Spiritual Exercise for Epiphany

For those who would love to go on retreat but don't have the time to go away - here is something you can do by putting aside some time at home. This spiritual exercise will take you through to Epiphany or the feast of the Magi. Epiphany is the climax of the Advent/Christmas Season and the twelve days of Christmas, which are usually counted from the evening of December 25th until the morning of January 6th, which is the Twelfth Day.

Advent is marked by expectation and anticipation in preparing to celebrate the coming of Jesus. Christmas Day celebrates the birth of Jesus, the incarnation of God and lasts for Twelve days until Epiphany, January 6, which looks ahead to the mission of the church to the world in light of the Nativity.

The term epiphany means "to show" or "to make known" or even "to reveal." We remember the coming of the wise men bringing gifts to visit the Christ child, who by so doing "reveal" Jesus to the world as Lord and King.

As with most aspects of the Christian liturgical calendar, Epiphany has theological significance as a teaching tool in the church. The Wise Men or Magi who brought gifts to the infant Jesus were the first Gentiles to acknowledge Jesus as "King" and so were the first to "show" or "reveal" Jesus to a wider world as the incarnate Christ. This act of worship by the Magi, which corresponded to Simeon’s blessing that this child Jesus would be "a light for revelation to the Gentiles" (Luke 2:32), was one of the first indications that Jesus came for all people, of all nations, of all races, and that the work of God in the world would not be limited to only a few.
The day is now observed as a time of focusing on the mission of the church in reaching others by "showing" Jesus as the Savior of all people. It is also a time of focusing on Christian brotherhood and fellowship, especially in healing the divisions of prejudices in the church.

The Exercise - read through the passage Matthew 2.1-12 and consider that the journey began long before we see the account in Matthew. Take time to reflect on all, some or one of the following aspects of the journey and consider how it relates to you. As you do this you might want to think about it specifically for the year that has passed and anticipate the new year ahead.

1) The decision to set out - what was it that got the Magi to go on this journey?
Question to consider - What are the desires at the heart of me which draw me to something more?

2) Coping - the light of the star fades or is covered in cloud for some of their journey.
Question to consider - What keeps me going when the way ahead is not clear?

3) Travelling together - travelling in community
Question to consider - Where do I find companionship / community on my faith journey?

4) Facing barriers and blocks on the journey - Herod's deception sought to block the journey of the Magi.
Question to consider - Where have I encountered things which might seek to oppose / deceive/ destroy me and act as barriers to my journey?

5) The moment of encountering mystery - a surprise ending to the Magi's search for a King
Question to consider - Where have I found and encountered God in unexpected ways on my journey - where have I been surprised by God?

6) The choice to give - brought and offered gifts
Question to consider - Where have I received the giftedness of others and what gifts has God given me that I might share with others?

7) Going home by another way - changed by their experience, their encounter with mystery
Question to consider - How am I changed by my encounter with God or where my sense of who God is has been changed or is changing?

By entering into their story we can be helped to find meaning in our own story.

This is a great exercise to do at the close of the year - a bit like an examen of consciousness where we discern the movement of God in our lives. I did this last year and am taking time to look at it again this year.

Advent

Our Advent time on Saturday focused on the Prince of Peace and I used some different poems and meditations to help us to engage with the peace of Christ. Paying attention to Advent is so helpful for me. Even if I can only snatch 5 or 10 minutes to still myself and wait for God. As I slow down and sit in silence I find I become much more conscious of God's presence. These poems can be used for prayer and meditation, for simply sitting with or for reading out loud to ourselves and letting God's peace pervade us.

Silent God

This is my prayer –
That though I may not see
I be aware
Of the silent God who stands by me

That though I may not feel
I be aware
Of the mighty love which doggedly follows me

That though I may not respond
I be aware
That God – silent, mighty God
Waits each day
Quietly, hopefully, persistently
For me
For me alone

The Peace of Wild Things

When despair for the world grows in me

and I wake in the night at the least sound

in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,

I go and lie down where the wood drake

rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.

I come into the peace of wild things

who do not tax their lives with forethought

of grief. I come into the presence of still water.

And I feel above me the day-blind stars

waiting with their light. For a time

I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.

Wendell Berry

Emptiness Before God

Leader: Emptiness before God;

All: Fill me with the deep wisdom
Fill me with the great compassion
Fill me with the serene peace [pause]

Leader: Peace with God;

All: Let forgiveness flow
Let love come forth
Let energy return [pause]

Leader: Harmony with creation;

All: Deep peace of the shining stars
Deep peace of the running wave
Deep peace of the flowing air
Deep peace of the quiet earth
Deep peace of the Prince of Peace [pause]

Leader: Belonging to God;

All: Eternal Creator keep me
Beloved companion, Jesus, hold me
Gentle Spirit smile on me. Amen

I'll come back and blog on this again with some other poems and meditations.

Hope for a Tree cut Down

Was having a wee surfing session and led me onto this link - a church in Washington State called the Church of the Beloved. There's a verse in Job 14.7-8 which says

For a tree there is always hope.
Chop it down and it still has a chance—
its roots can put out fresh sprouts.
Even if its roots are old and gnarled,
its stump long dormant,
At the first whiff of water it comes to life,
buds and grows like a sapling.

Anyway there is a free CD to download of their music and it's quite lovely so thought I'd share.

http://belovedschurch.org/hope/

Brian, John Drane & Street Pastoring

So heard Brian speaking in Perth a couple of weeks ago and he was really thought provoking. He has a real gift of saying stuff simply with lots of clarity and he makes sense. Bought the book 'Everything Must Change' and I'm about a third of the way through. He is, as ever, challenging the orthodox view but I like what he says. Basically it boils down to "there is not a lack of orthodoxy (right belief) it's the lack of orthopraxis (right practice) that's the problem." We're back again to the fact that in our experience we can 'be saved' and believe the right things but they can make no difference to what we do - how we actually live. It's the challenge from Shane again - back to the fact that we need to live differently.

"The versions of Christianity we inherited are largely flattened, watered down, tamed...offering us a ticket to heaven after we die, but not challenging us to address the issues that threaten life on earth."

He asks 2 questions "What are the biggest problems in the world?" and "What does Jesus have to say about these global problems?" The other thing he said at Perth was "What are the big questions being debated in the church?" - well I guess that would be penal substitution ( Steve Chalke, John Piper, NT Wright anyone), are we predestined to go to heaven, does God heal today, baptism as a child or adult, speaking in tongues... etc. etc. - not really in the same ball park with the big global issues are they?

"All who find in Jesus God's hope and truth discover the privilege of participating in his ongoing work of personal and global transformation and liberation from evil and injustice. As part of his transforming community, they experience liberation from fear of death and condemnation. This is not something they earn or achieve, but rather a free gift they receive as an expression of God's grace and love."

The added bonus, not looked for, was that John Drane was there too and spoke for a few minutes at the end. John Drane is a bit of a long standing hero of mine predating Brian. He said something that really stuck with me.

God doesn't belong to us - to Christians - this is God's world and he is at work in it with or without us.

I think that's really worthwhile remembering and it had extra resonance as I went out that night - first night - Street Pastoring in Dunfermline. It wasn't that I was going out to take God onto the streets - it was that I was going out to join God, who was already out there waiting on me.

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Joyeux Noel

Thinking about Advent -which is probably my most favourite time of year, I came across a blog

http://rethinkingyouth.blogspot.com/

He has some great Advent suggestions on his site - mostly aimed at youth but really for anyone. Here's a flavour;

This clip is from the award-winning French film "Joyeux Noel" which tells the true story of the remarkable (and unofficial) 1914 Christmas truce during WWI. In this scene, based on true accounts, German, Scottish, and French soldiers are all barricaded in their trenches on Christmas Eve. A German soldier begins to sing a Christmas carol and eventually the enemy soldiers of the other trenches join in. This eventually prompts them all to come up out of their hiding places, call a truce, and celebrate Christmas together. It's an excellent film, dramatizing both the darkness we acknowledge in Advent and the possibility of the light to come. Show this film to your youth, or just enjoy it yourself.

Here's the clip

Enjoy!

Street Pastors Launch

Street Pastors will officially launch tomorrow night in Dunfermline. We had a press launch on Monday. See the following link to the article in the Dunfermline Press.

http://http//www.dunfermlinepress.com/articles/1/31587

I'll come back to this later but for now - I need to rush as I'm hearing Brian McLaren this evening in Perth - looking forward to that...

God's Infinitely Outreaching Love

Had a busy day - had to travel up to Aberdeen for a meeting and travelled by train. Had to change trains once on the way up and then on the way down and it was freezing! But it was one of those days where I was very conscious of God. Like Larry Gillick says, God is infinitely outreaching in his love and he comes to us according to us - he communicates his love in ways that relate specifically to me. He reaches out to us all the time and sometimes we miss it but today travelling back home I realised God had come to me today in different things I'd seen. The first was standing at Inverkeithing station I watched a swan flying by towards the sea - what an awesome sight - flying white against the grey clouds, big and graceful; then travelling past Aberdour when the train is really near the shore - there on a rock in a freezing sea was a seal - I love seals; then tonight travelling home I could only get a seat on the 'wrong side' of the train - usually like to be on the side by the sea. It was too dark to see anything anyway but I happened to be sitting westward so saw a spectacular sky as the sun was setting over Montrose Basin - and it felt like it was all just for me. God coming in his infinite love to bless me. Just like God saying - "Dot will love this"

Then standing at Inverkeithing waiting on the train back to Dunfermline I laughed cos I'd just been reading Shane Claiborne "Irresistible Revolution" all the way down on the train, which I'd borrowed from Mark, then as I was standing waiting for my train, another train drew up and sitting right in front of me head stuck in a book was Mark.

This might seem weird to you but it makes perfect sense to me and there's such a sense of intimacy with God - knowing I'm loved.

Proceed Until Apprehended!

I've been a Margaret Wheatley fan ever since I read her book 'Leadership & The New Science' which came out in 1994. I came across this article by her and thought it tied in with what I'm thinking, what I'm reading in books like 'Outflow' and 'Jesus for President'. (see links to both these books in previous posts)

What is our role in creating change? Margaret Wheatley ©2008

Several years ago, I read of a Buddhist teacher who encouraged people filled with despair over the state of the world. His advice was simple and wise: “It’s our turn to help the world.” I love this statement because it reminds us of other times and other people who stepped forward to help create the changes that were necessary. We do live in an era that is unique in at least two ways. For the first time, humans have altered the earth’s ecology and created consequences that are just beginning to materialize in frightening ways. And we are aware immediately of tragedies and horrors everywhere in the world, no matter where they occur.

But for all of human existence, no matter how terrible the time, there always have been people willing to step forward to do whatever they could to create positive change. Some succeeded, some did not. As we struggle with our own time, it’s good to remember that we are standing on very strong shoulders that stretch far back in history.

In working with many people in very different cultures, I’ve learned to define leadership differently than most. A leader is anyone willing to help, anyone who sees something that needs to change and takes the first steps to influence that situation. It might be a parent who intervenes in her child’s school; or a rural village that works to get clean water; or a worker who refuses to allow mistreatment of others in his workplace; or a citizen who rallies her neighbors to stop local polluters. Everywhere in the world, no matter the economic or social circumstances, people step forward to try and make a small difference. Because a leader is anyone willing to help, we can celebrate the fact that the world is abundantly rich in leaders. Some people ask, “Where have all the leaders gone?” But if we worry that there’s a shortage of leaders, we’re just looking in the wrong place, usually at the top of some hierarchy. Instead, we need to look around us, to look locally. And we need to look at ourselves. When have we moved into action for an issue or concern that we cared about? When have we stepped forward to help and thereby become a leader?

The process that creates change in the world is quite straightforward. We notice something that needs to be changed. We keep noticing it. The problem keeps getting our attention, even though most people don’t notice that there’s even a problem. We start to act, we try something. If that doesn’t work, we try a different approach. We learn as we go. We become very engaged with the issue, spending more and more time on it. We become exhausted by our efforts, but still we keep going. The issue keeps calling to us. Any time we succeed, no matter how small the success, we gain new energy and resolve. We become smarter as we learn more about the issue and understand it better. We become more skillful at tactics and strategies. As we persevere, and if we are successful, more people join us. Sometimes we remain as just a small group, sometimes we give birth to a movement that involves tens of thousands, perhaps millions, of people.

This is how the world always changes. Even great and famous change initiatives begin this way, with the actions of just a few people, when “some friends and I started talking.” Including those efforts that win the Nobel Peace Prize.

In 2004, Wangari Maatai was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her work in organizing The Greenbelt Movement which had planted over thirty million trees in Kenya and east Africa. Wangari was a biology professor at the University of Nairobi in Kenya. In a meeting with other Kenyan women, she learned that the fertile and forested land of her youth had been devastated. All the trees had been cut down for coffee and tea plantations. Local women now had to walk miles for firewood, and the water had become polluted with chemicals and runoffs from the plantations.

She knew that the solution to the plight of these women was to plant trees, to reforest the land. So she and a few women decided to begin immediately. They went to a large park in Nairobi and planted seven trees. However, five of these trees died. (The two that survived are still there today.) Their initial success rate was 28.5%, discouraging by anybody’s standards. But they didn’t give up. They learned from that experience and the women carried their learnings back to their villages. Gradually, they became skilled at planting trees. Other villages saw what they were doing and, over time, a large network of villages became engaged in tree planting. In less than 30 years, thirty million trees were flourishing in 600 communities, in 20 nations. Villages now have clean water, shade and local firewood, improved health and community vitality.

What if they had given up when the first five trees died? What if they had walked away and left it to the government or the U.N. to plant trees? And yet, how is it possible to go from two trees to 30 million trees in just 27 years? Or, to go from a mere dozen men to 9 million people acting as one unified body in just a few weeks, as happened with the Polish Solidarity Movement? This exponential growth is one gift of living in a network of relationships. If the issue is meaningful, people pay attention, see its value, and begin to talk to others. Such passion moves like wildfire through our networks and communities. Suddenly, we’ve reached millions of people and created largescale change. And it’s always true that these large powerful changes begin with only a few people who decide to help.

We can rely on this change process. If we have an idea, or experience a tragedy, or want to resolve an injustice, we can step forward to help. Instead of being overwhelmed and withdrawing, we can act. We don’t need to spend much time planning or getting senior leaders involved; we don’t have to wait for official support. We just need to get started. When we fail, which of course we will, we don’t become discouraged. Instead, we learn from our mistakes. We look for openings and opportunities that present themselves, even if they’re different than what we thought we needed. We follow the energy of “Yes!” rather than accepting defeat or getting stuck in a plan.

And we never know at the beginning where we’ll end up. And it doesn’t matter. Wangari Maathai calls herself an “accidental activist,” stepping forward to plant those first few trees because it felt like the right thing to do. She didn’t know that she would end up in jail, or have her reputation deliberately destroyed by her government. She didn’t know she’d win the Nobel Peace Prize. All she did was take that first step, and then the next, and then the next.

This is how the world changes. And this is why we need to step forward for what we care about. Little by little, step by step we can resolve the frightening issues of this time and restore hope to the future.

After all, it’s just our turn to help the world.

For more articles from Margaret Wheatley, check out this link

http://www.margaretwheatley.com/writing.html

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Street Pastors - A Beginning

Finally got out to Street Pastor for the first time. Not in my own town yet but still aiming to be 'Christ on the Streets' here well before Christmas.

What an amazing experience. People were so friendly, welcoming, supportive, positive about Street Pastors. They came up ready to speak and ask what a Street Pastor did and were particularly interested in whether we get paid for it! They seemed genuinely surprised when we said 'no' and told us what a great thing we were doing and how we were making the city centre safer by looking out for people. Some thought we were there to Bible bash and asked if we were going to 'convert' them. We explained that we were there to make sure people were safe and had a good night night out and that we were there if anyone wanted to speak to us about anything. Street Pastor motto - 'caring, listening and helping'.

People were keen to share their stories with us, whether it was a lost job, or to simply to blether about how they were out for the night with their friends, or in town on holiday, one person wanted to come up and confess his sin - he'd done something daft the night before, felt bad and wanted to talk about how he could be forgiven. But some people have stories that are far more moving and one person chose to share his with us. It was very moving, challenging and sobering.

Over all it was an amazing experience and my hope for our town is that people will welcome us they did on Saturday. It feels like the right thing to do - to be on the streets - to be Christ's hands and feet and more importantly - ears - and listen with his compassion.

Check out Aberdeen SPs here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NokodTxJ4Ts

I Told You To Blame Doris Day

I came across this on one of my meandering www excursions

DORIS DAY AND JIHAD
Some time ago, you asked (rhetorically, one presumes) if Doris Day was the root cause of jihad, referring to jihad-godfather Sayeed Qutb's notorious shock from hearing a Day recording at a Colorado church function. Listening to your recent discussion with Roger L Simon on the decay of America's daily newspapers, however, I wondered if you were also familiar with the Doris Day movie Teacher's Pet, wherein the heroine educates old-school newspaperman Clark Gable into a modernized socialist journ-o-bore? Doris would seem to be at the root of many of the modern pathologies.

Ted S.
New York

It's good to know that I'm not the only one blaming Doris, although not for anything as serious as Islamic extremism, socialism or poor journalistic standards - boy that woman has a lot to answer for.

Claiborne Again

The trouble with being back at work and also having the kind of week that I've had with something on every single night is that you don't get time to blog....!

I finished 'Jesus for President' last week (see post below) and my very first inclination was to reread it - then my next inclination was to suggest to my son that he read it. He is doing Politics at university and he is also a Christian and I thought that it would be a book which would encourage him to think differently about his faith and his view of God. On reflection I think what I wanted was for him to be stirred up by such a radical and potentially life-changing vision of Christ and what Christians are called into. I'm still kind of mulling on it and haven't started to re-read it yet.

The book blew me away and I think I'm still kind of in shock - I thought it would be a tinsy bit challenging about Christian 'lifestyles' or something but it's so much more than that. It sets out to explore God's agenda and Christ's life, death and resurrection politically, economically, socially, nationally, environmentally, spiritually... I was surprised at something so politically radical coming from the States - (Sorry if my surprise surprises you - it's just my experience / understanding that America is ultra conservative - seriously in no-one else's universe would Barak Obama be considered anything other than a social democrat - but socialist - I think not!)

The book is a challenge fundamentally about how we live, what we think is important and what our priorities and focus need to be. I heard Claiborne say in an interview, that growing up in the Bible Belt in America taught him a lot about what to believe but not a lot about how he should behave. It's that sense that you can be a Christian and yet live in a way that's no different to anyone else - Christianity doesn't really effect the fundamentals, but Claiborne is setting out an alternative radical Christian agenda which would, if it was lived, probably have a major impact on the world. It's G K Chesterton's adage that 'Christianity has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and not tried.'

"It's a shame that a few conservative evangelicals have a monopoly on the word conversion. Some of us shiver at the word. But conversion means to change, to alter, to make something look different than it did before..We need conversion in the best sense of the word - people who are marked by the renewing of their minds and imaginations, who no longer conform to the pattern that is destroying our world. Otherwise we have only believers, not converts. And believers are a dime a dozen nowadays. What the world needs is people who believe so much in another world that they cannot help but enact it..Then we will start to see some true conversions vans that run on veggie oil instead of diesel. Then we will see some converted homes that run on renewable energy, power their laundry machines with stationary bicycles and flush their toilets with dirty sink water. Then tears will be converted to laughter as people make their machine guns into saxophones or police officers use their clubs to play baseball."

I'm reminded of a great piece of liturgy from Abbotsford Church in Clydebank called I Believe

I believe in a Miracle that made stars dance and galaxies pirouette

I believe in a Desire that gave birth to wonder and cast it in a human form

I believe in a Relationship that radiates with life: full life, total life, eternal life

I believe in Creation

I believe in Love

I believe that destruction ends

That a broken creation rebirths

That harvests and land will be shared

I believe in a Promise that, with a baby's cry, pushed himself into the world

I believe in a Truth that crushed sin and celebrates its freedom with new life

I believe in a Reality where love conquers untruth, injustice and death

I believe in Incarnation

I believe in Love

I believe that a man who was meant to die, refused

That a body that was still and broken, danced

That a voice that was silenced, laughed

I believe in a Vision that has noisy cafeterias in churches

and children with muddy feet running through Parliament, turning white papers

into tickertape parades, asylum bills into party invitations and bombs into flower bulbs

I believe in an Artist that paints the world in its true colours

I believe in a Mother that cannot help but respond to her child's cry

I believe in Spirit

I believe in Love

I believe that wall's that are permanent, fall

That racist systems, die

That terrorists in Northern Ireland, talk

I believe

And I believe

In Love

Copyright: R Hamilton 1999

I might very well come back and post more on Shane, because Yes - he has become part of that small but very elite group of people I've given my life to including Brian McLaren and David Crowder (well you just have to). D - if you're reading this - you know what I mean.

At Last!

Well finally the Shane Claiborne book I ordered came - think it had been sold out. Had ordered it a few weeks ago and after that realised that he'd done 3 podcasts with Tony Campolo - he's ex-Eastern University where he'd studied with Tony but I hadn't realised this at the time. Definitely worth checking out either through iTunes or online - check out this link http://www.videorocket.com/TONYCAMPOLO/1667223 - this is the first part of a 3 part interview.

So I'm about half way through the book and think it's very challenging / stimulating - lots of stuff to think about and mull over - just what I like. It gives a different perspective on the gospels understanding them from within the political context of the time. He also overviews the purposes of God from a radical political perspective - God never wanted the Israelites to have kings, he didn't want a temple - he wanted justice for the widow, the fatherless and the stranger, he wanted a peculiar people who would live differently and radically in the midst of other nations and demonstrate the kind of God he is - the God of jubliee where debt was cancelled and property returned, where there was no massive gulf between the rich and poor, where the hungry were fed, the naked clothed, the captive released. A radical Kingdom.

One of the things I've just been reading is about the curtain in the temple being torn from top to bottom at the point that Jesus dies. Shane says

"And when Christ died this curtain [big as a basketball court, as thick as your hand, taking 300 priests to move it] ripped open. We are left with the unmistakeable image that God tore open the temple to set all the sacred things free ...... Jesus offered healing and forgiveness outside the curtain. The holy of holies could not contain God "the wildest being in existence" would not be domesticated. The cross busted God out of the temple and religion, and brings God out into the streets..."

I remember speaking about the Exile many years ago in the church and asking the question - why did the exiles rebuild the temple? It still puzzles me - but perhaps it was for that time when Jesus died and God was able to finally make the statement that the days of the temple were over and he could now get back on the streets through his church. I think the challenge to me and to the church is that we don't try to put God back into the safety of the temple but we allow him, through us, to be walking about in the world doing the thing he always intended to do - establish a radical Kingdom. God is a lot easier to handle when we reduce him to our thoughts and imaginations, our rituals and our small services but he's the "wildest being in existence". Think I'd rather experience him than the god of my imagination.

I saw some T-shirts recently which said - "The church has left the building" - now there is a challenge.

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David Revisited - Literally

The problem with holidays is that you can't blog - so apologies for the lack of postings over the last couple of weeks. But the good thing about holidays is that you get to go away and do something different and exciting.

So - Before I move onto stuff more in line with the aims of this blog - I wanted to just pay some respect to David Tennant. As I happen to have a massive David Tennant / Dr Who fan in my family, the 2 of us went down to Stratford-upon-Avon in July to see Hamlet and did the obligatory stage door thing too - getting David's autograph [and Patrick Stewart's for that matter]. I managed recently - don't ask how because these things are like hens teeth I'm not really sure how it was possible - to get tickets for Loves Labours Lost which also features that man Tennant. And believe me they were not just any tickets these were front-row-inches-away-from-the-guy tickets we literally could have touched him while he was on stage.

The play was amazing - and this is the respect thing - David Tennant is an incredible actor - I really enjoyed Hamlet but actually enjoyed Loves Labours Lost even more [if that was really possible] - not only is he incredible - the play really hinged on his ability to alter the mood through his acting - he really carries an amazing stage presence.

And hats off to him for coming to the stage door again - [yes she got his autograph again and managed to speak to him too] - He's been doing this since July when Hamlet first kicked off and there he was in October still trotting out to sign autographs and chat to people.

Trust me - if you can get your hands on tickets at both for either of these plays - do not hesitate!

God bless you David.

Dawkins Revisited

I guess I needed to come back to Dawkins given that my previous post was somewhat tangential to the actual topic.

Where to start - well there is the fact that, by his own admission, he has never actually spoken to a serious theologian (well he doesn't believe in theology does he); the self referencing statements directed back to his own books; the fact that he believes that anyone with any kind of religious belief (no matter how slight) is mentally ill & should have their children removed (yes seriously); that religion itself is a virus which should be destroyed; the fact that he honestly believes that "science & atheism" together can be the basis for a new utopia (in the 20th century science and atheism accounted for the murders of 10s of millions of people - Hitler, Stalin & Mao anyone?); the fact that he purports to be arguing from a basis of science when he is clearly arguing about a philosophical world view - either a major category error or at best disingenuous; his definition of faith - "belief in the absence of evidence even in the teeth of evidence" - I don't think that that would be any serious theologian's definition "these things are written that you might believe" - i.e. that your faith might be based on evidence; his misrepresentation of the history of science - modern science is historically traced back to the Hebrews (predating the Greeks) who because they believed in one God who governed through laws - believed therefore that his creation was equally governed by laws that could be understood rationally; that Darwin, Galileo & Newton were never atheists (quote from Darwin - “In my most extreme fluctuations I have never been an atheist in the sense of denying the existence of a God.” (Letter to John Fordyce, May 7 1879) in fact the history of the development of science is closely associated with people of faith; that there are historical records which are still in existence that demonstrate that the famous discussion between Huxley and Bishop Wilberforce was not the whitewash that Dawkins would have us believe - Darwin himself described Wilberforce's paper against his 'Origin of Species' as 'uncommonly brilliant' because it, to quote Darwin 'picks out with skill all the most conjectural parts, and brings forward well all the difficulties', Wilberforce himself was an amateur scientist, had a first class degree in mathematics and was Vice President of the British Association for the Advancement of Science and although a theologian, didn't argue from a theological position. The outcome of the debate, rather than being 'overwhelmingly on the side of science and the great conception of evolution' was actually seen to have been a draw. To say that 'Wilberforce was annihilated by Huxley' is simply a lie and doesn't [ironically] stand up against the actual evidence. Darwin himself said that the debate had done good by 'showing the world that a few first rate men are not afraid of expressing their opinions'; then there are 'memes' - 'cultural replicators' which Dawkins has postulated to explain why religion is still in the evolutionary mix - of course (ironically again) there isn't actually any evidence for them. I could go on as Dawkins himself does at great length....

There are some really great resources for those who are interested - some you pay for some are free (yipee). The excellent - I could not recommend this site highly enough - http://www.bethinking.org/ is an absolute treasure trove of Christian apologetics resources. The best thing is you can download stuff onto your iPOD and listen to it in the gym, as you drive around in your car, walk the dog etc. etc. - how fab! Both John Lennox and Alister McGrath have talks on the subject of Dawkins - so if you want to listen to people who know what they are talking about [then you don't have to take my word for it] - check them out.

They also both have books (by the way if you're reading this and it was you I lent my copy of 'Dawkins God' to - could you return it please!)

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John Lennox is Research Fellow in Mathematics at Green College, University of Oxford and Senior Fellow of the Whitefield Institute. He recently was part of a live debate with Dawkins in Birmingham Alabama and is shortly to debate with him again in Oxford. Download his bethinking session on this link

http://www.bethinking.org/science-christianity/advanced/god-and-richard-dawkins.htm

Atheist philosopher of science, Michael Ruse, commented, ‘I would like to see Dawkins take Christianity as seriously as he undoubtedly expects Christianity to take Darwinism. I would also like to see him spell out fully the arguments as to the incompatibility of science (Darwinism especially) and religion (Christianity especially). He has also written, ‘The God Delusion makes me embarrassed to be an atheist, and the McGraths show why'.

Space & Time - It's a Continuum

Just too busy with work, with church and with Street Pastors; as well as all the domestic calls with family etc. that it's easy to feel life is completely out of balance. Sometimes feel that I'm on the end of an elastic thread. The good thing is it's still anchored but it's scary being stretched so far. I'm keenly aware of needing time for prayer and contemplation but not finding that it can be very easily accommodated in the midst of everything else.

The couple of courses from last September through to May this year exploring Ignatian spirituality were the best things I've done in terms of spiritual growth and understanding about prayer and reflection. Not only the opportunity to explore ways of praying and contemplating God and the movement of God in my life but I discovered the absolute value of having a Spiritual Director. This morning, after a sorely missed 3 months, I met with my Spiritual Director again. What a huge help and encouragement - she seems to straighten out the crooked paths and things seem to fall into place. She has amazing spiritual discernment and wisdom and I so appreciate that. There is such a sense of peace and she leaves me with lots to think and pray about.
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Check out the Epiphany website in my blog list for more information on courses locally. A good introduction to St Ignatius of Loyola, would be Landmarks by Margaret Silf - a book I can't recommend highly enough.

Street Pastors

At Street Pastor training last night - we're still hoping to be 'Christ on the Streets' come December - Looking out for people and demonstrating, practically, the love of God. Making sure people are safe and have a good night out. Street Pastors has now been endorsed by the Home Office in England and Roseanna Cunningham has raised it as an issue in the Scottish Parliament, asking for the recognition and support for Street Pastors in Scotland. The Ascension Trust who are the group reponsible for Street Pastors in the UK and now developing further afield in lots of places across the world, see the church as part of the 'Urban Trininty' including the Police and the local authority. It's about starting to put 'community' back into our city centres.

Last night the topic was, believe it or not, Sociology. Brought back memories of studying Durkheim, Marxist and Feminist theory. We looked at 'deviance' and I guess the conclusion I drew is that Christians are probably now a deviant subculture. Deviant doesn't mean 'bad' - just deviating from the norm. You can be a positive deviant! Probably the best books I've read around this in the last little while are by Dave Ping 'Outflow' '>
and by Michael Frost 'Exiles: Living missionally in a Post- Christian World'.
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We're not the mainstream in society and maybe that's a good thing - maybe that means we have to think a bit more deeply about our faith - not take for granted that Christian values are the norm and live in a way that challenges the prevailing culture.

Street Pastors embrace the very thing that Dave Ping talks about - 'a ministry of noticing' - looking out for people and laying down our own needs and interests for a little while.

John Cornwell meets Dawkins

Currently in Christian culture there is a great deal of discussion about 'community'. While reading John Cornwell's book 'Darwin's Angel' which is a light touch counter to Dawkins 'The God Delusion', I was struck by a passage where he discusses the question 'what is religion?' - he says

"Religious rituals and symbols, from the dawning of human history, marked and celebrated birth, growth, age, death and burial, the makings of families and communities, the coming together for feasts, husbandry, hunting, journeys, the life cycles of plants, animals, and human beings, the changing seasons, the diurnal, lunar, and annual rounds, the mystery of existance...It is exciting to think of the deepening of our awareness of the world through the scientific dimension, especially cosmology and biology and yet science cannot encompass the multi-dimensional symbols of religion, which by their nature resist explanation and control...

..It was only after the Enlightenment that the word 'religion' principally came to mean an aspect of human behaviour or culture. And in the conflicts between throne and altar, church and state, priesthood and politics, there emerged a concerted and determined effort to describe religion as a private, purely personal activity. The struggle to banish religion to the private sphere continues to this day."

There is something powerful in recovering 'community' which was so strong in the early church. Celebrating together, marking events significant to the people in our community, whether our immediate church community or the wider community. The church can't be hidden in the box marked 'private activity'. The church has a call to justice. So if we are radical participants in a high commitment endeavour then that requires us to interact - to weep with those who weep and be happy with those who are happy [Rom 12.15]. This stands in contrast to the 'communitylessness' which people often experience, both in the church and without.

This is important for me particularly in thinking forward to some of the things on the horizon, like 'Advent' and the development of Street Pastors. These things re-emphasise the centrality of community and recovery of something fundamental to Christian practice.

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More later.

Tony Campolo meets Mother Teresa

A formidable pairing..listening to Tony's podcast 'Across the Pond' and thinking about 'blessed are the meek' or as the NLT puts it 'God blesses those who are gentle and lowly - for the whole earth will belong to them'. Struggling with what it means to be meek - what a difficult word that is.... But Tony says a great thing - the world will take us seriously when we have sacrified enough. That's where authority comes from - from sacrifice - what has the church sacrificed recently? - what have I sacrificed in my life to gain that authority? - not power.

Someone once said you have to earn the right to preach the gospel - How do I earn the right, through sacrifice, to speak with authority of God's love?
http://feeds.feedburner.com/TonyCampoloPodcast