I don't know who originally wrote this story, but I studied it during an RE (Religious Education) lesson in Year 11 back in 1986. Says a lot about all of us in one way or another.
LESTER FINCHBERRY
Lester Finchberry was born in New York in 1930 to an average mother and father, and weighed in at 7 pounds. He grew up in an average household to a supportive family, and as a child got into the average amount of fights, got average grades in primary school, and then became a grade “A” student. When he turned 13 years old, he started to realise that there were differences between boys and girls, and how they related to each other. Somehow that was fun, but he never found out why. He had friends, but was quite stingy with money. “Miser Lester” the others used to tease him as being, though they finally laid off him in Year 12 as it was no longer cool or fun to do so.
By the time he graduated from school, he had already decided his future: he would attend university and study commerce, become an advertising executive, get married and have two children. So he enrolled in an economics degree and set about to plan for his future. During this time, a beautiful young arts student fell madly in love with him and they started dating. However, Lester seemed to be amiable towards her but never making the first move. One night when they were at home cuddled up on the couch, she finally proposed to him. “I love you, I want to marry you” she said. Lester replied “I cant, I’m not ready yet. I’ve got my studies to finish first.” He kept on putting off her offers in the ensuing months. Finally, the girl got impatient and dropped him and married someone else within in a month of dating him. This puzzled Lester, so he studied female psyche.
He finally completed his economics degree, and attended the graduation. On his way home, he slipped and broke his ankle and had to go to hospital. “Now what could I have done to prevent this from happening again?” he wondered whilst in recovery. So he studied medicine. When he graduated four years later, on his way home a car that was coming out of the car park ran over his toe. Lester was very angry and took the driver to court, but the driver won on the grounds that Lester shouldn’t have been in the parking lot at the time. So he studied law.
He didn’t have time to finish the course, as his family got sick of supporting him and decided it was time for him to move out of home. Lester found himself a new place, and started his own business running a second hand bookshop. During this time he started reading books about future wars, revolutions, and natural disasters like hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, tidal waves, and solar flares. He thought of making money to build a hideaway by playing the stock market but decided that was too risky, so he invested in gold. Over the next five years he amassed enough money to retire to the wilderness to build himself a fortress. He stayed out there for the next twenty years waiting, and then was disappointed when the disasters never happened.
Disillusioned, he decided to return to his hometown. By now things had changed. Most of his friends and acquaintances from university were long since dead or retired. The woman who had proposed to him as a young man had since been divorced three times, had five children, and had become a lesbian who was now working in a woman’s outreach centre and talked to him for about half an hour whilst on her lunchbreak when he visited her one day after looking her name up on the Internet, before politely saying that she did not wish for him to try and contact her again for anything. His parents were dead as well, and his brother since had two children who didn’t even know about him until he returned home. His sister on the other hand decided to let him live with her, and always remembered him as a good, well-behaved, but shy brother. Lester found himself another job working as a cleaner in the local shopping mall, even though he was now an old man and most workplaces that he had sent in his credentials to were only really interested in hiring younger staff. The city was virtually polluted, and there was smog in the air. “The air in the city is foul” he told a workmate. “You can’t expect to live long with black lungs”.
Three years later he began to cough, and was diagnosed by the doctor as having terminal emphysema from his cigarette smoking which was his only vice. He was told that he only had two more years to live, so he had better make the most of it. Something was missing in his life, but he could not put his finger on it. He went back to the library again to search for answers, and then he found it. “It’s religion” he realised. “You can’t leave the world without religion”. So he studied the Bible, the Koran, the Bhagavad-Gita, the Talmud, as well as Dianetics, and other New Age books on self-improvement but was disappointed when he found that his eyesight was failing him and besides that he could not understand anything that was written in them.
Finally, a few days later he got the feeling that his life was going to end. So he went back to bed and stayed there. He got a Rabbi, a Buddhist priest, a born again Christian preacher, and a Tibetan monk all standing by his bedside to pray for him as his life slowly slipped away. His last words were: “Now, what have I missed?”
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Ten Things To Do As A Musician When You Have No Talent
1) Strip on a music show like "Top Of The Pops"
2) Get Stock/Aitken/Waterman to write you a song
3) Get Dave Stewart to produce you
4) Tell everybody that you're going to be bigger than The Beatles
5) Cover a Beatles song like "With A Little Help From My Friends" or "Yesterday"
6) Send an unsolicited demo tape or CD to a major record label and spend the next 6 months waiting by the phone or the Internet for a reply
7) Slag off other artists with infinitely more popularity and/or credibility than you in the press
8) Jump on every music bandwagon going in order to be 'hip'
9) Give up drugs and smoke banana peel, or drink coca-cola with aspirin to give you some creative buzzes
10) Sample a vocal line by an unphotogenic black female singer in her 60's and make a video with a photogenic black female model who can't sing a note for peanuts
2) Get Stock/Aitken/Waterman to write you a song
3) Get Dave Stewart to produce you
4) Tell everybody that you're going to be bigger than The Beatles
5) Cover a Beatles song like "With A Little Help From My Friends" or "Yesterday"
6) Send an unsolicited demo tape or CD to a major record label and spend the next 6 months waiting by the phone or the Internet for a reply
7) Slag off other artists with infinitely more popularity and/or credibility than you in the press
8) Jump on every music bandwagon going in order to be 'hip'
9) Give up drugs and smoke banana peel, or drink coca-cola with aspirin to give you some creative buzzes
10) Sample a vocal line by an unphotogenic black female singer in her 60's and make a video with a photogenic black female model who can't sing a note for peanuts
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
BUT I DON'T WANNA GET DIRTY
What is it that really sells a vacuum cleaner?
What sells Palmolive washing up liquid or that lemon-scented floor cleaner?
More importantly, what would Macbeth be without the scene of Lady Macbeth's dementia?
When we're young we are given a new suit or a new dress by mum and dad who put us out in the garden and then say "Now don't get dirty".
How about charity football matches where you play opposite your mums who say "I just ironed that shirt this morning!" or "Are you really going to kick that muddy ball with those boots?"
No matter what we do, whether its in the army running around in trenches 12 feet deep, in politics when uncovering cases of bribery, fraud, theft, and politicians who have more tongue and vocabulary than influence, or even religious ministers who get their flocks dirty - this is all taking place on a great big ball of mud, water, metal and wood hurtling through a big black sky.
We have all gotten our hands dirty at some stage in our lives, and we will continue to get the money. How many of us would put our trust in a mechanic or a builder who complains about getting their hands dirty? Would we put our confidence in a policeman of James Bond who cringe at the sight of blood, or even a surgeon for that matter?
You probably all understand the point I'm trying to make now - no matter what job or career you are in, there's always the rugby field or the engine or the disease-stricken patient to deal with. The only worry which we all share is: how do we wash it off or not let it ruin us? Just how long or far can we go before mum runs out of the house screaming "Look at the mess you're in!!" or even worse being sent to your room or whatever because you brought the dirt into the house?
To conclude, is it dirt or is it the hands that gather the dirt which is wrong in the first place?
What sells Palmolive washing up liquid or that lemon-scented floor cleaner?
More importantly, what would Macbeth be without the scene of Lady Macbeth's dementia?
When we're young we are given a new suit or a new dress by mum and dad who put us out in the garden and then say "Now don't get dirty".
How about charity football matches where you play opposite your mums who say "I just ironed that shirt this morning!" or "Are you really going to kick that muddy ball with those boots?"
No matter what we do, whether its in the army running around in trenches 12 feet deep, in politics when uncovering cases of bribery, fraud, theft, and politicians who have more tongue and vocabulary than influence, or even religious ministers who get their flocks dirty - this is all taking place on a great big ball of mud, water, metal and wood hurtling through a big black sky.
We have all gotten our hands dirty at some stage in our lives, and we will continue to get the money. How many of us would put our trust in a mechanic or a builder who complains about getting their hands dirty? Would we put our confidence in a policeman of James Bond who cringe at the sight of blood, or even a surgeon for that matter?
You probably all understand the point I'm trying to make now - no matter what job or career you are in, there's always the rugby field or the engine or the disease-stricken patient to deal with. The only worry which we all share is: how do we wash it off or not let it ruin us? Just how long or far can we go before mum runs out of the house screaming "Look at the mess you're in!!" or even worse being sent to your room or whatever because you brought the dirt into the house?
To conclude, is it dirt or is it the hands that gather the dirt which is wrong in the first place?
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Sparks - Exotic Creatures Of The Deep
Sparks - "Exotic Creatures Of The Deep"
It's not often that you find a band that's been around for 37 years, sold over 10 million albums worldwide and there are still heaps of people (especially in Australia) who still don't have a clue as to who they are.
Legendary L.A. brothers Ron & Russell Mael have recently delivered their 21st album exquisitiely titled "Exotic Creatures Of The Deep" on their own label Li'l Beethoven, which they celebrated the release of by playing a 21 day gig in London at Carling Academy in Islington with a history lesson of all their back albums from "Wonder Girl" to "Likeable", along with some curio tracks that are damned hard to find.
Upon first listening to this album (as indeed with many other Sparks albums) the tracks didn't make much impact on me until around the third or fourth play before I decided how much I liked it. That is usually the case with Sparks albums for even the most experienced of listeners. Ron & Russell vehemently refuse to let themselves conform to one singular musical genre that you can feel comfortable in. Their purpose in the music world is to confound and to educate as with many other acts that changed the face of pop music in their time like T. Rex, The Goodies, New York Dolls, and The Sex Pistols. They are one of the few acts that understood punk and got it right the first time.
This album is only punk in the manner of it's musical rather than it's fashion anarchy. Fusing Manhattan Transfer-like nostalgia harmony vocals with lush orchestras, squelching 70's Chicory Tip-ish synths, and some good thrashy guitars and drums this is one album that you can't afford to miss.
The track listing is thus:
1) Intro - opens up with some beautiful wordless vocals interspersed with chants of "like me" with some poignant piano playing which goes straight to
2) Good Morning - available only as a download single in the UK, it got heavy airplay on BBC Radio 2. It's a nice piece of reggae-pop with Russell's trademark falsetto in fine form, nice harmony vocals and a theme about a guy who gets drunk whilst on the tiles and wakes up to find a beautiful woman in bed with him and has no idea as to how she got there. Nice coda to the song which has some nods to the Human League's kaleidoscope keyboard playing.
3) Strange Animal - fusing dainty ragtime piano playing and a whole choir of Russell's vocals, underneath the beautiful arrangements is a nightmarish story of the dangerous sexual quirks of humankind. The song intersperses ragtime with some galloping thrash rock. It could have been a contender for a single, but some fans were put off by the duration of the track (it is almost 6 minutes in legnth).
4) I Can't Believe That You Would Fall For All The Crap In This Song - Going back 35 years in time, this is a great glitter rock stomper with barbershop vocals completing Dean Mentas snarling guitars and Tammy Glover's thundering drums and all the while they make fun of the ballad singers (a la American Idol stars). This is the most catchiest track on the album which should be the next single, but alas I fear that it might be boycotted by the BBC due to the use of the "c" word in the title (their other masterpiece single "Dick Around" suffered the same fate two years ago).
5) Let The Monkey Drive - sounding similar to "Here Comes Bob" from their second album, it once again tells the story about arrogant drivers and how most guys get in touch with their primal selves once they get behind the wheel in their automobiles.
6) Intro (Reprise) - the vocals for the first track truncated into 24 seconds.
7) I've Never Been High - Ranks up as one of Sparks' finest ballads along with "Those Mysteries", "The Angels", and "I Married Myself" IMHO. It's about a guy who has never experienced any enjoyment in life whether it be from sex, drugs, music, or any of life's other symplicities. Gentle piano playing gives way to a big orchestral production with tympani, organ, guitars and some sweet backing vocals.
8) She Got Me Pregnant - sounding similar to "Here Kitty", it is an old oompah jazzy inspired track. I will admit that I didn't really like this song when I first heard it, but it's definitely a grower.
9) Lighten Up, Morrissey - Should be released as a double A-sided single with "The Crap In This Song". Sparks biggest celebrity fan and best buddy Morrissey gets a look over in this song about a lovesick guy whose self-esteem is taking a bashing because a girl he fancies is constantly comparing him to Morrissey. A great glam rock stomper which starts out sounding a bit like "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" with the marching grungey bass and guitar but goes into a heavier sounding track sounding rather similar to Morrissey's recent efforts.
10) This Is The Renaissance - From here, the album delves more into classical/Romantic mode. Sounding like the intro for ABBA's "Mama Mia", this is a pleasant sounding track.
11) The Director Never Yelled 'Cut!' - Simple message to this song: Russell tells the story about a female movie director seducing him, and not giving up her prowess until she's finished with him and only then does she yell 'Cut!'
12) Photoshop - Ingenius use of the photography software to eradicate a lover out of one's life after the relationship has gone awry.
13) Likeable - A nice closer to the album, it speaks quite a bit about myself wishing that I could be liked a bit more than just loved by the people that know me in person. The track closes with the "Intro" vocals.
The album is not yet available in Australia, although in the UK their label is partially distributed by Universal, so I hope that a label like Modular Records with release it here after I wrote to them.
It's not often that you find a band that's been around for 37 years, sold over 10 million albums worldwide and there are still heaps of people (especially in Australia) who still don't have a clue as to who they are.
Legendary L.A. brothers Ron & Russell Mael have recently delivered their 21st album exquisitiely titled "Exotic Creatures Of The Deep" on their own label Li'l Beethoven, which they celebrated the release of by playing a 21 day gig in London at Carling Academy in Islington with a history lesson of all their back albums from "Wonder Girl" to "Likeable", along with some curio tracks that are damned hard to find.
Upon first listening to this album (as indeed with many other Sparks albums) the tracks didn't make much impact on me until around the third or fourth play before I decided how much I liked it. That is usually the case with Sparks albums for even the most experienced of listeners. Ron & Russell vehemently refuse to let themselves conform to one singular musical genre that you can feel comfortable in. Their purpose in the music world is to confound and to educate as with many other acts that changed the face of pop music in their time like T. Rex, The Goodies, New York Dolls, and The Sex Pistols. They are one of the few acts that understood punk and got it right the first time.
This album is only punk in the manner of it's musical rather than it's fashion anarchy. Fusing Manhattan Transfer-like nostalgia harmony vocals with lush orchestras, squelching 70's Chicory Tip-ish synths, and some good thrashy guitars and drums this is one album that you can't afford to miss.
The track listing is thus:
1) Intro - opens up with some beautiful wordless vocals interspersed with chants of "like me" with some poignant piano playing which goes straight to
2) Good Morning - available only as a download single in the UK, it got heavy airplay on BBC Radio 2. It's a nice piece of reggae-pop with Russell's trademark falsetto in fine form, nice harmony vocals and a theme about a guy who gets drunk whilst on the tiles and wakes up to find a beautiful woman in bed with him and has no idea as to how she got there. Nice coda to the song which has some nods to the Human League's kaleidoscope keyboard playing.
3) Strange Animal - fusing dainty ragtime piano playing and a whole choir of Russell's vocals, underneath the beautiful arrangements is a nightmarish story of the dangerous sexual quirks of humankind. The song intersperses ragtime with some galloping thrash rock. It could have been a contender for a single, but some fans were put off by the duration of the track (it is almost 6 minutes in legnth).
4) I Can't Believe That You Would Fall For All The Crap In This Song - Going back 35 years in time, this is a great glitter rock stomper with barbershop vocals completing Dean Mentas snarling guitars and Tammy Glover's thundering drums and all the while they make fun of the ballad singers (a la American Idol stars). This is the most catchiest track on the album which should be the next single, but alas I fear that it might be boycotted by the BBC due to the use of the "c" word in the title (their other masterpiece single "Dick Around" suffered the same fate two years ago).
5) Let The Monkey Drive - sounding similar to "Here Comes Bob" from their second album, it once again tells the story about arrogant drivers and how most guys get in touch with their primal selves once they get behind the wheel in their automobiles.
6) Intro (Reprise) - the vocals for the first track truncated into 24 seconds.
7) I've Never Been High - Ranks up as one of Sparks' finest ballads along with "Those Mysteries", "The Angels", and "I Married Myself" IMHO. It's about a guy who has never experienced any enjoyment in life whether it be from sex, drugs, music, or any of life's other symplicities. Gentle piano playing gives way to a big orchestral production with tympani, organ, guitars and some sweet backing vocals.
8) She Got Me Pregnant - sounding similar to "Here Kitty", it is an old oompah jazzy inspired track. I will admit that I didn't really like this song when I first heard it, but it's definitely a grower.
9) Lighten Up, Morrissey - Should be released as a double A-sided single with "The Crap In This Song". Sparks biggest celebrity fan and best buddy Morrissey gets a look over in this song about a lovesick guy whose self-esteem is taking a bashing because a girl he fancies is constantly comparing him to Morrissey. A great glam rock stomper which starts out sounding a bit like "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" with the marching grungey bass and guitar but goes into a heavier sounding track sounding rather similar to Morrissey's recent efforts.
10) This Is The Renaissance - From here, the album delves more into classical/Romantic mode. Sounding like the intro for ABBA's "Mama Mia", this is a pleasant sounding track.
11) The Director Never Yelled 'Cut!' - Simple message to this song: Russell tells the story about a female movie director seducing him, and not giving up her prowess until she's finished with him and only then does she yell 'Cut!'
12) Photoshop - Ingenius use of the photography software to eradicate a lover out of one's life after the relationship has gone awry.
13) Likeable - A nice closer to the album, it speaks quite a bit about myself wishing that I could be liked a bit more than just loved by the people that know me in person. The track closes with the "Intro" vocals.
The album is not yet available in Australia, although in the UK their label is partially distributed by Universal, so I hope that a label like Modular Records with release it here after I wrote to them.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Christianity and Naturism - is this for real??
I just got a post on the Naturist-Christians-org site about Australian pastor Robert Wright holding services for Christians who are naturists, and the feedback he received about it. This story is over three years old, but since I've just started this blog site and I am a Christian I thought it would be worth commenting on.
Naturism is attacked by many forces on this planet, and the traditional Christian church being one of the major culprits. Mention the words 'nudism' or 'naturism' to many Christians today, and their reaction is either one of shock and disgust, or mild amusement. Why is this so? Is it something that comes from church related guilt and shame, or something that's more deeper than that?
I have been kicked out of Christian churches in Brisbane and off Christian forums for daring to broach and elaborate on this topic, particularly to a young adult audience. Maybe the leaders are either afraid that it could cause them to lose their religious convictions, or maybe they are worried that it could cause 'fornication' as one church put it (more about that later).
Now, here are the real truths behind this story: Despite what many Christians have been led to believe otherwise, there is NOWHERE in the Bible where God specifically forbids the practice.
Gen. 1:26 Then God said, "Let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness;...."
Gen. 2:25 And they were both naked (Arom), the man and his wife, and were not ashamed
1 Samuel 19:24 And he (Saul) also stripped off his clothes and prophesied before Samuel in like manner, and lay down naked (Arom) all that day and all that night. Therefore they say, "Is Saul also among the prophets?"
Exodus 22:26-27 "If ever you take your neighbour's garment in pledge, you shall restore it to him before the sun goes down; for that is his only covering, it is his mantle for his body; in what else shall he sleep?"
Isaiah 20:2-3 at the same time the Lord spoke by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, "Go and remove the sackcloth from your body, and take your sandals off your feet." And he did so, walking naked (Arom) and barefoot.
Then the Lord said, "just as My servant Isaiah has walked naked (Arom) and barefoot three years for a sign..."
Romans 6:13-14 "...Instead, give yourselves completely to God since you have been given new life. And use your whole body as a tool to do what is right for the glory of God.Sin is no longer your master, for you are no longer subject to the law, which enslaves you to sin. Instead, you are free by God's grace."
Romans 7:4 "...The law no longer holds you in its power, because you died to its power when you died with Christ on the cross."
Matt 6:25-34 Jesus says, 25 "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? 28 "So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you."
Tit 1:15 "To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure."
Rom 13:14 "Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature."
1 Pet 3:3 "Do not let your adornment be merely outward-arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel, 4 rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God."
Lk 12:27-28 "Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labour or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendour was dressed like one of these. 28 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith!"
(Matt 25:41-43) "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me."
So there we go. If you believe what the Bible says, then it makes these following points:
1) God is more concerned about what we are like inside than how we dress to worship
2) God is more concerned about our deeds than how we try to impress others by talking about him
3) God does not want us to be so fanatic about naturism that we neglect other people's needs
4) The human body is created by God and is 'very good'. We have no right to go and demean God's handiwork
5) We should beware of the dangers of becoming materialistic - Jesus taught about this several times with his parables.
So, with all that in mind, you might ask: are Christian nudist fellowship groups viable or practical?
Well, first of all, I was a member of Pastor Bob Wright's nudist Christian group in Brisbane back in 2005 - 2006. We tried to recruit people using the internet, The Australian Naturist magazine, The Courier Mail and even my own Yahoo! group. Even though we managed to get 18 people to turn up for our first service at Pacific Sun Friends, subsequent meetings were very poorly attended. Bob was reluctant to evangelise the nudist lifestyle to mainstream Christian groups. Rather, he wanted to share the gospel only among Christians who already were naturists. I feel that this was one of the reasons why the group did not take off or grow in the direction we wanted it to. Most of the naturists who were Christians did not come from Brisbane, but rather from the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast, and Toowoomba - all of which were a good hour's drive from the venue where we were holding the services. Eventually, interest in the group died out and Bob ended up moving back to Newcastle to be with his new family whom he had imported from the Phillippines.
A naturist group, whether it's Christian or not, is one that tends to be smaller than a normal church and for several reasons.
1) Greater care must be taken with admitting new congregational members to keep sex predators and perverts out. The secular nudist movement is having enough problems as it is with these people, as well as Christian churches coming under fire from non-Christians for having corrupt and perverted leaders who have sexually interfered with children in their congregation.
2) Being naked with others is a very experiential thing. Without clothes, we can't wear masks or false modesty. We have to be straightforward and open with each other once the mental and emotional borders caused by clothes are broken. Sadly, many Christians are afraid of breaking down those borders because they fear it will change them for the worse.
3) Many Christians in Australia worry too much what others might think of them when doing something out of the ordinary. They fear ostracism from church, family, and friends if they were to 'come out' with the fact that they practice naturism. I have been ostracised from church and friends before when they found out that I was a nudist, but I managed to live through it. If I could do it, why not others?
4) The nudity = sex paradigm is a *VERY* difficult one to break for many Australians, especially Brisbane people. We have been brainwashed by our mainstream media and the churches to believe this without question, so it is a bit of a shock when going to a nudist place for the first time to find out that sex and sexuality are non-issues to them. It's not to say that they are asexual, just that like textile society they know (well most of them do anyway!) when sex has its place and when it's not appropriate.
Anyway, I would love to see a time when I can enjoy a nude worship group with other Christian friends in the future. When they'll be ready for it, I don't know.
Naturism is attacked by many forces on this planet, and the traditional Christian church being one of the major culprits. Mention the words 'nudism' or 'naturism' to many Christians today, and their reaction is either one of shock and disgust, or mild amusement. Why is this so? Is it something that comes from church related guilt and shame, or something that's more deeper than that?
I have been kicked out of Christian churches in Brisbane and off Christian forums for daring to broach and elaborate on this topic, particularly to a young adult audience. Maybe the leaders are either afraid that it could cause them to lose their religious convictions, or maybe they are worried that it could cause 'fornication' as one church put it (more about that later).
Now, here are the real truths behind this story: Despite what many Christians have been led to believe otherwise, there is NOWHERE in the Bible where God specifically forbids the practice.
Gen. 1:26 Then God said, "Let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness;...."
Gen. 2:25 And they were both naked (Arom), the man and his wife, and were not ashamed
1 Samuel 19:24 And he (Saul) also stripped off his clothes and prophesied before Samuel in like manner, and lay down naked (Arom) all that day and all that night. Therefore they say, "Is Saul also among the prophets?"
Exodus 22:26-27 "If ever you take your neighbour's garment in pledge, you shall restore it to him before the sun goes down; for that is his only covering, it is his mantle for his body; in what else shall he sleep?"
Isaiah 20:2-3 at the same time the Lord spoke by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, "Go and remove the sackcloth from your body, and take your sandals off your feet." And he did so, walking naked (Arom) and barefoot.
Then the Lord said, "just as My servant Isaiah has walked naked (Arom) and barefoot three years for a sign..."
Romans 6:13-14 "...Instead, give yourselves completely to God since you have been given new life. And use your whole body as a tool to do what is right for the glory of God.Sin is no longer your master, for you are no longer subject to the law, which enslaves you to sin. Instead, you are free by God's grace."
Romans 7:4 "...The law no longer holds you in its power, because you died to its power when you died with Christ on the cross."
Matt 6:25-34 Jesus says, 25 "Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27 Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? 28 "So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30 Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you."
Tit 1:15 "To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are corrupted and do not believe, nothing is pure."
Rom 13:14 "Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature."
1 Pet 3:3 "Do not let your adornment be merely outward-arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel, 4 rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God."
Lk 12:27-28 "Consider how the lilies grow. They do not labour or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendour was dressed like one of these. 28 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith!"
(Matt 25:41-43) "Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me."
So there we go. If you believe what the Bible says, then it makes these following points:
1) God is more concerned about what we are like inside than how we dress to worship
2) God is more concerned about our deeds than how we try to impress others by talking about him
3) God does not want us to be so fanatic about naturism that we neglect other people's needs
4) The human body is created by God and is 'very good'. We have no right to go and demean God's handiwork
5) We should beware of the dangers of becoming materialistic - Jesus taught about this several times with his parables.
So, with all that in mind, you might ask: are Christian nudist fellowship groups viable or practical?
Well, first of all, I was a member of Pastor Bob Wright's nudist Christian group in Brisbane back in 2005 - 2006. We tried to recruit people using the internet, The Australian Naturist magazine, The Courier Mail and even my own Yahoo! group. Even though we managed to get 18 people to turn up for our first service at Pacific Sun Friends, subsequent meetings were very poorly attended. Bob was reluctant to evangelise the nudist lifestyle to mainstream Christian groups. Rather, he wanted to share the gospel only among Christians who already were naturists. I feel that this was one of the reasons why the group did not take off or grow in the direction we wanted it to. Most of the naturists who were Christians did not come from Brisbane, but rather from the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast, and Toowoomba - all of which were a good hour's drive from the venue where we were holding the services. Eventually, interest in the group died out and Bob ended up moving back to Newcastle to be with his new family whom he had imported from the Phillippines.
A naturist group, whether it's Christian or not, is one that tends to be smaller than a normal church and for several reasons.
1) Greater care must be taken with admitting new congregational members to keep sex predators and perverts out. The secular nudist movement is having enough problems as it is with these people, as well as Christian churches coming under fire from non-Christians for having corrupt and perverted leaders who have sexually interfered with children in their congregation.
2) Being naked with others is a very experiential thing. Without clothes, we can't wear masks or false modesty. We have to be straightforward and open with each other once the mental and emotional borders caused by clothes are broken. Sadly, many Christians are afraid of breaking down those borders because they fear it will change them for the worse.
3) Many Christians in Australia worry too much what others might think of them when doing something out of the ordinary. They fear ostracism from church, family, and friends if they were to 'come out' with the fact that they practice naturism. I have been ostracised from church and friends before when they found out that I was a nudist, but I managed to live through it. If I could do it, why not others?
4) The nudity = sex paradigm is a *VERY* difficult one to break for many Australians, especially Brisbane people. We have been brainwashed by our mainstream media and the churches to believe this without question, so it is a bit of a shock when going to a nudist place for the first time to find out that sex and sexuality are non-issues to them. It's not to say that they are asexual, just that like textile society they know (well most of them do anyway!) when sex has its place and when it's not appropriate.
Anyway, I would love to see a time when I can enjoy a nude worship group with other Christian friends in the future. When they'll be ready for it, I don't know.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
The Veronicas at Australia Zoo
It's certainly not just me, but I do have a fondness for Anglo-Italian rock and pop divas, especially when they come from my town and done good!
The Veronicas did their first Brisbane appearance for 2008 at a charity concert for the Wildlife Warriors, an organisation started up by Steve and Terri Irwin from Australia Zoo in 2002 to help protect wildlife which is endangered, injured or threatened. It was also my first ever visit to Australia Zoo, and I was very impressed with what I saw. This zoo is chiefly known for being the home and host to the late "Crocodile Hunter" and crocodiles are the main attraction, but there are also other beautiful animals to check out like turtles, otters, dingoes, a komodo dragon, snakes, koalas, Tasmanian devils, and all kinds of exotic birds. I took a few photos of the place which I will see if I can post up onto this blog.
The performance by the Veronicas was brilliant as well. A few thousand punters braved the rain and the blustery weather to sit out in the "Crocoseum" to see Jess and Lisa Origliasso and their band perform. The stage was raised about 15 ft off the ground, so the performance could be viewed properly on a big screen fixed to the top of the building. Most of the songs in their set were from the new album "Hook Me Up", which has already gone platinum in Australia, and looks set to be released in the Asian market, the UK and Europe and eventually the U.S. (which is where they signed their record deal and now reside). Whilst much of the album is based on synth-pop, the use of keyboards was minimal for this show with the use of more guitars. They even did a rousing cover of AC/DC's "It's A Long Way To The Top" for the older punters to strut their stuff. I was delighted, and almost a bit relieved as I felt a bit uncomfortable dancing around with people whom I was old enough to be their dad, and according to Bill Cosby it's virtually a scientific impossibility for any parent to like the music their kids do. God forbid my own kids get into them if/when I have any then!! (only kidding!)
Unfortunately, I didn't get to chat with the girls this time around like I did at Centro in Toombul. They had done a brief signing and meet-and-greet at 11:45 a.m. and I didn't get into the zoo until about 15 minutes later which by then they'd gone up to do their soundcheck.
I find The Veronicas to be quite an impressive act. They look very sweet and sexy, but deep down inside they are very tough and intrepid souls and have a friendly disposition towards their fans. Unlike many other rock musos of their ilk, they do take responsibility for the way they present themselves to the public and have not let fame or fortune get to their heads (unlike some celebs like Britney Spears, Amy Winehouse and Pete Doherty).
If you like girl pop with a honest down-to-earth punky/New Wave edge, then definitely check them out if/when they play in your town. You won't be disappointed!
The Veronicas did their first Brisbane appearance for 2008 at a charity concert for the Wildlife Warriors, an organisation started up by Steve and Terri Irwin from Australia Zoo in 2002 to help protect wildlife which is endangered, injured or threatened. It was also my first ever visit to Australia Zoo, and I was very impressed with what I saw. This zoo is chiefly known for being the home and host to the late "Crocodile Hunter" and crocodiles are the main attraction, but there are also other beautiful animals to check out like turtles, otters, dingoes, a komodo dragon, snakes, koalas, Tasmanian devils, and all kinds of exotic birds. I took a few photos of the place which I will see if I can post up onto this blog.
The performance by the Veronicas was brilliant as well. A few thousand punters braved the rain and the blustery weather to sit out in the "Crocoseum" to see Jess and Lisa Origliasso and their band perform. The stage was raised about 15 ft off the ground, so the performance could be viewed properly on a big screen fixed to the top of the building. Most of the songs in their set were from the new album "Hook Me Up", which has already gone platinum in Australia, and looks set to be released in the Asian market, the UK and Europe and eventually the U.S. (which is where they signed their record deal and now reside). Whilst much of the album is based on synth-pop, the use of keyboards was minimal for this show with the use of more guitars. They even did a rousing cover of AC/DC's "It's A Long Way To The Top" for the older punters to strut their stuff. I was delighted, and almost a bit relieved as I felt a bit uncomfortable dancing around with people whom I was old enough to be their dad, and according to Bill Cosby it's virtually a scientific impossibility for any parent to like the music their kids do. God forbid my own kids get into them if/when I have any then!! (only kidding!)
Unfortunately, I didn't get to chat with the girls this time around like I did at Centro in Toombul. They had done a brief signing and meet-and-greet at 11:45 a.m. and I didn't get into the zoo until about 15 minutes later which by then they'd gone up to do their soundcheck.
I find The Veronicas to be quite an impressive act. They look very sweet and sexy, but deep down inside they are very tough and intrepid souls and have a friendly disposition towards their fans. Unlike many other rock musos of their ilk, they do take responsibility for the way they present themselves to the public and have not let fame or fortune get to their heads (unlike some celebs like Britney Spears, Amy Winehouse and Pete Doherty).
If you like girl pop with a honest down-to-earth punky/New Wave edge, then definitely check them out if/when they play in your town. You won't be disappointed!
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