Thinkings: C. H. Spurgeon on understanding

Thinkings: C.H. Spurgeon on understanding

"Certainly, the benefit of reading must come to the soul by way of understanding. When the high priest went into the holy place he always lit the golden candlestick before he kindled the incense upon the brazen altar, as if to show that the mind must have illumination before the affections can properly rise towards their divine object. There must be knowledge of God before there can be love to God: there must be a knowledge of divine things, as they are revealed, before there can be an enjoyment of them. We must try to make out, as far as our finite mind can grasp it, what God means by this and what he means by that; otherwise we may kiss the Book and have no love to its content, we may reverence the letter and yet really have no devotion towards the Lord who speaks to us in these words. You will never get comfort to your soul out of what you do not understand, nor find guidance for your life out of what you do not comprehend, nor can any practical bearing upon your character come out of that which is not understood by you."

- C. H. Spurgeon, Counsel for Christian Workers

Arts, Culture & Entertainment - August 30

 

Photo: The Bible Society

Charles Dickens once wrote, "The New Testament is the very best book that ever was or ever will be known in the world." 

In my experience, the Bible is one's firmest, most reliable and formidable friend, its layers of truth revealed like an unfolding flower at the start of spring. And once you're in, you're in, for there is nothing more life giving, more stimulating, more gratifying, nor more terrifying than the very word of God, which is love breathed into a book so entrancing and instructive and poetic that turning each and every page feels like navigating some strange and forgotten world, yet all the while you come more to life in the here and now the more you absorb; it is as if the words take over your being.

And so, to the Bible Society's latest project: Live Light in 25 Words. The quest: to encourage Christians to nuzzle into the word on a more regular basis. GWAS has been privileged to contribute a few words to the campaign; one voice amongst many singing the praises of God and the book He ordained. Here is the video that goes with the project, which is quite light and fun...

Live light in 25 words teaser clip from Bible Society Australia on Vimeo.

Hazel Phillips of Idealog magazine tells us the latest 'Design Issue' cover was chalked over and then photographed. Nifty idea! Here is the time lapse video of art director Aimee Carruthers chalking it up like Mr Squiggle....

Idealog chalkboard cover timelapse - Issue 41 from Idealog on Vimeo.

"We realised that people really want the deep dive. They want authority and that ability to immerse yourself in a story and feel when you come out of it that you actually understand it from a multi-dimensional perspective. That's something that we crave more and more now that facts are so easy to get." 

- New Yorker editorial director Henry Finder, talking to the ABC's Richard Glover, 'In defence of the comma'

Dumbo feather magazine presents two events of interest: a conversation with Marion Potts, artistic director of Malthouse Theatre on Tuesday September 11, from 6pm, and a screening of Abigail Disney's Pray the Devil Back to Hell, a film about building peace, war, women's roles and her own personal journey in finding happiness through connectedness. The film will screen on Monday September 24, from 7.30pm, at Dumbo feather headquarters. Spaces are limited so register quickly! 

On September 8 and 15th, ACMI presents Melbourne filmmaker Diane Perelsztejn's documentary on English pianist and classical singer Kathleen Ferrier. Narrated by Charlotte Rampling, Perelsztejn's project draws on a wealth of recently discovered material sources from archives around the world, including home movies and photographs to shed a new light on Ferrier's remarkable life; from telephonist and pianist to highly acclaimed singer. At a memorial service at Southwark Cathedral on 14 November 1953 the Bishop of Croydon, in his eulogy, said of Ferrier's voice: "She seemed to bring into this world a radiance from another world". The presentation is part of ACMI's Australian Perspectives: Contemporary Filmmaking and Special Guest Presentations curated by James Nolen.

Of course, we are also coming into wedding high season, and so we greet the new edition of WHITE magazine with open arms like a couple returning from their honeymoon. And that's the ace thing about WHITE, it keeps giving after the wedding day. The new issue has some brilliant little features and nuggets of post-nuptial insight by some brilliant writers, such as Elizabeth Baker's 'After the Honeymoon' ("Preparing for the obscurity beyond the spotlight is worth doing prior to publicly authenticating your union"), Laura Jackel's 'Domestic Bliss' ("While you may adore the caboodle of satin cushions festooning your bachelorette sofa, are they something your man will equally adore?") and Emily Connett's 'Bag of Tricks' ("whack out those arms in a loving embrace and get hugging"). Aww, you guys!

Girl With a Satchel

Teen Girl With a Satchel - new seasons and wallflowers

Teen Girl With a Satchel: new seasons & wallflowers

By Georgie Carroll

As my final term of school ever winds down, and teachers frantically try to stuff as much information into our brains as possible, I’ve been feeling very nostalgic. 

I cried the other day reading The Perks Of Being A Wallflower when some of the characters graduated high school because I realised how close mine was. My friends will probably get sick of me declaring "GUYS! This is the last (day) of week (number) we'll ever have in high school!" but I'm the kind of person who celebrates fraction birthdays, so they should be used to me by now.

This feeling was only added to by my brother turning 21 and having a massive party full of people from our past. As we reminisced over memories and created new ones, I realised just how lucky I have been in the first 18 years of my life, and how excited I am for my new path, just around the corner.

Here I am, trials completed, university application sent in, frantically revising for the looming HSC. Nightmares about handing in blank exam papers behind me, the three-hour exams and pressure to remember a year's worth of work are looking a lot simpler than I had imagined.

The epiphany came in the middle of a Geography exam. As I sat there, blindly guessing multiple choice answers (I definitely do not take my advice from a Jonas Brothers interview in which Joe answers "B" to everything), I realised that, sitting in a hall, writing some information, doing your best, well, it's really not the end of the world.

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Book Shelf: A Lady Cyclist's Guide to Kashgar by Suzanne Joinson

Book Shelf: A Lady Cyclist's Guide to Kashgar
By Brooke Lehmann

Suzanne Joinson's travels have seen her reaching the far corners of the earth- from North Africa, to the Middle East and China, to the romantically historic shores of Europe. 

It is her travels and affinity for thrift shops and untold stories that embodies the English authoress' debut novel, A Lady Cyclist's Guide to Kashgar (Bloomsbury). Having already received high acclaim for her short story Laila Ahmed, Joinson revives her intrinsic imagination and experience in her new culturally transporting work.

The novel juxtaposes two contrary worlds: one in the form of Kashgar in the 1920s, and the other in modern day London. Evangeline (Eva) English finds herself a part of her sister Lizzie's mission project in the unlikely city of Kashgar, China, under their iron-fisted leader Millicent. Eva's only aim, however, is to remove herself as far as possible from the grey shores of England and to use her experiences to write her ambitious novel.

Meanwhile, in modern day London, Frieda, a somewhat unorthodoxly raised Englishwoman who studied International Relations and Politics, uses her career as a strange form of rebellion against her eccentric parents and to seek some semblance of a 'normal' life. After a chance encounter with Yemeni-born Tayeb, and a mysterious letter from the Deaths, Marriages, Births department, Frieda finds Kashgar and London colliding in a way she never expected.

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Aesthete: Segue into spring

Aesthete: Segue into spring

I could almost hear God say, "Ta-da!" as I glimpsed sight of this brilliant bush behind the picket fence, so impressive is its display reaching up to the clear blue sky, observed this morning on a stroll in the Brisbane 'burbs. Spring is just around the corner. I, for one, cannot wait!

"They will be like a well-watered garden; they will have everything they need. Then the young women will dance and be happy, and men, young and old, will rejoice. I will comfort them and turn their mourning into joy, their sorrow into gladness." Jeremiah: 31: 12-13

Girl With a Satchel

The Satchel Review - Saturday 25 August, 2012

It really is hard to remember, in my lifetime anyway, when Australian politics was so divisive; an indicator, perhaps, of a healthy democracy, of some nationwide existential angst, or of my youthful (that's a stretch!) political ignorance*. 

Arguably, the fifty-something shades of grey that characterise the political scene today are a necessary democratic conduit – the point being the 'working out', not necessarily the 'finality' at arrival at sure-fire policy that will make all and sundry people blissfully happy is the aim of the system.

To see the Government and Opposition finally come to an agreement on Asylum Seekers, as they did on the National Disability and Insurance Scheme, is to be applauded, even if these are the first stages of very large and complex policy problems.

There must surely be some middle ground, as far as the goodness of society at large is concerned, where political foes meet and agree to agree to shake hands on things of pressing importance, and not simply to take the disagreeable route and refuse to follow suit. Finally, some sound decisions.

Nevertheless, until very recently, the political landscape has been full of so much huff and puff, slanging and silliness, that the whole parliamentary house has been at risk of falling down into a sorry state of disrepute. One does sense a turn around; a return to some semblance of civility. But this is a case of "long time, no see". Why could this be?

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Thinkings: The greatness of techno-disconnectivity

Thinkings: The greatness of techno-disconnectivity

"We know you have little patience for delays or system failures when you’re trying to be productive, but those of us who have walked a few more miles know that sometimes God works in ways we don’t predict. The faltering Internet connection on your laptop at the airport can be a life-altering gift to the grief-stricken woman sitting next to you when suddenly you are inspired to share your life in Christ. That hard drive crash can be two days you spend cleaning up your mother’s garden, reconnecting with the smell and feel of the earth, earning the praise from your mother (that never gets old) and the irreplaceable feeling of getting a job done. Patience remains a virtue, still." 

- Jacqueline Ritacco, 'How to be a better twenty-something', Relevant magazine

On, delicious non-internet bound time, when wandering thoughts and feet enter the realm of the sublime! How I long for the Sabbath day, spent in the presence of Yahweh, the inner sanctum where whence we meet completely disconnected from anything remotely technological, when the words on the page, the fleeting thoughts, the sight of a small bird taking flight and a delicately unfolding flower come to life, delighting each and every sense they touch until you are fully enveloped in the majesty of it all. And, oh, for moments spent in the company of friends, during which time 'getting away' is unhindered by the sounding of a phone or the desperation to 'check' the email, the messages, the too-crowded, I-can't-breathe schedule. Snatches of time just between you and the ones you love most... is there anything more truly delicious?!

On that note, GWAS is working on some big assignments over the next two to three weeks, as well as undergoing some big life changes of the domestic kind. The pace here may be even slower than usual – if that is at all possible (we play the tortoise, not the hare, around here)! Otherwise, I will be sharing glimpses of things I am thinking over, such as this 'Thinking' right here, and articles conjured up by friends with the writerly proclivity. 

See also: 
Nancy Sleeth on 'Do you need a technology fast?' at Qideas
Emma Plant on 'Problematic Internet Use' at GWAS

Girl With a Satchel

Culture: Lessons from Binchy's Circle of Friends and Dunham's Girls

Culture: Lessons from Circle of Friends and Girls

By Jessica Holburn

'I don't know why you let me go to University. It's like taking me to the top of the mountain and showing me the world, and then marching me back down, and saying, "That's what you can't have Benny, you silly great fat article. Here's what you can have: Knockglen for the rest of your life and married to Sean bloody Walsh!" I'd rather be married to a bloody lizard!' 

- Bernadette, "Benny" Hogan.

Circle of Friends (or rather COF as we shall henceforth endeavour to call it here, as we feel it warrants its own acronym), was one of those movies that came out in 1995* that taught you some little wisdoms of life. 

It made the world of academia seem like a fun adventure worth trying. It made we less conventionally beautiful women feel more beautiful and capable of pursuing our dreams, whether we had the cheekbones of Safron Burrows or not. We came out of it with an understanding that beauty is deeper than soft, freckle-less skin and a perfect figure, that we could be beautiful and flawed at the same time, and that cute men like Chris O'Donnell could be entranced by our minds and not our bodies.

The "ugly duckling syndrome" is nothing new – myths are continually perpetuated about what a woman should look like as a teenager, in their 20s, 30s, 40s and so on, which is why a pivotal film such as this is a good one to return to, serving as a reminder that every time we finish flicking through a glossy or walk out of a shopping mall vexed because we looked rubbish in whatever it was we tried on, it is not entirely our fault.

Based on the book written by the recently departed and dearly loved Irish author Maeve Binchy in 1990, COF is a journey of self-discovery about creating a new path for oneself rather than following what is predestined or predetermined by looks and wealth. Adapted by Andrew Davies for the screen, the film is set in 1950s Ireland, a time when conservatism was being rebelled against.

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Creativity: The journey with Beci Culley

Creativity: The journey with Beci Culley

"There are many times where I have been trying to race the pace of life...except I feel like I'm the only one putting the hard work in while the time is just gliding along with ease. No matter how hard we try to make time go faster it will continue to glide along according to its own schedule. My life lesson, learned on many different occasions, is to remember this: time moves at its continual pace, tomorrow is a new day and tears may come at night but joy will arrive in the morning… so catch the sunlight and feel it pour its warmth over you." - Beci Culley

Thinkings: Charles Ferguson and Muhammad Yunus on banks

Thinkings: Charles Ferguson on bankers

"Lessons have been learnt, but they're not always good lessons. One of the good lessons is that people in general are now very aware that there is something wrong with the financial system and that the level of ethics in the financial sector has sunk very low. On the other hand, the big lesson learnt by the financial guys was that they could do something incredibly bad and get away with it." 

- Charles Ferguson, film director and producer, Inside Job, The Deal magazine, August 2012

"Two out of three people in the world have no bank who would serve them... They only lend to people who already have money. It's a very funny institution. They laughed at me. And I laughed at them... When you go to a bank, you convince them you are trustworthy. We reversed that. We go to the people, who tell us they don't know anything. They're our people. We build her confidence in us. But we give no suggestions. They have to come from her... poverty is not created by the poor. It's created by the system. Just a loan, not even a donation, can change a life. How stupid and stingy does society have to be to miss this chance."
- Muhammad Yunus, founder, Grameen Bank, Bangladesh, Women's Agenda 

Short & Sweet - week beginning 20 August, 2012

A car with a view of the sky so blue...

"You take the high road, I'll take the low road..."goes the old Scottish tune penned by poet and folklorist Andrew Long.

Though no one quite knows the exact meaning of the song, one might imagine it depicts that one is taken by vagabonds and rebels, and the other by the gentry and civilised citizenry; one to the eternal life where all goodness and truth reside, the other leading to the ephemeral pleasures of the world and pain and destruction. When spending time on the road, which I have done a lot lately, one is given over to wandering thoughts about such things. My husband is currently executing a covert "get her to the bush" campaign; the still, small whispers of the bush are getting under my skin. It will be interesting to see where that road leads. It takes Stephen and Jan Johnson, draught horse breeders profiled by ABC Open, hours to prepare for a short trip to town. "I like the steadiness of it, the quietness and working with the animals," says Stephen. Oh, for the bush, where the stars and quiet resound.

The Word for the Week: “…for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me…. Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.” Jesus, Matthew 25:35-41.
Quote for the Week: "People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices." Adam Smith, economist
Dictionary.com word for the week: nomothetic \nom-uh-THET-ik\, adjective:
1. Giving or establishing laws; legislative.
2. Founded upon or derived from law.
3. Psychology. Pertaining to or involving the study or formulation of general or universal laws (opposed to idiographic).
"Father Frank Brennan has penned a reflective piece on Australia's nomothetic treatment of asylum seekers for the ABC's Religion and Ethics page. He starts, 'Behind all the legal technicalities and political argument about boat people, there is room for deeper ethical reflection and a more principled proposal. But first, to clear away some of the debris.' Well worth a read, I say."

Girl With a Satchel

The Satchel Review - Saturday 18 July, 2012

During the week when a "Pacific Solution Mark II" was reached, and Julian Assange granted asylum in Ecuador, two interesting bits of mail were sent to me in the post: one, a request for an extra sum of money to be sent to my sponsor child for Christmas, and the other an email from one Ms. Ibunda Ngono.

According to the email, Ms. Ngono was at school in Ghana when her wealthy father was assassinated by a group of rebel vagabonds in Cote d'lvoire, which lies between Ghana and Liberia, thereby bequeathing his daughter control of US$2.4 million in funds, which she would like me to help her gain access to in order that she might complete her education in our country.

Now, while I might sympathise with the plight of Ms. Ngono, whose story is compelling, I didn't fall off the Christmas tree (and onto Christmas Island, as did 67 asylum seekers ostensibly headed for Singapore this week, picked up by the merchant vessel Parsifal).

My benevolence is more likely to be directed toward the respectable organisation administering services for my sponsor child, as apposed to the conman who constructed the fraudulent email on behalf of Ms. Ngono and intends to steal my bank account details.

It's likely most of you, who have a clue, would share this view. In this context, it is truly unfortunate that the activities of those unfortunate people smugglers participating in the detritus of a profession akin to slave trading muck up the very genuine right to political and economic asylum of many refugees seeking a haven on our rocky shores.

While a degree of accountability must also be assumed by those who deliberately flout international laws in pursuit of a new home country, specific and expedient arrangements must surely be made for the truly desperate while those who defraud them of their money and put their lives in peril are prosecuted for doing so?

At this point, matters get complicated. How does one exert diplomacy and compassion in light of the reality that others exploit arrangements to their advantage?

That is what the Expert Panel on Asylum Seekers – former Defence Force chief Angus Houston, the former foreign affairs chief Michael L’Estrange, and the refugee advocate Paris Aristotle (aka 'The Houston Panel') – sought to address, delivering its assessment on August 13. 

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