Paul Charman: Why we must keep Jesus in the parliamentary prayer

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Should the name of Jesus Christ be held in respect, for example, by being acknowledged in our Parliamentary prayer.

Yes, it should in my view, but I can only provide personal reasons for affirming that.

These are informed by the sobering last page of the Bible, which makes it clear that Jesus Christ is not somebody to trifle with, and that he will actually have the final say — for each one of us — as to our eternal destiny, meaning in heaven or hell.

This was pointed out to me as a teenager, while attending meetings in Gospel Halls at Taumarunui, Te Kuiti, Raetihi and Ohingaiti.

I learned the Scriptures in the "New Zealand Heartland", from Open Brethren farmers, builders and fencing contractors — plain-speaking men who didn't dress things up.

These lay preachers spoke of Jesus' warnings ahead of his return, earthquakes, political upheaval, wars and rumours of wars . . .

They said only Jesus would have control of the plagues that would strike the earth ahead of his Second Coming.

They pointed out St John had predicted ". . . a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and so great."

And that St Peter had warned, "the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare."

My mentors led me to believe the appalling conduct of humanity had caused the whole of creation to "groan in pain" — that effectively that the entire planet was shaky because of it.

And furthermore, they said that earthquakes, and other cataclysmic events predicted in the New Testament, would be "no respecters of persons".

That they would overtake people of every culture and religion, rich and poor, both sexes and all ages, and us too, if we failed to repent.

I don't go to church often now, but still have those Barry Smith books (an evangelist who specialised in end-times teaching) in the bookcase.

And though I mostly keep my views to myself, I'll inevitably track the news with an end-times paradigm in mind.

My theology could be summed up by a famous line in the 1992 Western movie, "Unforgiven".

Remember when the young gunfighter tells the wizened old gun fighter (Clint Eastwood) the men he'd shot, "had it coming anyway".

To which Eastwood pauses and frowns — something he did rather a lot as an actor — before replying, "we all have it coming kid".

I admit that representing God in such terms is a high-risk-game. There is a risk of portraying a cosmic bully, with limitless power and an endless grudge against humanity. But, according to Isaiah this "so-called tyrant" is actually working on a new and better world for us all to live on, where: "The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them."

According to the Bible, the process of replacing this earth with the next one will involve natural disasters, great upheaval and then a final judgement.

And so that being the case, as I see it anyway, we should pay more respect to Jesus Christ — including by acknowledging him in our Parliamentary prayer.

Because in the final analysis, as stated in that old cowboy picture, we all have it coming. And only Jesus can change that.