Redhill Thoughts

God incarnate at the National Gallery

2012-01-27T16:51:00.001Z

To the National Gallery for the Leonardo exhibition. There were huge queues snaking around the building but fortunately i had been able to buy a timed ticket online before Christmas.

Notwithstanding the timed ticket system there were huge crowds inside, too, but with a bit of ingenuity and some patience you could just about see everything.

Apart from the inherent beauty of his work, Leonardo has a certain rarity value and that has got the crowds out. He didn't paint much and quite a lot of what he did paint has been assembled here in London for this unique exhibition, together with a number of works by his pupils and selection of preparatory drawings and sketches by Leonardo himself, many of which are from the Royal Collection.

My favourite piece? It's one I have seen before - in the Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg, but it was great to see it again and to be able to view it in a more leisurely way (the last time we were on a rather rushed guided tour). It is Leonardo's Madonna Litta, or mother and child.

The photograph (right) scarcely does it justice. There are lots of things that stand out - particularly in the original - the way the Virgin is holding her child, the way she is looking at him, and the way he is looking at us.

In a word it is a picture of the incarnation.

God became flesh. God became a baby, and fed at his mother's breast. It is the most astounding truth and it is beautifully captured by the artist.

The baby looks at us, looks out at the world. It's more than mere curiosity. It's a sign that the whole project of the incarnation has the salvation of the world in view.

It's as if the infant is saying: 'I've come for you.'

Call to mission

2012-01-26T15:48:00.001Z

To the church of the Good Shepherd, Carshalton Beeches, where the Bishop of Southwark had called together all the incumbents of the Croydon Episcopal Area, together with the headteachers of Church schools to hear about his call to mission entitled 'Faith, Hope and Love.'

A letter from the Bishop will be going to every member of every congregation throughout the Diocese and all churches, schools, and chaplaincies will be invited to think 'about the core values of Faith, Hope, and Love which lie at the heart of our lives as witnesses to Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour.

Introducing his Call to Mission the Bishop said we need to be communities that 'point away from ourselves and point to Christ.'

Later one of the clergy said it was good that the Bishop was taking a lead in mission. That's what I think, too.

Secret scripture

2012-01-25T19:12:00.000Z

Sebastian Barry's The Secret Scripture is set in the Irish Republic. Its twin narrators are the centenarian inmate of an about to close long stay psychiatric hospital and one of the doctors at the same hospital.

Together they tell Roseanne's story centred on the troubled years of civil war that took place after the partition of Ireland.

A Guardian reviewer put it like this: 'Irish history is a malignant omnipresence, its antediluvian hatreds and innumerable betrayals forming not so much a backdrop as a toxic sludge through which the characters must wade, as best they can. The terrors of civil war have led to incurable enmities, the "sad, cold, wretched deaths of boys on mountainsides". Innocence is murdered and idealism compromised by the dirty truths of sectarianism. The newborn state professes fealty to republican slogans but its bitterest irony is that liberty, equality and fraternity have proven so viciously incompatible. Trust is unaffordable. Love is a risk. The neighbour is the assassin, the former comrade the enemy.'

It's a haunting even tragic tale, heart-rending, without a happy ending (but there is a surprising twist).

Ten vicars & a bishop in Israel (part three)

2012-01-20T22:50:00.002Z

DAY SIX: Resurrection day in Resurrection city

With Sunday being a normal working day in Israel we were able to have an early morning meeting with a government spokesman at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Official government policy remained a two state solution, he told us.

He was more optimistic about a settlement than other people we spoke to. It is in the interests of both sides to reach a lasting comprehensive agreement, he believed.

In seven years time his eldest son - like all Israeli youngsters, male and female - will begin his military service. His father hoped there might be peace by that time.

Next we went to St George's, Cathedral for the Sunday morning service of Holy Communion. This service was in English, an earlier one was in Arabic. St George's looks just like an English country church, and the worship offered inside, right down to its dependance on the English Hymnal, would be instantly recognisable to anyone familiar with middle of the road Anglicanism. That, when you think about it, is odd, but so is nearly everything in this city.

The first hymn, a rather obscure one, was about how Sunday, the first day of the week, was both the first day of the creation, and the day of the resurrection. And here's the wonderful thing: the Resurrection happened here. How wonderful to be worshipping in the city of the Resurrection on Resurrection day.

Close to the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, is the Israel Museum which we visited next. Here there is a magnificent large scale model of the city of Jerusalem (left) in the Temple's heyday. It graphically demonstrated the sheer size of the Temple and the way it would have dominated the whole city.

Amongst many other treasures in the museum, housed in an urn shaped structure calld the Shrine of the Book, are the Dead Sea scrolls, beautifully exhibited.

After that we off to the Dead Sea itself. We descended several hundred feet in the process, the thermometer rose by more than a dozen degrees, and the sun came out.

The views of the Dead Sea as we arrived close to sunset were truly wonderful and a free evening beckoned.

DAY SEVEN 'Does anyone know the Hebrew for doggy bag?'

After a blessedly late start which gave the opportunity for certain distinguished clergymen to float in the Dead Sea (I have photographic evidence but I don't think the world is yet ready for it), it was a ten-minute drive to the desert fortress of King Herod at Massada, just enough time for Morning Prayer in the coach (each day we had been using a litany of peace from St George's Cathedral in Jerusalem, together with the lectionary readings for the day).

Here at Masada in Herod's mountain palace in the desert 980 Jewish men, women and children killed themselves rather than submit to Roman slavery. With the Roman Army besieging the fortress, the Jews drew lots and selected ten men to kill the other 970. The ten remaining drew lots again. One killed the other 9 and then threw himself on his own sword. When the Romans finally broke through into the fortress they did not find a single person alive.

The pottery shards on which they wrote their names to draw lots have been recently recovered by archaeologists, giving credence to the historian Josephus's account of the terrible events at Masada.

In the part of Herod's Palace used by the besieged Jews as a synagogue, a solitary scribe sat painstakingly writing the words of the Torah onto a scroll of the kind that is used in temple worship. It was a way of saying, said, the Jewish member of our party, that our faith continues.

Taking the cable car down the mountain to the ground there was one more surprising sight in this World Heritage Site in the middle of the Israeli desert. I'll give you a clue:

However, the good news is that we successfully resisted the lure of a Masada Big Mac - instead we travelled via Jerusalem to the Arab village of Abu Ghosh. Known as the Israeli capital of hummus, this village has, ever since the origin of the state in 1948, taken a very positive attitude to Israel. They have many Jewish friends they tell us, and they are Israeli Arabs and happy to be that way.

The hospitality was wonderful, the food marvellous, and so abundant we scarcely time to eat it all before we headed back to the airport in Tel Aviv. 'What is the Hebrew for doggy bag?' someone pondered.

'Do you have some Dead Sea mud in your suitcase, sir?' asked the fellow operating the high tech suitcase scanner at Ben Gurion Airport. The machine must have smelt it. Our friend confirmed it was so and was allowed to go on his way. With his mud.

The view from Masada

A POLITICAL EXCURSUS
To say the very least, the political situation in Israel and the occupied territories is complex. For our group it was invaluable to be able to listen to people from all sides, but we deliberately reserved judgment almost as a matter of principle in order to avoid reaching premature conclusions.

At Holy Trinity I shall be saying more about the political situation at March's Spectrum, but for the time being I'll conclude this blog entry by relating how our very open mindeness got us into a spot of hot water, via some pretty deft spinning by one of the groups we visited.

It all began with our visit to the settler communities on the West Bank we were filmed for Israel National TV. You can see what they said about us here in this YouTube here:

Here's how it is reported on the Israel National News website, but note especially this paragraph:

Naftali Bennett, the Outgoing Director-General of the Yesha Council, told Arutz Sheva that he felt that what really got to the clergymen was the connection of the Jews to the land of Israel. “They understand that this is our land because of the Bible,” he said. “That has to be the fundamental point in our efforts, and if there’s one lesson that’s the lesson.”

'They understand that this is our land because of the Bible.' Now what does that mean? It could mean that we understand that they believe what they call Judea and Samaria belongs to them on the basis of the Bible. Or it could mean - and this is surely implied - that we hold this belief ourselves.

Therein lies the spin which was promptly picked up and spun the other way by a pro-Palestinian website which called its readers to write to us in protest.

The truth is that though we understood what the settlers said, but we no more endorsed their political or religious position than anyone else's. Moreover, what was not reported, was that in our very even-handed programme our next stop was to meet with the PLO, where we were to hear a quite different story.

At Shiloh

Ten vicars & a bishop in Israel (part two)

2012-01-19T17:31:00.007Z

DAY FOUR: Going up to Jerusalem

You immediately see why they talk about going up to Jerusalem, especially when you are travelling from the region of the Dead Sea, one of the lowest places on earth.

Our destination was Yad Vashem (left), the national holocaust memorial in the suburbs of the holy city.

This museum, which was thronged with crowds of students and young people - many of them from Birthright Israel, an organisation that brings young Jewish people from the US to visit their ancestral homeland - painstakingly and carefully tells the story of the Jewish communities of the countries of Europe and the terrible fate that befell them during the Second World War.

Most haunting of all is the memorial to the 1.5 million children exterminated by the Nazis.

You enter a small room, almost dark, on the wall are large photos of happy smiling children from pre-war Europe. One of them looked just like one of my daughters and that is the point. These were people's children, loved and cherished, brutally murdered in an act of unspeakable evil.

Next you move into a large hall containing mirrors, a lament plays gently in the background, and in the darkness are thousands of lights twinkling, multiplied many times over, as they are reflected by the mirrors. There is no caption. No voiceover - nothing so crass. You get the point. Every light represents the life of a child.

Can anyone begrudge us a land of our own after all we have been through, Yad Vashem seems to say, and it would be a hard hearted person who said 'no.' But how can there also be justice for the Palestinians? That is the conundrum that all sides know needs to be solved but nobody really knows the answer to it nor, it seems, holds out much hope for an early solution.

After a brief rest at the hotel we were off in driving rain to the Western Wall to witness the orthodox Jews praying in the sabbath (or shabbat).

We entered through a security checkpoint manned by armed guards - a bottle of wine (intended for our dinner guests had to be left behind for collection later) and we entered what is for the Jews the most holy place in the world, the only remaining part of the temple (destroyed by the Romans in AD 70) .

At this point the ladies had to leave us because worship at the wall is strictly segregated by gender. It was an extraordinary scene: hundreds of men, dressed in seventeenth century costume, mostly young, chanted the Scriptures and prayed with great fervour, rocking backwards and forwards rhythmically as they did so.

There seemed no central control. No overall plan. Each group did there own thing. People arrived and left at will. It was less of a service more like series of prayer meetings all happening at the same time.

From the wall it was a short walk to the extraordinarilly beautiful and ancient house in the old city where we were to take part in a traditional shabbat meal in a wealthy Jewish home. Over 30 people sat down for the meal including us, the host family, and a series of other guests who had been invited to meet us.

The Shabbat meal includes prayers, songs, and scripture readings - as well as mountains of food . You realise what a grievous mistake the church made when it turned the Lord's Supper into a service rather than a meal, and how one of the costs of this monumental blunder is that we have lost the naturalness with which the Jews pray and sing God's praises together in the heart of the family home.

Interspersed with the readings, hymns, and food were slots for what we would call personal testimony. Both Jews and Christians were interviewed by the host about their life and their faith. He always began the same way: 'what is your name, what are you mother and father's names, your brothers and sisters, your children's. Each answer being greeted with nods and murmurs of approval around the table. These people love families.

It was the most wonderful hospitality and our hosts were so kind, but as the wine flowed one felt we were being treated to a harder and harder sell. They were believers and they were telling us their gospel.

Before we left, we were invited to go out on the terrace and view the Temple Mount by night. It is the place where God is especially present, it is the place to which all Jewish prayers are directed, and it was a unique privilege, our hosts told us to be able to gaze upon it.

It was indeed a most beautiful sight but Christian believe they can enter the presence of the Lord, through Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit, anywhere in the world. I wondered if our Jewish friends had noticed the way their own Scriptures relativise the significance of the temple. After all it was its builder, Solomon, who prayed 'But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, the highest heavens, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built!'

Jerusalem: Entrance to the Old City

It was past midnight when we made our well through the streets of the old city on our way home. Suddenly church bells started ringing at a volume that would have woken the dead.

They signalled the beginning of the orthodox Christmas and soon we had to squeeze into shop door ways to allow a liturgical procession to pass through the streets on the way to the church. It was preceded by grim faced begowned figures banging rhythmically on the ground with sticks that resembled churchwarden's staves. It kind of said 'get out of the way.'

Just before we reached the hotel, now nearly 1am, we were stopped by a young orthodox Jew in great distress. His lights had tripped out. Could we come and switch them back on, something he couldn't do without desecrating the sabbath. It was the end of an extraordinary day in Jerusalem.

DAY FIVE: Jerusalem to bethlehem

The Garden Tomb

We began the day with a guided walk through the old city, walking along the Via Dolorosa, and visiting the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. No one really knows if this church is actually the site of the crucifixion, but who cares? Jesus walked through streets like this and he was crucified outside the walls of this city.

A curious feature of the old city is that with space at a premium, people build houses, flats, and all kinds of ramshackle structures on the roofs of other buildings. Our guide, an Arab Christian who grew up in the city, told us that a thousand people live on the roof of the church of the Holy Sepulchre. I thought I had misheard but he assured me the figure was correct.

More congenial to protestant tastes is the simplicity and beauty of the nearby Garden Tomb. They don't claim this is the actual spot where the resurrection took place: view it as a kind of visual aid, said our guide an Anglican lay reader from the UK with an impressive knowledge of Scripture.

Next it was time to travel throughb the security checkpoint to the occupied territories and to the city of Bethlehem, now surrounded by the Israeli anti-terrorist wall (left) . We met there the amazingly energetic and visionary pastor of a Christian community centre which is doing the most remarkable work in the most difficult sitution imaginable. Back on the coach and it was a short drive to Manger Square and the Church of the Nativity.

Like the Church of the Holy Sepulchre the impact of this church is rather diminished by the ridiculous territorial disputes that take place between the competing ancient denominations that have stake in it. Just before Christmas the Police had to be called to separate monks and priests who were attacking each other with broomsticks. 'We didn't arrest anyone' said the Palestinian police 'because they were men of God.'

It is because the denominations can't agree on anything that the two churches are in such a parlous state of disrepair. Neither church inspires either aestheticaly or spiritually. Nonethless I rather like the tattiness and ordinariness of Bethlehem itself. Doesn't it say something about the incarnation?

From Bethlehem there was just time before nightfall to view the city of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, the scene of the Ascension - and we were at the end of another absorbing day in the land of Jesus' birth.

The Church of the Nativity. You enter through the 'door of humility' - a door so low that everyone has to bow as they enter the place of Christ's birth

Ten vicars and a bishop in Israel

2012-01-17T23:50:00.007Z

For the last week I have been on a clergy study tour of Israel and the Palestinian territories organised by the Council of Christians and Jews, the Anglo-Israel Association and the Greenwood Trust.

Two thirds of us had not been to Israel before; about two thirds of us are members of the General Synod; all but one of us are Anglicans. Our leader is the Bishop of Ludlow, Alastair. Here's what we got up to:

DAY ONE: Heathrow to Heathrow to Tel Aviv

El Al has its own departure lounge, separate from every other airline, guarded by policeman holding machine guns.

Inside you quizzed by Israeli security personnel prior to check in. 'Why are you going to Israel? 'For a clergy study tour. 'What is clergy, I don't understand that word?' Priests. 'Do you know any of these priests?' Yes, some of them. 'How do you know them? (Thinks) not much point saying General Synod or CPAS, so 'from priests meetings.' Eventually I get through.

Five hours later we land at Tel Aviv and after a splendid late night meal at a Taverna we check in at the hotel.

DAY TWO: Facts on the ground

From Hotel window, Tel Aviv

A breezy walk along the shore of the Mediterranean (blue sky and sun), before breakfast. Next a briefing on the political situation by our guide, a Tunisian Jew. Next up is the British Ambassador.

They say you're getting old when the police start looking young. You should see the ambassador: he looks like he's just finished his A levels. But he knows his stuff and in half an hour he gives a brilliant, eloquent, and thoughtful analysis of the Arab-Israeli situation. He is the first Jewish British ambassador to Israel. We feel privileged to meet him.

Next we drive to the occupied territories on the West Bank to meet with some of the so-called settlers. Some of the settlements are large towns the size of Redhill. One has its own university. Now 350,000 Jews live on the West Bank and the settlers hope to make it a million within ten years. We visit a factory where Jews and Arabs work harmoniously together.

We have lunch with the settlers in Shiloh where Samuel received his call from the Lord. The hospitality is marvellous but we are being treated to a hard sell. TV cameras follow our progress - more about this anon.

Of course many people believe these settlements should not be there. This is Arab land, illegally occupied. But to the Settlers this is their land. This is Judea and Samaria, given them by God, and they are busilly engaged in creating facts on the ground - solid facts in bricks and mortar - whatever the international community may think about it.

As we leave a Jewish woman says 'tell the Arabs we love them. Ask them why they hate us so much.

After lunch we find out.

Ramallah, on the West Bank

We drive deeper into the West Bank, throught the security barrier, into the area controlled by the Palestinian National Authority.

Here our guide must leave us, since it is illegal for Jews to enter this area. A Palestinian Christian takes his place and we travel to the town of Ramallah - where Yasser Arafat had his HQ - to meet with the negotiating team of the PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organisation).

We hear of the sense of powerless and despair of the Palestnians, of their longing for statehood, of the prison like experience they endure in their own country, of the petty restrictions put in their way by the occupying power.

We hear a story that is diametrically opposed to the one told us by the settlers. For the first time we hear the phrase 'occupied territories.'

In our hotel in Ramallah we are joined for dinner by two Arab Christians: a Quaker woman and a Catholic priest. They are committed to peace. They are seeking to live out the love of Christ. With gentleness and respect and without bitterness, they tell us esentially the same story told us by the PLO.

They speak, too, of the decimation of the Christian community: in Bethlehem, which was 80 per cent Christian, Christians now make up just 16 per cent of the population. The rest have emmigrated. They have had enough.

So ends our first full day in the Holy Land. As for the West Bank, the settlers tell us 'it's our home;' for the Arabs it is the illegal occupation of someone else's home: theirs.

DAY THREE: By blue Galilee

A change of scene as we leave the West Bank, pick up our guide, and head for the Sea of Galilee, a place that I have visited many times in my imagination, but now I am where Jesus calmed the storm and walked on water, where the crowds followed him, and where he proclaimed the kingdom of God.

We have Holy Communion on the Mount of Beattitudes, overlooking the lake. In the church there a visiting party of Nigerians (who we will bump into again) are loudly and joyfully singing God's praises: 'Thank you Jesus, thank you,' 'I have a reason to praise the Lord.' It is a golden moment.

Then we sail in a 'Jesus boat' across the lake. The crew hoist the Union Jack and play God Save the Queen over the tannoy. Someone notices the flag is upside down and it is quickly turned up the right way.

But really its another kingdom altogether we are here for and as one of our number reads from Matthew 14, one of my favoutite passages of Scripture, containing one of the verses I love most: 'tell me to come' - uttered by Peter as he sought divine permission and enabling to walk upon the water, I am deeply moved.

After lunch at St Peter's Restaurant (where else?) and wine tasting at a winery we head to the Kibbutz on the shore of the lake where we spend the night.

That evening a rabbi and an iman come to speak with us. They are working to encourage understanding and dialogue across the political and religious divides.

All night long it rains torrentially. There is a violent thunderstorm. All the lights fuse and we have to wash and shave in the dark.

A new day awaits. Here in this arid country, rain really is seen as a blessing from the Lord - and how he was to bless us in the next few days!

Our Israeli friends say 'the Lord has blessed Israel with rain and made the English feel at home!.

To be continued.....

'Thank you Jesus, thankyou' - in the Church of the Beattitudes

Henry's demons

2012-01-09T19:05:00.018Z

'On a February day two months after his 20th birthday, Henry Cockburn waded into the lethally cold water of Newhaven Estuary. Voices told him to do it.' Now his journalist father, Patrick, and Henry himself tell the story of the subsequent seven years of Henry's life, virtually all of which was spent in mental hospitals.

This most unusual and very moving book is one family's story of coping with mental illness - in this case, Schizophrenia.

What makes it most unusual - and particularly compelling -are Henry's own chapters in which he explains how his often bizarre, sometimes dangerous, behaviour made a certain kind of sense in the world as he perceived it.

Highly recommended.

Lucky country

2012-01-06T21:27:00.003Z

'Many years ago, I would have confidently described myself as a republican' says the Queen's latest biographer, Andrew Marr, former Political Editor of the BBC.

It was, he says, 'mainly because I thought it would make me seem clever. '

He then goes on to say 'the more you see of her in action, the more impressed you are. She has been dutiful, but she has been a lot more than dutiful. She has been shrewd, kind and wise. Britain without her would have been a greyer, shriller, more meagre place.'

Thus begins, Andrew Marr's The Diamond Queen, not exactly a biography of the Queen's life, but more an examination of her work. As you would expect the book is particularly strong on the Queen's political role, especially her relationship with a succession of prime ministers.

This is very far from being an uncritical hagiography but Marr is pretty clear what he thinks about the monarch and as for Britain, he concludes on the last page, we are 'her lucky country.'

In terms of defending the monarchy against republicans, he deploys what I call the Roy Hattersley argument: if not the Queen 'we would have a failed politician whom half the nation loathed.'

Later he suggests that the hereditary principle engenders a certain kind of humility in the monarch: 'chance put the Queen on the throne.' She was 'accidentally selected by history to a fill a special national position. ' The Royal family know they have done nothing to deserve their position and 'it makes them in a funny way dutiful, almost humble.'

There is another word that you can use to describe an undeserved privileged position that makes you humble and issues in a life of service. Grace. On that basis an hereditary monarchy might not be such a daft idea, after all.

A finger in every pie

2012-01-03T17:51:00.006Z

I didn't exactly imbibe it with my mother's milk, but ever since theological days the writings of Abraham Kuyper have been a key part of my theological thinking.

Kuyper (1837-1920) was a Dutch politician and theologian, a member of the Reformed church, who developed a particular way of looking at politics, theology, and culture, rooted in Calvin's doctrine of the sovereignty of God. He famously said 'there is not a square inch in the whole domain of human existence over which Christ, who is sovereign over all, does not cry "Mine!"'

In 136 pages Richard Mouw gives a brilliantly succinct introduction to Abraham Kuyper's political thought, together with an indication of its contemporary relevance.

I've previously shared a bit of Kuyperianism with Spectrum at Holy Trinity and with the Serving the Serving King course. The key idea is 'sphere sovereignty.' Here, courtesy of Google images, is a diagrammatic representation of it:

According to Kuyper there are a whole series of instututions (eg family, church, school, the state) which must each be free to operate within their own sphere, under the sovereignty of God. Each sphere must respect the integrity of the other and not seek to dominate or compromise the other spheres.

It was the mistake of Medieval Catholicism to place the church above all the other spheres; it is the mistake of totalitarianism to place the state in that position. By the same token it is the error of liberal secularism to segregate the church into a separate compound to be ruled over by God, with no divine accountability or connection in any of the other spheres.

Beneath it all there is a very strong doctrine of creation. Kuyper is concerned with how things were made to be and, therefore, how they ought to be.

His ideas give a way of thinking Christianly about the complexities of human society. His thinking is the antithesis of a kind of pietism that is only concerned with the 'spiritual' or what goes on in church. Instead he affirms that Christ is Lord of all, and that his followers can be properly involved in every area of life. I think that's why the greatest Kuyperian on the staff of my old college listed under the heading 'interests' in his entry in the college prospectus: 'everything.'

Happy new year

2012-01-01T00:01:00.005Z

To start the New Year, here's the daily prayer used by the late John Stott:

Heavenly Father, I pray that I may live this day in your presence and please you more and more. Lord Jesus, I pray that this day I may take up my cross and follow you. Holy Spirit, I pray that this day you will fill me with yourself and cause your fruit to ripen in my life: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Holy, blessed and glorious Trinity, three persons in one God, have mercy upon me. Almighty God, creator and sustainer of the universe, I worship you. Lord Jesus Christ, Saviour and Lord of the world, I worship you.Holy Spirit, sanctifier of the people of God, I worship you. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, As it was in the beginning, is now, and shall be forever, Amen.

Holy city?

2011-12-31T09:48:00.003Z

In preparation for a forthcoming study tour of Israel I have been reading Sebag Montefiore's magnificent Jerusalem: the Biography.

If you wanted any evidence for the oft-repeated thesis that religion is a major cause of warfare and bloodshed you meed to look no further than the city of Jerusalem.

The city has been repeatedly attacked, besieged, plundered, and burnt; it inhabitants have been raped, maimed, murdered, or transported into slavery. And right in the midst of this unholy mess are the three Abrahamic religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, who, in different ways and for different reasons, claim Jerusalem as a city holy to their faith, and have often been prepared to fight for it.

At times the members of the three religions have lived together or, at least alongside each other, in relative harmony. At other times one group or other - most often the Jews - has been the victim of viscious persecution at the hands of the others.

Today Jerusalem, liberated or occupied (depending on your viewpoint), remains a place of discord and tension, torn between the competing claims of different religions and political ideologies.

Sebag Montefiore doesn't attempt to offer a solution, indeed his history stops at the six day war of 1967, but he brilliantly shows how Jerusalem got where it is now, examining all the twists and turns of its extraordinary and tumultuous three thousand year history. Highly recommended.

Landscape at the National

2011-12-28T21:10:00.001Z

To the National Theatre for the annual exhibition of the Landscape Photographer of the year competition. It's one of London's best free exhibitions. It's on until 28th January

Pictured is Robert Fulton's winning entry. You can see some of the others here.

The world needed a saviour, says the Queen

2011-12-25T16:29:00.002Z

For as long as I can remember our family, like countless others across the land, have sat down at 3pm on Christmas Day to watch the Queen's Christmas message to the Commonwealth.

I get the impression that as years go by, Her Majesty has become more and more explicit about her undoubted Christian faith. This year's broadcast was her best yet.

Concluding her survey of the year's events she said:

"God sent into the world a unique person - neither a philosopher nor a general, important though they are, but a Saviour, with the power to forgive. Forgiveness lies at the heart of the Christian faith. It can heal broken families, it can restore friendships and it can reconcile divided communities. It is in forgiveness that we feel the power of God's love.

In the last verse of this beautiful carol, O Little Town Of Bethlehem, there's a prayer:

O Holy Child of Bethlehem,

Descend to us we pray.

Cast out our sin

And enter in.

Be born in us today.

It is my prayer that on this Christmas day we might all find room in our lives for the message of the angels and for the love of God through Christ our Lord.
I wish you all a very happy Christmas."

You can watch the full ten-minute broadcast here or read it here.

Christmas Day

2011-12-25T00:01:00.009Z

This is the truth sent from above,
The truth of God, the God of love;
Therefore don’t turn me from your door,
But hearken all, both rich and poor.

The first thing, which I do relate,
That God at first did man create
The next thing, which to you I tell,
Woman was made with him to dwell.

Then after this, ‘twas God’s own choice
To place them both in Paradise,
There to remain from evil free
Except they ate of such a tree.

But they did eat, which was a sin,
And thus their ruin did begin;
Ruined themselves, both you and me,
And all of their posterity.

Thus we were heirs to endless woes,
Till God the Lord did interpose
For so a promise soon did run
That He’d redeem us with a Son.

And at this season of the year
Our blest Redeemer did appear
He here did live, and here did preach,
And many thousands He did teach.

Thus He in love to us behaved,
To show us how we must be saved
And if you want to know the way
Be pleased to hear what He did say.

Go preach the Gospel new, He said,
To all the nations that are made
And he that does believe in me,
From all his sins I’ll set him free.

God grant to all within this place
True saving faith—that special grace,
Which to His people doth belong—
And thus I close my Christmas song.

A few good books

2011-12-23T13:51:00.000Z

Some recent reading I would recommend:

The Help, recently the subject of a film of the same name, is the story of black women working in prosperous white homes in the southern state of Mississipi in the early 1960s.

Through a young white woman they find a voice to tell their story which includes their love for the white children they nurse, the sometimes deeply sympathetic but at other times deeply abusive relationships with their employers, and the climate of fear that obtains in a culture where white on black violence is only too common, and where blacks can be dismissed on an employer's whim.

Snowdrop is set in Russia during the 1990s. Snow drops are the frozen bodies discovered when the snpw melts at the end of the harsh Russian winter. Sometimes they belong to drunks who fall over and die of exposure, sometimes the 'snowdrops' represent another victim of the criminal underworld.

Miller's novel frighteningly evokes what is sometimes called the 'mafia state' in contemporary Russia, a place of crime, violence, corruption and gangsterism. Snowdrops is the story of desire, lust, deceit and betrayal. It is a powerful story without a happy ending. Just like modern Russia.

Few chemists have been really good writers, but Primo Levi is the exception. Not really a novel, not quite a biography, The Periodic Table is a series of essays related to the author's experience as an Italian Jew - first in Fascist Italy under Mussolini and latterly in a Nazi concentration camp.

Each chapter takes its name from one of the elements of the Periodic Table (Argon, nitrogen, cadmium etc). There's quite a bit of chemistry in the book, too, but not enough to put off a reader who was rather turned off by the subject at school, and of course the book is not really about Chemistry.

I read a page of Thomas Hardy at university and on the basis of that brief experience, I decided he was not a writer I could get on with. Too much description of nature.

But now having read Under the Greenwood Tree this week and loved it, I feel I will have to revise my undergraduate predjudices.

UTGT weaves together two stories: the blossomong romantic friendship between two young people and the vicar's plan in a Dorset village (Circa 1850) to replace the parish band and choir with the organ. So West Gallery music (see previous post here) is one of the themes of the book.

What Hardy does so well is to describe the lives of the villagers and he does this with humour, affection, and senstivity. He keeps the nature description fairly short so I just about coped. But really its a lovely book and I enter the new year resolved to read a lot more Thomas Hardy.

Danger: Soap Opera Ahead

2011-12-20T19:42:00.003Z

According to The Times you are seven times more likely to die a violent death if you live in Ambridge, the home of the Archers.

Things are even worse for the residents of Albert Square who, in any given year, are eight times more likely to die than an average member of the population. This means that just living in the London Borough of Walford is roughly as dangerous as being a bomb disposal expert or a Formula One driver.

For the elderly residents of the Square the outlook is particularly grim. They have five-year survival rates lower than the average cancer patient. Meanwhile things aren't much better on Coronation Street (as dangerous as being a steeplejack) or Emmerdale (even worse).

As for the divorce rate, that is simply astronomical, not to mention the incidence of murder, arson, rape, burglary and criminal assault.

One things is certain the Soaps are clearly not what they purport to be - a reflection of everyday life ('an everyday story of country folk' in the case of the Archers).

What is the effect on us of having piped into our living rooms every night this violent, melodramatic, vision of a community life, steeped in marital unfaithfulness and what the Bible, frankly, calls 'sin' ?

The gift God gave

2011-12-19T16:31:00.003Z

Two full ccongregations yesterday for Carols by Candlelight services. Here's the gist of what I said in the sermon:

There’s an ad for a certain department store that perfectly captures a child’s excited anticipation of Christmas Day.

Can you remember how hard it is to get to sleep on Christmas Eve when you’re eight years old and you can’t wait to get your presents? I know I can. The ad captures that, as the boy pulls the covers over himself, closes his eyes tight, and wills himself to go to sleep so that Christmas Day will come.

Fast forward to Christmas morning. At last! It’s Christmas day! He leaps out of bed. Then comes the twist. He rushes past his Christmas presents piled up at the foot of his bed, not even giving them a second look, and dives into his cupboard. He retrieves a large parcel carefully wrapped in Christmas paper.

He dashes into his parents’ bedroom. A bleary eyed mum and dad peer out from under the covers as their son stands there proudly holding in his hands – their Christmas present from him.

The commercial ends with this slogan ‘For gifts you can’t wait to give’

That’s the twist. His joy, his longing, his excitement, his anticipation has not been about the presents he would receive but about the present he would give - to his parents. What the ad perfectly illustrates is the joy of giving.

That got me thinking about God.

Often at Christmas we think about our joy: indeed the angel told the shepherds ‘I bring you news of great joy which will be for all people’ – but what about God’s joy. What about the joy of the greatest giver of all? What about the joy that our God felt when he reached out to the sinful suffering world he had made and gave the greatest gift that has ever been given: his own Son: ‘For God so loved the world he gave his only Son.’

That advert has gone viral because it displays a young boy’s love for his mum and dad, expressed in the joy of giving. The events of the first Christmas Day touch our hearts because they display our creator’s love for the world he has made.

The Bible says‘he who did not spare his own son but gave him up for us all’ . That’s the wonder of Christmas that God gave his own Son not just to born as baby, though he was born as a baby; not just to live amongst us and become one with us, though he certainly did that; but ultimately to give his life for us on the cross out of love for us

It is the greatest gift that’s ever been given.

It is the gift our creator couldn’t wait to give. It’s the gift that he had long planned. Prophets and angels had predicted it. The world had waited in eager expectation. And then the day came – the first Christmas Day when God gave us his Son for our salvation.

Back to the advert. If that had been a real scene in a real family’s life what would have happened next? I’ll tell you what. More joy – this time from the recipients of the gift, from mum and dad as they opened the present from their son. Because every gift has to be received.

It’s the same with God’s gift of his Son Jesus Christ. The Bible says ‘Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—‘

The big question is what is our response? Have we received the gift

Cameron does God

2011-12-18T13:32:00.003Z

What to make of the Prime Minister's speech about the King James's Bible?

'I am a committed – but I have to say vaguely practising – Church of England Christian, who will stand up for the values and principles of my faith……but who is full of doubts and, like many, constantly grappling with the difficult questions when it comes to some of the big theological issues' explained the prime minister to a gathering of Church of England clergy in Oxford.

'Just as our language and culture is steeped in the Bible, so too is our politics. 'From human rights and equality to our constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy… …from the role of the church in the first forms of welfare provision, to the many modern day faith-led social action projects' Cameron told his audience.

This is a Christian country, he said.

He concluded: 'I believe the Church of England has a unique opportunity to help shape the future of our communities. But to do so it must keep on the agenda that speaks to the whole country. The future of our country is at a pivotal moment. The values we draw from the Bible go to the heart of what it means to belong in this country… …and you, as the Church of England, can help ensure that it stays that way.'

What to make of it? First, I think we should welcome the Prime Minister's willingness to declare his own faith and to directly address the past and present relevance of the Christian faith in the life of the nation. We shouldn't mock what he says about the vagueness of his faith, but welcome his honesty. (There are many people like him in the pews and it's our task to explain the truths of the Gospel clearly).

Secondly, I think we should be glad that the PM esteems the values of the Bible, but at this point I think we have the right to ask him a direct question: is Her Majesty's Government prepared to modify its policy where it conflicts with the values of the Bible?

Just for starters we might consider the unique value that the Bible ascribes to marriage as the union of one man for woman for life and the Government's promotion of the acceptance of same-sex partnerships, and its general downplaying of marriage.

When he says the Church 'must keep on the agenda that speaks to the whole country' what does he mean? Must the Church endorse the Country's agenda or is it rather the task of the Church to bring God's agenda to the attention of the nation?

Finally, Melanie Mcdonagh, writing in the Spectator asks whether Cameron is really missing the point in his focus on Christian values. Christian values, require Christian faith, she argues in the following telling comment:

'But more profoundly, Mr Cameron's remarks about Christian values fail to get to the heart of the contemporary moral malaise. Look, Christian values flow from Christianity. Without those beliefs in the God who became man, and who died for sinners and rose from the dead, and forgave sins, the moral values don't count for much. It's because of who and what Christ was that we take to heart what he said about loving our enemies, turning the other cheek. Values aren't something free-floating; they come from what we believe. So when Mr Cameron says we should return to Christian values, he misses the point. What we need – with all respect to other faiths – is a return to Christianity.'

Thank God for Colebrook

2011-12-16T19:51:00.001Z

To the Colebrook Day Centre for their annual carol service. I had been invited to lead the prayers and to give a talk.

It was an amazing event: lively, a bit chaotic, totally heart warming. Well over a hundred people with learning difficulties were there (including most of our Friends of Jesus group), together with family, friends and carers.

It was impressive to see how the staff had arranged for everyone to take part, taking care to tailor individual participation to individual abilities and aptitudes.

There were lots of carols (Ding, dong, merrily on high, Silent Night etc) with some fun songs at the end (Jingle Bells, Little Donkey, We wish you a Merry Christmas), all accompanied by the band; plus a Christmas poem that was illustrated with a tableau of shepherds, angels, Mary & Joseph, all in appropriate costume.

For my talk, I had a big present which we unwrapped to reveal the baby Jesus lying in the manger. We all love receiving presents, I said, and the very best present of all was God's gift of Jesus. Then we prayed thanking God for Jesus, for families, for friends, for those who care for us.

Next during another song everyone came forward with presents to be given to the children in the Children's Ward at East Surrey Hospital, which I received and a member of the staff placed around the Christmas tree. The look on the faces of each person as they handed over their present was a Christmas present in itself.

I left once more full of admiration for this Centre and its staff. With question marks at present being placed about its future, I fervently hope that its wonderful service to a special group in our community may long continue and that Surrey County Council may continue to fund it.

Finding God's will

2011-12-14T19:52:00.001Z

Continuing a brief series of articles based on Philip Cary's 'Good News for Anxious Christians,' we come to:

CHAPTER 4 Why you don't have to find God's will for your life
Cary argues there are two ways in which the Bible talks about God's will. There is God's revealed will (we should love him, love our neighbours etc), and there is God's hidden will (his providence governing all the universe and history). The former you can disobey, the latter you can't disboey or 'miss'.

Christians today, says Cary, seem to be engaged in trying to find God's will in a third sense, a sense not found in Scripture. His students are very worried they might get God's will wrong and go for a kind of second best in their lives. So 'guidance,' or the seeking of God's will, becomes a source of anxiety, which really it shouldn't be because we already know God's will for our lives (its in the Bible).

Carry says his students want God to make their decisions for them, rather than making them themselves. For example, they agonise over whether it is 'God's will' to marrry a particular person, rather than asking the question 'is this a good person to marry?'

Far better, says Cary, to learn from Solomon who did not ask God to tell him what to do, but instead prayed for wisdom so that he would make right decisions (ie that he might be able to discern good from bad).

'The Lord does not short circuit the learning process by making our decisions for us' says Cary. So, if we are to learn from Solomon, we shouldn't be praying to discern God's will in a particular situation, but for wisdom to learn good from bad.

As the Book of Common Prayer would have it, we need 'a right judgment in all things.'

Provoked? You can get the book here

Alaskan Messiah

2011-12-12T20:18:00.002Z

From the small Yupiq ESkimo Village of Quinhagak in Alaska a novel version of the the Hallelujah chorus. Thanks to David S for pointing it out.

Behold the lamb

2011-12-11T22:05:00.002Z

Zurburan's 'the bound lamb' was memorably displayed in London in the National Gallery's millenium exhibition, 'Seeing Salvation.' Today I used it to illustrate John the Baptist's words in John 1.29: 'Behold, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.'

The commentators rightly note that this is an unusual phrase in Scripture - occurring only twice, just a few verses apart. Typically, they survey the 5 or 6 candidates for the identity of the lamb (the passover lamb, the lamb of Isaiah 53, the lamb of Genesis 22 etc) and conclude that none of them is an exact fit with John 1.29.

A quick way out of that connundrum is to say 'all have won, all shall prizes,' and simply conclude that all the possible answers are right, but that still leaves you with the problem that none is an exact fit. If none is really right, how can they suddenly all be right?

The problem comes, I think, from the method being adopted. The commentators are looking for an exact fit. They want to a precise definition of the 'lamb of God' but what if the text works differently at that point? What if no exact correspondence is intended at all, but what if the phrase 'the lamb of God' is an allusion to a series of different biblical lambs? What if each of the previous lambs throws some light on the meaning of the 'lamb of God' without being exactly identical with it?

That was my assumption today, not suggesting a one to one correspondence between any of the previous lambs and the lamb of God, but allowing the meaning of each of the previous lambs to throw some light on what John the B meant when he pointed at Jesus and said 'Behold the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.'

Surely that was the kind of thought process the Baptist intended to take place when he used such language in the hearing of biblically-literate Jews? You only had to scroll through your biblical knowledge and you got the gist of what he meant.

Of course there is a lot more about the lamb in the book of Revelation but I don't think you can really decide what John the Baptist meant by using that book, for the simple reason that it hadn't been written at the time he spoke. In that sense, to use Revelation to answer the question 'who is the lamb of God' in John 1 is cheating.

But only in that sense.

Intimate history

2011-12-10T16:04:00.002Z

There are many parallels between Britain in the 1930s and today. Like then we have a world financial crisis; high unemployment; and a coalition government.

The 30s was the decade that brought us hunger marches, an abdication crisis and a world war.

The whole face of the nation changed with the growth of the suburbs and the construction of huge out of town estates, the so-called, garden estates.

London doubled in size in the space of ten years then the Green Belt, another thirties invention, stopped all that.

Part social history, part political history, packed with anecdotes, facts, and analysis, Juliet Gardiner's The Thirties: an Intimate History, offers a brilliant insight into what proved for Britain to be a formative decade. Well worth reading.

Hearing the voice of God

2011-12-07T19:30:00.035Z

More from Philip Cary's Good News for Anxious Christion s, previously mentioned here

Chapter One: Why you don't have to hear God's voice in your heart. Early on in his work among university Christian students Cary noticed the anxiety they felt about hearing God's voice. 'How do you know which voice you're hearing is really God's voice' was the gist of their dilemma.

Then it clicked. They had been taught to believe that the voices they heard in their hearts (or some of them) were God's voice. Cary wrote to one girl: 'you don't have to get all anxious about figuring out which one of the voices is God. None of them is. The revelation of God comes in another way, through the word of God in the Bible and that is something outside your heart.' (p2)

Cary goes on to say you should listen to your heart, because that is a good way of acquiring self-knowledge, but you shouldn't confuse what your heart says with the voice of God, which is something quite different, and external to you.

Why, asks Cary, in the Bible and in history does God persist in speaking to us in external words, via prophets, apostles, teachers and preachers. Here is his answer: 'God speaks to us' says Cary 'like any real person, as someone outside our hearts whom we love.'

Clearing up a few missconnections

2011-12-05T19:25:00.000Z

There was some interesting stuff about the social networking site, Facebook, this weekend.

BBC2 had a profile of its founder, Mark Zuckerberg, and the Saturday Times had an article, 'We may have 750 friends online but we're lonely.'

Zuckerberg said his company was about being open and making connections between people, but Andy Jones, 28, writing in the Times, said he had 750 online friends and had never felt lonelier.

The trouble with social networks said Jones is that you're 'always connected, but you always feel the same cool distance apart.' This thought was confirmed by a survey in the same edition of the paper that reported that 20-somethings (the most 'connected' generation) reported higher levels of loneliness than the over-sixties (the least 'connected').

It seems that Facebook allows you to keep 'connected' with a lot of people but may well diminish your ability to maintain the kind of depth in relationships which makes them really worth having. On the BBC programme a man on a YouTube anti-Facebook protest displayed a placard which said 'You haven't got 451 friends; you've got 4, but that's OK.'

Is there something about quality, not quantity, that Zuckerberg & Co may have missed?

The other odd thing that came out of the BBC programme was the way that Facebook helps you establish your identity by clicking the products and companies you 'like'. Apparently nearly 37 million Facebookers 'like' Coca-Cola and have felt the need to tell everyone - and by pressing the 'like' button they are giving Facebook marketing info worth millions.

I've always felt it strange that some people wear clothes which prominently display the manufacturer's logo on the outside (surely companies should pay you for advertising their products, not the other way round), but isn't it a bit tragic that people are being encouraged to build their very identity around the stuff they buy?

We were created with a higher dignity and worth than that.

Worship from the West End

2011-12-04T16:21:00.001Z

Last night to St George's, Benenden ('ruined by a Storm of Thunder and Lightning, 1673; rebuilt 1676') for a performance of West Gallery carols by the Marsh Warblers.

In the days before the organ took over (mid-19th century) worship in English parish churches was led by the Parish Band situated in the West Gallery (ie at the back of the church).

Farmers, shopkeepers, & traders played instruments such as the oboe, clarinet, bassoon, violin, and cello. They played the distinctive West Gallery tunes while the villagers sang lustilly. A German visitor in 1782 said 'I noticed several musical instruments of various sorts as the Preacher stopped his reading and the clerk announced from the choir: "Let us Praise God by singing the forty-seventh Psalm, Awake, our hearts, awake with joy". How peaceful and heart-uplifting it was to hear vocal and instrumental music in this little country church, not made by hired musicians but joyfully offered by the happy dwellers in the place in praise of their God.

Sadly, with the coming of the organ (a kind of musical one man band) the Parish Band was pensioned off, and gradually West Gallery music fell out of use. What was it like? Lively, vigorous, of the people.

Just a few West Gallery tunes are still sung today: Lyngham ('O for a thousand tongues'); Sagina ('And Can it Be') and Cranbrook (formerly the tune for 'While Shepherds Watched', but now better known as the tune of 'On Ilkley Moor bar t'at).

You get the idea of what it was like: often sung in parts, rumbustious, repetitive, emotional.

Last night's concert included a series of carols sung to West Gallery tunes, interspersed with readings from Thomas Hardy's 'Under the Greenwood Tree, which chronicles the demise of a parish band and its replacement by an organ. Hardy's father and grandfather both played in church bands in Dorset.

With the benefit of hindsight we see the church took a wrong turning in the middle of nineteenth century: worship in the parish church became less participatory, less joyfully expressive, more solemn, more highbrow, more elitist, and less in touch with the people. Well done to the Marsh Warblers for keeping alive a wonderful tradition of music and praise and, by the way, have you noticed? In our church, as in many others, the Parish Band is back.

When St Paul lost it

2011-12-01T18:14:00.004Z

To the Diocesan Office for a CME (Continuing Ministerial Education) course entitled 'The Madness of St Paul,' led by my friend, Richard Dormandy.

Richard and I were ordained together in 1989 and we've kept in touch ever since. Over the years he has been working on 2 Corinthians. What had become quite a big book has been condensed into the more manageable The Madness of St Paul which Richard presented to us today.

In 2 Corinthians, the only letter of Paul that does not begin with thanksgiving for the church to whom he is writing, it seems that the apostle has hit rock bottom or that he is just emerging from rock bottom. He tells his readers 'we do not want you to uninformed about our hardships' (1.8); he says 'we were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure' (1.8); he speaks of feeling under 'the sentence of death' (1.9); and says that he 'despaired even of life' (1.8).

Because he also speaks so powerfully of the grace of God - in the same letter and sometimes in the same breath - Christian readers have tended to minimise the the deep anguish of heart and spirit to which the Apostle testifies in 2 Corinthians - and this is not helped by our tendency to put Christian leaders on a pedestal and to imagine that our heroes in the faith are spiritually invicible.

But Richard suggests we should let Paul say what Paul actually says and we should be attentive to the deep and disturbing emotions he expresses in his letter to the Corinthians, and only then we should see how Paul comes to a renewed understanding of what it is to be a follower of Christ, summed up towards the end of the letter in the insight that God's power is made perfect in weakness (12.9).

There's much in what Richard has written, as there is in 2 Corinthians itself, to help the Christian who is going through hard times. And Richard helps us see what sometimes gets lost in biblical commentaries, namely that 2 Corinthians is a letter, a deeply personal and passionate letter by a particular man, called by God to serve in a particular way at a particular time.

In short it was an excellent morning.

And just in case you're wondering, what did the Apostle do next? He wrote Romans.

It is perhaps not coincidental that Romans is Paul's exposition par excellence of the grace of God, because it was a lesson about grace that Paul chiefly learned through the turmoil and troubles of the period of his life described in 2 Corinthians.

Redemptive telly

2011-11-28T18:53:00.001Z

Telly took a nasty turn with Big Brother. Ever since then ritual humiliation has become de rigueur in your average reality TV show until, that is, the advent of BBC3's The World's Strictest Parents where no one gets evicted or sent home but where something rather like redemption often seems to happen.

The idea of ther show is simple: take two thuggish teenagers and send them for a week or two for a spot of 'strict parenting' in a distant corner of the globe and see whether any of the thuggishness wears off.

Last night's surly youths (pictured) were shipped over to Seattle (in the BBC's words) 'to be straightened out by an evangelical Christian family' who ran an impressively strict, but deeply loving, household.

It worked!

Despite finding their hosts 'mad' and their habit of prayer before meals distressingly 'random,' and despite breaking just about every rule they were presented with - and lying through their teeth to their angelic hosts who actually trusted them - the British youths were somehow won over and came out the otherside, well, transformed.

Strictly come parenting is that rare thing on the telly: a programme that is genuinely redemptive in aim. It actually helps people.

Read all about it

2011-11-27T19:57:00.004Z

A few books recently read, including some half term reading:

Jad Adams' Gandhi: Naked Ambition offers a fascinating insight into the life of Mahatma Gandhi.

Gandhi was a devout Hindu who had a deep respect for Jesus Christ. He read the New Testament regularly; he taught his followers to sing the hymn When I survey the wondrous cross (he couldn't sing the verse 'see from his head, his hands his feet..' without weeping); and his ideas of non-violent protest and passive civil disobedience were largely inspired by Christian teaching

Gandhi was horrified at the thought of eating meat. He was fanatical about cleanliness. He tried to persuade his married followers to embrace celibacy - as he had done. He led his people to independence but its Adams' contention that Gandhi was partly reasponsible for precisely the outcomes he most feared and sought to avoid: the partition of India and widespread post-independence inter-communual violence (in which up to a million lives were lost).

It was said that Ted Heath singlehandedly brought back the word 'curmudgeonly' into regular usage. His 'long sulk' began from the moment he was ousted from the leadership of the Tory Party by Margaret Thatcher. Heath was never really happy with Thatcherite conservatism, his political home was on the left of the party and his real passion was: Europe. Being part of the generation that he had seen the terrible devastation wrought by the Second World War, he was determined to prevent at all costs the possibility of another Europe-wide war. The Common Market aka the European Community, now the EU, was the way to achieve that and that's why Heath regarded Britain's entry into Europe as his greatest personal achievement. Ziegler's sympathetic (but not uncritical) official biography examines Heath the man and Heath the politician, and how the one related to the other.

I think I have now read all of Andrea Levy's novels (come on, write some more). She specialises in telling the story of West Indian families living in post-war Britain - though one of her novels, set in the early nineteenth century on a slave plantation in the West Indies. The Fruit of the Lemon tells the story of the British born daughter of Jamaican parents who travels 'home' to a strange country and a strange culture. There she hears a series of stories that allow her to piece together the story of her extended family over several generations. These are beautifully written novels that really get inside a neglected area of our national life and allow characters to speak with authentic voices from their extraordinary cross-cultural experience. Superb.

'Sex before the sexual revolution' is a piece of fairly serious academic work (there are a huge number of footnotes) which analyses the experience of young couples living in Britain in the 1920s and 1930s, allowing them - now as quite elderly people - to speak about love, marriage, courtship, and contraception in the days before the sexual revolution. In the process the participants shatter quite a few myths about what researchers thought people thought, but full marks to the academics for asking their subjects what they actually thought, and for listening to their answers. One aspect of that was the relative ignorance about sexual matters of young couples getting married in the 1920-1930a. They were indeed (the researchers found) very ignorant but the couples themselves did not see this as a bad thing for two reasons (1) they valued innocence above experience and (2) they enjoyed learning about sex together in the intimacy of their own relationship.

Life's not always easy

2011-11-23T18:53:00.001Z

In his time Gordon Kuhrt has been a university teacher, a vicar, an archdeacon and the Church of England's Director of Ministry, now retired, he writes as a grandfather speaking to his grandchildren.

In 'Life's not always easy' Gordon tells his grandchildren about his early life: his many years of separation from his parents who were missionaries in India (he didn't see them at all for five years between the age of 5 and 10); and the many operations and treatment that he underwent, with all the attendant suffering, that arose from the fact, as he tells them, 'I was born with clubbed feet.'

He tells them about what it's like to be different, to be pitied, to be bullied, to have a part of your body that appears ugly or unusual, to be misunderstood, to miss school, and to be in pain and suffer from discomfort.

In the second half of the book, still talking to his own grandchildren (and all the other children and adults listening in) he asks some of the hard questions: why do people suffer pain, where is God in all this and does God heal people?

Here we have well-thought out, biblically faithful answers, compassionately and simply expressed in a way a child can understand (and so can the rest of us).

In short, a most unusual and remarkable book. He wrote it, he tells his grandchildren, because he loves them, he prays for them daily, and he knows that their 'lives will not always be easy.' For the Kuhrt grandchildren it's a remarkable gift, but it is one that will help many other children too.

Outside the camp

2011-11-21T19:32:00.005Z

I had been waiting twenty-two years for this but I finally got the opportunity to preach on Hebrews 13.11-14.

In my third year at theological college I took a New Testament module on the Greek text of the General Epistles and wrote a dissertation on 'the significance of Jesus death "outside the camp" in the argument of Hebrews 13.11-14.'

Preaching gradually through Hebrews in the evening service I realised my big moment had finally come: we had got to the second half of chapter 13.

First I had a quick re-read of the dissertation. Predictably the scholars had come up with no less five different interpretations of the word 'camp' - how nice it was to be reminded of them, but to cut a long story short, the basic thrust of the text is clear enough: Jesus died outside the camp, in the place of uncleanness, to make us clean by the shedding of his blood. He is the 'outside the camp' Saviour and if we are to follow him we need to be prepared to go where he is: 'outside the camp.'

The scholars are interested in what that might have meant for first century Hebrew Christians reading the Epistle for the first time, but as a preacher I had a different but related concern: what did it mean for us? Here's what I said:

'Two thousand years on we find that our culture is moving from indifference to Christianity to active hostility. It means that if you want to be a Christian you are going to be on the edge – not quite cool, not quite belonging, regarded as a bit odd.

You and I are going to find ourselves living outside the camp. Not quite part of things because we are different.

But if in your school, your workplace, your university, your family, or among your friends there is a certain amount of disgrace involved in being a Christian, then don’t be discouraged: you are where Jesus is: outside the camp bearing the disgrace he bore.'

You can hear the sermon here

Practical things you don't have to do

2011-11-19T19:43:00.000Z

Lots of Christian books are full of things that you have to do. This one is rather different: its all about the things you don't have to do.

Philip Cary is an American professor of philosophy and a Christian. In his work among university students he notices how anxious they are; anxious that they are not living the Christian life properly; anxious that they are not experiencing what they should be experiencing; anxious that they are not correctly discerning God's plan for their lives.

Cary sets out to dispel the anxiety created by what he terms' the new evangelical theology' with generous helpings of common sense and good old fashioned doctrine.

'The new evangelical theology' he says 'promises you great experiences, but what it delivers is great anxiety. It makes your Christian life all about you and your experiences, which is not nearly so much fun as it pretends to be. The result is like being trapped in a bad party where everybody acts like they're enjoying themselves, because they're convinced that's how they're supposed to feel and they don't want to let on that there's somethig secretly wrong with them.'

Just to give you a flavour of the book. Here are the chapter headings. I have found the book so helpful that I will return to a number of these chapters in future blog posts, but just to give you the flavour of what's in the book, here they are:

Introduction: Why trying to be Christian makes us anxious
1.Why you don't have to hear God's voice in your heart
2.Why you don't have to believe your intuitions are the Holy Spirit
3. Why you don't have to 'Let God take control'
4.Why you don't have to 'find God's will for your life'
5.Why you don't have to be sure you have the right motivations
6.Why you don't have to worry about splitting head from heart
7.Why you don't have to keep getting transformed all the time
8.Why you don't always have to experience joy
9.Why 'applying it to your life' is boring
10.Why basing faith on experience leads to a post-Christian future

From: Cary, P, Good News for Anxious Christians: 10 Practical Things You don't Have to Do, Grand Rapids: Brazos Press, 2010

The strong God of love

2011-11-19T11:00:00.002Z

Have you ever discovered something you already know? I had that experience at the recent Larger Anglican Churches Consultation. Bishop David Urquhart based his address 'keeping fresh, staying faithful' on Psalm 62.1: 'My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him.'

It's a wonderful verse and it was a brilliant address. Reflecting on the psalm later I was particularly struck by verse 11-12: 'One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard: that you, O God, are strong, and that you O Lord, are loving.'

That was it. I knew it already but I discovered it afresh that night at High Leigh. The Holy Spirit, I think, acts like a divine highlighter pen, sometimes drawing a particular part of the inspired text to our attention and imprinting it on our hearts.

For me it was that thought 'you are strong.. you are loving.' In a phrase it sums up the whole biblical picture of God: strong and loving. A strong god that was not loving would be terrifying; a god that was loving but not strong would be no help at all.

In a nutshell it why I sit more comfortably on the Calvinistic side of the theological universe. Calvin, and those who preceded him and those who have folliowed him, have taught us that the love of God is a strong love; a love so strong that it can invade and transform a sinful rebellious heart; a love so strong that it guarantees our safe arrival at our final destination, notwithstanding our folly and our sin on the way.

To adapt some famous words of Rick Warren, it really isn't about us; its about Him.

NLACC at High Leigh

2011-11-16T20:11:00.080Z

To the Fourth National Larger Anglican Churches Consultation at High Leigh. We were sharing the conference centre with the Christian Police Association, so we were kept in good order.

NLACC takes place every two years and is one of the most useful conferences I attend.The conference is run by CPAS. All the churches represented were evangelical, representing the fact that most of the CofE's larger churches (350+ Sunday attendance) are from that end of the ecclesiastical spectrum.

Part of what makes it so good is the programme of bible teaching, worship, and input from the front by experts in their field, but the very best bit of all is the opportunity to talk with other leaders of other large churches about the distinctive joys and challenges of leading a larger church.

It's hard to really talk about your church in your local deanery chapter if you are a leader of a large church. If you talk about the good things going on in your church it sounds like boasting ; if you share your difficulties or problems, people think you are being unrealistic or ungrateful. But the peculiar joy of the NLACC is that we can talk with freedom about churches to people who actually understand what it's like. That's what makes the conference so encouraging.

This year Jill Garrett, a Christian lay woman with extensive experience of managing large organisations gave us some good advice on keeping the whole show on the road; the Bishop of Birmingham encouraged us to 'stay fresh, stay faithful' and two of our own number helped us to think about future trends (more below) and the ever present challenge of finance. Each session included a panel discussion of three leaders who were interviewed about an aspect of the church. I was asked to contribute to one of these, the one on 'building an effective team.'

Just to give you a flavour of the conference - here from Peter Brierley, one of the conference organisers, are 'seven trends the leaders of larger churches cannot afford to ignore:'

1. The increasing dominance of the web in our lives
2. Greying congregations and the challenge of retention
3. The constant squeeze on resources
4. Increasing spiritual poverty and the need for deepening discipleship
5. Increasing family pressure and malfunction
6. Burgeoning evangelical differences
7. Continuing toughness of leadership

The nation within a nation

2011-11-15T19:01:00.001Z

They inspired the whole world when in their celebrated Declaration of Independence the founding fathers of the United States boldly declared 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal,' but like many nations (including our own) the American nation has struggled to live up to its highest ideals - not least in its treatment of its black citizens.

According to Lerone Bennett there was a measure of racial equality in the very earliest colonies but gradually slavery became embedded in the system, and with it, an increasingly prejudicial treatment of African Americans generally.

Its a long and complicated story, involving, as it does, a bloody civil war; the eventual emancipation of the slaves; and the civil rights movement of the 1960s. Bennett tells it all with a kind of calm outrage. There's much to weep over in this tragic tale but there are wonderful stories, too, of the triumph of the human spirit over appalling adversity, of hope, faith, love and reconcilation.

Running like a thread through much of the story is the hope of the Gospel itself, which shaped, encouraged and consoled the African people of America.

On the day the President signed the Proclamation of Emancipation the South resounded with thanksgiving to God: 'When I think what de Lord's done for us, an brot us thro de trubbles...We'se free now, bress the Lord! (Amens were shouted all over the building). Dey can't sell my wife and child anymore, bress de Lord (Glory! glory! from the audience). No more dat! no more dat! no more dat, now!'

St Helier wonder

2011-11-13T21:53:00.002Z

Today I saw a miracle. He was standing there in the church hall of my old church, St Peter's, St Helier.

When I first met Mark he was a driver on the London Underground. His life until then, in his own words, had been a bit 'chequered.' Then he came to the Alpha course at St Peter's. He missed the first week, but he was there for week 2, the night God changed his life.

No one knows why God calls some and not others. No one knows why some people take years to find their way to Christ, whilst for others its like a light being turned on - in an instant they are there. They believe. They know Christ. They are saved.

No one knows why for some people it happens suddenly, abruptly, out of the blue, instantly - sometimes it is just like that and, glory to God, it was like that for Mark that night at St Peter's, St Helier.

Fourteen years on Mark is no longer driving trains on the tube, he is planting a church in South Africa with his wife, Louise. Today his friends and family met in St Peter's church hall to see Mark, back here for a holiday, and hear the latest episode in the story of God's work in his life.

Ruth and I were thrilled to be there, and as a I sat there chatting to him about his new church - in the same room where he met the Lord all those years ago - I realised I was looking at a miracle.

God bless you, brother!

Inclusive church?

2011-11-12T17:24:00.001Z

To St John's Waterloo for the Diocesan Synod to discuss the Measure which (if passed by the General Synod) will permit women to be bishops.

The Measure has already been passed by the fifty per cent of dioceses needed for it to be able to return to the General Synod for the final decision in July.

In the meantime today was the opportunity for Southwark to have its say.

The outcome of course was entirely predictable - there is about as much chance of Southwark voting against women bishops as there is of the Pope becoming a Baptist.

The real debate -in the diocese and later at General Synod - is not so much about whether women shall be bishops but how. In particular, how can the Church accommodate those cannot accept this proposed innovation?

The Measure contains some provisions for dissenters: quite enough to satisfy everyone, says its proponents; but not enough to give them an honoured and secure place in the church, argue the dissenters themselves. (The archbishops tried to beef up the provision for opponents of women bishops in the last General Synod but their amendment was defeated (just) by the house of clergy).

So what about today's discussion? The main motion easily passed. A 'following motion' from Plumstead Deanery, based on one produced by the Church of England Evangelical Council, calling for increased provision for dissenters was then defeated. Two further following motions were debated: the first also was defeated but the second was passed. This argued for the direct opposite of the first following motion, namely for the House of Bishops not to make any further provision for dissenters before it brings back the Measure to General Synod (only the Bishops can amend these particular measures).

When we last discussed this issue in Southwark a former area bishop said 'a majority can always impose its will on a minority.' That's what the majority did pretty firmly today, but the Church is the Church of Jesus Christ and we should not lighly exclude anyone who belongs to it. Here's what I said - in today's debate:

Yesterday at the College of Canons annual evensong in the Cathedral we prayed that our diocese might be a place of welcome, inclusion, and love.

That for me is the real issue at stake today. Not whether women shall be bishops, because no one seriously doubts that the Church of England will have women in the episcopate, but whether after women are made bishops the Church of England can still be place of welcome, inclusion, and love for those who in good conscience cannot accept their Episcopal ministry.

The measure before us does contain provision for dissenters, but those for whom these provisions are designed say that they are not sufficient to give them a continuing honoured place within the Church.

It is because I believe the church should be a place of welcome, inclusion, and love that I find myself unable to support the measure before us today. It is my hope that following motions of the kind proposed by Plumstead Deanery might lead to better and more secure provisions being made before this measure returns to General Synod.

To abstain today – or of course to vote against – is a way of registering a concern for the unity and comprehensiveness of the Church of England as the church of the whole nation. Let's keep the door open for those who cannot in conscience support this development so that our church remains a place of welcome, inclusion, and love.

Faithfulness matters

2011-11-09T10:30:00.001Z

An interesting new initiative in support of marriage. From the Faithfulness Matters website:

'Faithfulness Matters is a coalition of people, churches and other organisations who believe that no one should make money from breaking up relationships.

The focus of our campaign is to challenge companies who run websites which specifically encourage people who are married or in committed relationships to have affairs. We believe that this not legitimate business for responsible companies to be involved in and we want them to withdraw from the partnerships they are in to run such websites.'

Full details here

Carry on camping?

2011-11-07T17:37:00.001Z

Your blogger has been temporarily silenced by a gap in internet service but now all is well and I can report that on my day-off on Friday I inspected the famed tent city at St Paul's.

It was a peaceful scene. The camp was nicely tucked away by the side of the Cathedral such that access to the steps and doors of the west front was completely unimpeded. The number of protestors was greatly exceeded by the number of tourists taking their photos. Close by was a foreign TV crew, and in the distance a solitary policeman placidly surveyed the scene.

From the Cathedral's point of view - and that of visitors - the greatest inconvenience was that the entrance to the conveniences, to use a famed English euphemism, was blocked. Nor could you get to the shop or the cafe in the crypt. This had the unintended effect of greatly boosting the business of Arch-Capitalist coffee chains in the vicinity (I won't mention their names, but you know who they are).

It's good that you have the right to protest but it does seem odd that you can pitch your tent wherever you like for as long as you like.

Much has been made in the press about St Paul's concerns over lost income as if large institutions like the Cathedral could be run on thin air. The truth is that without its income from restaurant and shop, St Paul's won't be able to pay its employees, many of whom (as workers in the service sector) are probably fairly low paid. It's one thing to protest against the City fat cats, but when those 'downstairs' in the Cathedral start to lose their jobs, one can't help feeling the protestors may be hitting the wrong target.

The picture from One New Change (go up in the lift to the roof garden for fabulous views of St Paul's) shows the Giant Nail (thanks Mark for the pic) a new piece of street art close to the east end of the Cathedral. A secular guide was heard to say she thought it might have 'religious significance.'

St Paul's protest

2011-11-01T21:31:00.007Z

St Paul's Cathedral, famously engulfed in smoke and flames at the height of the Blitz, now finds itself engulfed in a crazy media frenzy over, well, some tents.

Quite a lot of the reporting is completely over the top.

Consider the front page headline of today's Times 'St Paul's protest triggers Church leadership crisis' or Ruth Gledhill's daft suggestion 'Rowan should have been on the piazza' and while we're still with Ruth, how's this for sheer over-the-topness: 'He should have saved the Church and the cathedral from its present ignominy, from which it may never recover' (my italics).

Much closer to the mark, I thought, was the Archbishop himself who said: "The events of the last couple of weeks have shown very clearly how decisions made in good faith by good people under unusual pressure can have utterly unforeseen and unwelcome consequences, and the clergy of St Paul's deserve our understanding in these circumstances."

No one questions the right to protest, and on the substantive issues most Christian people are one with the protesters in their campaign against the excesses of capitalism, but I'm with the Daily Mirror leader writer who said the protestors in attacking St Paul's were missing their target: 'While the anti-capitalist protest at St Paul’s is creating mayhem in the Church of England, literally down the road the bankers go about their business of making pots of money unhindered.'

It's time to protest somewhere else.

As we are gathered, Jesus is here

2011-10-31T23:17:00.001Z

You don't often get to worship in other churches as a vicar so it was a double pleasure this half term to join with two other churches for their Sunday worship.

First up was St Luke's, Wolverhampton. Their vicar, Richard Espin-Bradley (right), was my senior curate in St Helier and I am leading their church weekend away next May.

St Luke's is an evangelical Anglican church set in a very multi-racial parish in the inner city of Wolverhampton.

Their church building, a magnificent Grade 2-star polychromatic Victorian pile of 1861, is literally falling down and needs £600K to be spent on it before the congregation can safely go back inside.

In the wonderful providence of God none of this happened before the erection next door of a brand spanking new Church of England primary school. So for the time being St Luke's Church has a happy home in St Luke's School (below).

There are not a large congregation and at present they do not have a single musician so they sing to tapes (how unequally resources are spread throughout Christ's church I thought as I reflected ruefully on the mighty army of musicians and singers back home in Redhill) - but from the pre-service prayer meeting onwards I knew that this was not a church that was remotely discouraged.

Where else in Wolverhampton, I said to Richard, afterwards would such a gathering of rich and poor, young and old, asian, black & white be gathered together and what could gather them together but the Gospel itself?

I love that bit in John 1 where Philip tells a sceptical Nathaniel about Jesus and concludes with the simple invitation: 'come and see.' It's easy to knock the church - and aren't the media having a field day at the present time - but if you want to find out what Christianity is really all about, come and see - at St Luke's (and please God, Holy Trinity, too) any Sunday morning.

It's a living breathing demonstration of God's wonderful kingdom.

At the end of half term it was across to Nottinghamshire and the cathedral town of Southwell where our friends Phil & Suzanne are members of Holy Trinity Church. Like our Holy Trinity and St Luke's this too is a church with a long evangelical tradition.

HTS is buzzing with life and it was great to join them for their excellent Sunday morning service, enriched by a sermon by retired minister, Ian Bunting. This was a special treat because I had known Ian (and learnt much from him) when he was a research fellow at Oak Hill and I was a theological student there. It was wonderful to see him again and hear him preach.

Ian, I was told, quite often uses pieces of art these days to illustrate his sermons and I was rather hoping that he might do so on this occasion. I was not disappointed. As part of a sermon series on 'what we do in church' Ian was given the subject of 'communion'. He began by praying that he would be 'clear, not clever' and then with the aid of Leonardo's Last Supper proceeded to open up 1 Corinthians 11.17-33 for us.

Just like the recalcitrant Corinthians no one in Leonardo's last supper is paying much attention to Jesus. They are all too busy following their own agendas. Peter has his hand on a sword, primed for his misguided attempt to defend his master. Judas has his hand on the money bag, ready to sell his Lord down the river. Others are talking among themselves.

As for the Corinthians, they seemed to have lost the point of communion altogether: 'when you come together, it is not the Lord's Supper you eat' says Paul whose devastating verdict on church life in Corinth was 'your meetings do more harm than good.'

Like many in the modern church, said Ian, they were under the mistaken impression that worship services were 'me-times' rather than 'we-times.' Ouch!

But all this was said with gentleness and compassion by a man who quite clearly loves the church very much - both the church in general, and the church in Southwell of which he is part. That's what made it so persuasive.

Northern journey

2011-10-30T22:32:00.001Z

While the blog has been on auto-pilot we have been on half term break emjoying an architectural feast in Liverpool, meeting up with old friends, and sharing in two wonderful acts of worship- at St Luke's, Wolverhampton and Holy Trinity, Southwell - more about them anon but in the meantime here are some pics:


Black Country Living Museum, Dudley


Port Sunlight, the Wirral - model housing for workers of soap magnate, Lord Lever

Port Sunlight War Memorial - unusually features children, a frequent focus for the Levers' philanthropy


Liverpool's Walker Art Gallery has the finest collection of historic art outside London

The Walker's building is pretty amazing too. (The city has more Listed Buildings than any citry except London and more Georgian buildings than Bath).


What the Victorians did for us. This is Sefton Park in inner city Liverpool

Redbrick marvel. Old and new combine at Liverpool University

The Catholic Cathedral (aka Paddy's Wigwam) glimpsed between universitry buildings

Myth creation

2011-10-28T19:48:00.000+01:00

According to Ian Kershaw in The Hitler Myth, Hitler was a great deal more popular than his party during most of the Nazi regime. A powerful myth had been created around Hitler, as the strong leader the nation required who was able to restore the honour and prestige of the nation after the humliation of defeat at the end of the First World War, and the chaos of the Weimar years.

Many German excused the worse excesses of Nazi rule, believing that Hitler did not know about them, and that he would have reigned them in had he known. 'If only the Fuhrer knew' was a constant refrain.

By the Fall of Stalingrad most German believed the war was lost and suppport for Hitler fell away dramatically, except amongst the Nazi hard core. By the end of the war most Germans felt they had been duped. The Hitler myth was seen to be, well, a myth; but ity had had a powerful hold on a whole nation with devastating results for the world.

Kershaw charts the growth of the myth, examines its power, and then describes its collapse using contemporary evidence from both the German secret service and left wing activitists who wrote reports to the allies on the state of German morale and the extent of the nation's support for Hitler and Nazism.

The book, like the events it describes, stands as a warning from history.

John on John

2011-10-26T19:50:00.002+01:00

Wise words from John Piper about the ministry of the late John Stott, 'the expositor sent at a crucial point in my life.'

Piper says (in appreciation of what he learnt from him): 'To this day I have zero interest in watching a preacher take his stand on top of the (closed) treasure chest of Bible sentences and eloquently talk about his life or his family or the news or history or culture or movies, or even general theological principles and themes, without opening the chest and showing me the specific jewels in these Bible sentences.'

Read the full quote here

Civil war

2011-10-23T17:08:00.008+01:00

The new republic was just eighty-five years old when a civil war, sparked off by the election of Abraham Lincoln as president, and the secession of the southern states, threatened to tear it apart.

For the south it was about the right of individual states to run their own affairs; for the north it was about the preservation of the union and the eradication of slavery.

It remains the deadliest war in American history, resulting in the deaths of 620,000 soldiers (in the south 30 per cent of of white males aged 18-40 were killed) and to this day it is the only major war ever waged between the members of a democratic state.

The war stretched over a vast area. Aspects off it presaged the first world war, seventy years later: trench warfare; stalemated battles; huge casualties.

Military historian, John Keegan, describes the origins, progress and consequences of this bloody war that pitted American against American for the best part of five years. Its final outcome was the restoration of the union and the emancipation of the slaves, but its effects continued to be felt for more than a century to come.

Three cheers for the KJV

2011-10-20T18:32:00.000+01:00

The Book of Books: the Radical Impact of the King James Bible is Melvyn Bragg's contribution to the 400th anniversary of the Authorised Version of the Bible.

Standing just outside personal Christian faith and commitment, Bragg is deeply sympathetic to Christianity and the impact of the Bible on the life and culture of the West. He is particularly strong on the impact of the KJV on first the colonies of New England and then the fledgling United States, on science, on education, on slavery, and on world mission.

On balance Bragg judges the impact of the Bible to have been positive, except in the area of sex where in a liberal BBCesque kind of way he finds the Bible's structures on sexual immorality rather shocking.

There are powerful forces in our society trying to minimise the impact that the Christian faith has had historically on our nation's culture and institutions. Bragg, quite emphatically, isn't one of them.

At times he rather overdoes banging the 'KJV' drum, in the sense that what he attributes to that particular version of Scripture could in fact have been achieved equally well by another version - except it wasn't and that perhaps is Bragg's point.

When a mother prays

2011-10-18T18:57:00.002+01:00

To Southwark Cathedral last night for the admission of new Readers where two candidates, Sue and Tim, from our former parish of St Peter's, St Helier were admitted to the office of Reader by the Bishop of Southwark.

Sue and her son Trevor (left) recently featured in the diocesan newspaper The Bridge. They are the only mother and son Reader team in the diocese. 'It was kind of weird at first' said Trevor 'but then I realised there was no problem in it. If God was calling mum to do it then who was I to stand in the way?'

Earlier Sue had seen her two sons live in a way that deeply troubled her: 'it broke my heart to see my boys the way they were. The day Trevor came and said he's reached rock bottom and might not be alive much longer was the day I prayed to God that he had to step in quickly and help us.'

God intervened and both Trevor and Mark came to a living faith in Christ. With their lives transformed, both are now serving the Lord and both are now married to fine Christian girls - and now Sue who has encouraged so many others, including me, starts a new phase in her service of the Lord. May God bless her in her new work for him.

Billy's new address

2011-10-14T19:07:00.001+01:00

Billy was as member of our Friends of Jesus Group and a member of the community of people who live in Redhill care homes, many of whom came to his funeral today in church.

Billy enjoyed life. He loved music, especially Lady Gaga. He loved the Queen ('Her Majesty never had a more loyal subject') and he loved practical jokes. He was a keen gardener and he liked to help out in the office at Latymer House (he was particularly fond of shredding).

Today I spoke about Billy's change of address, using an idea that orginated at the time of the death of John Stott when someone said 'uncle John has a new address.'

Taking John 14.1-6 as my text ('in my father's house are many rooms') and using a giant postcard I spoke of Billy's former address in Latymer House, his home where he loved to be, where his friends lived with him, and where he was so well cared for - that address was on one side of the card. Turning the card over was Billy's new address as described in John 14.1-6:

With Jesus
In the Father's House
For ever and ever

Here, cared for by Jesus, he can be safe and happy forever in the father's house, 'the house with so many rooms that there is space for everyone who wants to be there.'

It was both a sad and happy occasion and yes, we did play Lady Gaga at the end.

Avoiding a dud note

2011-10-13T19:21:00.000+01:00

Yesterday at our staff meeting we were looking at some new songs, deciding which to include in future services. My instinct is that Christian worship songs have improved considerately recently but there is still a need to sift the wheat from the chaff.

I suggested four evaluative questions:

Is it Biblical? If it uses biblical words does it use them in a biblical way and if does not use biblical words (often indicating a better song because the writer has employed his imagination) does it express sentiments that are in keeping with the biblical revelation?

Is it true? Not so much a question of doctrine but basic correspondence with reality and human experience.

Is it good English? Does it avoid obvious colloquialisms or slang? Where there is supposed to be a rhyme does it actually rhyme? Is it good English?

Is it congregational? Is it the kind of song musically that can be sung by a congregation as opposed to a singer giving a performance? Are the sentiments it expresses ones that the average member of a congregation can endorse or are they so particular to certain individuals or personality types that they can't really be used by a congregation as a whole?

I won't tell you the songs that failed the test, but happily several others were excellent and will no doubt enrich our worship in due course.

PS For a discerning but constructive examination of the contemporary worship scene I recommend Nick Page's And Now Let's Move Into a Time of Nonsense.

A pastor's convictions

2011-10-12T19:14:00.005+01:00

The Living Church: Convictions of a Lifelong Pastor is one of the very last books written by John Stott before his death.

'We need more radically conservative churches' he says '"conservative" in the sense that they conserve what Scripture plainly requires, but radical in relation to that combination of tradition and convenience that we call "culture". Scripture is unchangeable, but culture is not.'

In just 187 pages John Stott gives an overview of the life of the local church packed with biblical truth and the wisdom of a lifetime's Christian service. With chapters on God's vision for his church; worship, evangelism, ministry, fellowship, preaching, giving and impact (salt and light), this is a book that could with profit be placed in the hands of every ordinand and anyone, lay or ordained, involved in the life of the local church.

It has something of the character of a biblical manifesto or perhaps a last will and testament. Throughout the famous Stott balance is evident, holding together what is often separated, not 'either/or', but 'both/and.' His aim, he tells us, is to promote BBC: balanced, biblical Christianity.

It is a book full of gems. I leave you with one (p32):

'(Jesus) is the head of the church. And although he delegates to pastors the responsibility of admitting people into the visible church by baptism, he reserves the prerogative of admitting people into the invisible church by faith. In our self-confident age we need to return to this truth. Only the Lord Jesus Christ by his Holy Spirit can open the eyes of the blind and give life to dead souls, and so add people to his church. We need humbly to acknowledge this.'

Church of England at the National Wedding Show

2011-10-11T08:53:00.004+01:00

See the Your Church Wedding website here

Dutch beauty

2011-10-08T16:21:00.002+01:00

To the Queen's Gallery for the exhibition of Dutch Landscape painting from the seventeenth century.

John Simpson's exquisite classical structure of 2002, appended to the side of Buckingham Palace in the Golden Jubilee year, is a little marvel in itself (the classical columns that separate each urinal from the next one in the Gents loos are, I thought, a nice architectural joke), and inside are the wonderful treasures from the royal art collection displayed on a rotating basis (a ticket for £9 allows you to return for free during the following year, meaning that you can catch other exhibitions).

The Dutch had rather turned away from religious art, not because they had turned from the Christian faith, but rather because, having embraced Calvinistic protestantism, they were rather suspicious of a lot of the art that preceded the reformation and were in any case wary of representations of the divine. Instead they turned to genre painting (scenes of everyday life) and landscape, which resonated with the Calvinistic emphasis on the Lordship of Christ over all things, not just the specifically religious.

The result of all this was beautiful scenes like this (above) and this (below). George IV was particularly fond of Dutch landscape paintings from the mid-seventeenth century and many of them were added to the royal collection around 1810.

Applemania

2011-10-08T15:59:00.002+01:00

The Times yesterday devoted no less than nine pages to the death of Steve Jobs (four more today). Hyperbole is piled upon hyperbole to reach its absurd apotheosis in the Twitter message quoted on the front page to the effect that that there are three apples that have changed the world: 'the one Eve ate, the one that dropped on Newton's head and the one that Steve built.'

Let's compare them.

Eve's apple represents an act of disobedience which, according to Scripture, has affected every person on the planet and the whole structure of human existence. Newton's apple represents the foundation of modern science. Jobs' apple presents electronic gadgets with a half-life of around nine months.

It brings to mind a point made in a book I am currently reading which suggests that the aim of consumerism is not to make us love our stuff (because then we would hang on to it), but to quickly tire of it so that we yearn for the next life-changing, game-changing, universe-revolutionising product that we cannot live without - until the next thing comes along.

Slave

2011-10-07T18:29:00.004+01:00

When you read accounts of the eighteenth century slave trade you can at least comfort yourself with the thought that this horrible trade has long been abolished - until, that is, you read Mende Nazer's terrifying but moving account of modern day slavery - in the 21st century, not the 18th; and not just in faraway Sudan, but in London aswell. Her story opens with a vivid description of an idyllic childhood in her tribal homeland in the Sudan, but this dramatically comes to an end when she is only twelve years old when Arab invaders tear through her village, murdering, burning, and abducting.

She is brutally raped and then sold into slavery. For over ten years she suffers appalling physical and mental abuse at the hands of her middle class Arab 'owners' in Khartoum. So cowered is she by them, so demoralised, that when she is taken to London to work for a diplomat's family, she remains imprisoned and enslaved in London - having been intimidated into lying to immigration officials in Sudan and the UK about her true status.

Eventually she escapes and brave and compassionate people protect her and fight for her to be granted asylum in the UK (not an easy fight because no one in officialdom can really get their minds round a girl being enslaved in London).

Now free, she campaigns against slavery in Sudan and elsewhere in the world.

Verdict: a deeply disturbing book, parts of which one can hardly bear to read, but an important book that flags up the horrible persistence of slavery in the world today.

Seeing and not seeing

2011-10-05T22:49:00.002+01:00

To Southwark Cathedral for a curate's egg of a clergy study day which ended on high note with a brilliant exposition of Numbers 22 by Professor Walter Moberly of Durham University.

His notes began with a wonderful quote from Karl Barth: "It is too clear that intelligent and fruitful discussion of the Bible begins when the judgment as to its human, historical, and psychological character has been made and put behind us.'

That immediately put me in mind of a book that someone recently told me about called 'The Death of Scripture and the Rise of Biblical Studies.' I looked it up on Amazon and found a commendation by none other than Prof Moberly. Something is going on here: a sort of protest against the kind of academic study of Scripture that consistently misses the wood for the trees; that studies the Bible in great analytical detail and somehow loses the Scripturalness of Scripture in the process.

Anyway back to the Cathedral and the good professor.

He had three basic assumptions: (1) The World of the Bible is our world (God is the same and people are the same despite huge cultural differences); (2) The biblical story is our specific story: we grow as Christians 'through absorbing a biblical and Christian patterns of thought and life;' (3) The Bible must be read with full imaginative seriousness - we need to recognise the skill and subtlety of the biblical writers and avoid a 'flat' reading of Scripture, whichis blind to the use of irony and subtlety.

Then we turned to Numbers 22 itself.

Balak king of Moab wants Balaam to curse Israel, but the Lord says this is impossible because by his declaration they are 'blessed.' Balaam resists the pressure put on him by the king saying 'even if Balak gave me his palace filled with silver and good. I could not do anything great or small beyond the word of the Lord.'

Many readers, certainly including me in the past, have taken this statement at face value but Moberly asks whether it is in fact a 'pious-sounding smokescreen,' that actually invites the king to name a price.

Then comes the scene with the donkey. Even an ass can see an angel is barring the way but Balaam can't - until his eyes are opened by the Lord.

Why not?

Moberly quotes Calvin: 'Whence came such blindness, but from greed by which he had been rendered so senseless, that he preferred filthy lucre to the holy calling of God.' Moberly comments: 'Moral failure induces spiritual blindness. Avaricious self-seeking obscures the reality of the Other. The impure in heart fail to see God.'

Now that's something to ponder.

The pastor's prayer

2011-10-03T19:55:00.000+01:00

Pastor Joe Nelms has created a minor internet sensation with his prayer at the Nascar Nationwide in Nashville, Tennessee. Note especially his warm appreciation of the wifely charms of Mrs Nelms.

It seems that the pastor of Family Baptist Church, Gladeville, Tennessee was making an allusion to the film Talladega Nights. He later explained that he wanted to show non-Christians that church folks know how to have fun, too.

He went on 'I think that we need to let folks know that accepting Christ as your saviour and letting God into your life is not an end to living but it’s a beginning. I’ve had more fun since I got saved as a 13-year-old boy. The Bible talks about He desires for our joy to be full. Our heart’s desire was to show people that side.'

Forward together

2011-10-02T21:47:00.005+01:00

To Reigate Baptist Church for the last of our bible convention evenings, Live the Story, in celebration of the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible.

Greg Haslem, from Westminster Chapel, was our guest speaker and I mean no disrespect to our previous speakers to say that, like the wine at the wedding at Cana, we had left the best until last.

Greg, having surveyed the extraordinary impact that the Bible in English had had on our national life, spoke on Exodus 14.15 in the King James Version: 'And the LORD said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward.'

Israel were being challenged to positively trust in the Lord and go forward in faith at a critical time in its national history, and Greg likewise offered us a bold challenge to be confident in the truth of God's word, not to be defeatist or fearful, nor to harken back to a supposed golden age, but to 'go forward' together.

He particularly urged us to deepen our knowledge of Scripture and of the faith generally (aim to read a Christian book a month, he suggested). In the process we learnt that Greg is a prodigious reader. (I feel that my own reading habits are quite modest by comparison).

As to Live the Story itself: it was great to worship together as churches in Redhill & Reigate and it was wonderful to sit under God's word together.

What could be better? As the organising ministers we would love to see even more members of our churches getting the vision for united worship and bible teaching. Perhaps next year double the numbers?

Standing on the promises

2011-10-02T16:39:00.001+01:00

Alex did a great job this morning leading our thoughts on Genesis 17.1-22. A Wordle helped to isolate some of the key themes of the passage (on a Wordle the size of the words is proportional to their frequency of use in a section of text).

The repeated refrain 'I will' throughout the passage emphasises that the Lord is the initiator of his promise and the one who will bring it to fulfilment.

We found Stuart's Townend's song 'Every promise' (see video below) to be an extraordinarily effective conclusion and response to the sermon, especially the first verse:

From the breaking of the dawn to the setting of the sun,
I will stand on ev'ry promise of Your Word.
Words of power, strong to save, that will never pass away,
I will stand on ev'ry promise of Your Word.
For Your covenant is sure,
And on this I am secure—
I can stand on ev'ry promise of Your Word.

Only you must eat the book

2011-10-01T22:27:00.000+01:00

To Reigate Baptist Church for the second of our Live the Story bible convention evenings, where Malcolm Duncan gave un impassioned address on Ezekiel 3 and Revelation 10 where in both passages the writer is commanded by the Angel to 'eat the scroll' (representing the word of God).

'Only you must eat the book' said Malcolm. It is not enough just to read the Bible, you must eat it: in other words it must become as fully part of your life as the food you eat becomes part of your body.

That, of course, reminded me of the Collect for Bible Sunday:

Blessed Lord,
who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning:
help us so to hear them,
to read, mark,learn, and inwardly digest them
that, through patience, and comfort of your holy word,
we may embrace and for ever hold fast the hope of everlasting life,
which you have given us in our Saviour Jesus Christ,
who is alive and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever

Cranmer, like Duncan, has spotted the need - no doubt on the basis of passages like Ezekiel 3 and Revelation 10 - to 'inwardly digest' the word of God. You don't just read it, you listen to it; and you don't just listen to it, you let it become part of you so that your whole life is impacted by it.

Come back, all is forgiven

2011-10-01T09:29:00.003+01:00

Our Redhill & Reigate bible convention, Live the Story, got off to a good start last night with John Dunnett, General Director of CPAS, as our guest speaker.

John took the familiar story of the Lost Son from Luke 15 and encouraged us to think of the lostness of the lost and the compassionate love of the Father reaching out to them.

For the church he had a challenge. To the 'outsider' do we reflect the welcoming love of the Father or the stern judgmentalism of the elder brother?

That challenge says a lot about the way we welcome people, imitating the accepting running-out-to-meet-the-sinner-love of the Father - then for me there is a further challenge: who is the church for?

Is the church (I mean the local church meeting on Sunday morning) a gathering of the redeemed run by the redeemed for the sake of the redeemed? Or is the local church as much for them 'out there' ( or 'far off' in the terms of Luke 15), in which case, to take one example, should our worship be the kind of thing that pleases the most committed Christians (who have most influence on how the church is run) or should it at least have an eye on the outsider?

In other words, in planning our worship and our church activties, do we have a thought for what will be most comfortable for a lost person arriving on our church doorstep at the beginning of their journey home?

Queen coal

2011-09-29T19:33:00.001+01:00

Twenty years on Triona Holden returned to the Yorkshire mining villages where as a young reporter she had got to know some of the women whose lives were touched by the miners' strike of 1984/5.

Each of the six women she interviews were involved either demonstrating alongside their mine or providing helping assistance to striking families by running soup kitchens or community centre. A number became involved in politics for the first time; some main politically active.

Each was changed by the events of the strike and, at our distance of twenty years, each offers their reflection on these events intermingled with the story of their marriages and their families.

Real bitterness remains - against the Government of the day - and against the strikebreakers, the scabs, who committed the 'sin with no forgiveness.' Some families have prospered, at least one woman has been to university and graduated; some have continued to enjoy happy marriages; others have left unhappy and abusive partnerships.

Verdict: highly readable insight into a recent piece of history from an unusual angle.

Finding the historical Jesus

2011-09-27T17:04:00.001+01:00

New Testament scholar, Tom Wright, is working on a six-volume book, Christian Orgins and the Question of God. So far he has got to book three and he has already filled 2091 pages.

Book one kicks the whole thing off setting out the ground rules for the entire project; book 2 is on Jesus; book 3 focusses on the resurrection (the longest so far at 861 pages), and the next in the series on Paul is eagerly awaited by the academic community..

In short the books are the most massive and masterly defence of the historicity of the New Testament, accomplished with enormous orginality and verve by a man who is both a scholar and a bishop.

I have been gradually reading this excellent series of essays, Jesus and the Restoration of Israel, which seeks to give a critical assessment of volume two in the series, Jesus and the Victory of God. Here scholars interact with Wright's distinctive reading of the New Testament.

Central to Wright's thesis is the idea that the Jews of Jesus day believed themselves to still be living in exile and that Jesus came as the Messiah to free from it by dying on the cross.

Controversially he reads much of the apocalyptic material in the Gospels as referring not to the end of time but to the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70. On the way he offers some startling reinterpretations of some familiar parables. Who, but Wright, for example would have considered that the Parable of the Prodigal Son is really about Israel and the exile?

Most of the contributors, whilst agreeing with the overall thrust of his JVG, nonetheless differ from Wright's at key points and this is what Jesus and the Restoration of Israel is all about.

One of the most interesting essays is by Luke Timothy Johnson. He points to one of the inherent problems of any attempt to reconstruct the historical Jesus from the raw data of the gospel accounts: selection.

He suggests that Wright's composite picture of Jesus arises from a particular selection of data from the Gospels aligned to a 'presumptive master story.' In other words the way Wright chooses his material and the way he links it together is guided by his overall hypothesis of who Jesus is and what he was trying to do. Might it not be, Johnson asks provocatively, that 'Wright's Jesus never existed until Wright constructed him?'

It is an issue facing any scholar of the historical Jesus and Wright is fully aware of it, although he continues to believe - and no doubt will argue in the remaining books of the series - that he has arrived at his 'master story' inductively by examination of the texts, rather than by seeking to squeeze the texts to fit the template of his story.

Pot calls kettle....

2011-09-25T19:34:00.003+01:00

Comedian Rowan Atkinson is reported saying 'many of the clerics that I've met, particularly the Church of England clerics, are people of such extraordinary smugness, arrogance and conceitness who are extraordinarily presumptious about the significance of their position in society.'

The Sunday Times leader column has a nice riposte:

'Arrogant? Conceited? Smug? Presumptious? The Church of England is too polite to point this out, but isn't that a bit rich coming from an actor?'

Counting the sheep

2011-09-24T13:18:00.001+01:00

Amid the torrent of paperwork that descends upon General Synod members comes the annual report on church statistics that arrived today. It makes interesting reading In 2009/10 (the latest year figures are available) there were:

52 million people living in England
12, 563 parishes (15,976 churches)
an average weekly Church of England attendance of 1,130,600 (rising to 1.41m on Easter day and 2.42m at Christmas)

Anglican ministers officiated at:
145,260 baptisms* (615,000 in 1920; 266,000 in 1980)
26, 972 confirmations (199,000 in 1920; 98,000 in 1980)
52,730 weddings (116,978 in 1982)
176,660 funerals

There were 11,622 clergy (8,135 stipendiary) and 7,355 Readers and Church Army officers. The average age of stipendiary clergy was 52 for men, 51 for women.

The total annual unrestricted income of PCCs was £511m and the average contribution per week made by a member of the electoral roll was £6.27.

*including 6,000 thanksgivings

Middle eastern enigma

2011-09-22T19:27:00.001+01:00

It was Russia that Churchill called 'a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma,' but he could equally well have been speaking of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

It was in an attempt to get some kind of grasp of it that I turned to 'The Palestine-Israeli Conflict: A Beginner's Guide,' written jointly by a Jew and an Arab.

Each man tells the story of the conflict from their side and then in the final chapter they engage in a debate. I can't report that the reach any kind of agreement but the book demonstrates if nothing else that two people can view the same set of events in radically different ways.

There appears no easy answer, although both sides recognise that some kind of two-state solution is the only viable way forward, but as year succeeds each year, each side commits further violence against the other, bitterness increases and attitudes harden. We can only pray for peace - for Jerusalem and the whole middle east - in the meantime Dan Cohn-Sherbok and Dawoud El-Alami together provide an authoritative guide to the history and the issues.

Glory to God at the register office

2011-09-20T19:19:00.004+01:00

I was intrigued that a recent civil marriage ceremony the registrar in her opening homily about the nature of marriage spoke of what married was intended for.

My ears pricked up at that point because as soon as you start speaking about intention you imply the existence of an intender.

It is one thing to say what you think marriage should be like (loving, kind etc), but it is quite another to suggest what it is intended for, and undoubtedly the civil registrar was straying into that territory.

Christians, of course, on the basis of the teaching of Scripture believe marriage to be a created institution that has certain characteristics which derive from the creator's intention for it. Jesus answered a question about divorce specifically by going back to the creator's intention when he referred his questioner to what obtained at 'at the beginning.'

It seems that the sheer createdness of marriage, dripping with creatorly intention, led our civil registrar to witness to the divine institution of marriage even in a setting where His Name by law may not even be mentioned.

Biblical symmetry

2011-09-18T21:30:00.005+01:00

Today's sermon from Genesis 15 concluded with a piece of biblical symmetry (my term for where a truth in one part of Scripture is matched by a corresponding truth elsewhere).

God's reiterated promise to Abraham comes with a gigantic visual aid attached: 'Look up at the sky and count the stars-if indeed you can count them. So shall your offspring be' (Genesis 15.5).

Fast forward to the end of Scripture (and the end of all things) and we read in Revelation 7.9: 'After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, language, people and language, standing before the throne and before the lamb.'

It's the phrase 'that no one could count' that hits you between the eyes. Once we see that, we realise that Revelation 7.9 is the fulfilment of the promise of Genesis 15.5. A perfect piece of biblical symmetry.

Don't strain your brain

2011-09-16T22:24:00.002+01:00

Hang around English evangelicalism for a while and you will discover that there is a deep prejudice against thinking.

Partly it comes from the pietistic roots of English evangelicalism and the idea that the heart should rule the head. You can tell people that in Scripture the heart is the place where you think, feel, and make decisions until you are blue in the face, but still people will talk about knowing things in your head (bad) and knowing them in your heart (good).

No one ever asks themselves why the Bible never talks in those terms.

Another reason for the mistrust of thinking is our famed English pragmatism. We are a pragmatic race, not given to theory or philosophy (that is best left to the French). To say that something is 'academic' is a way of saying it is irrelevant - so unrelated to the real world that its not worth thinking about.

But neither John Piper or Don Carson think this way and in this slim volume containing two conference addresses they explain why. It is perhaps not coincidental that neither is English. Piper is an American scholar turned pastor and Carson is a Canadian scholar who likes to keep in touch with pastoral realities.

They write from personal experience of how they have sought to combine the role of scholar and pastor. Piper is the pastor who wants to be a scholar, Carson the scholar who wants to be a pastor.

Their theme is that the two roles should not be separated. Pastors need to be thinkers and scholars, and scholars (what we in the UK would call academics) need to be fully involved with the life of the church. They encourage us - and me - to not separate what should properly be held together.

I leave the last word to John Piper: 'What "scholarly" would mean for me is that the greatest object of knowledge is God and that he has revealed himself authoritatively in a book, and that I should work with all my might and all my heart and all my soul and all my mind to know and enjoy him and to make him known for the joy of others.'

Finding Poland

2011-09-15T21:23:00.001+01:00

Through the experience of his own relatives, illustrated with dozens of family letters and photos, Matthew Kelly tells the story of thousand of Polish people caught up in the troubled events of the Second World War and its aftermath.

Poland lost a greater proportion of its population in the war than any other nation. It was occupied by both Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union.

Thousands of Poles were forcibly relocated by the Russians to Siberbia or Kazakhstan, travelling for weeks on end in unheated cattle trucks. Given just a few hours to get ready for their journey, they had to leave virtually all of their possessions behind. The journey alone killed thousands of them, especially the very young and the very old.

When Hitler declared war on the Soviet Union the Poles were released from their Soviet captivity and allowed to join the war effort. Many of the men fought in the RAF or the British Army.

Kelly's family never returned to Poland after the war but made their way via a series of refugee camps to Britain where they were allowed to settle. Poland was not finally free until 1989; only then did the Second World War finally end for them.

Kelly's book is a fascinating account of a neglected area of European history and the way he tells the story through the lens of his own family's experience really grips you. Highly recommended.

Joy and contentment at Diocesan HQ

2011-09-13T21:21:00.003+01:00

To the diocesan offices, Trinity House, for a CME (Continuing Ministerial Education) course on 'Joy and Contentment in minstry,' where I had been asked to come along to share a little of my own experience in ministry by the course leader, David Jones, a pastor from Australia.

David has discovered that depression is surprisingly common among ministers and that a growing number are leaving the ministry altogether. David led us in a consideration of the stresses and strains of ministry (including the peculiar challenges of living in the vicarage, not just for the incumbent, but for spouse and children too) and of how we can manage both conflict and the competing expectations of our congregations. Most helpfully he brought a well-thought out biblical perspective to bear on all he had to share.

Like many such days it was the opportunity to talk together and share - in addition to the excellent input from our leader - that made the day.

Tragedy remembered

2011-09-11T00:01:00.003+01:00

Only twice in the past ten years have we interrupted our sermon series at Holy Trinity to directly address a current event that so impinged upon our lives that we were hardly thinking of anything else.

The second time was the occasion of the recent London riots, the first time was following the attacks on New York & Washington on September 11th 2001. Then twelve days later I tried not so much to give an answer 'why,' still less to speculate on the political implications that were only just becoming clear, but to offer a kind of meditation that contrasted the ugliness of the scenes the world had seen with the beauty of the character, life, and kingdom of Jesus Christ.

Interestingly enough I used on that occasion the same text from Luke 4 that I was to preach upon after the London riots.

In my 2001 sermon I began by saying this:

"I’ve been thinking. I’ve been thinking about the extreme ugliness of evil. I’ve been thinking of the horrific scenes that have filled our TV screens and newspapers for nearly two weeks. I’ve been thinking about the lives lost, the children orphaned, the families torn apart.

I’ve been thinking about what makes someone want to destroy thousands of innocent lives. I’ve been thinking about the sheer level of hatred that would lead someone to hijack a civilian plane and fly its terrified occupants into an office building in which thousands of people make their living.

I’ve been thinking about the perverted mindset that could believe this terror could serve the purposes of God and religion. I’ve been thinking about a world where hatred and violence, discrimination and injustice are rife."

And then I went on to say:

"And I’ve been thinking about the loveliness of Jesus. I’ve been thinking how the sick were brought to him and he laid his hands upon them and healed them; how small children ran to him and he welcomed them and took them in his arms and blessed them; how sinners came to him and he forgave them; how the poor, the foreigner and the insignificant were his special concern; how he wept at the tomb of his friend Lazarus; how when they spat at him, mocked him, verbally abused him, and falsely accused him, he never said a word; how when they nailed his hands and a feet to a block of wood, stripped him naked and left him to die, he prayed for them; how in his final moments he turned to the convicted criminal beside him to promise him a place in heaven.

And I’ve been thinking how they placed his body in a borrowed tomb but how on the third day he rose again; how he appeared to his faithless doubting disciples and said ‘ peace be with you; ’how breathed on them and said ‘Receive the Holy Spirit;’ how he breathed his forgiveness and life into their hearts; how wherever he is at work in lives today, he brings peace, joy, hope, and forgiveness to restless and troubled souls; how his love inspires countless people the world over to selfless acts of service, love and mercy on behalf of humankind.'

And I’ve been thinking how he picked up the scriptures in the Nazareth synagogue and read: "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed,to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour."

And how he said: "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing."

How, in those words, he announced his manifesto to the world. He announced himself a new kind of ruler, a new kind of king, a king who came to serve, a king who came to offer his life as a ransom for many, a king who came to set the prisoners free and bring good news to the poor.

How he launched his kingdom, a new kind of nation, a kingdom marked by righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit; how the invitation has gone out into all the world, including to me and to you, an invitation to join his kingdom, to leave behind the old way of living and follow him: "The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!" (Mark 1.15).

And I’ve been thinking about (the children) who have been baptised this morning; how special and precious they are; how much their parents and their families love them; how much Jesus loves them.

And I’ve been thinking of the world they have been born into a world of violence, and dangers, and temptations, of wars and rumours of wars, a world of drugs, casual sex, rampant materialism, broken relationships and broken promises.

And I’ve been thinking of how much they need to know the love of Jesus. And I’ve been thinking of how much they need the protection of Jesus. And I’ve been thinking how much they need to grow up on the side of right and compassion and mercy and justice and righteousness, to love these things and practise these things, in the midst of a fallen and evil world.

And brothers and sisters I’ve been thinking how much we need Jesus; how much we need to come to the foot of the cross; how much we must rededicate ourselves to serve and live for him; how much we need a revival of true biblical religion in our country and throughout the world.

Let us this morning dedicate ourselves to the kingdom of the one whose just, gentle, and everlasting rule was announced in these words: "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour."

Shaping the political landscape

2011-09-08T19:30:00.002+01:00

Back to Nick Spencer's excellent Freedom and Order: History Politics and the English Bible, which I have previously reviewed. Here is how he sums up his survey of the impact of the Bible on British political life over more than a thousand years of history:

"the Bible.. insisted on the inevitability and implacability of divine judgment on even the most powerful. It demanded that earthly rulers honour religious freedom. When put into the vernacular, especially through William Tyndale's mastery translation, it created a spiritual democracy that would one day undermine political authority. It insisted on fundamental human equality. It provided innumerable models for political subversion. It proclaimed freedom to debtors, liberty for prisoners and release for the oppressed. It rooted the idea of helping the poor, feeding the hungry and healing the sick in the life of God himself. It helped drag a nation into civil war and undermine the idea of the divine right of kings. It sanctified life on earth, and inspired many to fight for their and other people's freedom'

He concludes:

"biblical language and logic can still speak to millions, shaping our political landscape, on the one hand helping to generate public order and stability, and on the other, the moral energy always needed for political change.'

From Spencer, N., Freedom and Order, (London: 2011), p292-293

Voice from the edge

2011-09-06T19:13:00.005+01:00

When Labour MP Bob-Marshall Andrews declared that Tony Blair was the worst prime minister for 150 years the whips asked him to reconsider this verdict, which he did, saying that, on reflection, Tony Blair was the worst prime minister since the Duke of Wellington (PM from 1828 to 1830).

He also believes that his former leader was 'delusional,' probably mad, and should have been indicted for war crimes.

So, not really a Blairite then?

The military campaigns in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Kosovo lead to Marshall-Andrews' severest judgments on Tony Blair, but an even stronger theme that runs right through these entertaining and often passionate memoirs is what the author sees as New Labour's persistent attacks on civil liberties.

Marshall-Andrews combines with libertarians from both sides of the House to oppose repeated Government attempts to curtail trial by jury, to legislate for detention without trial, to impose compulsory identity cards on the population (the latter piece of legislation he explains to the House would have compelled every citizen of the United Kingdom to have his head measured and for that important information to be stored on a national data base), and to make it a criminal offence to criticise any religion or to 'glorify' terrorism (whatever that means).

Quite a lot of this legislation never made it to the statute book, thanks either to Labour rebels, LibDems, and Tories defeating in in the Commons, or to the House of Lords throwing it out - but some did. As the book closes Marshall-Andrews hopes that the Coalition's proposed Great Repeal Bill might just restore some of the lost liberties.

I have a great deal of sympathy with what Marshall-Andrews sought to do in Parliament, but even if you don't agree with his politics, his memoirs are a kind of eloquent testimony to what a humble backbencher can still achieve in a parliamentary democracy, even in the face of an authoritarian government with a large majority - because much as Marshall-Andrews may mourn the liberties that have been lost under the last Government (as I do), the truth is that on many other occasions Parliament stood back from the brink and failed to do the Executive's bidding.

Now what happened to that Great Repeal Bill?

in Hampshire, an ordinary resurrection

2011-09-03T11:51:00.011+01:00

To the Sandham Memorial Chapel to see Stanley Spencer's paintings of the First World War that adorn this small country chapel maintained by the National Trust.

Spencer is best known for his work centred around the village of Cookham ('a suburb of heaven') where he lived for most of his life.

Here in the Sandham Chapel, dedicated to an officer who died in the First World War, Spencer brings together two prominent themes of his work: the resurrection of the dead and the significance of the everyday lives of ordinary folk.

It is the lives of ordinary soldiers - there is only one officer - that is depicted in the pictures on the sides of the chapel, including scenes from Spencer's own wartime service as a medical orderly in a military hospital. And it is the everyday detail of military life - having tea, sorting the laundry, cleaning the floor - rather than great acts of military endeavour that have captured the artist's eye and his imagination.

Dominating everything is a floor-to-ceiling painting behind the communion table, the magnificent Resurrection of the Soldiers (above). Towards the top of the painting dead soldiers rising from the grave can be seen handing their crosses (presumably representing their suffering and death) to the risen Christ, whilst in the bottom left hand corner newly-resurrected men exchange cheery, very British, handshakes with each other.

I love his love of the resurrection and I love Spencer's celebration of 'ordinary' life. Sandham Chapel must be one of the National Trust's smallest properties - it doesn't seat more than a dozen - but it is a treasure and well-worth visiting.

Tea in the Hospital Ward - Sandham Memorial Chapel

Freedom and order

2011-08-31T19:19:00.001+01:00

Nick Spencer's Freedom and Order is one of many books produced for the 400th anniversary of the Authorised Version of the Bible, but it is not the influence of any one version of the Bible that is his subject. His bold aim is trace the influence of the English Bible over thirteen hundred years of political history from King Wihtred of Kent in AD 695 to Thatcher and Blair.

His thesis is that two themes: freedom (key text: Acts 5.29 'we ought to obey God rather than men') and order (key text: Romans 13.1 'Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except what God has established'), have shaped English political life throughout the history of the nation (it is very much a book about England, not Britain).

In a detailled survey covering Anglo-Saxon England, the medieval period, the Reformation, the Puritans the Civil War, the Restoration, the Glorious Revolution, and the huge political changes of the 19th century century, Spencer shows how Christian thinking based on Scripture has contributed to political debate, often decisively.

The surprise of the last thirty years, Spencer suggests - to secularists at least - has been the increased profile of religion in political debate. This is partly due to the rise of Islamism and politics post 9/11, but also due to the influence of the two longest serving prime ministers of the period, Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair, who both saw themselves as practising Christians and who both based their political values on biblical ones (as they saw it).

I'll come back to Spencer's book in a later post but I would highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in the Christian influence in ther poltical life of the nation.

The religion of desert

2011-08-28T21:10:00.002+01:00

Luke did a good job today in a sermon about the Roman centurion in Luke 7.1-10. He drew our attention to two types of faith that exist in the same passage.

The first is the faith of desert: it is the understanding that God will bless you according to what you have done. It is expressed perfectly in Luke 7 by the men who come to Jesus, begging him to help the centurion and giving as their reason: "This man deserves to have you do this, because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue.”

The second is the faith that relies on grace, expressed by the centurion himself who says: “Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed."

This faith, of course, is commended by Jesus who says: “I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel.”

There is something about the religion of desert that means that it has a deep grip on our thinking about ourselves and God. In one sense it is the natural religion of mankind. It is the default position of the human heart - yet it is the very antithesis of the Gospel - so much so that I was tempted to entitle a recent sermon on Jesus' calling of Levi and subsequent attendance at a banquet for sinners, not amazing grace, but disgraceful grace.

It certainly disgusted many people at the time. And the root of that disgust was Jesus' provocative challenge to the religion of desert.

Strangely, another place where the religion of desert touches us is in the area of suffering where the pain we feel about suffering (ours or someone else's) is heightened by a sense of profound unfairness: what have we (they) done to deserve this? That assumes - as the religion of desert believes - that the whole universe is run on the basis of you get what you deserve.

Notoriously, the coach of the England Football Team was sacked for suggesting something just like this, namely that the disabled were being punished for what they had done in a previous life. Readers may correct me, but I think this is the first time a senior football official has been sacked for his theological views. What Hoddle was expressing, of course, was a form of the religion of desert.

Back to the problem of suffering and here we have to say the religion of desert does not serve us well.

It is not the case that there is a one-to-one correspondence between suffering and the lives we have led. There are occasions in Scripture when suffering comes as a direct immediate punishment for sin, but the Bible as a whole argues against understanding the suffering of ourselves or others in terms of desert. The whole book of Job is about that. Jesus in John's Gospel affirms that the disability of the man born blind was the result of neither his nor his parents sin, and a persistent theme of the psalms is of innocent suffering (ie of undeserved suffering).

Taking the teaching of the Bible as a whole we have to conclude that suffering is not distributed on the basis of what we deserve. The truth of the matter is that there is likely to be no simple answer in this life to the question 'why' which so readilly comes to mind when suffering comes, beyond just saying that's the kind of (broken, fallen) world we live in and that's the one that will be gloriously transformed when God remakes the heavens and the earth and makes all things new.

Never let me go

2011-08-26T21:30:00.004+01:00

Never Let Go is the film of of Kazuo Ishiguro's novel of the same name. Last night we watched it on DVD. Earlier the book featured in a Sunday evening sermon series at Holy Trinity, entitled A book, a film, and a painting.

Never Let Me Go is set in an English boarding school, Hailsham, in the 1990s. We first meet the three central characters Ruth, Tommy, & Kathy when they are about 13 – the book stretches into their late 20s and 30s. They form a complicated love triangle that plays out as the book goes on.

At first life at Hailsham seems a little idiosyncratic, slightly eccentric, a bit dotty – but no more than the average English public school - but soon a darker reality emerges.

The children have lived at Hailsham since they were born, cared for by their ever present guardians. They never travel beyond the school grounds nor meet any one from the outside world. In the benign surroundings of Hailsham the children spend hours engaged in creative writing and the visual arts. A mysterious woman, Madame, visits the school from time to time to collect their best and most creative work.

One day the real truth of their existence is revealed. Their guardian, Miss Lucy finding it hard to listen to the students speak of their hopes and dreams for the future, reveals the truth to them: they are clones, bred solely for the purpose of providing spare parts for others. That is their destiny and when they have accomplished the purpose for which they were created - in the horrible jargon of the system – they will complete. They will die. They will have fulfilled their purpose.

The narrator Kathy is 31 when the book opens and has spent the last eleven years driving around England in her capacity as a carer for other student donors. In eight months’ time she will need a carer herself when she begins the horrific undertaking for which she was created: she will donate her own vital organs one by one, until she , too, ‘completes’.

Towards the end of the novel Kathy and Tommy’s meet with of the guardians, now retired, and they learn why the Hailsham teachers placed so much emphasis on art and creativity. As children, Kathy and Tommy had been told that their art would reveal what they were like inside. Miss Emily claims that she took away the best pieces they produced in order to prove that they did, in fact, have souls.

Towards the end Kathy and Tommy come to believe a Hailsham rumour that a couple who are really in love can apply for a deferral - that their donating and completion might be delayed for as much as three years. They set their hopes on this dream. They try to show the authorities that they are really in love – which they are. But the dream of a deferral proves to be just that – a dream. The truth is defferals are never possible however much you may be in love.

By the end of the novel both Ruth and Tommy have completed. Kathy is about to begin donating her organs and soon she will complete. The novel never explains the regime that permits all this or controls it. The students never rebel. They are utterly compliant and meekly accept their fate.

In my sermon I grouped my comments under four headings

Dignity As with the Holocaust, and as with slavery, people who were able to do what they did to the students at Hailsham did so by persuading themselves they were less than human. The children of Hailsham were there to perform a function and even if some of the staff were a little more enlightened than others, they were still compliant with a system that undermined human dignity; that turned people into things to be used for the benefit of others. By contrast the Bible speaks of human beings being made in God’s image (Genesis 1.26-27) and of their supreme dignity and value in his sight (Psalm 8).

Language The euphemisms being a ‘donor’ and ‘completing’ are used to smooth the horror of what is planned for the children of Hailsham. Just as babies become foetuses when they are to be aborted; and abortion itself becomes a 'termination' so the euphemisms of the adults of Never Let Me Go indicate an uneasy conscience that cannot quite face up to what it is doing.

Hope The slim hope that they have – of a deferral, for just a few years – is dashed. For the Hailsham children there is no hope and no future. Nothing to dream about or plan because their fate is sealed and out of their hands. Related to this is the all-pervading sense of ...

Determinism One writer has said: ‘There is something profoundly disturbing about their general compliance with the situation. They are not like ‘normal’ children: they lack spark, exuberance, rebelliousness. Their acquiescence and passivity agitate the reader, as a sense of helplessness and hopelessness grows.’

That brings us back to dignity as people made in the image of God. We are not programmed. We are not predetermined. There is a freedom that comes with the dignity of being made in God’s image. God has a plan for his children but he works it out in and through us, including through the real decisions we freely make as people made in his image.

Back to the film: it's a really good film, well-constructed and brilliantly acted. Well worth seeing. As always, the book is even better. Through the very sense of horror and outrage that it creates in the reader, Ishiguro's novel functions as a powerful affirmation of the dignity of human beings made in the image of God.

On the floor of parliament

2011-08-25T19:02:00.002+01:00

I am reading a fascinating book at the moment: Nick Spencer's Freedom and Order: History Politics and the English Bible, in which he traces the impact of the Scriptures on British political life.

I'll say more about the book when I have completed it, but for the time being I'll share with you Nick's account of the Christian symbolism and Scriptural allusions in the Palace of Westminster itself.

The Central Lobby of the House of Commons has mosaics of the patron saints of the four constituent nations of the United Kingdom, whilst on the floor is the text of Psalm 127.1 'Except the Lord builds the house, they labour in vain that build.' Nearby is the text of Proverbs 11.14, 'where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety, ' whilst in the Royal Gallery are the words of Proverbs 21.1: 'the king's heart is in the hand of the Lord.'

What that might say about Britain in 2011 is another matter, but the message of the building's designers in the mid-nineteenth century was pretty clear, and those texts still speak the Word of truth at the heart of our parliamentary democracy.

And it was modernised and it was very good

2011-08-23T19:22:00.004+01:00

By the third or fourth chapter he's got to you. As much as the reader is determined to resist his charms, you find yourself quite won over by the fabled persuasiveness of Blair.

It's a better book than you expect it to be. Sometimes amusing (not always intentionally so), sometimes moving, strangely revealing and often convincing.

There are some unusual features of the book,to be sure, not to least the rather startling section on the prime minister's toilet habits (a first for political autobiographies in my reading experience).

There are three chapters on Iraq. Clearly Blair has agonised about this deeply but still believes it was the right thing to do - and he explains why, whilst not being afraid to face up to his critics or the pain of the families who have suffered as a result of the military campaign. When he meets a bereaved family in his study at number 10, he weeps.

His great passion was public sector reform. It took him a while to work out how best to really push this forward, and latterly he felt frustrated by opposition from Gordon and the Brownites. Indeed it was fear that GB would undo, or at least not progress the key reforms of the Government, that led him to delay his departure from office.

A frequent theme of the book is modernisation. Virtually everything in Blair's view would be a lot better if properly modernised, including the Monarchy, Parliament, the Civil service, the Judiciary, the NHS, Islam, schools, universities and the economic system. It is never explicitly stated what 'modernisation' means but it is always thought to be a very good thing.

Early on he expresses the surprising vagueness of the new Labour project: 'I set out an outline programme of sufficient substance to be credible but lacking in the detail that would have allowed our opponents to damn it.' Ponder that for a moment. That's what we signed up for in 1997.

No wonder TB felt so anxious on election night after the results had come through. (Usually it is the prospect of defeat that arouses anxiety in the political heart).

Labour had tried so hard to get elected, that it had scarcely had time to think in detail about what it intended to do (and by his own admission - see above - such detail as there was would not have stood up to serious examination). For this reason Anthony Seldon, Blair's biographer, believes the second term was more successful than the first, even though the Government was by then less popular.

TB's greatest achievement was peace in Northern Ireland. It was very much a personal achievement of the prime minister. Probably no one else could have done it and he deserves his place in history for that alone. Now he works on issues of the Middle East and if anyone could 'solve' that problem it is Blair.

As to the Labour Party itself. Either he saved it or destroyed it, depending on your viewpoint. (At one point he says: 'In order to circumvent the Party what I had done was construct an alliance between myself and the public.')

In no sense at all is TB a socialist, that much is clear. Indeed, he seems to be to the right of old-style Heathite conservatives. I have wondered as I have read this autobiography why he is not actually a member of the Conservative Party, given that agrees with most of their policies, and have concluded it is because he lacks the conservative's instinctive suspicion of anything new. In Blair's optimistic world view, whatever is new, whatever is modern, whatever is from the 21st century is bound to better.

Religion, says Blair, matters to him more than politics. There are oddly biblical overtones to his prose: 'and so on the hundreth day we rested' (either that is a joke or it is the most outrageous piece of hubris since the Tower of Babel), but Blair believes 'the world is different if religion comes first.' religion, says Blair, starts 'with values that are born of a view of humankind.' He's spot on at that point.

What he actually believes is less clear. As someone who is instinctively against 'dogma' he is perhaps an unlikely convert to the Roman Catholic Church, although one senses he treats the doctrines of his church with the same flexibility that he treated those of his party.

Summer praise in the open air

2011-08-21T22:14:00.001+01:00

Friendly Fire

2011-08-18T22:38:00.001+01:00

This is a most brilliant book. Intended as a festschrift ( a book in honour of an academic by his colleagues in the academic community) to Tom Wright. It consists of a series of essays about aspects of TW's theology, followed by short responses by TW himself, together with two longer summary chapters by TW on his main areas of work, Jesus and Paul.

The tone is one of critical appreciation.

This is a book by Wright's friends and admirers, but they are not uncritical of his work. They explain it fairly, then pose substantial questions to it and about it.

Three chapters stood out in a collection where there is not a single dud:

Jesus and the Victory of God Meets the Gospel of John JVG is TW's big book on the historical Jesus, but why the almost exclusive concentration on the synoptics (Matthew, Mark, Luke), and so little reference to John, asks Marianne Thompson? Partly that's where the debate was at that time, says TW, and in any case he believes his conclusions are demonstrably in harmony with John so that a greater concentration on the fourth gospel would not have changed the final outcome of the work.

Another contributor, Richard Hays, rather disagrees. He says it 'makes a 'huge difference' whether or not you read the Synoptics in dialogue with John's proclamation of Jesus as the incarnate Lord. If the reader of the Synoptics arrives at that conclusion inductively (piecing together the evidence as he goes along), the reader of the Fourth Gospel finds that the conclusion is stated at the beginning and reads everything that follows in its light.

Knowing Jesus: Story, History and the Question of Truth
In this the chapter that offers the most substantial criticism of TW's work, Richard Hays, turns to the question of Wright's methodology, particularly in JVG.

Does TW let the Gospels speak on their own terms or is he trying to go behind the Gospels to create a reconstruction of the historical Jesus? Does TW allow the different voices of the gospel writers to be sufficiently heard? Is he guilty of over-systematisation, squeezing all the evidence, however, improbably into his overall thesis? How does the decision to leave the resurrection to a later volume distort the conclusions of the book - shouldn't the whole of each Gospel be read it the light of it?

These are the questions that Hays poses.

He gives as the prime example of his concerns TW's reinterpretation of the parable of the prodigal son as a story about Israel's exile and restoration. For Hays this stretches credibility to breaking point, and seems to completely negate Luke's own explanation of the story. (That itself is not such a problem if you are looking behind the text to what you believe Jesus might have been doing or saying but, if like Hays, you believe the canonical context of the parable to be crucial, an interpretation that is at odds with it is deeply problematic).

Did St Paul Go to Heaven When He Died?
TW's great gift to the church has been to bring us back to the New Testament's emphasis on the resurrection of the dead, or what TW calls, life after life after death. Its not all about going to heaven when you die, says, TW, but about being raised ftrom the dead bodilly after a period of waiting or resting with the Lord (call that heaven if you like, he seems to say, but note that in the NT 'heaven' or 'paradise' is a stopping off point on the way to a resurrected existence in the new creation).

All this Marcus Bockmuehl largely concedes, but in one of the more sharply critical essays in the collection, he says something that is repeated by three of his fellow contributors, namely that he agrees more with what TW affirms, and less with what he denies.

Essentially Bockmuehl believes TW overstates his case. Bockmuehl suggests that this is because in the new creation (the new heavens and new earth) the distinction between earth and heaven has evaporated, so that in terms of the ultimate future of the believer you can talk about an existence that is both bodilly and heavenly.

* * * * * * * * *

To conclude: Jesus, Paul and the People of God is a superb introduction to the thought of Tom Wright by scholars who are overwhelmingly sympathetic to it. Wright readilly concedes that his work is unfinished and is capable of improvement and refinement. The debate started by this symposium will be part of that process.

Looting spreads

2011-08-17T19:21:00.000+01:00

And this....

Atheists doing God

2011-08-16T10:56:00.000+01:00

I mentioned inn my sermon on Sunday John Mortimer's appreciative comments about the Christian contribution to our national history.

I am grateful to Chris for two further examples of atheist writers who see the value of Christian actions and insights: Roy Hattersley writing in the Guardian here and Alain de Botton on the BBC website here.

Left or right?

2011-08-13T22:48:00.005+01:00

Assuming there is no immediate repeat of the rioting on our streets, a kind of political post-mortem will now take place.

All are agreed that there can be no justification for violence, theft or criminality but, now is the time to try to explain the cause of the terrible events we have seen this week and as was said in the Commons debate, to explain is not to excuse,

But, you need to diagnose the problem, to prevent the recurrence of the disease.

Contrasting explanations come from the left and right. Commentators and politicians from the left speak of issues of poverty, unemployment, and social deprivation; whilst those from the right speak of family breakdown, the absence of fathers, and general lack of respect for authority in the home, and the school.

I find it frustrating that the debate is framed in the way it is - as if we have to choose one or the other, left or right; when it is in the interaction of all these factors - those noted by left and right - that the best explanation is likely to lie.

Poverty alone may not lead to rioting, but poverty mixed with family breakdown, and a highly acquisitive consumerist culture built on greed and selfishness is a deadly mixture, especially where there is diminishing respect for authority at home and school and in the street.

Just add the speed and spread of communication through modern technology, the human propensity to copy others, and the intoxicating power of the mob, and you start to see how a fairly limited protest in one part of London could result in widespread looting and destruction across England.

In the political debate that has started about cause of the riots it would be good if we could move beyond the partial answers of both left and right, to look at all the factors that have been at work in this situation, and in their interaction with each other.

For all the parties there are two issues they need to face that instinctively they shy away from, and which so far have been scarcely mentioned (except by Christians). They are greed and the place of marriage. Let me explain.

A number of Christian commentators have pointed to the question of greed and have instanced the MPs expenses scandal and the financial crisis as prime examples of it (see previous post in this blog for details). Interestingly, Ed Miliband has been talking about both (as contributory factors to the riots) but not in terms of greed but responsibility (what he actually means is irresponsibility, or to be more frank, sin).

There is a lot to be said for developing a political debate about responsibility but why no mention of greed? Simply, I suppose because every political party is in favour of it. Who could be agasinst it? It is seen as trhe motor that drives the whole economic system of the West. We all must keep having MORE.

But, now may be the time to examine exactly where that is taking us.

The other challenge is marriage. Policies from both main political parties have weakened marriage as an institution, but it is strongly associated statistically with enduring relationships and stable families (though no guarantee of either). At a structural level it would make enormous sense to encourage marriage.

Governments encourage us to do all kinds of other things that are good for us from eating vegetables to stopping smoking, so why not give active encouragement for the institution of marriage and all the blessings it brings to couples, their children, and society generally?

At the very least both of the issues - greed and marriage (and with it, family structure, the role of fathers etc) should be part of the debate.

Of looters and looting

2011-08-11T11:17:00.001+01:00

A thoughtful response from Dr Mike Ovey, Principal of Oak Hill, who quotes the sociologist, Paul Begguley, who has said that these are 'consumer society riots' here and from Jon Kuhrt of the West LOndon Mission here.

Both seek to bring a Christian perspective on the events of last week.

I'm also working today on a sermon for Sunday which will attempt to do the same.

London bishops call for prayer

2011-08-10T11:52:00.001+01:00

Broom army cleans the streets of Clapham Junction

From The Bishop of Southwark and Bishop for Urban Life and Faith, the Rt Revd Christopher Chessun:

The images of violence and destruction on our screens do not represent the strong, hopeful and vibrant communities I know so well. I want to appeal to those responsible for the disturbances to stop.

Today, as many in our Diocese count the cost of the disturbances, I am deeply saddened to see the images of destruction in familiar places. I will in the days ahead visit those communities that have been at the centre of trouble and I continue to promise my support for, and solidarity with, all who seek to build positive and constructive engagement.

The Christian message is one of hope, love and peace and I know that the churches of Southwark Diocese stand ready to play their part in bringing healing and hope to the places they serve. I am asking them to offer special prayers for the healing and peace of our cities when they gather for worship this Sunday and week by week, remembering especially those who have been personally affected and have lost homes and livelihoods.

And then from across the river, Peter Broadbent, Bishop of Willesden

We’re all shocked and horrified at what’s been happening these past few days in our communities across London. Whatever sparked the original violence in Tottenham, the copycat looting and pillaging is not a legitimate form of protest — people are, sadly, trashing their own localities. There are many questions to be asked about how we have created a society in which greed and consumerism combine to make people desire commodities and are prepared to steal in order to get them. And where young people see the destruction of property as a form of fun and entertainment. Relationships between the police and young people in many parts of London are fragile — and we will need to work hard at rebuilding them in the aftermath of all this. But there’s no excuse for lawlessness, either. Criminal behaviour mustn’t prosper.

Our Christian response must be to pray — for the peace and good of our cities. Where appropriate and safe, we may wish to open our churches for prayer and practical support for local people. There are clean-up operations going on in Ealing and other places where we can be involved practically. And where we are in contact with local youth, we should be doing what we can to persuade them to stay off the streets.

Goodbye Mr Fritz

2011-08-09T19:36:00.011+01:00

To Ruislip Crematorium for the funeral of the man we called 'Fritz' - though never to his face (except in the case of the unfortunate first year boy who had been mischeviously told by some older boys that the deputy head's name and preferred form of address was 'Mr Fritz.')

Its 36 years since I left Sir Walter St John's School, Battersea, but the number of 'old boys' in their 50s and 60s who turned up for Bob Taylor's funeral yesterday was a testimony to the extraordinary man he was.

Quite a few even sported a school tie. (That would have pleased him: he was a stickler for school uniform).

Typically he could be seen rushing through the school, his gown billowing in the wind, clutching his bulging clipboard, barking instructions, picking up litter and rebuking miscreants as he went. As younger boys we were plain terrified of him. Later we came to admire him for his sheer dedication, good humour, and commitment to the school he served for 26 years.

it was typical of Fritz that each Christmas every boy in the fourth form and above received a Christmas card through the post pesonally addressed by the Second Master in his distinctive handwriting. He could have dished them out at school. He could have got the school office to address them with their addressograph machine, but that was his way.

In the sixth form, the headmaster decided we would benefit from selected readings from the theological works of CS Lewis. This went on for months. Ungrateful youths that we were, we appreciated this theological feast rather less than we might have done. One day the Head was off sick and Fritz got up at assembly and said 'Gentlemen, I thought you might like a break from the writings of Mr CS Lewis.' This happy annnoucement was greeted with loud and prolonged cheers.

Years later we recognised that from the best of our teachers we had learnt from them not just what they had taught us academically but also from who they were as people. That is the high calling and vocation of a school teacher. It was one that Bob Taylor lived up to admirably.

Call to Prayer

2011-08-09T16:26:00.003+01:00

From the Anglican Mainstream website

Rev Paul Perkin and his son Max witnessed the looting and rioting in their parish at St Mark's Battersea Rise on Monday night. He speaks for many areas that witnessed riots in calling for prayer,.

"Pray for the restraint of further rioting tonight. The first object must be that it stops. Pray for parents to keep their young people in. I hear that youth workers in Croydon ( where there was also trouble) were telling the young people to go home – with some success.

Pray for the police effort to gain a co-ordinated strategy. Many of the riot police had come on from North London, and for some it was their third night at this and they had not had much sleep. It seems that they have been moved on as every fire flares up, but they come too late. "

Holiday reading

2011-08-06T17:47:00.011+01:00

A sunny summer holiday on the south coast has provided plenty of time for a good read:

CHINA ROAD by Rob Gifford
Journalist Rob Gifford takes off on a road journey right across China. Well-observed account by a man who knows modern China well and loves the country without having any illusions about its darker side. Written as a 'secular' book, Gifford talks naturally about his own Christian faith as he tells the story of his journey.

RUSSIAN HIDE AND SEEK by Kingsley Amis
Amis's 1981 novel is written in a post-war Britain under Soviet occupation. A Russian officer joins a plot to overcome the oppresive military regime but their plan is subverted from within, leading to terrible consequences for the would-be counter-revolutionaries.

SPEAKING FOR THEMSELVES by Mary Soames
The personal letters, spanning 55 years of marriage, of her parents, Sir Winston and Lady Clementine Churchill.

THE AGE OF WONDER by Richard Holmes
'How the Romantic generation discovered the beauty and terror of science:' featuring the stories of (among others) Joseph Banks, the Herscels, Michael Faraday, Humphrey Davy, and Mungo Park.

WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET by Alan Sugar
Lord Sugar's (I'm much nicer in real life than I appear on the Telly) cheeky autobiography.

EVERY LIGHT IN THE HOUSE IS BURNIN' by Angela Levy
Another beautifully written Levy novel set in the home of a West Indian family living in London.

Finally: not finished yet but still reading: A Journey by Tony Blair

Sweet reasonableness

2011-08-06T11:17:00.004+01:00

While we've been on holiday and the blog has been on auto pilot the big news in the Christian world has been the death at the age of 90 of John Stott.

There are huge numbers of tributes to him online including the following from:

The Guardian
The Independant
The New York Times
The Archbishop of Canterbury

I never met him but I heard him speak on several memorable occasions and I have read many of his books: utterly faithful to Scripture, wise, measured and thoughtful.

As part of my MTh dissertation I studied his impact on preachers and the impact that a leading evangelical Anglican of a previous generation, Charles Simeon, had had on him.

Here are two short quotations that capture something of the essence of Stott the preacher. The first is the prayer he habitually used before preaching the sermon

Heavenly Father, we bow in your presence.

May your Word be our rule,

your Spirit our teacher,

and your greater glory our supreme concern

through Jesus Christ our Lord.

And here he is in 1954 explaining his philosophy of preaching:

To ‘expound’ the Word of God is so to treat a verse or passage from the Bible as to draw out its meaning, its application, and its challenge. Exposition is the direct opposite of imposition. The expository preacher comes to the text not with his mind made up, resolved to impose a meaning on it, but with his mind open to receive a message from it in order to convey it to others… The dearest desire of the expository preacher is so to speak as to let the Scriptures themselves speak, and so to preach the text that afterwards the sermon is eclipsed by the growing splendour of the text.

Todd Hunter in his book Accidental Anglican (previously reviewed in this blog here) encapsulates the character of English evangelical Anglicanism in the term ' sweet reasonableless.' It is an almost perfect characterisation of Stott himself. Stott believed in the use of the Christian mind, in the power of reason submitted to the word of God and with this went a kindness and graciousness of manner that commended his message.

Finally, here is Stott speaking on 'when I feel most alive.' Now he is more alive than ever.

Elizabeth the Great

2011-08-03T19:08:00.002+01:00

By any accounts Elizabeth I, the last Queen of England (before the union of the crowns of Scotland and England), was a most extraordinary woman.

Highly intelligent, a gifted scholar, she was fluent in five languages.

Her father, Henry VIII, murdered her mother. For most of her childhood and teenage years her own life hung on a thread. During the reign of her half-sister, Mary I, she was imprisoned in the Tower of London, before her fortunes dramatically changed with the Queen's death.

For the next 45 years Elizabeth played an extraordinary game of political cat and mouse, defending herself and her realm from enemies on every side. She dallied with numerous suitors but ultimately remained the Virgin Queen. Her realm enjoyed a period of unparallelled peace and prosperity and Elizabeth skillfully brought an end to the religious turmoil which had convulsed the nation, by means of a moderate Protestant settlement that has endured to this day.

Much about her remains mysterious, leaving biographers such as Elizabeth Jenkins in her 'Elizabeth the Great,' speculating about the Queen's real motives. The modern reader - and biographer - wants to know why she never married (and fulfilled the most basic duty of a hereditary monarch: the production of an heir). Did she just never find the right man, or did she detect that her real political power lay in her continued virginity, or had the traumas of her childhood turned her altogether from marriage?

Alive to the word

2011-07-29T16:00:00.004+01:00

Stephen Wright, tutor in biblical studies and practical theology, at Spurgeon's College, London, offers this 'practical theology of preaching for the whole church,' which looks at the historical phenomenon of preaching and its contemporary function, before going on to consider language, medium, rhetoric, insights from sociology and psychology, the biblical grounding of preaching, preaching in the ongoing purposes of God, and ethical guidance for preaching.

Stephen rounds off his book with two final chapters: tasks for the church and tasks for the preacher. Along the way he quotes from the work of some of his Masters students including my own dissertation on Simeon and Stott.

I was struck by the poem of George Herbert, The Windows, which opens the book:

Lord, how can man preach thy eternall word?
He is a brittle crazie glasse:
Yet in thy temple thou dost afford
This glorious transcendant place,
To be a window, through thy grace

But when thou dost anneal in glasse thy storie,
Making thy life to shine within
Thy holy Preachers; then the light and glorie
More rev'rend grows, & more doth win:
Which else shows watrish. bleak, & thin

Doctrine and life, colours and light, in one
When they combine and mingle, bring
A strong regard and aw: but speech alone
Doth vanish like a flaring thing,
And in the eare, not conscience ring.

Building of the month

2011-07-27T19:19:00.006+01:00

Just off Oxford St, St Peter's, Vere Street, is the home to the London Institute of Contemporary Christianity and the daughter church of All Soul's, Langham Place. I visit it three or foir times a year for meetings of the CPAS patronage trustees.

Its architect, James Gibb (1682-1754), also designed St Martin's-in-the-Fields, and the Radcliffe Camera in Oxford.

Some might call St Peter's a preaching box but its the kind of building that actually works as a place for a congregation to meet. It's a modest building down a side street, built of brick with a simple elegance.

At St Martin's Gibbs' innovation was to place the steeple centrally behind the pediment. It was an experiment he repeated at Vere Street and it has since been widely copied throughout the world, especially in New England.

At home

2011-07-25T19:31:00.002+01:00

With his characteristic wry humour Bill Bryson takes us on a tour of the Norfolk rectory where he resides with his family - but that is really just a device for a wide ranging 'short history of private life.'

Bryson has done his research well, and produced an excellent piece of social history about our homes, how we live in them, and what we have in them.

Highly recommended.

Manifold greatness

2011-07-22T17:47:00.002+01:00

To the Bodleian Library, Oxford, for their exhibition, Manifold Greatness, in commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the Authorised Version of the Bible.

The exhibition's title comes from the translators' foreword addressed to King James himself: 'Great and manifold were the blessings (most dread Soueraigne) which Almighty GOD, the Father of all mercies, bestowed upon us the people of ENGLAND, when first he sent your Majesties Royall person to rule and raigne ouer us.'

Upon the death of Queen Elizabeth they had feared that 'some thicke and palpable cloudes of darknesse would..have ouershadowed' the land - no doubt they recalled the reign of the Queen's sister, Mary, and the martydom of the leaders of the Reformation in Oxford (just a few yards from the Bodleian, a cross in the road marks the spot) - but 'amongst all our Joyes, there was no one that more filled our hearts, then the blessed continuance of the Preaching of Gods Sacred word among us' which was that 'inestimable treasure, which excelleth all the riches of the erth ... (and) directeth and disposeth men unto that Eternal happinesse which is aboue in Heauen.''

As to the exhibition itself, it was a veritable treasure trove of AV-related goodies including Anne Boleyn's personal copy (1534) of Tyndale's translation of the New Testament; Handel's conducting copy of the AV-saturated Messiah; the only surviving copy of the forty 'Bishops Bibles' used by the KIng James translators, complete with their annotations; and a rare copy of the so-called Wicked Bible which includes the misprinted commandment; 'Thou shalt commit adultery' (most copies were burnt).

Telling the truth

2011-07-21T20:02:00.002+01:00

'(Takes out onion)' is Private Eye's traditional way of signalling fake emotion, but what are to make of the parliamentary apologies of the Murdochs and Mrs Brooks?

Was it really Rupert's 'most humble day' or was that just what the PR guys told him to say? Is Nick Davies in the Guardian right to suggest that the testimony of James & Rupert Murdoch bore the unmistakably signs of careful coaching?

To be honest I don't know, and nobody does (apart from God), but part of the corruption of the culture of spin is a kind of cynicism about people in the public eye and instinctive sceptism about the sincerity of what they say.

Truth in public life in the UK has suffered some severe knocks in the past few years with first the MPs expenses scandal and now Hackgate. Was it always thus or is truthfulness in public life diminishing?

If one of the effects of a political culture strongly influenced by the Christian faith was a certain level of honesty (one of the fruits of Christianity, if you like), then it might be that a general decline in truthfulness accompanies a nation moving away from Christianity.

In that case, Hackgate could be part of a trend.

Hacked off

2011-07-20T18:26:00.002+01:00

So much for the legality of the phone hacking scandal - that is for the courts and the police to decide, but what about the morality of it?

On Newsnight last night Carl Bernstein (of the Watergate expose) said 'a whole country has been polluted' and this is about 'the corruption of an institution.' Will Self said this 'is the corruption of the British political system.'

Bernstein also spoke of the gutter press, and of a British public that had 'lapped it up.' As such the problem goes much deeper than the police investigation of alleged criminal acts, important though that is.

The prophetic painter

2011-07-19T15:18:00.003+01:00

I am grateful to fellow blogger Mick Hough for drawing my attention to this painting by our old Oak Hill lecturer, Alan Storkey. Mick writes:

'Alan’s passion was to help students see the Kingship of Christ over the whole of society, and to see the political implications of the gospel and how that works out in society. Alan is also an artist, and a year ago he painted the piece above – that is, a year ago…before the present scandal hit the news. The painting shows Rebekah Brooks, Rupert and James Murdoch and Les Hinton sitting in the dock, and being brought under the rule of law.

We knew that Alan was a godly man with a large brain; now we know he is also a prophet.

As for today's events it is a minor triumphant for Parliament.

As Alan's painting suggests, the rule of law is being firmly asserted, not least in the parliamentary summons for the Murchdochs to appear at today's select committee.

London Christian Heritage Walk

2011-07-16T21:11:00.005+01:00

To London for our Holy Trinity Christian Heritage Walk. We started at Southwark Cathedral, viewing the 13th century retrochoir (above) where Protestant 'heretics' were tried under Mary I and the nearby tomb of Bishop Lancelot Andrewes, who was responsible for the translation of the five five books of the Bible in the King James Version.

Next, across London Bridge, and through Leadenhall Market to Fen Court, and the memorial opened by Desmond Tutu in 2008 to commorate the bicentenary of the abolition of the slave trade. The tall columns (see below) represent sugar canes and the podium represents both an auctioneer's platform and a pulpit? Why? Because gloriously the slave trade was largely defeated from the pulpit, through the efforts of 18th century evangelicals - Wilberforce, of course, but also John Newton who preached at nearby St Mary, Woolnoth, opposite the Bank of England which we visited a little later in our walk.

From Fen Court it was a short hop to St Helen, Bishopsgate, the medieval church that survived the Great Fire of London, but was badly damaged by the IRA bombs of 1992 and 1992. Out of that attack, though, came a beautifully refurbished interior of far greater service to the cause of the Gospel than the rather shabby and chaotic pre-bomb interior.

St Helen's is a large and flourishing church with a significant bible teaching ministry. I like the post-refurbishment inscription over the south door - of this building that twice nearly passed away - 'heaven and earth may pass away but my words will never pass away.

From St Helen's we went via a coffee stop to Wesley's Chapel in City Road, a kind of cathedral of Methodism, built in 1778 by John Wesley. In the font engraved in stone are broken chains recalling the famous words of his brother, Charles, 'my chains fell off, my heart was free, I rose, went forth and followed there.' Here also a well-known British Methodist by the name of Margaret Thatcher was married.

Across the road from Wesley's chapel is Bunhill Fields, the dissenters burial ground, where John Bunyan, Daniel Defoe, Isaac Watts, and William Blake are all interred.

Bunyan's tomb is the most prominent. On one side Christian (from Pilgrim's Progress) is depicted struggling under the burden of his sin and on the other side of the tomb (not shown) is Christian, 'glad and lightsome,' free of the burden that has fallen off at the cross.

Next, via an interesting walk through the Barbican development, we came to the memorial to John's Wesley's conversion in 1738, close to the entrance of the Museum of London. Wesley's journal entry (he was a kind of 18th century blogger) describing how his 'heart was strangely warmed 'when he went unwillingly to a certain meeting in Aldersgate street' is reproduced in full on the bronze sculpture whose shape represents the flame of the Spirit.

From here we walked via St Paul's Cathedral (and a quick visit to the crypt) to Embankment Gardens and Whitehall Gardens to see memorials to Michael Faraday (one of Britain's greatest scientists and a deeply committed evanglical Christian); Robert Raikes (the founder of the Sunday School movement); and William Tyndale, the bible translator and martyr. Then to Westminster Abbey - and a peep at Church House in Dean's Yard - and the memorial to ten twentieth century Christian martyrs from across the world on the west front of the Abbey.

Twentieth Century Martyrs on the West Front of Westminster Abbey

From there our walk took us to the National Gallery and two paintings: Piero della Francesca's Baptism of Christ, and that wonderful conclusion to the long vista that runs the length of the National Gallery, The Incredulity of St Thomas, by Giovanni Battista Cima de Conegliano. (Read 'Britain's best hang? If there is a better presented painting than the National Gallery's Cima de Conegliano masterpiece, I need to know - an article that brilliantly captures the sense that its as if the whole National Gallery was designed around this painting. Hang on...I feel a sermon coming on...).

Just as the National Gallery's long vista points us ultimately to Christ, so all the men and women whose lives we have seen commemorated today in brick, stone, and metal, lived their lives and, in some cases, gave their lives to point to him.

Synod observer

2011-07-12T21:38:00.005+01:00

Sunday 10th July

To York where the General Synod is meeting in the university's Central Hall. This is deeply nostalgic for me as I studied there 1977-81. I had a peep into the Biology teaching labs and was delighted to see they were completely unchanged after 30 years. Also by a stroke of synodical good fortune I was accommodated in my old college. By a bizarre coincidence the first synods-person I spoke to at lunch time was also a York graduate and, like me, a former member of Vanbrugh College.

In the Central Hall itself both Ruth and I graduated and sat our final exams, now it is hosting the 500 or so members of what the press like to call the Church of England's parliament. That feels a bit weird.

Whilst I have been travelling up on the train (66 minutes late) after yesterday's splendid wedding in Tunbridge Wells, the members of the synod have been attending a service of Holy Communion in York Minster, minus the Archbishop of York who, sadly, was ill.

After a good lunch which, of course, included Yorkshire Pudding (pronounced locally as Yarkshire) we spent the evening considering changes in higher education funding (these could add a great deal to the cost of training the next generation of clergy); the Church of England's relationship with the Methodist Church (going quite well but a bit slow on both sides); and a motion from Bradford Diocese which would allow those baptised, not confirmed, and not desirous of confirmation to receive communion. (At the moment baptised people who are desirous of confirmation but are as yet unconfirmed may receive HC).

It was a proposal that never really found favour with synod and the supporting paperwork rather added to the theological confusion. In the end someone proposed that we move to next business and we did. (That means the matter can't return to the agenda during the life of the present synod).

After that it was our Southwark dinner. Lay and clerical reps from our diocese, plus Bishop Christopher and some Southwark-related guests got together for a bite to eat and to discuss tomorrow's debate on Minority Ethnic Anglican Concerns at which Archdeacon Danny Kajumba will give a presentation.

Regrettably (to use a popular school boy expression) I 'bunked' the evening session so I can't tell you much about the annual report of either the Audit Committee or the Archbishops' Council.

Monday 11th July

After slacking last night I was up bright and early for Holy Communion at 7.30am in the Central Hall, then following some routine legislative business we turned to the question of child-friendly eucharistic prayers for services where large numbers of children are present - eg in church schools.

Lots of lively discussion here. Some people found them too babyish. Some found them too hard. Others thought important truths had been left out and a lots of people made suggestions for additions and deletions.

One man tried them out on his 7 year old son. 'Is there anything you don't understand?', he asked him. 'Yes' he said 'lift up your hearts.'

All this was just a first airing and this item will come back to Synod after the liturgists have had another go. In the meantime we can all send in suggestions. There is one line I would love to have deleted but since it is in Common Worship already I don't think I have much chance but it might be worth the cost of a stamp.

Next we had a good discussion about changing the electorate for the Synod's House of Laity. At present only Deanery Synod members get to vote, a fine bunch of individuals in their own way, but we were asked to consider how representative they were of the church as a whole. In the event Synod rather agreed with the London Diocesan Synod, who had sponsored the motion, that the whole matter needed to be looked at to see if a better arrangement could be found.

After all that it was time for lunch.

Next was the Minority Ethnic Anglican Concerns report. A really good debate with lots of excellent points made, some very moving contributions, and a Southwark-sponsored amendment which actually got passed (well done to Vasanatha). I had put in a 'request to speak,' and had a speech ready but, like many others, I wasn't called. However, all the points I intended to make were eloquently made by others (essentially about encouraging vocations among ME people and the value of inviting people to consider whether God might be calling them into his service).

After this was a consideration of the draft budget of the Archbishops' Council, followed by dinner, followed by a debate on the Church of England's relations with the United Reformed Church. I had put in a 'request to speak' slip for this one, too, and, to my astonishment, after the initial presentation of a report on Anglican-URC relations I was the first to be called.

Lots of nice things were said about the URC and many people had stories to tell of joint church projects of one kind or another, but part of the reason for the debate was the 350th anniversary next year of the notorious Great Ejection of 1662. This was the moment, after the restoration of the monarchy and the episcopate, when nearly 2,000 Puritan clergy were ejected from the national church. These 'dissenters' formed their own churches, some of which have been incorporated into the present day United Reformed Church.

Next year the URC is 40 years old and service in celebration will take place in Westminster Abbey. The Great Ejection will be commemorated at the same time and the Cof E will make a public declaration of penitence as part of a process of 'healing the past -building the future.'

My point? To warmly commend that initiative but also to encourage us not just to say sorry for the past but to learn from our mistakes. Next year we will also debate the Women in the Episcopate measure and I said that if it is passed, i hope it will be done in such a way that it will not lead to a 'passive ejection' of traditionalist Christians. Of course, there will be no 1662-style deliberate ejection of anyone in 2012 but it would be a tragedy if some felt there was no longer a home for them in the Church of England. That's what I meant by the term 'passive ejection.'

In other words, in 2012 lets say sorry for 1662 but lets make sure we don't repeat the error.

Tuesday 12th July

The final day of Synod.. We began with a presentation from the Archbishop of Canterbury of an initiative to aid the beleagured Christians of the Holy Land. Next was a debate on the Church and education. I in 4 children attend a Church of England primary school and the number of church secondaries is growing, but this is a time of great opportunity, great change, and great challenfe for Church Education.

We gave quite a bit of time to this informative, good natured and, at times, passionate debate. It showed the Synod at its best.

Next was the 'prorogation' - synod-speak for 'you can go home now.' We meet again in February in London.

POSTSCRIPTS

(1) Possibly as a result of education cuts the University fountain, pictured at the top of this post, appears to have a suffered a 50 per cent reduction in height since this photo was taken.

(2) Overheard phone conversation on the East Coast Line Quiet Coach: 'I can't talk for long, love, I'm in that carriage where you are not allowed to use your mobile.'