Half the ‘J’ and most of the second ‘s’ are cut off – not a good look! There’s an easy way around this, to use the logo, without Facebook chopping it up.

The key is to ensure that the image you upload to Facebook is a square shape – this way, when it is scaled down by Facebook, it scales down in proportion. I created a blank canvas using Macromedia Fireworks (but you could use a free program such as Aviary’s Phoenix online editing software). I set the dimensions of the canvas to 250 x 250 pixels. I then imported a JAAL logo I found online (not sure if I used the best logo – I’ve seen a few variations), and saved the document as a GIF.

If you’d like to use this as your Facebook profile pic, click on the image below, then right-click and select ‘save as…’ or ‘save image as…’ or ‘save target as…’ – depending on the operating system you use.

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In these debates I’ve read lots of reasons why people dismiss God and Christianity, but one particular thread that caught my eye is reflected in comments such as these:

“I have as much belief in the god of the bible as you have in the existence of Odin, Zeus, and the Flying Spaghetti monster.”

“The God invoked by so many Christians is a logical impossibility. Consider the traits of all-powerful, all-knowing and all-loving and the concepts of Heaven and Hell. I’m sure you can see the inconsistencies.”

The basic argument that I have heard numerous times is this – believing in God is intellectually stupid, i.e. believing in God is incompatible with having a brain.

I came across the Apologetics 315 website that has a range of debates, book reviews and articles on the topic of the existence of God (along with other apologetics topics). Below are some links to audio files and articles on this topic:

• ‘Does God exist?‘ – William Lane Craig vs George Williamson debate
• ‘5 reasons God exists‘ – William Lane Craig
• The probability of God test (short and detailed)
• The moral argument for God’s existence – William Lane Craig
• Does God exist? – Douglas Groothius
• Does God exist? – Phil Fernandes vs Eddie Tabash debate

I’ve listened to the audio file for only the first debate so far (I’m downloading the others as I write and will work my way through them). In this first debate I learnt a lot – about logic, philosophy, objective moral values, and more.

I was also impressed by the polite yet rigorous debate that Craig and Williamson engaged in. It’s an example that such debates can be conducted with civility – something both Christians and atheists sadly seem to struggle with in these kinds of online debates. It makes me wonder whether conversations (debates, if you will) on these kinds of topics can be had online between unseen people, or if they should only be conducted face to face, where it’s impossible to forget that we are engaging with real people.

You can check out all posts with the tag ‘existence of god’ here.

Of course, the most compelling argument for me is that I have a personal relationship with God himself, made possible by the death of his son, Jesus.

Feature image: sourced from The Telegraph, more stunning space photography at Smashing Magazine.

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By the way, I used a tool by Aviary called Falcon to very quickly edit the image and add an arrow – all online. Check it out – it’s fun! And Aviary has some other cool tools that you can check out too.

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Are you aware of any other resources that would be helpful for Christians to make the most of this campaign to speak about Jesus? I’ve also put together a list of resources for responding to questions on suffering – this has been a big theme in the comments I’ve been reading online. It’s good to be prepared for these tough questions – they’re not easy questions because many of them flow out of the pain we have experienced in this world – but Jesus does have answers.

Get set – the advertisement will be appearing on our screens this Sunday.

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Based on a document I found on the JAAL website, this advertisement will run from 27 September (this Sunday) until 25 October.

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“I could never myself believe in God, if it were not for the cross…In the real world of pain, how could one worship a God who was immune to it?”

It is a great comfort to know that whilst this world there is a great deal of suffering, God doesn’t only know it (in the sense that one knows that there is a concept called ‘suffering’) but has Himself experienced it – for our sake.

Our world is in a lot of pain. Where is God in this pain? What is God’s role in this pain? The current Jesus: All About Life campaign is prompting some of these questions to be asked (for example, see this post and the comments on this post) – a welcome opportunity to discuss faith, God and issues of eternal significance.

I’ve compiled a list some resources that might be helpful to read and point people to. I haven’t read/listened to each of them, but they come from trusted sources that I pray will be helpful. Apart from two books, all of these resources are available for free. Some of these are written apologetically (i.e. to answer the questions of people who aren’t Christians), whilst others seek to explore in depth the theology of suffering (to provide a stronger Biblical understand for people who are Christians).

• William Lane Craig – ‘How can a good God allow suffering and evil?‘ (MP3 and written outline)
• Bruce Little – ‘God, evil and suffering‘ (series of MP3s)
• Bruce Little – ‘Evil and the God who knows‘ (MP3 and notes)
• John Piper – ‘Christ and Cancer‘ (available as MP3 and article)
• John Piper – ‘Where is God? The supremacy of Christ in an age of terror‘ (available as MP3 and article)
• John Piper – ‘Don’t waste your cancer‘ (article)
• John Piper – ‘Suffering and the sovereignty of God‘ (free book to download)
• Josh McDowell – ‘Why does God allow evil to exist?‘ (article)
• Andy Alcorn – ‘Why does God allow evil and suffering?‘ (article)
• John Piper – ‘Does suffering always make sense?’ (article)
• John Piper ‘Ten aspects of God’s sovereignty over suffering and Satan’s hand in it‘ (available as MP3 and article)
• Alistair Begg – ‘All the lonely people‘ (MP3)
• Juan Sanchez – ‘Suffering, sin and the unchanging God‘ (available as MP3, article and video)
• Don Carson – ‘Making sense of suffering (part 1)‘ (MP3)
• Andrew Peterson – ‘Apologetics: The Problem of Pain‘ (MP3)
• Tim Keller – ‘God in the shipwreck‘ (MP3)
• Lee Strobel – ‘Why God allows pain and suffering‘ (video – starts well, but incomplete)
• John Dickson – ‘If I were God I’d end all the pain‘ (book)
• Nicky Gumbel – ‘Why does God allow suffering?‘ (book)

Have you come across other resources that might be helpful?

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…

Matt posted a comment recently, asking about the research that had been conducted as to how people in our communities might respond to the signs. Part of what he said was: “Have the promoters researched and considered how the community will see these signs?” Whilst I’m not sure what research was undertaken regarding the signs per se, I came across a document on the JAAL website (it’s available at http://www.jesusallaboutlife.com.au/campaigns/sydney.html and the text for the link to download says ‘tester’, near the bottom of the page or just download here), that includes a summary of the research behind the campaign.

Below is an excerpt from that document (both the text in the block quote, and the para beneath it, i.e. everything that follows – just to avoid any confusion about who is saying what!).

“The research revealed that Christianity is widely rejected by most non-Christians as an anachronistic and undesirably rigid set of doctrines, while the Church is widely regarded as an old-fashioned organisation that is guilty of failing to live up to its own ideals of tolerance, forgiveness and humility.

While we may wish to present Christian faith in God as a distinct and intrinsically good idea, it is practically impossible to make any reference to Christian faith, Christ’s teachings or the Bible without immediately eliciting negative associations surrounding the Christian Church and its doctrines.

Most non-Christians believe that they already live in accordance with essential Christian values, and do not need either to accept articles of Christian faith or participate in Christian worship to fulfill the basic requirement that qualify someone as being ‘a good person’, such as ‘do unto others’ and ‘love thy neighbour’.

The commonly and often unwittingly accepted principle of secular humanism is that individuals need to look inwards in search of personal meaning and fulfillment, a never-ending search directed towards realising your full potential, rather than a process that leads to some final, ‘ideal’ state of consciousness.

At a more fundamental level, non-Christians tend to reject the idea of ‘one truth’ as a divisive concept that is to blame for much of the conflict in the world today, and that clashes with the secular humanist ideal of taking personal responsibility for lifestyle choices and interpersonal values.

Against this background of attitudes and beliefs, the response to ‘born-again’ Christian testimonials tends to be overwhelmingly negative:

• to accept Christ as the only way to find meaning in life represent a failure to accept personal responsibility or realise self-awareness
• to accept Christian beliefs as the ultimate truth is to reject contemporary ideals of multicultural tolerance and openness to new ideas

(Angus Kinnard – Futurebrand)

Our research shows that sharing the Gospel in the Australian community needs to be done thoughtfully and carefully, connecting with people and stirring them to consider the message. It is not about pandering to them or watering down the message or humanising the gospel, it is about being thoughtful in how we communicate.”

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If you check out the post by the ACL you can download a document with the four advertisements. I’ve also taken some screenshots from this document and added them below (click on the image for a larger view):

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I’d like to respond to some of the feedback I’ve received, to clarify a few things, to apologise, and suggest a way forward.

• First of all, some people are making connections between what I have said, and what my church might think about the campaign. I want to make very clear, I was speaking personally, about my own reflections on the campaign – these have nothing to do with my church’s involvement. Please avoid making any connections – there are none.
• I want to reiterate and again make very clear also that I am very passionate about this campaign being a success and Jesus being honoured and glorified through it. I am entirely supportive of this campaign! Offering critique isn’t an indication of lack of support. I wholeheartedly desire that this campaign be a great wake-up call to Australians, and the means by which many come to know Jesus. This is what our city, our nation and our world so desperately needs. And this is why I am so passionate about doing things well, and why I have felt so sad with how the campaign has been implemented thus far (i.e. phase 1), because the implementation affects perceptions and peoples’ engagement with it. I was nearly in tears on the phone to a friend this morning, grieving what I have seen as lost opportunities.
• I want to apologise to the people who I have discouraged by sharing the critique. In critiquing the campaign, I wasn’t in any way seeking to discourage you (although I can see how I did this). You are all working (and praying) very hard, and I am as desperate as you for this campaign to work. My intention with the critique was a) to demonstrate that whilst Christians agree on the purpose of the campaign and other outreach activities (i.e. making Jesus known), we don’t necessarily agree on the method (nor, I don’t think do we need to); and b) to identify opportunities for improvement so this campaign can have the maximum possible impact.
• Some people have suggested to me that if I had an issue with the campaign, I should have raised it with the Bible Society/JAAL organisers privately, rather than posting about it online. The general principle that seems to be suggested here is Matthew 18 – “If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over.” Obviously, the people running this campaign haven’t sinned against me, but I can see what these people are saying and the benefits of this. Perhaps I should have done this. By offering the critique publicly, I was hoping to encourage Christians to offer their (constructive) critiques, to get involved in doing what they can to improve and make the most of the campaign, and to show that as Christians we are open to robust critique and discussion, for the purpose of improvement. Whilst some people who aren’t yet Christians might read the post, I think (and I hope not naively), that they will appreciate the fact that Christians can disagree, and whilst we agree on the glorious message, can differ on the method. At least from one comment I’ve received from a non-Christian friend, he seems to appreciate the fact that some of the flaws of this campaign haven’t gone unnoticed, and that there’s opportunity for improvement (i.e. we know there are issues and we want to get it right).

In offering critique in the previous post, I realise I could have been more explicit in offering suggestions of where to go next. Here are my thoughts on how we can make the most of the campaign. Perhaps you have some to add – all for the purpose of making this campaign a success for Jesus’ name.

• as the first phase is being implemented via electronic media, we need to get onto the forums where people are discussing the campaign and respond to what people are saying. Implementation musn’t be the first and last step – genuine engagement using the designated media must follow.
• we need to help Christians, like me, know how to respond to the big issues people are raising in forums (and in general conversation) about pain and suffering. We need to equip Christians to answer the difficult questions that are raised about whether we should just be thanking Jesus for the good things in life, and what is His role in the bad. I understand the next phases of the campaign might address some of these issues, but people are struggling with them now. By the time the next phases are launched, some credibility or ‘listening capital’ might have been lost. This is a great opportunity to share the gospel – let’s make the most of it.
• we need to use Twitter and Facebook as best as possible – equipping Christians to creatively use these media to engage with their friends. This might include prayer updates, links to media reporting, testimonies, videos, tips for answering questions, images people can use on their Facebook/Twitter profile, discussion forums that engage with the questions people are asking, and more. I’d be happy to sit down and help brainstorm these ideas.
• we need to provide clear links to good quality resources about Christianity, the gospel, apologetics material, and even material such as testimonies of people who know Jesus. This page is a good start (Who is Jesus?), but other pages (such as Order the Gospel of Mark) could be more inspiring and informative, providing more information targeted at people who don’t know Jesus. Lots of people will be thinking about Jesus, and whilst I know we want to encourage them to churches and church events, the online medium allows people to anonymously explore these questions for themselves. I’m sure there are lots of people who would be willing to compile resources and write copy to this effect (myself included).
• we need to fix the allaboutlife.com.au website. It’s slow, some of the links are broken, and, because our levels of concentration and patience with new media are so low, it doesn’t take much to turn people away from a website. If the developers need help to fix the site and optimise the speeds, again, I’m sure there are lots of Christians out there who would be willing to assist.
• for each of the above, there is a wealth of Christian talent that can be harnessed to great effect. For example, God has gifted many Christians in PR, website development, social media usage, search engine optimisation, website usability, etc. There is an ‘army’ (for lack of a better term!) of Christians who I’m sure would do whatever it takes to increase the impact of this campaign to be the most memorable campaign this city has ever seen and that bring many into the kingdom.

To all working on this campaign – you are my brothers and sisters in Christ. I love you, I’m praying for you and I am sorry for any discouragement I have caused. Please let me and others know, how we can help you to make Jesus name known through this campaign.

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However, I’m disappointed with how the campaign is playing out so far. I know, it’s early days and we’re only in phase 1, but here’s four reasons why I’m feeling disappointed.

Reason #1 – Average (i.e. bad) use of social media

Phase 1 of the campaign is the ‘seeding/viral stage’ (check out JAAL media dates). What does this involve? According to the JAAL website:

“Thank  You  Jesus”  campaign  images  sent  out  via  emails,  Facebook,  Twitter  and  distributed  by  electronic  media.  This  will  build  momentum  and  create  preparation,  awareness and community participant involvement to thank Jesus on line for something that means a lot to them.

Clearly, this phase of the campaign is focusing on the web and associated applications. However, the online presence is pretty basic and unimpressive. The campaign has two websites (jesusallaboutlife.com.au and allaboutlife.com.au) which is confusing, and, whilst neither website is visually impressive, the allaboutlife website is a shocker (see Reason #2). The Twitter updates aren’t particularly inspiring (lots of “Check out www.allaboutlife.com.au and post a message”) and lots of Bible verses – which are great, but not very re-tweetable. There’s only one event listed on the official Facebook page, and only 20 posts on the four discussion forums that have been active in September. The prayer updates are a great use of social media, but these haven’t been updated since July. Finally (on this point), the campaign has been receiving some attention online (particularly in atheist blogs – see full list here), but I haven’t seen much interaction from Christians, responding to people whose attention has been pricked by this campaign. This is such a wasted opportunity – using social media to promote the campaign, but not following up when people notice and respond in-kind to the campaign.

Reason #2 – The ‘Thank you’ Jesus website (and concept) is kitsch

Take a look at the allaboutlife.com.au website. It screams ‘Christian’. Visitors are encouraged to upload a personal ‘thank you Jesus’ photo/image. These are then displayed for others to see, or even print onto a range of merchandise. I noticed on Facebook that people were being encouraged to invite their non-Christian friends to upload an image – personally I’d be hoping my non-Christian friends didn’t come across the site. It just looks daggy and everything (I think) we’re trying to not look like. This is reinforced by many of the trite things people are thanking Jesus for – “my mole”, “hot chips”, “crocs”, “birds that look like they’re wearing pants” and “bubble wrap”. These ‘thank you’ messages have been the subject of ridicule on the 7pm project and Rove (again, see list of media mentions) and in many ways, I don’t blame them.

Reason #3 – The ‘Thank you’ Jesus website is technically unstable

Unless you uploaded a ‘thank you’ message, I can’t imagine why you’d like one printed onto a t-shirt or other merchandise. However, I decided to test this functionality out, and both times I tried I got a (different) error message (e.g. ‘Length cannot be less than zero. Parameter name: length’ and ‘Check that the path is correct and that the domain is in your allowed domains for upload.’). Despite the best de-bugging, error messages are hard to avoid, but it is possible (and recommended) to create custom error messages that make more sense to visitors when they encounter them.

Reason #4 – The ‘Thank you’ Jesus concept is overly simplistic

Perhaps most disappointing is the main concept – thanking Jesus. I’m all for thanking Jesus, and encouraging people to remember that everything good comes from God. But this concept, when promoted to those who don’t know Jesus, opens itself up to big questions that lie not so deep beneath the surface, because, as one person on a blog pointed out:

• Why is there pain?
• Is Jesus only in control of the good and not the bad?
• If Jesus isn’t in control of the bad, why should I be interested in a powerless God?
• If Jesus does have control of the bad, why doesn’t he do something about it?

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