Anzac Day 2019

Australian War Memorial: Ambulances with wounded members, 9th Division, Adelaide 1943

On  25th April, as Australia commemorates and remembers those members of the community who served during various armed conflicts, particularly the fallen on the battlefield, there is also the need to recognise the many often badly wounded who survived the conflicts. Suffering either physical injuries or psychological effects or both for the rest of their lives, they often constitute twice the number compared to those lost in action.

During the First World War 1914-18, Australia's population was less than 5 million of which 416,809 men enlisted to serve. Of these 60,000 were killed, and 156,000 wounded, gassed or taken prisoner. The casualties and POWs combined constituted 51% of the Australian Imperial Force (AIF). A staggering number.

In the Second World War 1939-45, Australia had 993,000 serving in the armed forces from a population of 6.9 million. Of these 27,073 were killed in action or died with 23,477 wounded and 30,560 taken as prisoners of war. Of the POWs, 8,296 died in captivity mainly in Japanese camps.

Lest we forget.

Anzac Cove 1915: Wounded being transferred to Hospital ship Gascon

Easter - Jesus, eggs, Heaven and Hell

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Easter - the festival commemorating the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead - has several separate distinct elements which stretch over a full week from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday. Easter also coincides with the Jewish festival of Passover. 

How much is actually known about Jesus ? His life, teachings and practices are drawn from the New Testament Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. The archaeological evidence however for Jesus is non-existent although much effort has been spent over the centuries since his death (around 30AD) to find actual proof. 

After his resurrection Jesus ascended to Heaven, a form of existence to which all Christians are meant to aspire.  As academic Robyn Whitaker points out, the concept and understanding of Heaven is  fairly varied and most often relates to a 'paradise' which appears to be a description of the Persian Royal gardens.  The word for heaven in Hebrew (shamayim) and Greek (ouranos) also translates to the word for 'sky'.  It could be argued that this is more a cultural influence than a religious one.

The perspective taken on Hell is more diverse. The Old Testament merely refers to Sheol or a realm of the dead however the New Testament  has multiple terms - Gehanna, Hades, Tartarus or the Abyss. Whitaker sees this as more a case of the New Testament writers being influenced by both the Greek and Jewish cultures and incorporating concepts into their writings. Of interest Gehanna was a valley near Jerusalem which had a perpetually burning rubbish dump hence the association with wickedness and fire.

Easter eggs and Easter bunnies have little to do with the actual events of Easter and have their origins in Europe, the German Lutheran Church and some of the Eastern Orthodox Churches. This mainly involves the tradition of fasting during Lent and the painting of eggs in bright colours rather than making them from chocolate. Easter in essence is not about the Easter bunnies or chocolates.

Happy Easter !