen!” It’s the same cry that echoes in our ears each

Easter some 2000 years later.

Good Friday brought sadness and loss.

Easter Sunday brought joy and celebration.

But what about Saturday? What happened during the in-between?

easter saturday

The Bible accounts are strangely silent about what happened to Jesus’ followers that Saturday. The seventh day was the Jewish Sabbath, a day of rest that was observed each week and is still observed by Jews and some Christian denominations around the world today. Matthew and Mark skip over this day completely with just a casual mention of Sabbath (Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:1). John doesn’t mention Saturday at all. Only Luke

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be defeated and where hope dashed would become hope restored.

The older I get, the more I realise that Saturday is my favourite day of the Easter weekend. I find comfort in thinking about the in-between, maybe because my own life is filled with so much in-betweenness. I’ve experienced both horror and joy at different times in my life, but most often I feel like I inhabit in-between spaces.

Between parenting small children and raising young adults.

Between caring for ageing parents and caring for my family.

Between leaving the job I loved that burned me out and finding

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gives any indication of what happened during the in-between: “On the Sabbath they rested according to the commandment” (Luke 23:56).

We don’t know a lot about what happened that day, but what we do know is that on Sunday morning after the women encountered the risen Jesus, they hurried back to where the other disciples were gathered and told them what had happened (Luke 24:9–12). Since it was very early in the morning, we can assume that this little band of believers, broken and bruised, had spent Saturday, their day of rest, together.

Together in their grief.

Together in their loss.

Together in their confusion.

Maybe you know what that kind of grief is like. The pain that ambushes you, steals your breath and just doesn’t make sense. The pain of abandonment and crushed dreams.

The pain of dying and death. The pain of shattered hope. I imagine the followers of Jesus were living in the in-between that Sabbath. Hope was lost on Friday and found on Sunday, but on Saturday they didn’t know what was coming.

The funny thing is, Jesus had actually tried to tell His followers what was going to happen. And not just once, but repeatedly. Time and again He referred to His impending death, but they couldn’t—or wouldn’t—understand. But He also spoke often of hope. Hope in a future where wrongs would be righted, where death would

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Between caring for ageing parents and caring for my family. . . . Yes, I live in the in-between. It’s often a place of confusion and waiting.

whatever comes next.

Between youthfulness and old age.

Between the past and the future.

Between the now and the not-yet.

Yes, I live in the in-between.

It’s often a place of confusion and waiting. It’s a place of mourning what’s been left behind while not quite being able to see the blessings of what comes next.

But it’s also a place of rest, togetherness and hope.

You see, with the benefit of hindsight, I know how the story ends. In the darkness of living in the in-between, Jesus is still the light.

Why? Because I know joy comes in the morning.

The death and resurrection of Jesus is at the very heart of Christian theology. It’s the moment where Jesus, the perfect Lamb of God, died in our place, carried the weight of our collective sin and defeated eternal death once and for all. This act brought salvation—the saving of people from their sins—for all who accept Jesus, then and now. Without

the death and resurrection of Jesus, everything else in Christianity becomes meaningless. Christmas becomes just another cute story of a baby born in Bethlehem. Easter becomes a myth. Jesus becomes just another good teacher and the power of death still reigns supreme in the universe. The events we remember at Easter are the defining events of Christianity.

Good Friday was filled with horror.

Easter Sunday was filled with joy.

Saturday was filled with waiting, mourning and disappointment.

Saturday was also filled with rest and togetherness and fragile hope.

In this season of my life, I often find myself living in the in-between.

But along with the pain, confusion and fear, I cling to hope. Because like those faithful women who attended Jesus’ tomb that Sunday morning, I know one thing to be true: He is risen!

Karen Collum is a children’s author, storyteller and teacher. She is based on the Gold Coast, Queensland.

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FA IT H

EARTHQUAKES AND

BIRTH PAINS The surprising similarity between the end of the world and what most mothers have to go through during pregnancy.

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what was happening, and I shouted, hat do earthquakes and birth “Everyone outside!” It was like a pains have in common? dream. We ran around like headless Well, for one thing, Jesus chickens—running from one end of mentioned them together when His disciples asked about the signs of His the house to the other and out the front door. The kids called out to my soon return in Matthew chapter 24, and there is a surprising link between husband and warned him about the earthquake, but he’s from Chile, so them—an analogy that can give us he didn’t even get out of bed! hope in unstable times.

Later on we realised that if we Recently the Australian state of were going to evacuate, we should Victoria—where I live—was surhave gone through the nearest door. prised by the strongest earthquake Not to recorded in mention that our area— running outmeasuring 5.9 on the side is not the Richter scale. official safety We felt very advice for “shaken” to earthquakes; realise that it was just the ground an intuitive beneath our reaction to We were completely feet is not the human always as feeling of not underprepared as we solid as we wanting to had never expected an thought! I be trapped. can’t say my We were earthquake to happen response was completely even slightly unprepared as logical. we had never I had never expected an practised an earthquake drill with earthquake to happen in Melbourne. my family, and we weren’t expecting one at all on that beautiful, sunny end of the world morning. I was standing right next to Jesus and His disciples had just the sliding glass door at the back of visited the temple in Jerusalem. our house, and suddenly felt it begin The disciples were awe-struck by to shake violently, as if buffeted by a its beauty and tried to call Jesus’ huge gust of wind! However, when I attention to look at its magnificence. opened the door, I could tell it wasn’t It was a magnificent structure; built windy at all. That’s when we realised of huge stones with features of pure

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gold and fine craftsmanship. But Jesus told the disciples that not even one stone would be left on top of another at a later point in the future.

As Jesus and His disciples were later resting on the Mount of Olives, they came to Him privately and asked Him to reveal more about the future—what would be the sign of His return and the end of the world? The Bible describes the scenario in Matthew chapter 24: “Jesus left the temple and was walking away when His disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. ‘Do you see all these things?’ he asked. ‘Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down’” (verses 1 and 2).

It continues. “As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately.

‘Tell us,’ they said, ‘when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?’ Jesus answered: ‘Watch out that no-one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, “I am the Messiah”, APRIL 2022 • SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU

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and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumours of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed.

Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places.

All these are the beginning of birth pains’ (verses 3-8).”

Jesus’ first prophecy was partly a warning of the horrific destruction of Jerusalem, and in fact, because of His thorough warning, His followers were able to escape from the city before its downfall. When Roman soldiers finally swept in at the siege of Jerusalem in 70 AD (some 40 years after Jesus' warning)—after a long siege where many starved to death—they were merciless and the streets ran with rivers of blood and the city was set ablaze. The magnificent temple caught fire and its mighty structure— which would have been one of the wonders of the ancient world—was reduced to rubble.

Jesus also said that earthquakes were one of the signs of His soon return. He described wars, famines and pestilences, and He used the analogy of birth pains! Why would He use that term? In my humble understanding of birth pains, there could be two reasons for this, and it is not because Jesus wanted to scare His followers, but because He wanted to encourage them. If you have ever experienced birth pains (I have), you would know that as they progress, they get more intense, 42

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as well as closer together. In fact, I remember wondering towards the end of labour, Why does it feel like there’s no gap between them at all? The intensity at the end feels almost overwhelming, and the pain is exhausting—you just want it to be over. Jesus was honest with His followers in letting them know that

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Jesus' words in the Bible are not recorded to scare us, but to encourage us

things would not get easier toward the end. However, His warnings were not recorded to scare us, but to encourage us, and that brings us to the second reason for the birth pain analogy—the whole reason why you willingly suffer through birth pains in the first place. It’s not a cliché to say you forget all the pain as you experience the joy of meeting your

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child for the first time.

Jesus was sharing these prophecies with His followers so that they could be ready, and so that they could be encouraged. This is why Jesus said, “When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near” (Luke 21:28). All of the pain

out, inviting you to put your trust in Him. Allow Him to give you the gift of healing and restoration. If you want Him to be Lord of your life today, all you need to do is ask. Pray and ask Him into your heart. Then ask Him to give you repentance (that means turning away from sin), and to forgive all of your sins, and

and pressure is not a signal to fear, but a beacon of hope, an invitation for us to look to God for our help and salvation. When we see disasters happening, God’s Word tells us not to focus on the disasters and be scared, but to “lift up your heads”—to look up and be ready to meet Jesus.

How can we be ready? It’s simpler than you might think. Jesus reaches

to cover you with His perfect life so that you can be with Him when He returns. God has always wanted everyone to come to Him—He doesn’t want anyone to miss out on the wonderful life He has in store for us in heaven.

Leesa Briones is a lifestyle medicine student with a background in education. She lives with her family in Melbourne.

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P RO LE FI

THE REALITY OF LIFE ON

s t e e r t s e h t 44

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There are many sex traffickers like Jeffrey Epstein still out there, and even more victims who haven’t been given a voice.

By Nigel Byng

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legal and illegal

“Were you ever worried about what people would think about you?” I watched as she fidgeted with the edges of a paper napkin.

“It depended on where I was.

No-one knew me here in South Florida. Today, not so much, my past is my past.”

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Prostitution has varying degrees of acceptability across the world. In Australia, for example, the onus has been on creating a safe space for sex workers, something advocates in the US have been asking for. For well over a century, since 1904 to be precise, the legal infrastructure in Australia has attempted to eliminate the “evil fame” by implementing a clause that targeted the men who made a living off the proceeds of prostitution, while creating a safe working space for women like Jasmine. But there is no uniformity across the Australian states. Queensland and Victoria seem to be a coin toss, with legal and illegal sex work definitions, while in New South Wales it appears to be legal. Licensed brothels provide both the means of legal protection and legal compliance.

In the US however, the lack of uniformity with regards to people's outlook on moral and social questions seems to dictate how sex workers are judged. Howard B Woolston referred to it as “the peculiar prejudices which shaped our history”, namely that of “the Puritan of New England and the Cavalier of Maryland”. This meant that the different standards across the 50 states were a mixture of morals and opinions that reflected the societies from where the early pioneers came, and this in turn allowed prostitution to thrive in some states while it was shunned in others.

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I

met her at the beach one morning during the summer of 2013. She had been sleeping rough near a lifeguard tower, her small backpack supplementing for a pillow. A homeless person on Palm Beach Island is something I had never seen before, so I figured it was just someone who had stayed the night at the beach.

But on my way back, she said good morning and asked if I could buy her a coffee and something to eat. It was the beginning of a remarkably interesting friendship.

Earlier this year, I met up with her for another coffee with the intention of documenting her story. Jasmine (not her real name) is from North Carolina. She migrated to Florida in early 2006 as a street worker, leaving behind a family and her legal troubles. She had been a prostitute most of her life. There were practicalities that she had accepted which came with her choice of career, a possible prison sentence being one of them.

Despite prostitution being illegal there, there are estimated to be over one million men and women who find themselves working the streets in the United States alone.

big money

“What brought you to Florida?”

“Miami vice was big money.” She rolls her eyes as if I should know this fact.

Miami’s underground sex economy was churning over close to $USD250 million a year in 2007. Pimps were making between $30,000 and $70,000 a month.

Those are staggering numbers for the time, much larger than I thought they would be.

“Those were enticing numbers.

Why did you get out of the game?”

“It’s not as profitable or lucrative as you may think. I lost my nerve and I decided to make a clean start.”

“Did you get a clean start?”

“Let’s just say there have been a lot of false starts. When I met you, it was another

one of those false starts.” She smiles a rueful, shy smile.

“What made you lose your nerve?”

“The streets are dangerous. Sex traffickers, drug dealers, the pimps, the police

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officers, the Johns (aka, clients).

Everyone and everything is a threat. I just didn’t feel safe anymore.”

“Jeffery Epstein called Palm Beach Island home for a long time. Did you ever meet anyone involved in sex trafficking?”

“Most definitely. But this is nothing new; the Jeffrey Epsteins of this world have been importing and exporting sex workers for centuries.

What’s different today is that people are being forced into the business against their will on a much larger and organised scale.”

“Have you met anyone forced to do so?”

“Yes. It’s the way the game works for a lot of street girls unfortunately.”

Prostitution, like any other business, operates on the same principles of supply and demand. Human beings are being traded on the open market to where they are most needed, and it is a global problem.

4.8 million people are trafficked for forced sexual exploitation globally each year, of which a disproportionate 71 per cent are young girls or women. Michele Clark, writing for Yale Global, stated that “the problem is so extensive that every country in the world can be considered to be a country of origin, transit or destination”.

by god’s grace

“What are some of the struggles you have faced since leaving the game?” I was genuinely concerned.

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have stayed clean for a long time, even going to church. My biggest struggle is that the streets would come calling again when times get tough. It’s a matter of survival for me.”

“Are you still in church?”

She nods. “Church has its purpose.”

“Do you consider your walk of faith to be something integral to your life?”

“Grace finds you when and wherever you need it most. I grew up in church, felt at home there as a kid. Naturally, I gravitated back to it when things got low.”

“What motivated you?”

“I had heard about Annie Lobert who got out of the game.

Gave her life to Christ. Made me believe it was possible.”

Annie Lobert is the founder of Hookers for Jesus, an outreach ministry for women who have been affected by the sex industry.

Her story is quite amazing.

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going home

That morning I met her on the beach, Jasmine had taken up an offer for a wild night with “friends” and she was drugged, used and then abandoned. It’s one of the risks that come with the territory.

“You had promised me that you were going back home to North Carolina that morning. What was that like?”

“As you know, I have my good

and bad moments. Going home was tough.”

“Has your family been supportive?”

“Society is divided on the issue and my family is no different.

There are those who have judged me because of my past. It’s hard to look beyond the harlot and see the sinner saved by grace for a lot of them.”

“When was the last time you were on the corner, posing?”

“I so hate that turn of phrase.

But it was February of 2020.”

“That’s nearly two years. I am proud of you.”

“By God’s grace. I take it one day at a time.”

The nature of prostitution ensures that in our culture it will be offensive to most, tolerable to some, but never fully acceptable to any. I have never judged Jasmine for doing what she needed to do to survive. What intrigued me about her story was her walk with God and her struggle with her lifestyle. The judging eyes of society are no match for a probing conscience burdened with the expectations of a religious upbringing. The process of being unravelled by grace and love is humbling and inspiring if one is patient enough to observe it over time.

Nigel Byng is a freelance writer based in West Palm Beach, Florida.

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SEX WORK: the facts

 Sex work isn’t one thing: it’s a spectrum. Some do it to support themselves and their loved ones willingly, whereas others do it as a result of desperation, and others are not given a choice.—Exodus Road

 Sex trafficking is big business, being valued at almost $US100 billion.—2014 Report from the International Labour Organization

 Some organisations are fighting hard to

legalise sex work; preventing it from being an underground business where sex workers are more vulnerable to criminal activity.

—Open Society Foundations

 More than 70 per cent of sex

trafficking victims were taken from Asia and the Pacific.­—Walk Free Foundation

 Human trafficking plays a large

part in sex work. It’s estimated that there are more than 40 million human slavery victims in the world today, with over 20 million of those being sex slaves.

—Exodus Road, Walk Free Foundation

 Not all sex workers are trafficked. Many enter the profession because of the potential for wealth. A Consumer Affairs Report in Victoria reported in 2009 that young women can expect to earn between $A1000 and $3000 per week.—Women’s Agenda 50

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CIENPIES—GETTY IMAGES

 Sex work can be dangerous. A 2004 report in Australia found that 60 per cent of street sex workers had experienced assault on the job, compared to just 3 per cent of those working in brothels.—Women’s Agenda

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YOU'RE BEING WATCHED

NOT ON FACEBOOK? New reports have affirmed how Facebook continues to build a profile of a user's interests, even after they've deactivated their account.

Data collected includes purchases on other websites, registrations and signing up for streaming services. Deactivating is different to deleting an account, where all data is erased.—DigiDay

CONTACT TRACING The investigation into a man's death in Mainz, Germany has prompted a backlash after police accessed the man's location data from the COVID-19 tracing app, Luca. The app's developer also criticised the move by the authorities, adding that it often denies requests by government entities to tap into private data on the app.—Deutsche Welle

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SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU • APRIL 2022

HEALTH LEAKS A new report claims 40 million United States residents had their health information hacked and stolen in 2021, a significant jump from 26 million victims in 2020. Cases include stolen medical identity, shutting down hospital computer systems and a breach of the Florida Healthy Kids Corporation health plan.—The Verge

10 MINUTE EXERCISE SAVES LIVES A new study published in JAMA internal medicine has found 110,000 deaths each year in the United States are preventable if people aged 40–85 exercised at least 10 minutes per day.—JAMA Network

SAVING ENERGY IN YOUR HOME REACTIVE GLASS Scientists from Nanyang Technology University in Singapore have developed glass panels that can self-adapt to heating or cooling rooms, meaning they can save energy in homes around the globe. The glass coatings use vanadium dioxide nanoparticle composites, special plastics and other coatings in conjunction with spectrums of light passing through the glass. This method helps the glass keep a room cool in summer or warm in winter.—Nanyang Technology University SMART ROOF COATING Most people have valid concerns about rising power costs, but another tool may be arriving soon in order to curb electricity bills. A temperature-adaptive radiative coating (TARC) overcomes the problem of overcooling common amongst other roof cool systems. The coating, also utilising vanadium dioxide, turns off radiative cooling in winter thereby saving an estimated 10 per cent on electricity bills. The material reflects 75 per cent of sunlight in summer, but helps retain indoor heating and solar absorption in winter.—Berkeley Lab INSULATION MADE FROM CANOLA OIL Scientists from Flinders University are developing a composite of materials that can be combined and used as insulation between walls. An unexpected combination of canola oil, wool and sulphur is being used to develop thermal insulaton that is safer for the environment and also energy efficient. Current housing insulation solutions commonly use fibreglass, a material which may be unsafe due to the glass particles becoming airborne.—Flinders University

BREAKS DURING BINGE-WATCHING Extended television watching periods have been linked with higher risk of blood clots. The study recommended taking a break if watching for more than four hours each day, and suggested this is more effective for minimising risk than exercising outside of binge-watching sessions.—Escardo

DON'T WORRY, BE HAPPY New studies claim middle-aged men who worry and are anxious have a higher risk factor of type two diabetes, heart disease and stroke. Doctors say that having check-ups of one's cardiometabolic health, including managing blood pressure and weight, may help prevent the disease.—EurekAlert!

APRIL 2022 • SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU

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CU

LT U R E

SHOULD WE TRY TO

UNDERSTAND? Justin Kurzel’s Nitram portrays the events leading up to the Port Arthur massacre. Is the subject matter too touchy or more important than ever?

BY DANIEL KUBEREK 54

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NITRAM—STAN

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B

efore the introduction credits roll on director Justin Kurzel’s Nitram, there’s a feeling of unease about the film’s subject matter. The Australian movie is based around the troubled life of Port Arthur shooter Martin Bryant (Nitram is Martin spelt backwards); in which his most infamous act is saved until just minutes before the final credits roll.

One question asked by many, especially Tasmanian residents, when the film was announced in late 2020: why make a film about the Port Arthur massacre? Even as the film premiered in Hobart last year to a half-capacity audience—and not because of Covid-19 restrictions— those who did see the movie told The Guardian the atmosphere was “like a funeral”, and others felt “physically sick”.

a dark chapter

For myself, Port Arthur has always represented a dark chapter in this country’s history even though it occurred when I was a mere toddler.

And while the 35 people killed are still mourned to this day, the event also represented a turning point for Australia’s stance on guns. A National Firearms Agreement resulted in many such weapons being returned; and while the United States continues to struggle with the relationship between its Second Amendment and mass shootings, Australia has been free of such incidents in the years since 1996.

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Perhaps the timing for Nitram is crucial for millennials and Gen-Zers to remember why Australia is so “hardline” against guns in a form that is more emotive than a history textbook. But that’s where the central question about the movie’s existence intensifies. Remember, this isn’t a movie about the massacre—unlike the recent 2018 movie 22 July which explicitly detailed the 2011 Norway attack by far-right extremist Anders Breivik, and how the survivors and families dealt with the aftermath— this is a movie focused on “Nitram”, the deranged man at the centre of it all.

The titular character is portrayed with an electric performance by Caleb Landry Jones, who picked up a Cannes Film Festival Best Actor award for his work on the film. Slow, clueless and unable to read social cues, he instantly switches into an aggressive state when he’s not taking his antidepressants.

Then there’s his mother, Carleen Bryant, played by veteran Australian actress Judy Davis, who delivers one of the most memorable performances in the 112 minute-long affair.

How can she live with her mentally handicapped son and maintain her own sanity? Does she suspect him to be capable of violence? Those questions are handled subtly as she gently weeps while recounting a moment when Martin found her pain amusing—right through to passively watching as Bryant beats up his mentally-ill father in a rage fit.

In my opinion, the final shot is the most powerful in the film, especially given the fact that real-world Carleen Bryant cast doubt on her son’s guilt in a 60 Minutes interview aired in 2010.

The audience is left wondering if they would do the same if it was their child who killed 35 people.

NITRAM—IMDB

alone in the world?

The film also explores Bryant’s relationship with wealthy lotto heiress Helen Mary Elizabeth Harvey, a lonesome woman many years Bryant’s senior who is drawn to his child-like way of thinking, eventually allowing him to move in. A former actress, she is now forgotten and discarded by society, just like Bryant. The two form a bond until her death in a car accident— which the movie directly attributes to Bryant distracting her by grabbing at the steering wheel.

It’s this that seems to be a central theme in the film, far more than firearms. Did Martin Bryant commit

the Port Arthur massacre because he was unsupported in society despite struggling with mental illness? Or did the death of his best friend and father tip him over the edge?

It’s those moments where Nitram portrays Bryant as a man capable of good manners and loving towards his parents and Harvey that make for the most chilling viewing—especially for those who personally suffered from his senseless attack and grappled with the question “why?” in the years thereafter.

But perhaps there is an uncomfortable point in there too. Though I have no personal connection to the Port Arthur shooting, I have read quite extensively about the tragedy. When visiting Tasmania on a work trip in 2019, I visited Port Arthur to gather research for a piece I wrote, “Footsteps of a murderer: Lessons from the Port Arthur massacre”. The moment I stood in the Broad Arrow Café where most of Bryant’s victims perished, as I later APRIL 2022 • SIGNS OF THE TIMES.ORG.AU

57

found out, was the exact moment mosque attendees in Christchurch, New Zealand were slain by rightwing extremist Brenton Tarrant.

As I tried to make sense of why anyone would dehumanise other people to the point where they would be capable of committing mass shootings, I came across Aaron Stark. In 2018, he stood at the front of TEDxBoulder and confessed that he was planning a mass shooting at a high school. He even got as far as purchasing his weapons of choice.

The only reason his would-be victims are still alive, he cites, is because of a friend who was caring to him even in his darkest moment.

Maybe this is what Nitram wants

58

SIGNSOFTHETIMES.ORG.AU • APRIL 2022

us to ponder. Is another Port Arthurstyle massacre preventable if we support the potential perpetrators rather than ostracising and marginalising them?

But then the credits roll only moments after Martin Bryant picks up a gun and aims at his targets in the Broad Arrow Café. The text that appears on screen notifies the audience that there are now more guns in circulation in Australia than when Bryant committed the massacre.

a cautionary tale

Nitram perhaps serves to be a two-pronged cautionary tale—one about how we deal with those suffering from mental disorders and

IMAGES—DANIEL KUBEREK

also about the seemingly increasing availability of firearms. Bryant is portrayed throughout the film as having an interest in air guns and eventually purchases, with relative ease, a barrage of weapons which he used to commit the massacre— despite not owning a firearm licence.

Nitram justifies its existence as a cautionary tale, despite the swell of controversy surrounding it.

It enters into a culture where denying that Bryant was the real perpetrator or theories around a large government conspiracy have slowly become more mainstream.

But I can’t help but wonder how I would react if a movie was made about a man who killed someone close to me. I don’t know if I’d be pleased that he is portrayed with hints of sympathy, and I would definitely feel uneasy that the movie tries to understand him—whilst

his most horrific acts are shown off-screen with no mention of his victims or their families.

So as a piece of audio-visual entertainment, perhaps it’s too soon for a movie about the Port Arthur massacre—but survivors and families of the deceased should have the final say on that. Now that it’s out there, one can only hope that an optimistic interpretation of the film’s subtext comes true—that no tragedy like the Port Arthur massacre ever happens again.

Daniel Kuberek is a journalist and filmmaker. Please note that discussion of a media product in Signs of the Times does not imply an endorsement or recommendation.

APRIL 2022 • SIGNS OF THE TIMES.ORG.AU

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R E CI P E

SWEET

POTATO CHIPS This dish is vibrant in colour, flavour and texture! Great appetiser, game-day snack or kid-friendly meal. An all-round winner.

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PREPARATION TIME: 20 MINS COOKING TIME: 25 MINS SERVES: 2 INGREDIENTS

NACHOS 2 small sweet potatoes (kumara), thinly sliced 2 cobs fresh corn, removed from cob ½ capsicum, diced 1 cup canned black beans (drained, rinsed) 60g grated low-fat cheese or cheese alternative 1 small avocado Spray oil SALSA 1 punnet cherry tomatoes, diced ½ red onion, finely chopped 2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander red chilli finely chopped (optional) 1 lime, juiced METHOD

1. Layer sweet potato (kumara) slices over baking paper on baking trays and spray with oil. Bake in a hot oven, 200°C, for 20-25 minutes or until crisp.

2. Combine salsa ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

3. Pile sweet potato (kumara) slices on one tray. Sprinkle with corn, capsicum, black beans and cheese.

4. Place under griller and grill for 5 minutes until cheese is melted and vegetables heated through.

5. Remove from grill and top with salsa and mashed avocado. Serve immediately.

TIP Mix up your topping ingredients by adding your favourites like black olives, jalapeno etc. If you wash and dry sweet potato well, you can leave the skin on.

Nutrition Information PER SERVE: Energy (kJ) 2791; Cal 667; Protein (g) 30.3; Fat (g) 22.3; Saturated fat (g) 6.4; Carbohydrate (g) 69.6; Sugars (g) 25.3; Fibre (g) 28.3; Sodium (mg) 398; Potassium (mg) 2088; Calcium (mg) 463; Iron (mg) 6.3 Recipe courtesy of Sanitarium Health Food Company. Visit sanitarium.com.au or sanitarium.co.nz and subscribe to Recipe of the Week for a delicious plant-powered recipe in your inbox each week.

APRIL 2022 • SIGNS OF THE TIMES.ORG.AU

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FUN

CROSSWORD

How closely have you been reading? Each keyword in this puzzle is also contained within this edition of Signs of the Times.

Happy digging!

SINCERELY MEDIA—UNSPLASH, FREEPIK

Hint: 4 Across

EDUCATION.COM

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CROSSWORD CLUES

ACROSS 1 The art of making rules for a country 3 Home to the most important manger 4 A kiwi sweet potato 6 The only day of the week blessed by God 10 What we call it when Jesus saves us 11 When something becomes overly negative 13 Growing fruit & veggies in a controlled environment 14 A place where people live longer than usual DOWN 2 An oversized teddy bear with a fondness for crossbows 5 A person who would count eating chicken as a meatstake 7 A former Port Arthur cafe 8 When tectonic plates just won't sit still 9 American state most known for alligator attacks 12 Australian city made up of politicians, museums, and is in the middle of nowhere

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