A New Kind of Christian" by Brian D McLaren

 I have been reading this book and am almost finished reading it, but thought I would share a brief review. 

When I started reading it some time ago, I didn't realise that it is a theology book in the form of a novel. I know that sounds weird - how could I not realise it was a novel?  The author wrote in the first person, as one of the characters in his story, but I thought the author was relating something personal to himself. The character, "Dan" was a church pastor at the end of his tether and ready to pack in the pastoring and exploring his options going forward. I am not going to give you any spoilers as to what happens, but suffice to say, it was a fascinating story and more importantly chock full of very challenging thoughts about how we think about God, the Bible and Christianity. 

I at one stage unfortunately mislaid the book before I finished it, and was very worried that I had lost it. However much to my relief I found it again and started reading again. 

I am considering reading the book again with the aid of the reader's guide at the back of the book - questions and notes written by Timothy Keel. 

The book doesn't contain the full story like any good novel it finishes with a cliff-hanger. There are two other books which having read this one, I am keen to read. 

The book is published by SPCK Publishing, London, England. First published in Great Britain in 2013. 

ISBN 978-0-281-06990-3

Also available as an eBook with ISBN 978-0-281-06994-1

A reflection on Pride

Pride comes before a fall, as the Bible says. Pride is regarded by many as the worst of sins and one that gives rise to other sins. There are quite a few synonyms for pride — vanity, conceit, hubris, boasting (more of an action associated with pride), come to mind. 

However, we might be, as my parents did to me, urged to "take pride in our work" or "ourselves" which seems a strange thing to say, if pride was such an awfully wrong thing, why would someone be "proud of something" and admit to it, if pride was supposed to be a terrible sin. "I am proud of you, son/daughter, because…"

The word Pride and also Proud are in common use today in very many different contexts, but probably most famously, the annual parades and events held in cities all over the world for by the LGBTQ communities to celebrate their identities and rights and to make their communities VISIBLE where before (and sadly many parts of the world, still) are suppressed. "Gay Pride marches" as they were once known, were very much a political demonstration against the establishment that had laws that made being anything other than heterosexual very very difficult, if not completely illegal. The problem was, that in the view of the governments, homosexuality was an aberration and regarded as deviant and perverted and in fact dangerous for society. Even after some countries started to decriminalise "sodomy" or "buggery" as they termed it, they still had severe restrictions on what homosexual people could do. In the UK, there was the the infamous "Section 28" that forbade the teaching that homosexuality was in any way comparable to heterosexuality, and homosexual teachers were prohibited from sharing that truth with their students. This would apply to both gay and lesbian teachers. In fact most LGBT teachers would have had to "act straight" to all but their lovers, as if it became known that a teacher is gay, they could, and still can in some countries be sacked for that fact alone. Those restrictions of which I have only mentioned a few, gave rise to the community deciding that they had had enough of running away and hiding, and that it was what gave rise to the Stonewall riots in New York and Gay Pride protest marches. Here is the irony, that a movement comprised largely by people who are deemed "sinners" by the establishment chose to label their protests with a name of a sin, not only is it sin, but, as I said above, but the worst of sins. Some might say that that proves the point - Pride is so conceited and full of itself - it even shouts its name through the streets. Surely, with this event so clearly labelled any Christian, even if they perceive themselves to be gay, should give this event a very wide berth. As communities in different countries have made significant progress in terms of rights for their LGBTQ citizens, pride events have become less about protest, and more about celebration.  I do not perceive that the event name Pride, is boasting or sinful for that matter. 

There has in the last year emerged about the way in which Pride features loudly in society. In the realm of politics in the United States, there has grown a movement of "National Pride" - and a group calling themselves "Proud boys" they are not children, who have taken patriotism to such an extreme that it is hostile to anyone, even other citizens who they deem to be inferior. "White Pride" is a neo-Nazi movement. This movement is very different to LGBTQ pride events. 

There is a sense in which Pride is perfectly acceptable and I hope this blog will help to unpack that a bit. So I want to look at pride from many different perspectives. Try and get to get a fuller picture.

In 1980, Mac Davis released his song, "Oh Lord it's hard to be humble". 

The lyrics are:

Chorus:

Oh Lord, it's hard to be humble

When you're perfect in every way

I can't wait to look in the mirror

Cause I get better lookin' each day

To know me is to love me

I must be a hell of a man

Oh Lord, it's hard to be humble

But I'm doin' the best that I can!

I used to have a girlfriend

But I guess she just couldn't compete

With all of these love-starved women

Who keep clamoring at my feet

Well I could probably find me another

But I guess they're all in awe of me

Who cares? I never get lonesome

Cause I treasure my own company.

Ohhhhhh...

(chorus)

I guess you could say I'm a loner

A cowboy outlaw, tough and proud

Well, I could have lotsa friends if I wanted,

But then I wouldn't stand out from the crowd

Some folks say that I'm "egotistical",

Hell, I don't even know what that means!

I guess it has something to do with the way

That I fill out my skin-tight blue jeans

Ohhhhhh...

come on, where's all the kickers in here?!

(chorus)

Mac of course was being humourous and I am sure did not really think he was perfect. Sadly, there are people in our world who do think that they are perfect. The lyrics do give us a really good idea of what this kind of pride does. It puffs up. 

It makes the person feel that they are superior to everyone else.

 "With all these love starved women clamouring at my feet" 

They believe that they're totally self sufficient.

"Who cares? I never get lonesome cause I treasure my own company". 

In truth, people who are full of themselves, are very difficult people to be around, because ironically, they are in desperate need of constant affirmation, and cannot abide any whiff of disagreement or disapproval of anything that they do. When they are confronted with disagreement, they tend to lash out and be very nasty. Regardless of who that person is, they could be lifelong friends, they can become persona-non-grata in an instant. I am not a psychiatrist, but I understand that sadly, these people have a mental illness. These extreme cases are of course relatively rare. 

But I think we are all susceptible to the temptation to pride to a more limited effect, maybe in a specific content of our lives, and if we look at some of the behaviours that characterise the extremes we might see them at play in some part of our lie. What are these behaviours?

1. Boasting/Bragging. My friend posted the following comment on a photo of himself on Facebook: "Dark and lovely 😂😂😂, if you know,  you know.  This berry is darker and has some excellent years of maturing 🤣. This year embrace yourself and do some modest and humorous bragging 😊" - I was amused by the notion of "modest bragging" because of course, you would not be bragging if you were modest.  Bragging is the act of telling others about (what you perceive to be) your great achievements or qualities. Being modest is to try and divert attention away from yourself and not tell people anything positive about yourself.  Like Mac, my friend was being humorous.  He gave me permission to share that quote. But when the bragging is not being humorous, but done in all seriousness, it is not attractive at all. While I agree that people can be too humble too, but someone who continuously brags about how good they are, or how great their children are (I think that bragging about one's children is a more common form of this unfortunate trait) can be a real drain on conversation.  It is actually better to let others speak highly of you or your achievements and personal qualities. 

2. Intolerance of disagreement or different opinions. In social media, lots of different opinions and ideas are expressed, covering many different aspects of our lives. Particularly, but not only, in the area of politics, there are very polarised and strong opinions. Quite often, they will react very harshly, if someone disagrees with them or fact-checks some assertion. It can become violent and dangerous, where people threaten people with violence and people get death threats. It's worth asking ourselves, how do we cope with disagreement? 

3. A sense of superiority. This may not be purely on an individual basis. The root of racism is the notion that one is superior because they belong to a certain race. It was this sort of pride that resulted in the deaths of millions at the hands of Germany's Nazi party, killing six million Jewish people, and many others - Gypsies as well. This notion of superiority has been the cause of many other genocides in our history. If it is not race, it may be religion. Genocide is the intentional action to destroy a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. (Wikipedia article on Genocides). As a Christian, I will say that this notion of being religiously superior is a common factor in many religions, if not all of them. Most people believe that their grasp of religious truth is the right one, and by that reasoning conclude that others who do not share their beliefs are wrong. Even people who are professed atheists, can be extremely dogmatic in their atheism, and extremely condescending to people of faith. Even within religions, this superiority can rip communities to bits. As many people have noted, many wars are started on a religious pretext. In Northern Ireland, for example, it was a struggle between the Catholics and the Protestants. But even on an individual level, I think that whatever your view on religion is, you should be open enough to accept that others differing views and beliefs are just as valid as your own. We should be able to respect another person's faith even if we don't share it, and it is better to speak of your own beliefs without pointedly denouncing the beliefs of others (in the realm of religion. A big facet of religion is the concept of morality, with all religions having some moral code, and classification of good behaviour and bad behaviour, with rewards and punishments attached. I think most religions have some ultimate reward for the "faithful" and an ultimate fate or destination for those who are deemed to be "evil". Most moral codes can overlap and are quite similar in the behaviour that is characterized as good or bad. I am not aware of any religion that commends theft as a virtue. I think that most religions have a high and positive view of love. But those who have a religious superiority, may tend to characterise people who don't belong to their group in a very negative way. They will say things like "the only good ------- is a dead ------". Also,they will not allow people of different faiths and beliefs to explain their beliefs to them, but will, often arrogantly believe that they know more about that religion than even the highest proponents of that religion.  No matter what you might say to correct the person, they will say that they know better, or that you are either lying or have been lied to. In the early days of Christianity, Christians were accused of being cannibals because they "are the flesh and drank the blood of Christ" - it was a very mistaken belief based on a misunderstanding of the Christian practice of Communion, partaking of the body and blood of Christ in the form of bread and wine. Sadly misconceptions of religious groups allows for many other such nasty and malicious mischaracterisations. If you are going to condemn something of a different religion or viewpoint, at the very least, first read about it from a person who is a proponent, and ensure it is actually what you think it is. I know, that many good and sincere Christians have attacked the Theory of Evolution and "Darwinism" without actually knowing what the Theory of Evolution actually is and never having read anything about except, maybe, what may have been written by the critics of the Theory of Evolution. They are arguing against something they know nothing about. That just makes them look silly. It's like someone who has never played football and knows nothing about the rules, criticising a referee for a decision the referee made. Football referees have to be qualified if they are match officials of professional games. 

S T O P  P R E S S

6 January 2021  - Washington DC. Pro-Trump Demonstrators turn rioters and storm the US Capitol, where the joint session of Senate and House of Representatives were doing the last Constitutionally required step to Confirm the election of Joseph R Biden as the Next President and Kamala Harris as the next Vice President. The session had to be suspended and the Senators and members of Congress evacuated to places of safety. 

These are the words of Mitt Romney (UT-R) in response to this: Now we gather due to a selfish man's injured pride and outraged supporters who he has deliberately misinformed for the past two months and stirred to action this very morning. What happened here was an insurrection incited by the President of the United States. Those who choose to support his dangerous gambit by objecting to the results of a legitimate, democratic election will forever be seen as being complicit in an unprecedented attack against our democracy.

I was going to try and avoid direct references to current personalities, but these events were such a clear illustration of the consequences of Pride as described above that I had to include this quote from Senator Romney. 

I think the events and what lead up to them with the President's speech earlier where he directly told them to march on the Capitol, show one other manifestation of Pride - the inability to accept that you are wrong, or that you have been defeated. 

So much for the negative kind of pride. But unlike Theft, adultery, lust and murder, pride carries with it a connotation that is not negative, but actually quite the opposite.. 

As I was walking through the supermarket, I saw the beer called "London Pride" and then I saw this: 

I liked it so much, I brought it: 

The word Pride exists in society in many different contexts where it is seen as a good thing. The word Pride exists in many songs. And I came across a magazine called Pride Magazine,t hat literally takes pride in the local area. Here is "Lincolnshire Pride Magazin

But for those who are of the mindset that Pride is only ever a bad thing, there are a few verses from Scripture that suggest otherwise. 

This is what the Lord says:

“Let not the wise boast of their wisdom

    or the strong boast of their strength

    or the rich boast of their riches,but let the one who boasts boast about this:

    that they have the understanding to know me,

that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness,

    justice and righteousness on earth,

    for in these I delight,”

declares the Lord.

 Jeremiah 9:23-24

26 Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him. 30 It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31 Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”[d]

1 Cor 1:26-31

8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest seeon me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

 2 Corinthians 12:8-10

We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters,[a] and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing. 4 Therefore, among God’s churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you are enduring.

5 All this is evidence that God’s judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering.

2 Thessalonians 1:3-5

15 That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are in Rome.

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. 17 For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”

Romans 1:15-17

These verses refer to boasting and not being ashamed. It suggests that the boasting is okay, even desirable, if you are "boasting about the Lord" and what God has done. 

The opposite of being ashamed, might be regarded as being proud. I would say that if you are not ashamed you will have no problem talking about that thing you are not ashamed of. We live in a society and culture that does try and pile on shame and self-loathing on individuals for many things, where it is completely underserved. I know, as a gay man, from a very young age I was made to feel ashamed of my sexual orientation and those "less manly" aspects of my personality. Will Young calls it "gay shame" in his book "To be a Gay Man" . The kind of pride that says "I am not ashamed" is in my view a good kind of pride. I wish there were two different words to describe these different kinds of pride, someone might say that Boasting in the Lord and Not being ashamed are not the same as pride. That is a fair statement but only if you disregard every instance where pride is used in a positive sense. 

I have noticed that there are quite a number of references to "good boasting" or as it is translated "pride in some English versions, in the book of 2 Corinthians. I am quoting from The New International Version. Bear in mind that the Greek of the word "pride" or "proud" is the same as the word for boasting. 

We are not trying to commend ourselves to you again, but are giving you an opportunity to take pride in us, so that you can answer those who take pride in what is seen rather than in what is in the heart. 2 Cor 5:12

I have spoken to you with great frankness; I take great pride in you. I am greatly encouraged; in all our troubles my joy knows no bounds. 2 Cor 7:4

New International Version (NIV)

I had boasted to him about you, and you have not embarrassed me. But just as everything we said to you was true, so our boasting about you to Titus has proved to be true as well.

LPNew Living Translation

I had told him how proud I was of you—and you didn’t disappoint me. I have always told you the truth, and now my boasting to Titus has also proved true! 2 Cor 7:14 - (NLT for translation as NIV doesn't use "pride" in this context). 

NIV: For I know your eagerness to help, and I have been boasting about it to the Macedonians, telling them that since last year you in Achaia were ready to give; and your enthusiasm has stirred most of them to action. 

Contemporary English Version

I know how eager you are to give. And I have proudly told the Lord's followers in Macedonia that you people in Achaia have been ready for a whole year. Now your desire to give has made them want to give. 2 Cor 9:2

7 You are judging by appearances. a If anyone is confident that they belong to Christ, they should consider again that we belong to Christ just as much as they do. 8 So even if I boast somewhat freely about the authority the Lord gave us for building you up rather than tearing you down, I will not be ashamed of it. 9 I do not want to seem to be trying to frighten you with my letters. 10 For some say, “His letters are weighty and forceful, but in person he is unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing.”

 11 Such people should realize that what we are in our letters when we are absent, we will be in our actions when we are present.

12 We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise. 13 We, however, will not boast beyond proper limits, but will confine our boasting to the sphere of service God himself has assigned to us, a sphere that also includes you. 14We are not going too far in our boasting, as would be the case if we had not come to you, for we did get as far as you with the gospel of Christ. 15Neither do we go beyond our limits by boasting of work done by others. Our hope is that, as your faith continues to grow, our sphere of activity among you will greatly expand, 16so that we can preach the gospel in the regions beyond you. For we do not want to boast about work already done in someone else’s territory. 17But, “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.” 18 For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends. 2 Cor 10:7-18 

Sorry about the lengthy quote here, but I think it is really useful to see Paul is addressing two types of boasting Verse 8 talks about the authority Paul speaks with in matters of faith, and he states "I will not be ashamed of it" In verse 12, Paul is being very sarcastic "We dare not classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves"  He is saying that they measure themselves by themselves. It is like they all stroke each others egos and tell each other what wonderful people they are. In today's language, they listen to their own echo-chamber.  Verse 18 sums it up nicely - It is not ones who commend themselves that are approved but the one the Lord commends. 

There is a vast difference between on the one hand, owning who you are as a person, accepting who you and being confident in that identity, and most crucially, not feeling ashamed of something that in and of itself is not shameful, and on the other hand, being "full of oneself" , puffed up with a very much exaggerated sense of your own importance, with the arrogance that looks down on other people and demanding respect from others that you do not deserve. We should not have to demand respect, and if you do demand it, you won't get it - you may get people pretending to respect you, maybe out of fear of what you might do, but  deep down people will simply despise you. Respect really does need to be earned. 

Respect is usually earned by respecting others and appreciating other people. Caring about the wellbeing of people in your circle. Taking time to engage with and taking an interest in them generally. It is trying, at least to remember key things about people, like at a very minimum, their names. (I know that is harder for some than others, but the effort is usually appreciated). 

I think that we can be proud of achievements, without being arrogant. I can be proud if, for example, I run a marathon and complete it. If, hypothetically, I won the race, that would be a great achievement, and I would be justified in feeling proud - that's good pride - I could take my lap of honour and enjoy the cheering crowd's adulation. 

However, if I then proceeded to mock the other runners and call them "Losers" I have moved from good pride to bad pride. Good pride does not put others down. 

So, thank you if you have read this long essay. It has been written over a number of days, and has been a very interesting thought journey. I hope it is uplifting and encouraging. Do feel free to comment and let me know your thoughts on the topic of "Pride". 

Prayers and Persecution

I wrote this ages ago, and forgot about it but thought I would share. It makes reference to things in the news that were current at the time of my writing it. 

What are we to make of the recent High Court ruling on prayers being said as an official part of borough and county council meetings in England? "Christianity on the rack as judge ban public prayers," compalined the Times last Saturday. More alarmingly, The Daily Mail headline declared "Christianity under attack" citing not only the ruling on prayers but also the outcome of the last appeal on the Cornish bed & breakfast that was sued for discrimination, when the proprietors refused to provide a double room to a gay couple (in a civil partnership) and the ruling that they had indeed discriminated against the couple in this way, despite the owners insistence that it was their policy only to lease their double rooms to married couples, and had nothing to do with sexual orientation,

So do we batten down the hatches for Armageddon? Do we follow the example of the Puritans and flee this 'godless country' and set up our Christian ghettos? Possibly we should stand up for our rights and embark on a civil disobedience campaign whereby we have public demonstrations, setting up monuments to the Ten Commandments and Nativity scenes in the public square, or on private land but within plain sight of the general public.

Perhaps it is time to slow down, and calmly take stock of the situation. My opinion is that the newspapers and some public figures have clearly over-reacted and that the High Court ruling does not threaten our individual rights to freedom of religion or that we are being "marginalised" as suggested by Lord Carey of Clifton the former Archbishop of Cantebury. The principle of separation of "church" and "state" - or more properly religion and government, is an idea that is more often associated with the United States than the United Kingdom, but nevertheless, there is a principle, based on Human Rights, that says that a government cannot make rules that impact on an individual's right to freedom of religion.

This right to freedom of religion is often stated in connection with atheistic governments that threaten citizens with sanctions if they practice their religion. So that in the former communist states, like the USSR, where people were forced to practice their religion in secret, or in countries where Islam is the majority religion, Christians and other minority religions are discriminated against, and have many religious liberties denied them. However, when one belongs to the dominant religion of a community, it is easy to be blinded to the ways in which other groups (including Atheists) are denied their rights.

With regard to the ruling on council meetings, even though the UK's established religion is Church of England, the judge has ruled that prayers as a formal part of the meeting is an imposition on those who do not wish to participate. One might say that those who do not believe in them should keep respectfully silent during that time and let those who do have their prayer time. However, let us consider how one might react as a Christian, if you were asked to remain "respectfully silent" while a Muslim, a Hindu, or a Buddhist said prayers. Christians who take matters of faith seriously, for whom this matter is of the gravest concern, would be uncomfortable being in the same room during this time. So, surely, the imposition of Christian prayer on those who are not Christian, would surely make them feel equally uncomfortable.

We might argue that since Christianity is the religion of the majority (a hotly contested claim) that the minorities should simply put up with the status quo, and provided they are not compelled to participate, accept that this is a ceremonial aspect that needs to be respected. The thing is, when we use this majority vs. minority argument, we need to accept that when the numbers change and Christianity is no longer the majority religion, then we have to accede that these practices should be changed to reflect these demographic shifts.

Also, and I think this is key - that where human rights are concerned, the "majority rules" argument is not valid. Human rights are about the rights of the individual regardless of whether they are part of the majority or minority. While those arguing for the status quo would point out that no-one is compelled to participate in these prayers, it may well be suggested that one's presence while prayers are said, is participation, and thus the requirement to remove prayers from the agenda, since a councillor's presence is required at a council meeting. Also, it may be argued that the unbelieving chairperson is placed in a very invidious position of having to lead such a prayer or at the very least call on a councillor to lead it. It is not, as may have been the case a few generations ago, a moral expectation for every member of council to be a member of a local Christian congregation, attending regular services, and people of any faith or no faith background may seek to be elected, and if favoured by the electorate, take their seat on the council. However, this ruling will not exclude Christians from being elected and taking an active role in council.

I am not in favour of prayers being said, merely because it is customary to say prayers. As a Christian, Praying is communing with God; it is real and it is purposeful. In formal settings such as the opening of a council meeting, the opening of parliament, or prayers in school assemblies, the pray-er has very strict guidelines as to what he or she may or may not say as a part of that prayer. Ironically it is the very "political correctness" that Christians are now uptight about that limited what could be said in these circumstances in the form of a prayer. Again, I see no point in going through the motions of prayer, simply because it apears on an agenda. I would further argue that this charade of prayer is in itself a mockery of my religion, and as Christians, I think we should be requesting that it be removed from the agenda. Instead, let the local congregations, whose lives would be impacted by that council meetings set up prayer meetings that will take place before, during and after the meeting, on going prayer meetings, where the councillors, whatever their politics or personal faith, are prayed for as well as for the community which will be affected by the meetings. As Christians, we believe in the ministry of Intercession -and we also believe there are those called to be intercessors, as there are those, I believe who are called to be councillors. Has the local Church been interceding for their local council? Are they aware of any of the other items on the council agendas? We bleat loud enough when prayer is taken off the agenda, but did we show any interest on what there was on the agenda when there was prayer. When I have been taught about prayer in the past, one of the words that invariably comes up, with effective prayer is that they should be specific - "Oh God, please bless the council meeting" is like asking God to rubber stamp (or endorse) decisions about which He was not consulted. Were the decisions taken at these meetings preceded by a spoken prayer always glorifying to God?

Everything I read in Scripture, militates against the notion of "mere form" or ritualistic prayer. We read how Jesus mocked the showing-off prayers of the Pharisees who stood in the Temple Courts and intoned loud prayers to impress the passers by - and Jesus said that God was NOT impressed by such prayers. On the contrary, far more valuable, in God's sight were those who enter their private space, and pray silently to God. No-one- apart from God needs to know you are praying. I am not saying that we should be ashamed of praying, but we do not need to turn prayer into a sideshow. I used to laugh at how some people, when called on to pray in public, would start speaking in "King James English" with all it's thees and thous. Did they really believe that God did not understand their everyday speech? Perhaps they did? Is that how they talked to God in private?

I want to address the notion that the ruling and other court rulings that seem to go against Christians or belief necessarily mean that Christianity is under attack. When we do not get it all our own way, does that mean that we are being attacked? It  may be that these rulings "marginalize" Chritianity in specific contexts, but are we not just getting a taste of our own medicine? Hasn't the Church for many years marginalized, not only those of other religions, but those within the Church who did not agree with them on their points of doctrine - or is that dogma?

I have to confess that I am running out of patience with people who have this "persecution complex" - where they believe that because they are not permitted behave as they want to no matter how their behaviours impact other members of the community. For centuries, people have faced real persecution, where they risk physical violence, deprivation, imprisonment and even death on account of their faith. In the face of this extreme opposition, they continue to hold on. In the UK and most of the Western World, we are free to be believers, we can worship in a church of our choice (In China, you can go to church, if it is the officially recognised Church). We can stand on any street and hand out religious tracts or preach. Chaplains can go into any hospital and pray with and for the sick, and I could go on. We have these freedoms but it seems that we are being persecuted because prayer is being removed from Council meeting agendas?

Gloria in Excelsis Deo - Advent 4

Some of you might have chuckled when you saw this heading - well you might I am very late Advent 2020 has been and gone and we are into the first week of the Christmas season. I wondered if I should simply scrap the idea and give it another shot next year, but I did have something to share, so here is my thought for Advent Four - better late than never. 

My intention in these blogs has been to look at the Scriptures in the lectionary prescribed for reading on each of the Advent Sundays, and to draw something from them that speaks to me and I would like to share with you.  One of the reasons that this blog has been so slow in coming is that when I looked at the texts for Advent Four I knew what it was that had gripped my attention right off the bat, but it is such a huge thing it was hard and took time for me to get it to together. I cannot promise that I will manage to do so but I will do my best.

25 Now to him who is able to establish you in accordance with my gospel, the message I proclaim about Jesus Christ, in keeping with the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, 26 but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all the Gentiles might come to the obedience that comes from[a] faith— 27 to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen.

The Letter to the Romans is divided into two sections. The first eleven chapters are full of doctrine, teaching about God and our relationship with God. The last five chapters are about how as we as Christians need to live, in light of those truths taught in the first part.  At the end of the first part, as he does here at the end of the second part, Paul, pretty much puts in writing what he must have done when He was writing the letter - He "explodes" in a proclamation of praise to God. The technical term for these sections is called a doxology. A doxology is defined as 'a liturgical formula of praise to God' - seems a bit clinical and restrained to my mind - I actually think that I would rather call it a song of praise. 

Let's look at the Song of Praise at the end of that first part:

Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and[a] knowledge of God!

    How unsearchable his judgments,

    and his paths beyond tracing out!

34 “Who has known the mind of the Lord?

    Or who has been his counselor?”

35 “Who has ever given to God,

    that God should repay them?"

36 For from him and through him and for him are all things.

    To him be the glory forever! Amen.

 

To be honest I don't think I can add much to what appears in both of those songs, so I shan't. 

There are way too many of these in the Bible to look at and study every one, but as this is the Christmas season, I would like to look at one of the songs of praise that is associated with the Christmas story. We are told in the Gospel of Luke that a host of angels, that simply means a whole lot of them, like a squadron or a huge choir, appeared to some shepherds who were on the hillside near Bethlehem, and they heard the Angels sing this song:

Glory to God in the highest

And on earth, 

Peace to men (people) on who His favour rests.

This is where the Christmas Carol Gloria in Excelsis Deo comes from. 

Psalm 29:1-2 I think, helps me unpack the idea of what it means to praise God. 

Here it is: Ascribe to the Lord, you heavenly beings,

    ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.

2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name;

    worship the Lord in the splendor of His holiness.

The word "Ascribe" means  to give a reason for something.  I ascribe the pain in my foot to the pebble in my shoe (not really - just an example)  

So what does it mean to ascribe glory and strength to the Lord? We cannot, in one sense give ANYTHING to God, much less Glory or strength God has all the glory, God has all the strength, we cannot improve God - that is for sure. 

To ascribe glory means to give Him what He alone deserves. We don’t add a measure to His glory, but we reflect back to Him the glory that He inherently has - Sean Cole

.https://wcww.southplattesentinel.com/2018/10/16/ascribe-to-the-lord-the-glory-due-his-name/

 Some people struggle with the idea that God expects us to worship Him. They think that that is very egotistical to require us to worship Him. Surely, they reason, if he was that great, he would not need us to worship Him. It is not so much that God needs us to praise Him, so much as we need to praise God, our praising God benefits us. As Sean Cole, we reflect back to Him, the Glory that he inherently has. God cannot be improved upon, but we certainly can be and there is something in this worshipping of God that builds us up. 

To think of God as egotistical is to think of God as a human. Yes, people who demand to be praised, who admit to no failing or imperfection, who regard themselves as superior to everyone else, who are arrogant and self-centred are indeed egotistical - and much of the sycophantic praise is either because the people are being fake - and the object of their fake-praise has no idea of what they say when they are out of earshot, or it is genuine praise from sadly deluded individuals - the world has seen many such individuals - some who openly claimed to be gods, Like Nero and a cluster of other Roman Emperors, or put themselves forward as God's man of the hour - either in politics as a national leader, or as a religious leader. Hitler was such a person, so I believe was Stalin.  I could name people I think fall into that category in the religious sector, but I shall hold my peace on that. And I think we can think of contemporary politicians who fit the egotistical bill, but again, for the sake of neutrality, I will refrain from mentioning names. 

However those people are human with human failings - very many of them, and 99% of what is said to or about them is not Friday all.

This is why God is different. Both the Roman doxologies express this truth very clearly. God is above and way beyond anything we can visualise or imagine. God literally IS perfect in every way. God truly is the most wondrous being that exists, and his existence is even more perfect than everything because God is eternal. 

To end off this blog I want to share with you a sung version of the Romans 11 doxology. 

 

Gaudete - Rejoice Third Sunday of Advent

 It's the third week of Advent and I want to share some thoughts about the scripture readings set for the Third Sunday - over the last few weeks I have looked at Psalm 80, and I have reflected on the quality of being patient. 

This week's Advent Sunday has a name, as well as a number. Week One of Advent it is Hope that traps the spotlight, and in week Two, Peace is the theme. This week, the name says it all:

GAUDETE

It means Rejoice, and it comes from the Latin Introit chant, a direct quote in fact from Paul's letter to the Philippians, 

Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, rejoice! (Phil 4:4)

Some might say that it is easy for the Apostle to say, but he hasn't had to live my life in 2020 - actually I would not be so eager to swap places with Paul - he had a tough life. 

This verse is a command - Rejoice. Can we really rejoice when things seem to be so terrible? Many of you readers would have heard me in my Facebook live chats reading from Henri Nouwen's book Turn my mourning into Dancing that I shared with you at the start of the first Lockdown in April and May of this year. I found a quote by Nouwen on another blog about the difference between joy and happiness.  

"Joy is essential to spiritual life. Whatever we may think or say about God, when we are not joyful, our thoughts and words cannot bear fruit. Jesus reveals to us God's love so that his joy may become ours and that our joy may become complete. Joy is the experience of knowing that you are unconditionally loved and that nothing — sickness, failure, emotional distress, oppression, war, or even death — can take that love away.

Joy is not the same as happiness. We can be unhappy about many things, but joy can still be there because it comes from the knowledge of God's love for us. We are inclined to think that when we are sad we cannot be glad, but in the life of a God-centered person, sorrow and joy can exist together. That isn't easy to understand, but when we think about some of our deepest life experiences, such as being present at the birth of a child or the death of a friend, great sorrow and great joy are often seen to be parts of the same experience. Often we discover the joy in the midst of the sorrow. I remember the most painful times of my life as times in which I became aware of a spiritual reality much larger than myself, a reality that allowed me to live the pain with hope. I dare even to say: 'My grief was a place where I found joy.' Still, nothing happens automatically in the spiritual life. Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day. It is a choice based on the knowledge that we belong to God and have found in God our refuge and our safety and that nothing,  not even death, can take God away from us."

https://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/books/reviews/excerpts/view/14116 

So I am going to focus on one of the Lectionary readings for last Sunday and that is 1 Thes. 5:16-24 and in particular verse 16. 

16 Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not treat prophecies with contempt 21 but test them all; hold on to what is good, 22 reject every kind of evil.  23 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.

 The Greek, if translated directly renders verse 16 as Always rejoice. Placing the evidence on the word ALWAYS. An impossible ask? It depends on what is the reason and the source for the joy. As Henri pointed out, it is actually possible to have both Joy and grief at the same time.  Having joy doesn't require us to always put a "smile on our dial" - joy is not jollity - cheerful and smiling. We should not have to manufacture joy, we should not fake it, as is suggested by Anna to son, Michael in the Musical The King and I - "Whistle a happy time. " 

While shivering in my shoes, I strike a careless pose, and whistle a happy time and no-one will suppose I'm afraid. The result of this deception is very strange to tell, because when I took the people I fear I fool myself as well. (Rogers and Hammerstein; the King and I)

I don't think that God wants us to "make believe" - the joy we have is a real joy, and who needs counterfeits if you can lay your hands on the real thing. Coca-Cola may be very nice refreshing drink, but it is not the "the real thing" - the real thing is what is bubbling up inside our spirits - Joy, If we don't have it, we can't make it. 

When I was a little boy, I think one of the first Sunday School songs I learnt was "Joy, Joy, Joy" - complete with actions of course. Watch this YouTube video of the song. 

 "My sins are all forgiven, I am on my way to heaven". Some might say, it's very simplistic - Hey, it's a children's song! I am not going to get into that discussion now. I think, whether the composer intended it or not, it reflects the truth that Henri Nouwen expressed when he explained that joy comes from knowing that we are unconditionally loved by God and nothing can take that love away - in that sense, we are on our way to heaven! 

When genuine joy is present in our hearts, our lips will praise God. What joy filled young Mary's heart as the realisation grew that she was carrying in her womb the Christ-child, the long awaited Messiah. Now, I do not know to what extent this truth was grasped, but she did understand, it would seem the importance of the child that would be born to her. We should not underestimate the fears Mary must have felt at this stage of being seen as unwed mother, having no idea how Joseph, her betrothed would react to finding out that she was "with child" It was a great mark of shame for a woman to become pregnant when she was not married. But the knowledge that she was bearing this special child was bound to give her the necessary reassurance that everything would work out fine for her. This is why she could sing. 

Luke 1:46-55

Mary’s Song

46 And Mary said:

“My soul glorifies the Lord

47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

48 for he has been mindful

    of the humble state of his servant.

From now on all generations will call me blessed,

49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me—

    holy is his name.

50 His mercy extends to those who fear him,

    from generation to generation.

51 He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;

    he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.

52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones

    but has lifted up the humble.

53 He has filled the hungry with good things

    but has sent the rich away empty.

54 He has helped his servant Israel,

    remembering to be merciful

55 to Abraham and his descendants forever,

    just as he promised our ancestors.”

My soul magnifies the Lord - How can we express that in a modern way? - My heart is full to the brim with God and I rejoice in God my saviour. 

We cannot make God bigger than God already is - but we can see the bigness of God - and knowing the bigness of God, we can rejoice, even in very intense and difficult circumstances. The rest of the song talks about God cares about the little people, those who in the world would be labelled as nobodies. 

The reading from Isaiah read in may churches says that God engraves (ratios)  our names into his hands. God's hands are that huge that the names of every person can be tattooed in God's hands. 

I hope that you have enjoyed this discussion - I would love to know from you, if you have time:

1. What were the songs that you were taught as a young child that have stayed with you through the decades. Why is that song special? 
2. Have you ever felt those "mixed feelings of Sadness and joy at the same time? 
3. Do you feel like you are on your way to heaven? Why or why not? 

Second Week of Advent: Patience

Because the Lord is patient with us, we can be patient too.

2 Peter 3:8-15a But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day. The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, and the elements will be dissolved with fire, and the earth and everything that is done on it will be disclosed.

Since all these things are to be dissolved in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in leading lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set ablaze and dissolved, and the elements will melt with fire? But, in accordance with his promise, we wait for new heavens and a new earth, where righteousness is at home.

Final Exhortation and Doxology

Therefore, beloved, while you are waiting for these things, strive to be found by him at peace, without spot or blemish; and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation. 

Second Week of Advent and we are looking at this text from Second Peter. 

The word PATIENCE stood out to me.  It reminded me that there was a poet called Patience Strong, actually that was her pen-name. Many of her poems had a devotional theme to them. I wondered if Patience had written a poem about patience. I came across the following: 

https://allpoetry.com/The-Faith-That-Moves-The-Mountain

In this poem it links faith to patience. Our instinct is never to sit still and wait, or trust. Our instinct, I think, is to get busy. "Busy doing nothing" as the song says. When I read the first lines of this poem, my mind was taken back to when I was a boy, growing up in Zimbabwe, and my mother telling me that if ever I am out hiking and a mist comes down, such that I cannot see the way ahead, as does sometimes happen very suddenly on Mount Nyangani in the Eastern Highlands (Zimbabwe's highest point), that I should sit down and wait for the mist to clear and not try to press ahead, as there was a high likelihood of getting lost in those conditions. Fortunately, I have never had to rely on that advice, but it is good advice nevertheless, and can be expanded to apply to any kind of progress when visibility is poor. 

Now, I know, sometimes faith means progressing despite the lack of visibility. In fact,some might say to me, but the Bible says, "Walk by faith, NOT BY SIGHT"  (2 Cor. 5:7). But I think that when Patience Strong writes "With Patience watch and wait" she is talking about trusting God's timing. 

I believe that one of the reasons the Apostle Peter wrote this letter was because the people he was writing to were beginning to think that Jesus would never come back, that they were growing impatient with God's seeming "slowness". He reminded them that the Hebrew Scriptures said that to God a thousand years is like a day, and a day is like a thousand years - meaning that God works on a very different concept and scale of time, and so, what seems to us like a very long time, may be to God but a moment in time. Peter was saying that God was holding back from bringing the inevitable judgement to give humans the maximum opportunity to realise that they need God and repent - turn around. Peter assures them, that Jesus definitely will come again. I wonder what was making the believers become despondent, and lose hope? Could it have been the amount of persecution that they were experiencing because they had become followers of the Way? Were they, like many of the psalmists, and prophets, wondering why they were finding things so hard going, whilst the "wicked" seemed to enjoy their lives and their ill-gotten gains. A commentary I read said that the believers were beginning to live sinful lives, and this is why Peter urges them to live lives of holiness and righteousness. While it is true that we are not perfect and we all blow it from time to time, I think that it is not too much to expect our inclination and desire should be towards holiness and righteousness. Let's not become impatient with God's "slowness" because God's "slowness" is actually His patience towards us. 

If God is patient with us, we should also be patient with one another. Patience is listed as one of the fruit of the Holy Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23. We are told in 1 Cor 13 that Love is among other things, patient. 

I will admit, that my patience is regularly tested by people who flout the regulations to wear a mask indoors and on public transport, or when they do, they don't wear them over their nose and mouth, if not on their chins, they are wearing them with their nose and nostrils uncovered. It frustrates me, because these rules are meant to limit the spread, and it is spreading way to fast. I feel impatient with people who moan about the vaccine and question its safety or efficacy. 

I want to scream at them, if I am completely honest, so maybe, reading this text is for me to remember that God is patient with me, so I need to be patient with people I find frustrating. 

I am also, for different reasons, frustrated with people who use the Bible to justify homophobia. I am impatient with the long and tedious process in the Church of England of looking at the "issue of sexuality and gender expression" that has now become the Living in Love and Faith (LLF) intuitive. Many others have grown impatient with the Church of England in this regard and have decided that they are voting with their feet and leaving.  I understand why they are doing that, but I have made the decision that I will try and work with LLF materials and processes, and put across the message that As LGBT people we did not choose to be LGBT, and that our faith and trust in God is just as valid as those who criticise us. And that we should be welcome in churches in just the same way as anybody else, regardless of whether or not we're in a relationship, whatever our marriage status is, or how we identify. This inclusivity - radical inclusivity - needs to exist not only in a few forward thinking parish churches, but at every level of the Church from the parishes to the archbishops to the diocesan and general synod. I am choosing to remain hopeful, and hard as it is, patient, that ultimately, that true inclusion will be standard in my denomination. I am totally aware of the many logical reasons why others are sceptical of that outcome coming about. 

About 16 years ago I wrote a poem entitled Nevertheless in which I referred too many ways in which modern Christians were being persecuted but that despite the bad treatment, Jesus was calling us to Nevertheless Never-the-less, to  continue to Love them.  It's very easy to lose heart in tough situations, and to become resentful of the people who treat us badly or unfairly. But, hard as it is, and I am not pretending that it's easy, or that I always manage to achieve this, we are called to "patient endurance" and to love our enemy and bless those who persecute us. I know the bar is set very high, but with God's patient help, we can achieve that.