PeaceWiseVoice

“Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone.” Colossians 4:5-6 (New Living Translation)

Where is the gracious Christian public voice when the world is drowning in conflict?

Our world is facing conflict on all sides as people fight over all kinds of issues.

Issues of power, of race, of discrimination, of exclusion, of differences in belief, what is right and wrong, how we should live and what we should prioritise in doing it.

The place for calm and respectful discussion of issues seems to be growing smaller and smaller. Instead, we see so much name calling, cancel culture, vilification, victimisation or violence.

Amidst its many benefits, social media has also become a vehicle for real harm. People are losing their reputations, careers, relationships. They are also becoming depressed, or worse.

Into this space, we want to breathe a voice of hope. A calm, non-shrill, non-aggressive voice that offers opportunities for dialogue and discussion. And for learning better ways for us to engage, discuss and disagree. And to respond to the challenge of conflict.

Why is PeaceWise entering this space?

1. We have something to say – we believe that the Bible brings great practical wisdom that can help deal with the relational challenges we are facing as a society
2. We believe there’s a space for a distinct Christian voice – one that is contemporary, that is not aggressive or exclusive, but which still faithfully represents Jesus and his gospel to the world
3. We have spent the last 15 years focused primarily within Christian community and audiences – we would like to serve and share more broadly into the public square

“Our fractured society cries out for peacemakers who understand their work not only has the power to heal individual relationships but to heal and strengthen nations and even our world.”

Douglas Bursch, Posting peace: why social media divides us and what we can do about it

What topics will PeaceWise be commenting on?

We are praying into this, but our focus will be on areas on which we have background – topics connected to conflict and relationships.

We will not be presenting or representing political views – rather, we will consider ourselves free to agree or disagree with views presented by political parties based on what is being said and done, rather than the party saying or doing it.

Areas we are considering…

We are prayerfully considering the areas in which we will become involved, which may include some of the following:

Reconciliation and responses to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island issues	Apologies and forgiveness
Social media and technology	Cancel culture