Under the Fig Tree

How do you get spiritually reborn? Jesus described people who are like the wind, who are free and effective -- who have been 'born of the spirit'. In this video, I explain what happened to me and how you can be reborn. I've included an update on my situation with my employer and certain mandates. The video ends with a song I put together with Anna in our little band, 'Looking for Lush' which is specifically about the new birth experience. If you want to hear it again, the link is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTGd8ooQ0Oc

How do you thrive in the current, crazy world? Losing your job? Alienated from family? The solution is a 'spiritual' one, and in this video I talk about what it means to be 'born of the spirit'.

What's the difference between a Public Health Order and an Order, and does it matter? I'm an English teacher, and in this video I draw attention some of the inconsistencies I have found in the language of the Public Health Act regarding recent orders in NSW. "Too vague, too vague, 6/10 with a frowny face."

In the interests of transparency, I went to my local police station, to tell them that I have a reasonable excuse to not follow one of the health orders made in my state under the Public Health Act. Interesting. Very interesting.

I'm making these videos because I have peace in these uncertain times, and I'd like to share my reasons for this with you. From the Bible, I show that God is a creative person, and he is weaving the misery, pain and suffering into something beautiful -- MORE beautiful, in fact, than what would have otherwise been if the misery and suffering didn't take place. Weird. Very weird.

My job is under threat of a no-jab-no-job order. I wrote back to my supervisor, and her supervisor, all the way up the chain. ----------------------------------------------------- Dear supervisor, I’m writing to you because I am under your supervision and authority as an employee. The quality of my experience at work, and my personal life, is affected by the decisions you make. I’m writing to appeal to your integrity as a professional and to your conscience as a private person. The message I’ve received loud and clear from my employer is that as of November 8, I will not be permitted on school sites unless I show evidence of two Covid-19 vaccinations. I am an English teacher. Over the last eighteen months I’ve seen waves of propaganda sweep the nation. I can’t help but draw links between the staged media performances of government officials and certain scenes in novels such as Orwell’s 1984 and Attwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale. I am seeing parallels of events represented in Solzhenitsyn’s Gulag Archipelago. I have friends and family who are health professionals. They confirm that AHPRA, the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency, has sent circulars effectively gagging health professionals from sharing professional opinions that do not agree with the mainstream Covid-19 narrative. Advice from health professionals must follow a political script. ‘The Science’ is far from settled. I appreciate that you have given me fair warning of the November 8 deadline, even before any health order is made, and I am replying in kind. As an ethical person who stands against oppression and coercion I cannot, in good conscience, play along with this part of the drama that is Covid-19. Coerced medical treatment is not right. It’s wrong. Any child who has done a lesson or two on bullying could tell you that. Under Section 10 of the Public Health Order of NSW (2010) I claim a reasonable excuse to not comply with the pending vaccination order so, with respect, I won’t be presenting you with any record of Covid-19 vaccination. My reasonable excuse is lawful and specifically addresses the Minister’s directions made under Section 7 of the Public Health Act. I will be reporting for work on November 8. My mind is settled, and my heart is at peace. This is why I’m writing to you. Is your mind settled? Is your heart at peace with your leadership decisions? Stanley Milgram’s famous experiments in the early 1960s at Yale showed that ordinary people obeyed an authority figure in a white coat, even to the point of administering a deadly shock to a criminal. An astonishing two-thirds of Milgram’s subjects administered the full 450 Volts. The prompts given by the authority figures in the white coats were simply the lines, “Please continue,” or “The experiment requires you to continue,” or “It is absolutely essential that you continue,” or the final prompt, “You have no other choice but to continue.” We look back on the atrocities carried out in Germany, Russia, Cambodia etc and wonder, “How was it possible that intelligent, professional people participated in genocide and violence?” The answer is that intelligent, professional people, just like you and me, said things like, “I am only following orders,” or “I am just doing my job,” or “times are different.” If you were to teach a lesson to my Year 8 English class about dystopian society, and then explain the ‘no jab no job’ policy, you’d be up against the wall trying to explain how Australia in 2021 was not the same flavour as the dystopias they had studied. I guess I am asking you to step back from the Covid-19 vaccine issue in schools, to step back from the day-to-day running and consider the bigger picture. Australia is moving quickly away from peace and safety to fear and control. Constitutional freedoms and human rights are under threat, justified by a non-stop barrage of political truth-speak. As an educator, with a stake in Australia’s future, does this not concern you deeply? Do you, like Milgram’s people, feel like you have no other choice but to comply? You do have a choice. You can choose to stop playing at any time. This spirit of coercion and control that has Australia in its jaws is not going to suddenly release its vice-grip. We won’t suddenly get through the rapids and find ourselves at the ocean. Current events around the world point to the fact that Covid-19 is just the overture. There is more to come. It will be impossible to remain on the sidelines. There will be no middle door, no third option. You either participate in the coercion or stand against it. In an inaugural address in 1867, John Stuart Mill, English MP said, Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing. He is not a good man who, without a protest, allows wrong to be committed in his name… This is not an easy decision for any of us. Speaking for myself, I am the sole provider for a family of seven. I have sunk years of effort and sacrifice into training for this career. But I’m deciding to stand against coercion now. It may well cost me my job and my livelihood. I know I’m writing to a chain of highly competent, intelligent, good people. When your time comes, what will your decision cost you--Your job? Your conscience? Your health? Your soul? The longer you hold off, the harder it will be. If you believe me to be mistaken, that there is no coercion in Australia, that I’m a fool, then as a fool I stand, with thousands upon thousands of other intelligent, informed fools who will gladly sacrifice comfort for principle and convenience for conscience. When your time comes will you stand? Warmest Regards, Jotham Kingston

As the world starts to shake apart, do you have a strong foundation? I'm making these videos to explain why I'm at peace in these unprecedented times. We had a bit of a rough meeting this week with a CEO. Made me think about Jesus' advice in Luke 21 about how to prepare when you get hauled in front of the authorities for the 'Name of Jesus' I refer to this presentation in my vid: "Is there any evidence for Jesus outside of the Bible?" Cold-Case Christianity with J. Warner Wallace https://youtu.be/RebKd23Aaho

An update, one week after being told I had to be double-vaxxed to keep working. I'm using the Bible as a textbook to know how to respond. I am at REST! The Directorate of Health and Safety of NSW Education are saying that they can make allowances for personal reasons.

Just got an email that says I must be double-''vaxxed' to continue working as a teacher in NSW, Australia. Am I worried? Nope. I'm safe and I'm leaning forward in curiosity! This video is about my religious reasons for not wanting to take a shot.