Peter Challen has sent me an interesting PowerPoint presentation entitled 'Meltdown' about the next phase of the Global Financial crash, originally prepared and circulated by Dr Mike Haywood. Let me know if you'd like a copy and I'll forward it to you.
In summary, the presentation argues that ...
The debt mountain, peak oil, population growth, resource depletion, population growth, the pension time bomb and climate change are all interconnected. Remember, only 3 dozen economists correctly predicted the 2008 global financial crisis, out of a profession of 20,000 members. Not one of the World politicians and Central Bankers saw the crisis coming, but all of them claim to know the remedy.
Meltdown did not occur in October 2008, but we were within 4 hours of it happening. It has only been deferred. The reasons for the 2008 crash have not gone away. The US housing market is still in freefall and US and European Banks are becoming increasingly insolvent, although they won't admit it. Economic growth will be stifled by rising oil prices. The bailouts are not working. World Politicians, Bankers and Economists are trying to maintain the status quo but they are losing control. Fundamentally, the real systemic causes of the crisis are rarely discussed with transparency and have not been addressed. Fractional Reserve Banking and universal public ignorance of banking practices are the cause of all our global problems.
The collapse will happen within the next couple of years. The Eurozone or USA will most probably be the epicentre. The interconnectivity of the financial system means we will all be affected. What happens next after the collapse is impossible to predict. History is replete with examples but not on a Global scale. Massive political unrest will prevail. There will be a rise in popularity of extreme left and right political parties.
Peter recommends them as a valuable set of slides, graphs and summaries that might usefully be viewed before the Moving Planet day seminar at St James Piccadilly on September 24 see http://www.st-james-piccadilly.org/.
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Regina Spektor - Fidelity.
Showing posts with label credit crunch. Show all posts
Showing posts with label credit crunch. Show all posts
Thursday, 15 September 2011
Tuesday, 9 August 2011
From where will a dramatic recomposition of society come?
Riots in the UK are to my mind, in part, a symptom of global changes. Last Thursday's Guardian had an interesting article written prior to the rioting much of which I think has relevance to what has happened since:
"we are living through something epochal ... part of a more general social and economic crisis sparked by the financial crisis ...
Every semi-stable form of capitalism also needs some sort of settlement with the wider population, or at least a decisive section of it. While the postwar Keynesian settlement contained an explicit deal linking rising real wages to rising productivity, neoliberalism contained an implicit deal based on access to cheap credit. While real wages have stagnated since the late 1970s, the mechanisms of debt have maintained most people's living standards. An additional part of neoliberalism's tacit deal was the abandonment of any pretence to democratic, collective control over the conditions of life: politics has been reduced to technocratic rule. Instead, individuals accepted the promise that, through hard work, shrewd educational and other "life" choices, and a little luck, they – or their children – would reap the benefits of economic growth.
The financial crisis shattered the central component of this deal: access to cheap credit. Living standards can no longer be supported and, for the first time in a century, there is widespread fear that children will lead poorer lives than their parents. With the deal broken, parochial ruling arrangements in the UK have started to lose coherence."
This breakdown in parochial ruling arrangements has sown itself in a series of scandals; most recently Hackgate:
"Hackgate cannot be treated in isolation. Since the financial "meltdown" of 2007-08 we have witnessed similar scenes, and similar outrage, around MPs' expenses and bankers' bonuses. We have witnessed not one but two media feeding frenzies around the repression of protest. The first followed the police attack on the G20 protests in 2009 and the death of Ian Tomlinson, with the second erupting around the outing of undercover police officer Mark Kennedy, leading to the unprecedented unmasking of another five undercover police officers acting within the environmental and anti-capitalist movements. The refusal of the Metropolitan police to investigate the full extent of phone hacking is, then, the third scandal revealing the political character of contemporary policing."
These scandals are therefore part of a more general social and economic crisis sparked by the financial crisis. What we have then is a significant crisis of confidence in our 'authorities' combined with an awareness that the era of cheap credit which has meant that we could have what we wanted when we wanted. One response to this situation is what we are seeing on our streets; to take what we want while we can because the 'authorities' are compromised.
"The response from politicians, bankers and business leaders is more of the same – more of the same neoliberal policies that got us into this situation in the first place ...
Unless there is a dramatic recomposition of society, we face the prospect of decades of drift as the crises we face – economic, social, environmental – remain unresolved."
Some prophetic words from Sam Norton, written five years ago in a post on Prophecy and Peak Oil, are apposite at this point:
"We live within a Pharaonic system of oil based consumerism, and we are taught that it cannot be challenged, for to do so is to threaten the prosperity on which we all depend. It seems to me that the task of the Christian in this situation is to renew our prophetic imagination and to speak words of praise and hope which enable the development of a community which reflects the freedom of a loving God.
Specifically, I think we must:
i) identify the Royal Consciousness in all its aspects, not just Peak Oil, although that will inevitably be central;
ii) articulate the pain of the marginalised and oppressed who have no present voice or witness;
iii) challenge the claims to power made on behalf of the Royal Consciousness, with a view to demonstrating their emptiness;
iv) labour with confident expectation towards the dismantling of the present structures;
v) develop new communities which break away from obeisance to the Royal Consciousness, and which offer the opportunity of free life in the image of the free God;
vi) articulate a vision of hope, a promised land, on the other side of Peak Oil, which will sustain us through the transition period in the wilderness; and
vii) trust in God."
In light of recent events FaithAction has connected with a number of partner organisations to provide support to members and to give a reaction to events. they have been working with the Race and Equality Foundation to provide a facebook page (www.facebook.com/pages/Communities-against-violence/247922231904668) intended to give BME groups and faith groups a space to join together in response to current events in London and other UK Cities.
Althought the main news headlines are focused on the destruction. Many communities have come together in 'Riot clean-up' groups. Many Faith Groups were already active with constructive responses yesterday and this has continued today. Some community leaders have been encouraging parents to keep young people close to hand to avoid them being drawn into negative activities and instead families to work together on the clean up.
While a small initiative, it provides an opportunity to keep others posted on how organisations/communities are responding to this situation and could potentially help in developing new communities which break away from obeisance to the Royal Consciousness, and which offer the opportunity of free life in the image of the free God.
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The Clash - London's Burning.
"we are living through something epochal ... part of a more general social and economic crisis sparked by the financial crisis ...
Every semi-stable form of capitalism also needs some sort of settlement with the wider population, or at least a decisive section of it. While the postwar Keynesian settlement contained an explicit deal linking rising real wages to rising productivity, neoliberalism contained an implicit deal based on access to cheap credit. While real wages have stagnated since the late 1970s, the mechanisms of debt have maintained most people's living standards. An additional part of neoliberalism's tacit deal was the abandonment of any pretence to democratic, collective control over the conditions of life: politics has been reduced to technocratic rule. Instead, individuals accepted the promise that, through hard work, shrewd educational and other "life" choices, and a little luck, they – or their children – would reap the benefits of economic growth.
The financial crisis shattered the central component of this deal: access to cheap credit. Living standards can no longer be supported and, for the first time in a century, there is widespread fear that children will lead poorer lives than their parents. With the deal broken, parochial ruling arrangements in the UK have started to lose coherence."
This breakdown in parochial ruling arrangements has sown itself in a series of scandals; most recently Hackgate:
"Hackgate cannot be treated in isolation. Since the financial "meltdown" of 2007-08 we have witnessed similar scenes, and similar outrage, around MPs' expenses and bankers' bonuses. We have witnessed not one but two media feeding frenzies around the repression of protest. The first followed the police attack on the G20 protests in 2009 and the death of Ian Tomlinson, with the second erupting around the outing of undercover police officer Mark Kennedy, leading to the unprecedented unmasking of another five undercover police officers acting within the environmental and anti-capitalist movements. The refusal of the Metropolitan police to investigate the full extent of phone hacking is, then, the third scandal revealing the political character of contemporary policing."
These scandals are therefore part of a more general social and economic crisis sparked by the financial crisis. What we have then is a significant crisis of confidence in our 'authorities' combined with an awareness that the era of cheap credit which has meant that we could have what we wanted when we wanted. One response to this situation is what we are seeing on our streets; to take what we want while we can because the 'authorities' are compromised.
"The response from politicians, bankers and business leaders is more of the same – more of the same neoliberal policies that got us into this situation in the first place ...
Unless there is a dramatic recomposition of society, we face the prospect of decades of drift as the crises we face – economic, social, environmental – remain unresolved."
Some prophetic words from Sam Norton, written five years ago in a post on Prophecy and Peak Oil, are apposite at this point:
"We live within a Pharaonic system of oil based consumerism, and we are taught that it cannot be challenged, for to do so is to threaten the prosperity on which we all depend. It seems to me that the task of the Christian in this situation is to renew our prophetic imagination and to speak words of praise and hope which enable the development of a community which reflects the freedom of a loving God.
Specifically, I think we must:
i) identify the Royal Consciousness in all its aspects, not just Peak Oil, although that will inevitably be central;
ii) articulate the pain of the marginalised and oppressed who have no present voice or witness;
iii) challenge the claims to power made on behalf of the Royal Consciousness, with a view to demonstrating their emptiness;
iv) labour with confident expectation towards the dismantling of the present structures;
v) develop new communities which break away from obeisance to the Royal Consciousness, and which offer the opportunity of free life in the image of the free God;
vi) articulate a vision of hope, a promised land, on the other side of Peak Oil, which will sustain us through the transition period in the wilderness; and
vii) trust in God."
In light of recent events FaithAction has connected with a number of partner organisations to provide support to members and to give a reaction to events. they have been working with the Race and Equality Foundation to provide a facebook page (www.facebook.com/pages/Communities-against-violence/247922231904668) intended to give BME groups and faith groups a space to join together in response to current events in London and other UK Cities.
Althought the main news headlines are focused on the destruction. Many communities have come together in 'Riot clean-up' groups. Many Faith Groups were already active with constructive responses yesterday and this has continued today. Some community leaders have been encouraging parents to keep young people close to hand to avoid them being drawn into negative activities and instead families to work together on the clean up.
While a small initiative, it provides an opportunity to keep others posted on how organisations/communities are responding to this situation and could potentially help in developing new communities which break away from obeisance to the Royal Consciousness, and which offer the opportunity of free life in the image of the free God.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Clash - London's Burning.
Tuesday, 13 April 2010
Shared Faiths response to the credit crunch
Last year Faiths in London's Economy (FiLE) published a shared faiths response to the credit crunch which calls for: non-interest bearing transactions; mutual societies; business accountability to a wider range of stakeholders than shareholders alone; transparent and ethical business practices; and recognition of the role that artists and communities play in generating real wealth.
The document was picked up by the Faith Engagement Team in the Department for Communities and Local Government and posted on the G20 London Summit site as part of the Faith Debate section. The full text of our ‘Shared Faiths response’ was published in the ‘Faith in Business Quarterly,’ an article on the document was prepared for the Three Faiths Forum newsletter, the document informed a consultation on the issue undertaken by the East of England Faiths Council, and a Faiths Conference organised by the Basildon Faiths Forum.
Stephen Timms responded to the shared faiths response to the credit crunch in a speech to the East of England Faiths Council. In this speech, he focused on two aspects of the Shared Faiths response:
Firstly, he said that the paper is right to highlight how the faiths value work – how: “The work ethic is seen as a noble endeavour in many faiths.” Secondly, he focused on what we describe as the ‘breakdown in the relational aspects of the economy’. "You say ‘many faiths reflect on transparency and the hidden (often in terms of the imagery of light and dark’) suggesting that where actions can be hidden, injustice and wrongdoing often occur’. Rowan Williams said earlier this year: “our faith depends on the action of a God who is to be trusted; God keeps promises.” I think you’re right. Hiddenness, and a lack of transparency, has been one of the causes of this crisis."
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Gillian Welch - Everything Is Free.
The document was picked up by the Faith Engagement Team in the Department for Communities and Local Government and posted on the G20 London Summit site as part of the Faith Debate section. The full text of our ‘Shared Faiths response’ was published in the ‘Faith in Business Quarterly,’ an article on the document was prepared for the Three Faiths Forum newsletter, the document informed a consultation on the issue undertaken by the East of England Faiths Council, and a Faiths Conference organised by the Basildon Faiths Forum.
Stephen Timms responded to the shared faiths response to the credit crunch in a speech to the East of England Faiths Council. In this speech, he focused on two aspects of the Shared Faiths response:
Firstly, he said that the paper is right to highlight how the faiths value work – how: “The work ethic is seen as a noble endeavour in many faiths.” Secondly, he focused on what we describe as the ‘breakdown in the relational aspects of the economy’. "You say ‘many faiths reflect on transparency and the hidden (often in terms of the imagery of light and dark’) suggesting that where actions can be hidden, injustice and wrongdoing often occur’. Rowan Williams said earlier this year: “our faith depends on the action of a God who is to be trusted; God keeps promises.” I think you’re right. Hiddenness, and a lack of transparency, has been one of the causes of this crisis."
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Gillian Welch - Everything Is Free.
Sunday, 8 November 2009
Jesus' wartime stories
Jesus told wartime stories. You can find them in Matthew 25. 1-13 and the other stories which are recorded for us in Chapters 24 and 25 of Matthew’s Gospel. That seems an odd thing to say about a story that is to do with a wedding and which does not mention war but the context in which Jesus told these stories to his disciples was one of trying to prepare them for a coming conflict.
Throughout the teaching recorded for us in Matthew 24, Jesus is telling his disciples about a coming crisis for which he needs them to be ready. This crisis will culminate in an invading army marching into Jerusalem’s Temple and laying it to waste. The wartime scenario that Jesus was describing here actually occurred about 40 years after his death and resurrection in AD70 with the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem by the occupying Roman army.
What Jesus was doing through his teaching and through these stories was to try to get his disciples ready for that coming crisis so that they would respond appropriately. As loyal Jews their natural tendency might well have been to stay and fight but Jesus makes it clear to them that they must get out and run. As a result of Jesus’ disciples fleeing Jerusalem, the message of the Gospel spread around the world. Their message was that all that Jesus did and said was true and that this was confirmed by the coming to pass of his prophecy about the Temple.
How prepared are we, I wonder, for the crises that we face in our day and time and are we ready to use them as opportunities to share and show the good news of Jesus? That is ultimately, the challenge of this story for us.
We can, in a sense, lay this story like a template across the crises that we remember and face and use it to assess whether we are more like the wise or foolish women in our response. Ultimately, in relation to the Second World War we would probably want to say that the country responded more like the wise than the foolish women. Whether we are talking about those who were on the front line or those supporting the war effort from home, the country was prepared to accept and make sacrifices in order that the war would eventually be won.
But that is not always the case in situations of conflict. We could, for example, ask the same question of the current conflict in Afghanistan. If it is true, as senior people in the Forces have suggested, that our troops there do not have the equipment they need for the task they have been sent to do, then it may be that our Government has acted more like the foolish women in the story than those that were wise.
We can apply this story too to crises that are not to do with warfare such as the current credit crunch. The way in which banks have been prepared to lend money to those who have no means of repaying those loans, for example, suggests that they too have behaved more like the foolish women in the story than the wise.
In the background of the credit crunch crisis are the twin crises of climate change and the peaking of oil supplies. Experts tell us that as a human race we have only a short number of years in which to address these issues before these crises hit us full on and it will be too late to respond. As in Jesus’ story, the question is, how will we respond? Will our response be wise or foolish? Will we be prepared or unprepared for the crises that are to come?
For Christians the question of how we respond is also a question of how prepared we are to share the good news of Jesus in the face of the crises that we face now and those still to come. What have we to say as Christians about conflict within our world? About the credit crunch? About climate change and peak oil? Jesus’ call is clear we are to be ready to face the crisis and prepared to share his good news. As we look back this month to honour those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, Jesus’ question needs to echo and re-echo in our lives and world; are we ready?
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Monsters of Folk - His Master's Voice.
Throughout the teaching recorded for us in Matthew 24, Jesus is telling his disciples about a coming crisis for which he needs them to be ready. This crisis will culminate in an invading army marching into Jerusalem’s Temple and laying it to waste. The wartime scenario that Jesus was describing here actually occurred about 40 years after his death and resurrection in AD70 with the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem by the occupying Roman army.
What Jesus was doing through his teaching and through these stories was to try to get his disciples ready for that coming crisis so that they would respond appropriately. As loyal Jews their natural tendency might well have been to stay and fight but Jesus makes it clear to them that they must get out and run. As a result of Jesus’ disciples fleeing Jerusalem, the message of the Gospel spread around the world. Their message was that all that Jesus did and said was true and that this was confirmed by the coming to pass of his prophecy about the Temple.
How prepared are we, I wonder, for the crises that we face in our day and time and are we ready to use them as opportunities to share and show the good news of Jesus? That is ultimately, the challenge of this story for us.
We can, in a sense, lay this story like a template across the crises that we remember and face and use it to assess whether we are more like the wise or foolish women in our response. Ultimately, in relation to the Second World War we would probably want to say that the country responded more like the wise than the foolish women. Whether we are talking about those who were on the front line or those supporting the war effort from home, the country was prepared to accept and make sacrifices in order that the war would eventually be won.
But that is not always the case in situations of conflict. We could, for example, ask the same question of the current conflict in Afghanistan. If it is true, as senior people in the Forces have suggested, that our troops there do not have the equipment they need for the task they have been sent to do, then it may be that our Government has acted more like the foolish women in the story than those that were wise.
We can apply this story too to crises that are not to do with warfare such as the current credit crunch. The way in which banks have been prepared to lend money to those who have no means of repaying those loans, for example, suggests that they too have behaved more like the foolish women in the story than the wise.
In the background of the credit crunch crisis are the twin crises of climate change and the peaking of oil supplies. Experts tell us that as a human race we have only a short number of years in which to address these issues before these crises hit us full on and it will be too late to respond. As in Jesus’ story, the question is, how will we respond? Will our response be wise or foolish? Will we be prepared or unprepared for the crises that are to come?
For Christians the question of how we respond is also a question of how prepared we are to share the good news of Jesus in the face of the crises that we face now and those still to come. What have we to say as Christians about conflict within our world? About the credit crunch? About climate change and peak oil? Jesus’ call is clear we are to be ready to face the crisis and prepared to share his good news. As we look back this month to honour those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, Jesus’ question needs to echo and re-echo in our lives and world; are we ready?
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Monsters of Folk - His Master's Voice.
Thursday, 29 October 2009
Faith & Climate Change (4)
What follows is my input to the faith leader's panel session at the Faith and Climate Change conference in answer to the question: 'How does your faith reconcile the issue of climate change and economic development?'
Climate change is first and foremost a justice issue. The developed world bears a historical responsibility for the climate crisis as we have grown rich by polluting without facing the costs of doing so. Our growth has effectively been subsidised by the damage that we have done to the rest of the world. Those who are already suffering most from global warming are those who have done the least to cause it, and who have the least resources to do anything about it. As the United Nations Environment Programme’s Global Environment Outlook suggests, unprecedented levels of economic growth have pushed the planet to the point of destitution. That is essentially how a Christian Aid report setting out a theological approach to climate change and development begins and I agree with their analysis.
As Chair of Faiths in London’s Economy, I was involved, earlier in the year, in compiling a ‘Shared faiths response to the credit crunch’ in which we stated that “Western economies have been inflated through greed, with their economic make-up being based on self-centred acquisition” and this has led to “economies predicated on unlimited growth which have then caused harm to the environment.”
It may be, we suggested, that we are now at a point in time when, because the free market has been shown to be unable to provide its own banks without these being propped up by Government funds, new structures for society can be produced. Recession, the credit crunch and the ecological crisis may be combining to bring about profound shifts in the global economy; a ‘third way’ or ‘middle path’ between nationalisation and capitalism, based on agreed standards of ethics, environmental and social responsibility and a much broader understanding of wealth and value. Such a restructuring of the global economy in terms of a broader understanding of wealth would see new kinds of jobs (i.e. in renewable energies, creative industries, and community empowerment) forming its foundation.
Such a restructuring could also provide space for addressing the ecological crisis. Ecology cannot be divorced from economics. For example, the ecological costs of extraction and replacement of the world’s natural resources have in the past been excluded from company accounts but their inclusion would provide a very different picture of the effects of the global economy on the environment. If justice is to be done in addressing climate change, the West must repay its carbon debt by accepting a fair share of the burden of global cuts in greenhouse gases, in addition to domestic cuts.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, in a recent lecture for the Christian environmental charity Operation Noah, warned against looking for a single solution to the complex environmental challenges which face us. “Instead of a desperate search to find the one great idea that will save us from ecological disaster, we are being invited to a transformation of individual and social goals that will bring us closer to the reality of interdependent life in a variegated world”.
The future, if it is not to be an apocalyptic scenario, will need to be relational. The theologian Karl Barth wrote of a human being in the community of the church as someone who is “united in society as an individual with the whole Church, related … to God, but in God to others.” The Christian Aid report that I mentioned earlier ends with a challenge to the Church, which is also a challenge to all (including the worlds of business and economics); to “work together, not in isolated joint events, but in a continuing and deepening commitment to combat climate change as it affects the world’s most vulnerable people.”
Such action is required at the personal and local, as well as at the national and international, levels. As the Archbishop of Canterbury said in his recent lecture, “When we believe in transformation at the local and personal level, we are laying the surest foundations for change at the national and international level” and our small actions mark a break with destructive patterns of consumption and waste helping “to make us more aware of the diversity of life around us.”
How does my faith reconcile the issue of climate change and economic development? In terms of seeking to address injustice, develop relationships, and share in local and global transformational and transitional actions.
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Paolo Nutini - High Hopes.
Climate change is first and foremost a justice issue. The developed world bears a historical responsibility for the climate crisis as we have grown rich by polluting without facing the costs of doing so. Our growth has effectively been subsidised by the damage that we have done to the rest of the world. Those who are already suffering most from global warming are those who have done the least to cause it, and who have the least resources to do anything about it. As the United Nations Environment Programme’s Global Environment Outlook suggests, unprecedented levels of economic growth have pushed the planet to the point of destitution. That is essentially how a Christian Aid report setting out a theological approach to climate change and development begins and I agree with their analysis.
As Chair of Faiths in London’s Economy, I was involved, earlier in the year, in compiling a ‘Shared faiths response to the credit crunch’ in which we stated that “Western economies have been inflated through greed, with their economic make-up being based on self-centred acquisition” and this has led to “economies predicated on unlimited growth which have then caused harm to the environment.”
It may be, we suggested, that we are now at a point in time when, because the free market has been shown to be unable to provide its own banks without these being propped up by Government funds, new structures for society can be produced. Recession, the credit crunch and the ecological crisis may be combining to bring about profound shifts in the global economy; a ‘third way’ or ‘middle path’ between nationalisation and capitalism, based on agreed standards of ethics, environmental and social responsibility and a much broader understanding of wealth and value. Such a restructuring of the global economy in terms of a broader understanding of wealth would see new kinds of jobs (i.e. in renewable energies, creative industries, and community empowerment) forming its foundation.
Such a restructuring could also provide space for addressing the ecological crisis. Ecology cannot be divorced from economics. For example, the ecological costs of extraction and replacement of the world’s natural resources have in the past been excluded from company accounts but their inclusion would provide a very different picture of the effects of the global economy on the environment. If justice is to be done in addressing climate change, the West must repay its carbon debt by accepting a fair share of the burden of global cuts in greenhouse gases, in addition to domestic cuts.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, in a recent lecture for the Christian environmental charity Operation Noah, warned against looking for a single solution to the complex environmental challenges which face us. “Instead of a desperate search to find the one great idea that will save us from ecological disaster, we are being invited to a transformation of individual and social goals that will bring us closer to the reality of interdependent life in a variegated world”.
The future, if it is not to be an apocalyptic scenario, will need to be relational. The theologian Karl Barth wrote of a human being in the community of the church as someone who is “united in society as an individual with the whole Church, related … to God, but in God to others.” The Christian Aid report that I mentioned earlier ends with a challenge to the Church, which is also a challenge to all (including the worlds of business and economics); to “work together, not in isolated joint events, but in a continuing and deepening commitment to combat climate change as it affects the world’s most vulnerable people.”
Such action is required at the personal and local, as well as at the national and international, levels. As the Archbishop of Canterbury said in his recent lecture, “When we believe in transformation at the local and personal level, we are laying the surest foundations for change at the national and international level” and our small actions mark a break with destructive patterns of consumption and waste helping “to make us more aware of the diversity of life around us.”
How does my faith reconcile the issue of climate change and economic development? In terms of seeking to address injustice, develop relationships, and share in local and global transformational and transitional actions.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Paolo Nutini - High Hopes.
Friday, 31 July 2009
MiLE Gospel Reflections
I've just written my latest Gospel Reflection for the MiLE website on Sunday's Gospel reading - John 6. 24 - 35. My reflection can shortly be found by clicking here.
Here is my previous reflection, for Sunday 21 June, on Mark 4. 35-end:
Jesus' reaction to the storm (to sleep) and his response to his disciples after the stilling of the storm ("Why are you frightened? Have you still no faith?") suggest that he had expected the disciples to ride out the storm both by acting as responsible sailors and trusting in God to see them through. Instead, they are panicked by the storm, forget to do the things that sailors should do in a storm and, as a result, come close to going under.
This seems a salutary tale for us in the unanticipated storm of the credit crunch and the recession it has caused. Instead of panicking and looking for a miraculous instant solution to the storm in which we find ourselves, the faithful thing is to act responsibly, securing what can be secured and steering our way through the storm, trusting that we will come through, battered and blown, but alive nevertheless.
Lord Jesus, help us respond to the challenge of your question to the disciples as we face the storm of this recession. May we trust, and in our trust, take the responsible and sensible decisions that will secure our futures and those of others, both those we support and those who depend on us. Amen.
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Nanci Griffith with Eric Taylor - Storms.
Here is my previous reflection, for Sunday 21 June, on Mark 4. 35-end:
Jesus' reaction to the storm (to sleep) and his response to his disciples after the stilling of the storm ("Why are you frightened? Have you still no faith?") suggest that he had expected the disciples to ride out the storm both by acting as responsible sailors and trusting in God to see them through. Instead, they are panicked by the storm, forget to do the things that sailors should do in a storm and, as a result, come close to going under.
This seems a salutary tale for us in the unanticipated storm of the credit crunch and the recession it has caused. Instead of panicking and looking for a miraculous instant solution to the storm in which we find ourselves, the faithful thing is to act responsibly, securing what can be secured and steering our way through the storm, trusting that we will come through, battered and blown, but alive nevertheless.
Lord Jesus, help us respond to the challenge of your question to the disciples as we face the storm of this recession. May we trust, and in our trust, take the responsible and sensible decisions that will secure our futures and those of others, both those we support and those who depend on us. Amen.
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Nanci Griffith with Eric Taylor - Storms.
Saturday, 25 July 2009
Shared Faiths response to the credit crunch
The latest edition of Faith in Business Quarterly is now available and features the text of the 'Shared faiths response to the credit crunch' which was developed and issued by Faiths in London's Economy.
The 'Shared faiths response' has picked up by the Faith Engagement Team in the Department for Communities and Local Government and posted on the G20 London Summit site as part of the Faith Debate section. An article on the document was prepared for the Three Faiths Forum newsletter, it informed a consultation on the issue undertaken by the East of England Faiths Council, and also features on the Practical Development Ideas website of Nick Heap.
In October I shall be speaking about the development of the 'Shared Faiths response' and the issues it tackles at an inter-faith conference in Basildon.
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M. Ward - Hold Time.
The 'Shared faiths response' has picked up by the Faith Engagement Team in the Department for Communities and Local Government and posted on the G20 London Summit site as part of the Faith Debate section. An article on the document was prepared for the Three Faiths Forum newsletter, it informed a consultation on the issue undertaken by the East of England Faiths Council, and also features on the Practical Development Ideas website of Nick Heap.
In October I shall be speaking about the development of the 'Shared Faiths response' and the issues it tackles at an inter-faith conference in Basildon.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
M. Ward - Hold Time.
Monday, 20 July 2009
Global recession – praying with purpose
This comes from Tearfund's World Watch Prayer Link:
"The hardships of the recession are being felt from Manchester to Malawi, underlining that this is a truly global problem from which no one is immune.
But for poor communities, those hardships are more painful. The cost is beginning to be counted in lives. Your prayers are needed urgently.
‘This is a disaster waiting to happen – actually it’s begun to happen,’ says Victor Mughogho. ‘Funding is evaporating from poor communities across Malawi.’
Victor is head of Eagles, one of Tearfund’s partners in Malawi, that trains and mobilises local churches to meet the needs around them. He’s working towards our vision – which is to see 50 million people released from material and spiritual poverty, through a worldwide network of 100,000 local churches.
It’s a vision we are fixed on whether in times of recession or prosperity.
That’s why we’re determined not to cut funds that we’ve promised to those we support, particularly as many are already feeling the pinch with the falling value of the pound.
It’s easy for us all to feel overwhelmed by the scale of the problem, but in a position of prayer we regain the right perspective - when we remember that our hope lies in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Please use the following points to guide your prayers:
• Pray for a swift end to the global recession and the dire effects it is having on people in poverty.
• Pray for God’s blessing on the work of local churches among poor communities, as they share the love of Jesus and fill the material and spiritual gaps in people’s lives.
• Pray for those who are struggling to cope with hunger and are least able to help themselves due to rising food prices.
• Pray God’s provision for those affected by the recession and job losses in the UK, including staff at Tearfund.
• Ask the Lord to bless Tearfund’s ministry despite the recession, that we may remain a beacon of light and hope for millions living in poverty."
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CompassionArt - Until The Day.
"The hardships of the recession are being felt from Manchester to Malawi, underlining that this is a truly global problem from which no one is immune.
But for poor communities, those hardships are more painful. The cost is beginning to be counted in lives. Your prayers are needed urgently.
‘This is a disaster waiting to happen – actually it’s begun to happen,’ says Victor Mughogho. ‘Funding is evaporating from poor communities across Malawi.’
Victor is head of Eagles, one of Tearfund’s partners in Malawi, that trains and mobilises local churches to meet the needs around them. He’s working towards our vision – which is to see 50 million people released from material and spiritual poverty, through a worldwide network of 100,000 local churches.
It’s a vision we are fixed on whether in times of recession or prosperity.
That’s why we’re determined not to cut funds that we’ve promised to those we support, particularly as many are already feeling the pinch with the falling value of the pound.
It’s easy for us all to feel overwhelmed by the scale of the problem, but in a position of prayer we regain the right perspective - when we remember that our hope lies in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Please use the following points to guide your prayers:
• Pray for a swift end to the global recession and the dire effects it is having on people in poverty.
• Pray for God’s blessing on the work of local churches among poor communities, as they share the love of Jesus and fill the material and spiritual gaps in people’s lives.
• Pray for those who are struggling to cope with hunger and are least able to help themselves due to rising food prices.
• Pray God’s provision for those affected by the recession and job losses in the UK, including staff at Tearfund.
• Ask the Lord to bless Tearfund’s ministry despite the recession, that we may remain a beacon of light and hope for millions living in poverty."
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CompassionArt - Until The Day.
Thursday, 4 June 2009
Present & Engaged
Archbishop Rowan Williams preached and presided at a Eucharist to launch the Presence and Engagement Network (PEN) on June 1st. PEN brings together those ministering in multi faith contexts, and those who train and equip them, in the Church of England dioceses covering Greater London.
The launch event, which included Bishops from each of the participating dioceses, was part of a day of reflection, prayer and celebration on the witness of Christian congregations in multi faith contexts. The Archbishop also gave the keynote address at this study day, organised at the Contextual Study Centre, which looked at the characteristic practices of Christian congregations - and the distinctive opportunities and challenges of multi Faith contexts. Materials from the day will be posted online shortly and I will include a link to them when they are.
I was part of the day as one of CTC's tutors and the author of the 'Living with other faiths' resource pack which was promoted as part of the PEN launch and a copy of which will be sent to every parish in Greater London. My particular part to play was to response to a excellent paper on Reading scripture in Presence & Engagement contexts which was given by Michael Ipgrave, Archdeacon of Southwark.
Michael's paper, which will be included in the materials to be posted online and is well worth reading, considered the four themes of ‘handling’, ‘opening’, ‘revisiting’, and ‘engaging scripture’. In my response I affirmed what he said by adding some stories from my own experience:
I have just finished using the PEN ‘Living with other faiths’ resource materials in one of two courses looking at these issues as part of the Chelmsford Diocese’s Lent & Eastertide courses.
As in previous years it was the realisation by the course participants that the contexts in which Israel, Jesus and the Early Church lived and ministered were multi-faith which really opened up the issue to them. There is a palpable change in the group and their understanding when they see, for example, that, by commending the Good Samaritan, Jesus is challenging people of one faith to receive from someone of another faith.
As in previous years it was the realisation by the course participants that the contexts in which Israel, Jesus and the Early Church lived and ministered were multi-faith which really opened up the issue to them. There is a palpable change in the group and their understanding when they see, for example, that, by commending the Good Samaritan, Jesus is challenging people of one faith to receive from someone of another faith.
When that realisation comes, the course participants recognise, as Michael expressed, “that the people of God have already known and grappled with the challenges of living amid religious plurality.”
I recently led a project, through a network called Faiths in London’s Economy, which developed a ‘Shared Faiths response to the credit crunch’; a document that now features on the Faiths debate page of the G20 London Summit website. What was fascinating about that process was the way in which dialoguing with people of other faiths sharpened my understanding of my faith.
One particular debate was with a Muslim member of the group over a statement that in some faith traditions human beings are seen as co-creators with God. Initially, this appeared arrogant in the extreme to him but over email exchanges and telephone conversations we found common ground in the idea of human beings as representatives of the divine on earth. Michael said that these kinds of encounters sharpen our “awareness of the way in which churches handle the Bible.” And that was certainly my experience in this instance.
One particular debate was with a Muslim member of the group over a statement that in some faith traditions human beings are seen as co-creators with God. Initially, this appeared arrogant in the extreme to him but over email exchanges and telephone conversations we found common ground in the idea of human beings as representatives of the divine on earth. Michael said that these kinds of encounters sharpen our “awareness of the way in which churches handle the Bible.” And that was certainly my experience in this instance.
Finally, in the ‘Living with other faiths’ pack we give several scenarios in which people are asked to think of basic information about other faiths that it would be useful for them to have before making initial contact. One of these scenarios involves an approach from a Muslim group to use Church accommodation for an Islamic Study Circle. Most people’s initial reaction is that Churches should not get involved. That is until we give them a case study of one church that has engaged with such a group. Allowing the group to use their premises led to the building of friendship which led to shared study of their respective scriptures.
While that church was not formally engaged in a Scriptural Reasoning process they also found their Scriptures speaking to them when they were brought alongside the sacred texts of other religions and that experience developed considerably the building of friendship, trust and understanding in their local community.
Michael ended by saying that when we engage with one another’s scriptures “we can sense our human interactions with one another being caught up in, and transformed by … dialogue with God.” The centrality of dialogue to interfaith engagement can, I think, be an entry point for us into understanding the way in which dialogue informs Christian faith. The idea that the form of scripture sets texts in dialogue with each other; that dialogue or exchange is at the heart of the Trinity; and that God seeks to draw us into that dialogue and that Jesus is the self-communication of God.
As one paraphrase of John 1 puts it: “It all arose out of a conversation, conversation within God, in fact the conversation was God. So God started the discussion, and everything came out of this, and nothing happened without consultation. This was the life, life that was the light of men, shining in the darkness, a darkness which neither understood nor quenched its creativity.” If, as that paraphrase would have it, interfaith dialogue is an aspect of that broader dialogue with God then my motivation for getting engaged is all the greater.
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Van Morrison - And The Healing Has Begun.
Friday, 22 May 2009
Finding common ground in the credit crunch
People of faith form a huge constituency, can motivate people to action and are also part of rooted communities which in some instances are beginning to plan for greater economic resilience.
As such, the network of individuals and faith-based organisations that is Faiths in London’s Economy (FiLE) believes that people of faith should make their contribution to the current search for means of ameliorating the financial and environmental misery experienced around the world, in part because of the effects of the credit crunch.
FiLE has therefore facilitated a process for preparing a shared faiths response to the credit crunch which calls for: non-interest bearing transactions; mutual societies; business accountability to a wider range of stakeholders than shareholders alone; transparent and ethical business practices; and recognition of the role that artists and communities play in generating real wealth.
The overall process that has produced this shared faiths response is one that has included people from the Christian, Hindu, Islamic, Jain and Jewish traditions in addition to representatives of faith-based and inter-faith organisations. We hope that our modest efforts will be a small part of a much wider process of reflection and restructuring needed to genuinely respond to the issues raised by the credit crunch.
Initial results show the impact that a modest initiative such as this can have. The document was picked up by the Faith Engagement Team in the Department for Communities and Local Government and posted on the G20 London Summit site as part of the Faith Debate section. The full text of our ‘Shared Faiths response’ is also being published in the forthcoming edition of the ‘Faith in Business Quarterly,’ an article on the document has been prepared for the Three Faiths Forum newsletter, and the document has informed a consultation on the issue undertaken by the East of England Faiths Council.
Producing a common statement from a diverse group of people was a considerable challenge and FiLE undertook this project as an experiment to see to what extent there were shared statements that could be made by different faiths on these issues. We found much common ground and the ability to understand similar concepts expressed in differing phrases. The use that has been made to date of our document indicates the wider value of such shared approaches.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Beth Rowley - Beautiful Tomorrow.
As such, the network of individuals and faith-based organisations that is Faiths in London’s Economy (FiLE) believes that people of faith should make their contribution to the current search for means of ameliorating the financial and environmental misery experienced around the world, in part because of the effects of the credit crunch.
FiLE has therefore facilitated a process for preparing a shared faiths response to the credit crunch which calls for: non-interest bearing transactions; mutual societies; business accountability to a wider range of stakeholders than shareholders alone; transparent and ethical business practices; and recognition of the role that artists and communities play in generating real wealth.
The overall process that has produced this shared faiths response is one that has included people from the Christian, Hindu, Islamic, Jain and Jewish traditions in addition to representatives of faith-based and inter-faith organisations. We hope that our modest efforts will be a small part of a much wider process of reflection and restructuring needed to genuinely respond to the issues raised by the credit crunch.
Initial results show the impact that a modest initiative such as this can have. The document was picked up by the Faith Engagement Team in the Department for Communities and Local Government and posted on the G20 London Summit site as part of the Faith Debate section. The full text of our ‘Shared Faiths response’ is also being published in the forthcoming edition of the ‘Faith in Business Quarterly,’ an article on the document has been prepared for the Three Faiths Forum newsletter, and the document has informed a consultation on the issue undertaken by the East of England Faiths Council.
Producing a common statement from a diverse group of people was a considerable challenge and FiLE undertook this project as an experiment to see to what extent there were shared statements that could be made by different faiths on these issues. We found much common ground and the ability to understand similar concepts expressed in differing phrases. The use that has been made to date of our document indicates the wider value of such shared approaches.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Beth Rowley - Beautiful Tomorrow.
Thursday, 23 April 2009
FiLE & G20 responses
Faith leaders have fed in their distinctive perspectives on the issues discussed by the recent G20, and outlined their possible contributions in forming a response to it.
Among those faith contributions appearing on the London Summit website is the 'Shared Faiths response to the Credit Crunch' prepared by FiLE. Click here to find the webpage for the Faith debate including the FiLE response and other faith-based contributions.
FiLE's 'Shared Response' will also feature in the next edition of the 'Faith in Business Quarterly'.
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Steve Earle, Gillian Welch, David Rawlings - Sin City.
Among those faith contributions appearing on the London Summit website is the 'Shared Faiths response to the Credit Crunch' prepared by FiLE. Click here to find the webpage for the Faith debate including the FiLE response and other faith-based contributions.
FiLE's 'Shared Response' will also feature in the next edition of the 'Faith in Business Quarterly'.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Steve Earle, Gillian Welch, David Rawlings - Sin City.
Saturday, 28 March 2009
Shared Faiths Response to the Credit Crunch (3)
Faiths in London’s Economy (FiLE) has facilitated a process for preparing a shared faiths response to the credit crunch which calls for: non-interest bearing transactions; mutual societies; business accountability to a wider range of stakeholders than shareholders alone; transparent and ethical business practices; and recognition of the role that artists and communities play in generating real wealth.
FiLE's 'Shared Faiths response to the Credit Crunch' can be read by clicking here.
The overall process that has produced this shared faiths response is one that has included people from the Christian, Hindu, Islamic, Jain and Jewish traditions in addition to representatives of faith-based and inter-faith organisations.
We hope that our modest efforts will be a small part of a much wider process of reflection and restructuring needed to genuinely respond to the issues raised by the credit crunch.
People of faith form a huge constituency, can motivate people to action and are also part of rooted communities which in some instances are beginning to plan for greater economic resilience.
As such, FiLE believes that people of faith should make their contribution to the current search for means of ameliorating the financial and environmental misery experienced around the world, in part because of the effects of the credit crunch.
Our wider hope is that London will lead in adaptations and changes to a restructuring of the global economy that will in future become focussed on a broader understanding of wealth than monetary gain and economic growth alone and do so in a way that maintains and develops it’s social, ethnic and faith diversity.
The 'Shared Faiths response to the Credit Crunch' originated in the ‘Ethics in a global economy’ seminar held at St Ethelberga’s Centre for Reconciliation and Peace and organised by FiLE in October 2008. A call for a shared faiths perspective on the credit crunch to be developed emerged clearly from the seminar and FiLE undertook to try to facilitate that process.
Two meetings to discuss a shared faiths response were held and two draft documents circulated to a group of interested people for comment. The overall process has included people from the Christian, Hindu, Islamic, Jain and Jewish traditions in addition to representatives of faith-based and inter-faith organisations. One organisation making specific contributions to the document was Green Equity.
FiLE aims to work with the range of faith communities across London in order to create coordinated faith-community responses to the issues facing London's economy.
As a new network, our first initiative has been to begin to map faith-based business organisations across London and to share the information we have found with others through listing faith-based business organisations and resources on our webpage at http://www.mile.org.uk/file.htm. As this listing grows, it will offer employers and employees a one-stop shop for faith-based business organisations and resources available in London.
Secondly, as part of raising awareness and removing misconceptions about faith-based business initiatives, we have begun a seminar series on faith and workplace issues. This series began by considering ‘Ethics in a global economy’ in a seminar held at the St Ethelburga’s Centre for Reconciliation and Peace on 29th October 2008.
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Stacie Orrico - (There's Gotta Be) More To Life.
FiLE's 'Shared Faiths response to the Credit Crunch' can be read by clicking here.
The overall process that has produced this shared faiths response is one that has included people from the Christian, Hindu, Islamic, Jain and Jewish traditions in addition to representatives of faith-based and inter-faith organisations.
We hope that our modest efforts will be a small part of a much wider process of reflection and restructuring needed to genuinely respond to the issues raised by the credit crunch.
People of faith form a huge constituency, can motivate people to action and are also part of rooted communities which in some instances are beginning to plan for greater economic resilience.
As such, FiLE believes that people of faith should make their contribution to the current search for means of ameliorating the financial and environmental misery experienced around the world, in part because of the effects of the credit crunch.
Our wider hope is that London will lead in adaptations and changes to a restructuring of the global economy that will in future become focussed on a broader understanding of wealth than monetary gain and economic growth alone and do so in a way that maintains and develops it’s social, ethnic and faith diversity.
The 'Shared Faiths response to the Credit Crunch' originated in the ‘Ethics in a global economy’ seminar held at St Ethelberga’s Centre for Reconciliation and Peace and organised by FiLE in October 2008. A call for a shared faiths perspective on the credit crunch to be developed emerged clearly from the seminar and FiLE undertook to try to facilitate that process.
Two meetings to discuss a shared faiths response were held and two draft documents circulated to a group of interested people for comment. The overall process has included people from the Christian, Hindu, Islamic, Jain and Jewish traditions in addition to representatives of faith-based and inter-faith organisations. One organisation making specific contributions to the document was Green Equity.
FiLE aims to work with the range of faith communities across London in order to create coordinated faith-community responses to the issues facing London's economy.
As a new network, our first initiative has been to begin to map faith-based business organisations across London and to share the information we have found with others through listing faith-based business organisations and resources on our webpage at http://www.mile.org.uk/file.htm. As this listing grows, it will offer employers and employees a one-stop shop for faith-based business organisations and resources available in London.
Secondly, as part of raising awareness and removing misconceptions about faith-based business initiatives, we have begun a seminar series on faith and workplace issues. This series began by considering ‘Ethics in a global economy’ in a seminar held at the St Ethelburga’s Centre for Reconciliation and Peace on 29th October 2008.
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Stacie Orrico - (There's Gotta Be) More To Life.
Monday, 16 March 2009
Prayer for a new global economy
This month's Take 5 from Micah Challenge is on April's G20 meeting in April:
"The G20 meets in London on 2nd April whilst we stand amidst the ruins of our global economy. The agreement reached between the heads of the 20 leading economies will begin to draw up a blueprint for a new global economy that will rise out of the rubble. At this crucial time, take action and pray with Christians around the world that our new global economy might be more squarely founded on the values of our creator God."
See my Faith & Finance post here to read Stephen Timms' hopes for this meeting.
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Nu Colours - What in the World.
"The G20 meets in London on 2nd April whilst we stand amidst the ruins of our global economy. The agreement reached between the heads of the 20 leading economies will begin to draw up a blueprint for a new global economy that will rise out of the rubble. At this crucial time, take action and pray with Christians around the world that our new global economy might be more squarely founded on the values of our creator God."
See my Faith & Finance post here to read Stephen Timms' hopes for this meeting.
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Nu Colours - What in the World.
Friday, 13 March 2009
We can't do this anymore!
Global Dashboard has flagged an article by Tom Friedman in which he says this:
"Let’s today step out of the normal boundaries of analysis of our economic crisis and ask a radical question: What if the crisis of 2008 represents something much more fundamental than a deep recession? What if it’s telling us that the whole growth model we created over the last 50 years is simply unsustainable economically and ecologically and that 2008 was when we hit the wall — when Mother Nature and the market both said: “No more.”
We have created a system for growth that depended on our building more and more stores to sell more and more stuff made in more and more factories in China, powered by more and more coal that would cause more and more climate change but earn China more and more dollars to buy more and more U.S. T-bills so America would have more and more money to build more and more stores and sell more and more stuff that would employ more and more Chinese ...
We can’t do this anymore."
They headline their post 'Thinking the unthinkable' but what he says seems pretty logical and obvious to me. It is also something that the 'Shared faiths response to the credit crunch' which FiLE is currently working on will also be saying.
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Athlete - Chances.
"Let’s today step out of the normal boundaries of analysis of our economic crisis and ask a radical question: What if the crisis of 2008 represents something much more fundamental than a deep recession? What if it’s telling us that the whole growth model we created over the last 50 years is simply unsustainable economically and ecologically and that 2008 was when we hit the wall — when Mother Nature and the market both said: “No more.”
We have created a system for growth that depended on our building more and more stores to sell more and more stuff made in more and more factories in China, powered by more and more coal that would cause more and more climate change but earn China more and more dollars to buy more and more U.S. T-bills so America would have more and more money to build more and more stores and sell more and more stuff that would employ more and more Chinese ...
We can’t do this anymore."
They headline their post 'Thinking the unthinkable' but what he says seems pretty logical and obvious to me. It is also something that the 'Shared faiths response to the credit crunch' which FiLE is currently working on will also be saying.
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Athlete - Chances.
Saturday, 28 February 2009
Faith & Finance
Earlier this week I was at the Faith & Finance event organised by the Christian Muslim Forum at St Ethelburga's Centre for Reconciliation and Peace. It was interesting primarily for the speakers as opposed to being an event at which there was a great deal of opportunity for input to the issue. I was there together with Dr. Husna Ahmad representing FiLE and circulating copies of our draft 'Shared faiths response to the credit crunch.'
The main speakers were Sadiq Khan, Stephen Timms and the Archbishop of Canterbury. Sadiq Khan emphasised the importance of the faiths voices being heard and said that global challenges need global responses which meant that all groups need to be able to contribute. He highlighted the value of generosity in faith traditions and the sense of security that faith communities provide for their adherents.
Stephen Timms repeated the mantra that international problems need international solutions and suggested that a new collaborative approach to tackling social and environmental challenges could be shaped by civil and religious society. He spoke of this as a Global New Deal involving: sustainable recovery through fairness, stability, growth and jobs; action to stimulate global demand; new regulatory structures; action to address tax evasion; and reform of the IMF and World Bank. The G20 meeting later this year which wil be hosted by the UK provides and opportunity to begin addressing this agenda.
Rowan Williams answered questions from delegates before making three points about principles and values. First was the importance of keeping promises based on our belief in a faithful divinity. Faithfulness and trustworthiness are fundamental. Second was the idea of the world as gift; that we are living in a world that does not belong to us. As a result, our desires do not define what is good, the material world is to be respected and the world is not wholly under our control. The earth is the Lord's. Finally, the idea that what is good for us is to do with connection. My flourishing and yours belong together. Individualism undermines ethics.
The value of the meeting was not solely in its keynote speakers. Alex Cobham from Christian Aid highlighted the way in which money is taken from developing economies for shareholders in the developed world through the use of tax havens by businesses. £160bn is lost to the developing world annually through tax evasion. Mohammed Amin suggested that we need a better understanding of the reasons why people into debt in order to challenge such behaviour. John Madely spoke about the theology of 'enough' suggesting that we have been addicted to growth and need to learn to live within the limits of available resources. He spoke about 'shalom' as the harmony of a caring community informed at every point by God. Faizal Manjoo contrasted Islamic law with Roman law and said that three key factors in the credit crunch - contracts, high interest and gambling - were forbidden in Islamic law. Finally, Mark Speeks proposed that covenantal theology could provide a relational basis for just or moral banking.
A Church Times report on the event can also be found by clicking here.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Beatles - Taxman.
The main speakers were Sadiq Khan, Stephen Timms and the Archbishop of Canterbury. Sadiq Khan emphasised the importance of the faiths voices being heard and said that global challenges need global responses which meant that all groups need to be able to contribute. He highlighted the value of generosity in faith traditions and the sense of security that faith communities provide for their adherents.
Stephen Timms repeated the mantra that international problems need international solutions and suggested that a new collaborative approach to tackling social and environmental challenges could be shaped by civil and religious society. He spoke of this as a Global New Deal involving: sustainable recovery through fairness, stability, growth and jobs; action to stimulate global demand; new regulatory structures; action to address tax evasion; and reform of the IMF and World Bank. The G20 meeting later this year which wil be hosted by the UK provides and opportunity to begin addressing this agenda.
Rowan Williams answered questions from delegates before making three points about principles and values. First was the importance of keeping promises based on our belief in a faithful divinity. Faithfulness and trustworthiness are fundamental. Second was the idea of the world as gift; that we are living in a world that does not belong to us. As a result, our desires do not define what is good, the material world is to be respected and the world is not wholly under our control. The earth is the Lord's. Finally, the idea that what is good for us is to do with connection. My flourishing and yours belong together. Individualism undermines ethics.
The value of the meeting was not solely in its keynote speakers. Alex Cobham from Christian Aid highlighted the way in which money is taken from developing economies for shareholders in the developed world through the use of tax havens by businesses. £160bn is lost to the developing world annually through tax evasion. Mohammed Amin suggested that we need a better understanding of the reasons why people into debt in order to challenge such behaviour. John Madely spoke about the theology of 'enough' suggesting that we have been addicted to growth and need to learn to live within the limits of available resources. He spoke about 'shalom' as the harmony of a caring community informed at every point by God. Faizal Manjoo contrasted Islamic law with Roman law and said that three key factors in the credit crunch - contracts, high interest and gambling - were forbidden in Islamic law. Finally, Mark Speeks proposed that covenantal theology could provide a relational basis for just or moral banking.
A Church Times report on the event can also be found by clicking here.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Beatles - Taxman.
Thursday, 5 February 2009
Developing a shared faiths response to the credit crunch (2)
This draft document originated in the ‘Ethics in a global economy’ seminar held at St Ethelberga’s Centre for Reconciliation and Peace and organised by FiLE in October 2008. A call for a shared faiths perspective on the credit crunch to be developed emerged clearly from the seminar and FiLE undertook to try to facilitate that process.
Two meetings to discuss a shared faiths response have been held and a wider group of faith representatives (including people from the Christian, Hindu, Islamic, Jain and Jewish traditions) have commented on the document as it has developed.
The document is now in its final stage of development and we are asking for final comments and an indication from all those who have been part of the process as to whether they are content that it represents a shared faiths response. Comments on the document and indications of support or lack of support should be sent to jonathan.evens@btinternet.com.
1. Wealth means more than money
‘Wealth’ is all that human beings receive from others and from the world in which we live. So, shelter, clothing, our abilities, social institutions, our cultures, the Arts, our relationships, the environment are all ‘wealth.’ In most faith traditions, these are seen as divine gifts.
The creativity of human beings means that we develop means by which we utilise and distribute wealth. Money is one such means of wealth utilization and distribution, among many others (such as education or manufacturing), and becomes problematic when pursued in isolation from other means of utilization and distribution. One factor in the current crisis is that money has been treated as wealth and the value of money separated from any tangible reality. Derivative trading is, for example, trading not just in intangibles but in the reflection of intangibles and then reckoning wealth in those terms.
One small example of the broader understanding of wealth that we advocate is that surveys of Londoner’s levels of happiness consistently show that a characteristic of boroughs where Londoners experience the highest levels of happiness are those with an inbuilt lung of creation in the form of the river and parks. Epping Forest has traditionally operated in this way for Eastenders while we also note that those who are financially rich tend to spend their money on art and culture. It may be that, as a result, we should measure Gross National Happiness like Bhutan; a country where this measure signals an attempt to build an economy based on spiritual (in this case, Buddhist) values.
2. The value of work
Work is valued in most faith traditions, even to the extent that in some human beings are seen as co-creators with the divine. The work ethic is seen as a noble endeavour in many faith traditions e.g. Sufi’s divide the day into work, worship and rest.
Hard work and creativity are valuable but are they always appropriately directed? We need to differentiate between the value of the work ethic and appropriate kinds of work. Not all work is appropriate or ethical therefore the value of the work ethic and of human creativity can be dissipated in work that is inappropriate or unethical.
Practices such as profiting from the process of charging and paying interest and lending what you don’t have which have been exposed by the credit crunch would seem to fall into this latter category. We should value productive work but are often divorced from the fruits of our labours.
We all tend to assume that paid employment is the natural means for gaining wealth but, as people of faith, we consider that this assumption disconnects us from divine or natural generosity. Society needs work done and a financial incentive is one way to get it done, but that doesn’t mean that work should be the only or main source of the wealth that we need. The credit crunch may provide an opportunity to consider alternative options, such as a Citizen’s Income.
3. Concerns about credit
The Hebrew Scriptures forbid charging interest to a fellow Jew while the Qur’an forbids charging interest and encourages trade and trade-type banking arrangements. Instead of credit-based banking systems, we commend trade-type banking and the approach of mutual building societies and credit unions. We need banks for current and savings accounts and for business loans, we need building societies (preferably mutual ones), and we need insurance (a legitimate pooling of risks); but the rest, we really don’t need and it should be shut down.
4. Structures of greed
Western economies have been inflated through greed, with their economic make-up being based on self-centred acquisition. Economic and political systems tend to be based on immediate profitability not long-term benefits. As a result, much of what we do makes no logical sense. Why, for example, do we sacrifice quality time by working hard in order to have quality time while on holiday or why do we drive to a gym in order to get on a walking machine?
Concerns regarding our economic systems are also to do with transparency. Many faiths reflect on light and dark and how bad things happen in the dark where actions can be hidden. Much of what has brought about the credit crunch has been hidden from view and from scrutiny. Transactions have been divorced from human interaction and have therefore been unregulated. Banking practices have taken place ‘in the dark’ hidden by technicalities. In the light of public scrutiny these practices have been found wanting. This is not about scapegoating but about the need for transparent practices.
5. The god of growth
Western economies have been predicated on unlimited growth and this has caused harm to the environment. Developing countries are using the same model. Many natural, God given resources are running out because we have exploited that which we have been given instead of stewarding and sharing them. The argument about whether oil and gas supplies have peaked or not remains unresolved but we are certainly running out. The failure of those two resources would impact on every aspect of our lives and would produce far greater misery that the 'credit crunch', as will climate change. We can’t ignore these wider issues most especially that of climate change.
6. Loss of relationships
There is a breakdown in the relational aspects of the economy. Exchanges are occurring in virtual space, trust is being lost and we need to return to our roots in relationships. Practices such as profiting from the process of charging and paying interest and lending what you don’t have led to banks no longer trusting each other and no longer lending to one another. In the past, there was a degree of trust in the markets summed up in the phrase ‘my word in my bond.’ It is important to work together in cooperation. There are also social consequences in terms of social cohesion arising from the credit crunch.
7. Support for developing economies
We should look for methods of ameliorating the financial/environmental misery that continues and develops around the world. Developing countries are using the same model of economic growth as the West despite the harm that it has caused to the environment. Economies throughout the world need rebalancing in the direction of wealth creation: education; the care of the vulnerable; manufacturing, creative and cultural industries; renewable energy; and agriculture.
8. Time for reflection and restructuring
There can be a sense of hope in this crisis; the credit crunch can be seen a watershed opportunity and not a catastrophe. A year ago people weren’t having the kind of conversations we are having today; that, in itself, is a positive change. Perception is vital in what is understood as being economically viable.
Some faiths, but by no means all, understand periods of suffering as part of a developmental process. We need to reflect on our experience of suffering and look for causes (i.e. underlying economic fundamentals). There may be natural causes but these may also have personal implications to which we will need to respond. Reflection and action go together. For example, a recent survey found that 25% of respondents are praying or meditating more as a result of the credit crunch.
Not all faith communities think that suffering is ennobling and there can be a polarization around concrete political change versus inner personal change. Both are needed in dialogue, both are on the same spectrum of responses.
We need to reflect on the values that we share. The economy has spiralled a long way from real valuations. We need to link personal, moral and spiritual values with economic values.
It may be that we are at a point in time (like that at the end of the Second World War which led to the development of the UN and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights) which will produce new structures for society. For example, the free market has been shown to be unable to provide its own banks without these being propped up by Government funds. We may be in a moment in time when recession, the credit crunch and the ecological crisis are combining to bring about profound shifts in the global economy.
If we are looking at a restructuring of the global economy, then we could see the economy rebuilt in terms of a broader understanding of wealth with new kinds of jobs (i.e. renewable energies, creative industries, and community empowerment) forming its foundation. Such a restructuring could also provide space for addressing the ecological crisis. Ecology cannot be divorced from economics. For example, the costs of extraction and replacement of the world’s natural resources has in the past been excluded from company accounts but its inclusion would provide a very different picture of the effects of the global economy on the environment.
9. Constituencies for action
People of faith form a huge constituency and can motivate people to action. People of faith are also part of rooted communities (e.g. local authority areas) which in some instances are beginning to plan for greater economic resilience. People of faith need to be party to these debates and summits. We have allowed those in power to use the argument that faith is essentially private and not public. The consequence has been that our views are marginalised. This paper is one small means of reclaiming that public dimension for our faiths.
There is no quick fix but, together, we have a vast constituency, one large enough to start sowing seeds of change. We should look for methods of ameliorating the financial/environmental misery that continues and develops, around the world. A proactive assertion is needed from faith communities to argue for non-interest bearing transactions, mutual societies not shareholders, and recognition of the role that artists and communities play in generating real wealth. All faiths offer ways of being that are conducive to human flourishing.
10. London, a melting-pot for change?
London has developed as the ultimate world city - in part because of the widespread use of the English language and our location between the New York, Middle East and Far East stockmarkets, especially Hong Kong and Tokyo – and this is something to be valued and celebrated. London’s position has been as the financial capital of the world. Market forces and financial institutions are at the heart of London’s economy and it is the market that is London which has given the city its social, ethnic and faith diversity. How will this change as a result of economic restructuring? Will London adapt and will it maintain its inclusivity as it does so?
Our hope is that London will adapt and change to a restructuring of the global economy that is focussed on a broader understanding of wealth than money gain and economic growth alone and do so in a way that maintains and develops it’s social, ethnic and faith diversity.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Clash - London Calling.
Two meetings to discuss a shared faiths response have been held and a wider group of faith representatives (including people from the Christian, Hindu, Islamic, Jain and Jewish traditions) have commented on the document as it has developed.
The document is now in its final stage of development and we are asking for final comments and an indication from all those who have been part of the process as to whether they are content that it represents a shared faiths response. Comments on the document and indications of support or lack of support should be sent to jonathan.evens@btinternet.com.
1. Wealth means more than money
‘Wealth’ is all that human beings receive from others and from the world in which we live. So, shelter, clothing, our abilities, social institutions, our cultures, the Arts, our relationships, the environment are all ‘wealth.’ In most faith traditions, these are seen as divine gifts.
The creativity of human beings means that we develop means by which we utilise and distribute wealth. Money is one such means of wealth utilization and distribution, among many others (such as education or manufacturing), and becomes problematic when pursued in isolation from other means of utilization and distribution. One factor in the current crisis is that money has been treated as wealth and the value of money separated from any tangible reality. Derivative trading is, for example, trading not just in intangibles but in the reflection of intangibles and then reckoning wealth in those terms.
One small example of the broader understanding of wealth that we advocate is that surveys of Londoner’s levels of happiness consistently show that a characteristic of boroughs where Londoners experience the highest levels of happiness are those with an inbuilt lung of creation in the form of the river and parks. Epping Forest has traditionally operated in this way for Eastenders while we also note that those who are financially rich tend to spend their money on art and culture. It may be that, as a result, we should measure Gross National Happiness like Bhutan; a country where this measure signals an attempt to build an economy based on spiritual (in this case, Buddhist) values.
2. The value of work
Work is valued in most faith traditions, even to the extent that in some human beings are seen as co-creators with the divine. The work ethic is seen as a noble endeavour in many faith traditions e.g. Sufi’s divide the day into work, worship and rest.
Hard work and creativity are valuable but are they always appropriately directed? We need to differentiate between the value of the work ethic and appropriate kinds of work. Not all work is appropriate or ethical therefore the value of the work ethic and of human creativity can be dissipated in work that is inappropriate or unethical.
Practices such as profiting from the process of charging and paying interest and lending what you don’t have which have been exposed by the credit crunch would seem to fall into this latter category. We should value productive work but are often divorced from the fruits of our labours.
We all tend to assume that paid employment is the natural means for gaining wealth but, as people of faith, we consider that this assumption disconnects us from divine or natural generosity. Society needs work done and a financial incentive is one way to get it done, but that doesn’t mean that work should be the only or main source of the wealth that we need. The credit crunch may provide an opportunity to consider alternative options, such as a Citizen’s Income.
3. Concerns about credit
The Hebrew Scriptures forbid charging interest to a fellow Jew while the Qur’an forbids charging interest and encourages trade and trade-type banking arrangements. Instead of credit-based banking systems, we commend trade-type banking and the approach of mutual building societies and credit unions. We need banks for current and savings accounts and for business loans, we need building societies (preferably mutual ones), and we need insurance (a legitimate pooling of risks); but the rest, we really don’t need and it should be shut down.
4. Structures of greed
Western economies have been inflated through greed, with their economic make-up being based on self-centred acquisition. Economic and political systems tend to be based on immediate profitability not long-term benefits. As a result, much of what we do makes no logical sense. Why, for example, do we sacrifice quality time by working hard in order to have quality time while on holiday or why do we drive to a gym in order to get on a walking machine?
Concerns regarding our economic systems are also to do with transparency. Many faiths reflect on light and dark and how bad things happen in the dark where actions can be hidden. Much of what has brought about the credit crunch has been hidden from view and from scrutiny. Transactions have been divorced from human interaction and have therefore been unregulated. Banking practices have taken place ‘in the dark’ hidden by technicalities. In the light of public scrutiny these practices have been found wanting. This is not about scapegoating but about the need for transparent practices.
5. The god of growth
Western economies have been predicated on unlimited growth and this has caused harm to the environment. Developing countries are using the same model. Many natural, God given resources are running out because we have exploited that which we have been given instead of stewarding and sharing them. The argument about whether oil and gas supplies have peaked or not remains unresolved but we are certainly running out. The failure of those two resources would impact on every aspect of our lives and would produce far greater misery that the 'credit crunch', as will climate change. We can’t ignore these wider issues most especially that of climate change.
6. Loss of relationships
There is a breakdown in the relational aspects of the economy. Exchanges are occurring in virtual space, trust is being lost and we need to return to our roots in relationships. Practices such as profiting from the process of charging and paying interest and lending what you don’t have led to banks no longer trusting each other and no longer lending to one another. In the past, there was a degree of trust in the markets summed up in the phrase ‘my word in my bond.’ It is important to work together in cooperation. There are also social consequences in terms of social cohesion arising from the credit crunch.
7. Support for developing economies
We should look for methods of ameliorating the financial/environmental misery that continues and develops around the world. Developing countries are using the same model of economic growth as the West despite the harm that it has caused to the environment. Economies throughout the world need rebalancing in the direction of wealth creation: education; the care of the vulnerable; manufacturing, creative and cultural industries; renewable energy; and agriculture.
8. Time for reflection and restructuring
There can be a sense of hope in this crisis; the credit crunch can be seen a watershed opportunity and not a catastrophe. A year ago people weren’t having the kind of conversations we are having today; that, in itself, is a positive change. Perception is vital in what is understood as being economically viable.
Some faiths, but by no means all, understand periods of suffering as part of a developmental process. We need to reflect on our experience of suffering and look for causes (i.e. underlying economic fundamentals). There may be natural causes but these may also have personal implications to which we will need to respond. Reflection and action go together. For example, a recent survey found that 25% of respondents are praying or meditating more as a result of the credit crunch.
Not all faith communities think that suffering is ennobling and there can be a polarization around concrete political change versus inner personal change. Both are needed in dialogue, both are on the same spectrum of responses.
We need to reflect on the values that we share. The economy has spiralled a long way from real valuations. We need to link personal, moral and spiritual values with economic values.
It may be that we are at a point in time (like that at the end of the Second World War which led to the development of the UN and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights) which will produce new structures for society. For example, the free market has been shown to be unable to provide its own banks without these being propped up by Government funds. We may be in a moment in time when recession, the credit crunch and the ecological crisis are combining to bring about profound shifts in the global economy.
If we are looking at a restructuring of the global economy, then we could see the economy rebuilt in terms of a broader understanding of wealth with new kinds of jobs (i.e. renewable energies, creative industries, and community empowerment) forming its foundation. Such a restructuring could also provide space for addressing the ecological crisis. Ecology cannot be divorced from economics. For example, the costs of extraction and replacement of the world’s natural resources has in the past been excluded from company accounts but its inclusion would provide a very different picture of the effects of the global economy on the environment.
9. Constituencies for action
People of faith form a huge constituency and can motivate people to action. People of faith are also part of rooted communities (e.g. local authority areas) which in some instances are beginning to plan for greater economic resilience. People of faith need to be party to these debates and summits. We have allowed those in power to use the argument that faith is essentially private and not public. The consequence has been that our views are marginalised. This paper is one small means of reclaiming that public dimension for our faiths.
There is no quick fix but, together, we have a vast constituency, one large enough to start sowing seeds of change. We should look for methods of ameliorating the financial/environmental misery that continues and develops, around the world. A proactive assertion is needed from faith communities to argue for non-interest bearing transactions, mutual societies not shareholders, and recognition of the role that artists and communities play in generating real wealth. All faiths offer ways of being that are conducive to human flourishing.
10. London, a melting-pot for change?
London has developed as the ultimate world city - in part because of the widespread use of the English language and our location between the New York, Middle East and Far East stockmarkets, especially Hong Kong and Tokyo – and this is something to be valued and celebrated. London’s position has been as the financial capital of the world. Market forces and financial institutions are at the heart of London’s economy and it is the market that is London which has given the city its social, ethnic and faith diversity. How will this change as a result of economic restructuring? Will London adapt and will it maintain its inclusivity as it does so?
Our hope is that London will adapt and change to a restructuring of the global economy that is focussed on a broader understanding of wealth than money gain and economic growth alone and do so in a way that maintains and develops it’s social, ethnic and faith diversity.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Clash - London Calling.
Friday, 16 January 2009
The Black Rain (4)
The following, which is taken from 'Signs of hope and some positive proposals in the global financial crisis' by Rev. Robert Morrison and which I understand to have been issued by the Christian Association of Business Executives (CABE), has some interesting resonances with my earlier posts in this series; here, here and here:
"There is a great difference between our times and the great civilisations of the past. Economic cause and effect is now linked at the speed of fibre optics, fuelling feedback loops of spin and commentary, not least in the hothouse of 24 hour media expectations. They are constantly turning bad news into head lines news and that just undermines confidence across the globe. It creates a profound sense of despair and despondency or just denial and disbelief. But there is no point in pretending it’s not as bad as it really is. It would be unethical for governments to cover up the truth and no one wants to live in a dictatorship like contemporary Zimbabwe or Stalinism, where the truth is constantly denied and the press controlled or suppressed. But even in a free press environment, news is a commodity that makes some people rich and others poorer. The commodity of information is owned by someone and serves their ends and self interest. This is not conspiracy theory, but a fact. Public watchdogs are needed to challenge the distortion and exaggeration of particular stories or just lazy journalism which uses the defence that good news doesn’t sell newspapers. What kind of society would not want to report and celebrate good news and success as an encouragement to others and to rejoice the heart? What kind of journalist is incapable of turning good news stories into commercial successes?"
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Delirious? - Kingdom Of Comfort.
"There is a great difference between our times and the great civilisations of the past. Economic cause and effect is now linked at the speed of fibre optics, fuelling feedback loops of spin and commentary, not least in the hothouse of 24 hour media expectations. They are constantly turning bad news into head lines news and that just undermines confidence across the globe. It creates a profound sense of despair and despondency or just denial and disbelief. But there is no point in pretending it’s not as bad as it really is. It would be unethical for governments to cover up the truth and no one wants to live in a dictatorship like contemporary Zimbabwe or Stalinism, where the truth is constantly denied and the press controlled or suppressed. But even in a free press environment, news is a commodity that makes some people rich and others poorer. The commodity of information is owned by someone and serves their ends and self interest. This is not conspiracy theory, but a fact. Public watchdogs are needed to challenge the distortion and exaggeration of particular stories or just lazy journalism which uses the defence that good news doesn’t sell newspapers. What kind of society would not want to report and celebrate good news and success as an encouragement to others and to rejoice the heart? What kind of journalist is incapable of turning good news stories into commercial successes?"
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Delirious? - Kingdom Of Comfort.
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