Thursday 24 November 2016

On the Millennium

Sometimes a broad idea sounds good, until you start thinking about the details - then it mightn't look so good!

Like, in the 1990s there was a lot of emphasis in the media about Australia becoming a Republic; and some media were claiming that national polls indicated a majority of the public favoured the idea. Such reports could have been agenda-driven though.

Nevertheless, when Prime Minister John Howard was re-elected, he addressed the furore cleverly. The public were invited to elect people to attend a Constitutional Convention in the capital, Canberra; and some attendees were also appointed not elected.

At the convention delegates didn't merely discuss the broader question, "Do you want to become a Republic or not" - they were made to debate and vote on the details, such as:

Do you want to remove the monarchy from every role in the government and law of Australia;

Which model of republic would you want to put before the people of Australia for a vote;

How would you want the President to be elected - directly, or through the Parliament by a special majority or by appointment by a special council following Prime Ministerial nomination; etc.

All of a sudden, the idea of becoming a Republic looked more complex than people thought! Nevertheless amid much disagreement, and with some abstaining, the Convention voted-in a model. The winning model was then put to the public in a Referendum - and Australia voted No (despite the claims that polls had indicated majority support for becoming a Republic). Then the furore was put to rest.

So a broader concept can sound good - but it's the details that make or break the idea.

Similarly, it's not that I outright reject the idea of a future Millennium after Christ's Second Coming - it's just that when it comes to considering the details, I'm yet to hear a model of that which makes sense!

Theological sense. Especially as it affects soteriology. And hermeneutics.

If the details of a certain model of the Millennium conflict with other truths in the Bible, then maybe it's okay to rethink the model itself?

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