Mark Keown

Good on Christopher Luxon for speaking about his Christian faith in his maiden parliamentary speech. Clips can be heard here: https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/morningreport/audio/2018788962/luxon-highlights-faith-in-maiden-speech . In his speech, Luxon challenges the stereotyping of people with a Christian faith as extreme. He states that his faith anchors him, gives his life purpose, and shapes his values. It puts him in the context of something bigger than himself. He goes on to say that his faith has a strong influence on who he is and how he relates to people. He speaks of seeing Jesus showing compassion, tolerance, and care for others. For him, Jesus does not judge, discriminate, or reject people, he loves unconditionally. He notes Christians in history who have made a huge difference by entering public life. He singles our Christian abolitionists who fought against slavery, those who educated the poor and challenged the rich to share their wealth to help others les...

What an amazing year! COVID-19 has dominated, of course, we all know about that and have been affected one way or another. America has a new president, although the current one is not giving up without a fight. And so we come to another Christmas. Christmas tells the story of God’s Son entering human history in a young woman's womb in an insignificant ancient town, Bethlehem. He was raised in the even more insignificant Nazareth. Such things show that God is prepared to come in undramatic circumstances, away from the glitz and glamour of those in power, and grow his kingdom from a small seed into the largest tree in the garden. He came through the miraculous conception of a virgin, showing that God is a God of miracles. He is an interventionist, God, entering creation at his will, to work out his purposes—we are comforted that God can if he wills. He was conceived in a womb and born in the usual human way, not in a blaze of heavenly glory with angels and fire, showing God’s p...

 It is common in our western cultures to speak of “religion” to describe an entity of people who believe in God or gods or who adhere to a particular religious group. It is fair to call such groups religions, we have to call them something. It helps in analysing the differences across humankind. However, what then happens is that others can use this label to make gross generalisations such as blaming religion for ills in the world, like war. They can put people down who do believe in God or gods as inferior because they submit themselves to the said religion’s creeds and ideas. It can become politicised, stigmatised, and weaponised. This has happened in western cultures. Such putting down and labelling is naïve as all humans are religious and submit to something or someone. For some people, it is the government. They look to the government to solve the ills of the world and believe in it. When there is a problem in society, they expect governments to fix it. We see this in NZ w...

So, COVID-19 is just a flu? Yeah, nah (as we say in New Zealand). COVID-19 didn't exist in humans until the end of last year. Since then, 1,343,153 have died (3.39 pm, 8/22/20 Worldometer). That is, 1,343,153 people who may or may not have died in the interim, but have been lost because COVID-19 hastened their death. At the moment, about one person dies every minute in the US. And this pandemic is still going strong and on the increase in many nations. Who knows what the final death toll will be?   We all know what kind of outcry there is when one horrific event occurs that takes lives. In NZ, we have had a few disasters in the last few years. Twenty-one people died on 9 Dec 2019 in an eruption on White Island. Fifty-one people died on 15 March 2019 in the mosque attack in Christchurch. Earlier, 185 died in an earthquake in Christchurch, 22 February 2011. And we all remember 9/11 when 2977 people died in 2001. The previous worst disaster in the 21st century was the 2010 H...

Here is a video expressing some thoughts on Covid. Responding to Covid-19

In October, I preached at a new church plant in Newmarket, the Journey. It was a pleasure to have an opportunity to speak to an enthusiastic group of believers there. As a part of my message encouraging people to share their faith, I told the story of my conversion. I shared how I had grown up in a home where neither of my parents was involved in church life. I attended Tereora College in Rarotonga and was in the fourth form. One of my friends invited me to come with him to an afterschool Christian group run by a man by the name of Brian Chitty (that is him in the photo above). I explained how I had come to faith, found it hard to maintain that faith through my teens and early twenties, but then recommitted my life to Christ in my mid-twenties some ten years later. I went on with the message which was well received. I was stunned after the service to be approached by a woman, Rhema, who told me that she was Brian’s daughter. Unbeknown to me she attended this church and w...

I haven't blogged on politics for a while. I have had all sorts of thoughts but it is National's latest slogan that has led me to break my silence.  I see with interest that National has a new slogan: “our bottom line is you” ( https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=12253263 ). Here is a brilliant example of the naivety of this National Party leadership. First, it is naff! It is insipid. It is sickly. Get me a bucket. “Our bottom line is you”—what does that mean? It's kind of a reworking of “its all about you.” None of us can take that seriously because it is weak and puerile to the core. Second, be real National! The bottom line is winning the next election. It is either getting over 50% of the votes that count to win. Or, getting a coalition partner and together getting over the line! There is no coalition partner. Hence, you are destined to wallow in the opposition for another round. Get on with making that happen. Third, I ...