MARCH 2014
NEWS
Miroslav Volf visits John Sandeman Yale theologian Miroslav Volf has been thinking about the best way for Christians to contribute to the common good for a lifetime of writing. Volf, Director of the Yale Centre for Faith and Culture and a renowned public theologian will speak at Re:Thinking, a public faith, hosted by the Centre for Public Christianity in Sydney on March 18-20. The conference will answer the question: “How do we engage a postChristian culture?” “Miroslav Volf ’s visit to Australia represents a rare opportunity,” says Simon Smart, a director of the Centre for Public Christianity. “He is a big name, a serious public intellectual in America and around the world.” Volf has described the role of the Christian community as “a combination of moral clarity that does not shy away from calling evil by its proper name and of deep compassion towards evil doers that is willing to sacrifice one’s own life on their behalf ”, saying this was one of the “extraordinary features of early Christianity. It should also be the central characteristic of contemporary Christianity.” During Re:Thinking, Volf will give a public lecture—the inaugural Richard Johnson lecture—in Sydney on March 18 at the Wesley Centre. He will also give public lectures at the Hawke Centre at the University of South Australia on March 16 and at the University Melbourne on 13, 14 & 15 March. rethinking.net.au
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BRIEFS
She drew the Bible: Annie Vallotton, illustrator of the iconic images in the Good News Bible, died in France on 28 December 2013 at the age of 98. Publisher Harper Collins has identified Vallotton as the best-selling artist of all time, thanks largely to the success of the Good News Bible, of which more than 225 million copies have been distributed since its release as Good News For Modern Man in 1966.
Trapped in North Korea Guan Un
An Australian missionary, John Short, has been arrested and detained in North Korea under allegations of possessing religious material. If found guilty, he could face up to 15 years imprisonment. John, 75, is originally from South Australia, but has worked in missionary service and Christian publishing in Asia for 50 years. He is married to Karen, and has three children. He was part of a larger tour group, but was detained separately, when he was allegedly found in possession of Christian tracts translated into Korean. Eternity talked to Merv Knight, who has worked closely with John on the mission field for over twenty years. When we called, Merv said that he had just got off the phone with Karen, and had received a text message from John the day before his arrest. Merv told Eternity that he met John in the early 90s, and that John has always had a “burden” for the places that it was the most difficult for the gospel to go—like to China, Burma, Vietnam— which was why he went to North Korea. “He has a burden for North Korea, which he sees as one of the most difficult countries in the world when it comes to presenting the gospel, and a country that has a terrible human rights record, as came to light just this week. “He’s one of those people who took
the attitude that if people say you can’t do it, then it needs to be done.” The possibility of a successful diplomatic resolution is potentially difficult, as Australia has no official diplomatic ties to North Korea. Australian interests in North Korea are currently channeled through the Swedish embassy. In another ongoing case, US missionary Kenneth Bae was arrested in November 2012, and is currently serving a 15 year sentence of hard labour, despite his public appeals through US diplomatic channels. However, Merv said he believed that, while John and Karen would love continuing support in prayer, John would remain resolute in the face of his arrest. “I have the greatest confidence in John that he will be somebody that will be very hard to intimidate in any way, and he will stand up for what he believes in,” Merv says. “His feeling will be ‘Here I am, so God has put me here, so I have to use this opportunity.’ “He will refuse to deny his faith, no matter what treatment he may face, and use the opportunity wherever he is, and to tell others that, in his view, the answer is to be found in Jesus Christ.” At time of writing, there had been no further news about John or his whereabouts. Authorities had been unable to make contact with him. Eternity will publish news as it becomes available about John Short at biblesociety.org.au/ eternitynews
“He will refuse to deny his faith, no matter what treatment he may face...”
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Atheist Easter tweets: Australian atheist twitter personality Donovan @MrOzAtheist has taken up City Bible Forum’s challenge to read the Easter story and investigate what it says. No more small parties: Family Voice Australia (FAVA) has backed the move to have “above the line” preferences at Senate elections. This would allow voters to choose preferences in a simple way and remove the incentive for micro parties to run complicated preference deals. FAVA’s David Phillips said “The ballot paper would be much smaller, because only a limited number of parties would then want to contest elections.” Winners in Eternity: Congratulations to Bible Society’s Christmas competition winners. The winners are: * Colouring competition—Stacey from Wallangra, age 10. * Quiz competition—Jaiden from Roseville, age 8. * Art competition—Matt from Kandos, age 6.
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