Ruth Gledhill, the religious correspondent for The Times is compiling photos of the British Church doing its Benedectine duty with grace by offering the hospitality of dioceses around the UK to visiting bishops.
Two photos from Bishop Isingoma's visit to St John's have been included in her compilation of photos and these can be seen by clicking here.
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Sounds Of Blackness - Hold On (Change Is Comin').
Tuesday, 15 July 2008
Lambeth's Cartoonist in residence
For those interested in keeping up with the various goings on at the Lambeth Conference (both serious and humourous) then Dave Walker's Church Times blog promises to be a good way of keeping up with what is going down.He'll be at Canterbury in his 'Cartoonist in residence' role which will commence on Wednesday and plans to post a Lambeth Diary the blog - the conference as seen from his special drawing tent.
His most recent blog includes reactions and responses to Gene Robinson's sermon last Sunday plus a link to a video of the sermon in full.
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Leonard Cohen - Bird On A Wire.
Monday, 14 July 2008
Windows on the world (8)
Chelmsford, 2008
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Larry Norman - Weight Of The World.
Sunday, 13 July 2008
A plausible plausibility structure (2)
One of the reasons why Darwin’s hypothesis, in particular, seemed so conclusive in its destruction of the argument from design was that it was a scientific hypothesis and science was to become, in the West, modernity’s replacement for religion - its meta-narrative. Western thought and society came to develop a split between public ‘facts’ and private ‘values’ based on the scientific methodology of experiment through observation and measurement. Modernist Western cultures have assumed that statements of what we have called ‘facts’ are either true or false and that, “[w]e argue, experiment, carry out tests, and compare results, until we finally agree on what the facts are: … [then] we expect all reasonable people to accept them”.
We can see this in the language that is used to describe the impact of Darwin’s hypothesis. For example, Southgate argues that, “It refuted, virtually at a stroke, the notion that creatures had been individually designed by God, and hence any suggestion that one could argue directly from the ingenuity of their design, or the exquisite nature of their adaptation to their environment, to point to the existence or the ingenuity of such a Being”. To use phrases such as “refuted, virtually at a stroke” and “any suggestion” of a hypothesis suggests that the hypothesis is not being understood as a possible explanation among many but as the explanation and, therefore, a fact.
What this distinction between ‘facts’ and ‘values’ masks is the extent to which scientific knowledge (as indeed all knowledge) is faith knowledge. Scientific methodology is based on assumptions that cannot be examined scientifically, reflects the perspective of the observer in experiment and observation and utilises metaphor and worldview in creating hypotheses. In this respect, Lesslie Newbigin highlights the work of Michael Polyani who argues that “the time has come for a shift in the balance between faith and doubt in the whole enterprise of understanding, a recognition that doubt – though always an essential ingredient – is always secondary and that faith is fundamental. His book [Personal Knowledge, 1958] is a massive attempt to demonstrate that all knowledge of reality rests upon faith commitments which cannot be demonstrated but are held by communities whose “conviviality” is a necessary factor in the enterprise of knowing”.
These faith commitments form ‘plausibility structures’ or ‘worldviews’ and it is on the basis of these structures that we now, in a post-modern world, can speak of knowledge. As a result, I wish to consider the argument from design within a completely different frame of reference. To no longer talk in terms of a self-contained ‘proof’ of God’s existence or non-existence on the basis of design or chance, as scientists and theologians from the 17th to the 20th centuries have tended to do. Instead, to talk in terms of ‘plausibility’. To do so means, to no longer content ourselves with particular, isolated aspects of knowledge but with a wider, more unitive, structure of knowledge or view of the world.
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Extreme - Stop The World.
We can see this in the language that is used to describe the impact of Darwin’s hypothesis. For example, Southgate argues that, “It refuted, virtually at a stroke, the notion that creatures had been individually designed by God, and hence any suggestion that one could argue directly from the ingenuity of their design, or the exquisite nature of their adaptation to their environment, to point to the existence or the ingenuity of such a Being”. To use phrases such as “refuted, virtually at a stroke” and “any suggestion” of a hypothesis suggests that the hypothesis is not being understood as a possible explanation among many but as the explanation and, therefore, a fact.
What this distinction between ‘facts’ and ‘values’ masks is the extent to which scientific knowledge (as indeed all knowledge) is faith knowledge. Scientific methodology is based on assumptions that cannot be examined scientifically, reflects the perspective of the observer in experiment and observation and utilises metaphor and worldview in creating hypotheses. In this respect, Lesslie Newbigin highlights the work of Michael Polyani who argues that “the time has come for a shift in the balance between faith and doubt in the whole enterprise of understanding, a recognition that doubt – though always an essential ingredient – is always secondary and that faith is fundamental. His book [Personal Knowledge, 1958] is a massive attempt to demonstrate that all knowledge of reality rests upon faith commitments which cannot be demonstrated but are held by communities whose “conviviality” is a necessary factor in the enterprise of knowing”.
These faith commitments form ‘plausibility structures’ or ‘worldviews’ and it is on the basis of these structures that we now, in a post-modern world, can speak of knowledge. As a result, I wish to consider the argument from design within a completely different frame of reference. To no longer talk in terms of a self-contained ‘proof’ of God’s existence or non-existence on the basis of design or chance, as scientists and theologians from the 17th to the 20th centuries have tended to do. Instead, to talk in terms of ‘plausibility’. To do so means, to no longer content ourselves with particular, isolated aspects of knowledge but with a wider, more unitive, structure of knowledge or view of the world.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Extreme - Stop The World.
Pictures of Salvation
In our first two 'Going Deeper' evening services at St John's, where we have a more in-depth talk or presentation combined with discussion and questions and set within the context of worship, we have used paintings from different periods of church history to unpack different models for understanding the atonement.
The paintings we have considered ranged from a mosaic found in the Archiepiscopal Chapel in Ravenna of Christ stands on a Lion and a Serpent to Marc Chagall's White Crucifixion. The paintings have helped us consider the Christus Victor, Satisfaction, Moral Influence, Penal Substitution, Crucified God, Reconciliation and Scapegoat models.
The upshot has been to realise that the Bible uses many different images to describe what Jesus achieved for us through his death and resurrection. As a result, the salvation that Jesus has brought to us has a depth and a multiplicity of meanings and we can revel in, savour and explore the whole range of meanings that this one pivotal act can have for each one of us.
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Tribe of Judah - Suffering Servant.
The paintings we have considered ranged from a mosaic found in the Archiepiscopal Chapel in Ravenna of Christ stands on a Lion and a Serpent to Marc Chagall's White Crucifixion. The paintings have helped us consider the Christus Victor, Satisfaction, Moral Influence, Penal Substitution, Crucified God, Reconciliation and Scapegoat models.
The upshot has been to realise that the Bible uses many different images to describe what Jesus achieved for us through his death and resurrection. As a result, the salvation that Jesus has brought to us has a depth and a multiplicity of meanings and we can revel in, savour and explore the whole range of meanings that this one pivotal act can have for each one of us.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tribe of Judah - Suffering Servant.
Parable of the Sower
There is something strange about this very familiar parable (Matthew 13. 1-9, 18-23); something that does not make sense from the point of view of an efficient farmer. Jesus says in the verses between those used for today's Gospel reading that the parables, the stories he tells, are not easy to understand and there is an aspect of this parable that doesn’t seem to make sense from a farming point of view.
What I am thinking of is the indiscriminate nature of the way the sower sows the seed. The sower scatters the seed on the path, on the rocky ground and among the thorn bushes, as well as in the good soil. Any farmer would know that the seed falling on the path, on the rocky ground and among the thorn bushes is going to be wasted because it is not going to grow well and yet the sower goes ahead regardless. What sort of farmer wastes two-thirds of the seed like that?
Was it because the sower was uninformed about the principles of farming or unconcerned about the harvest? Perhaps, instead, the actions of the sower are telling us something significant about the nature of God.
The seed was sown indiscriminately, even recklessly. Those places that were known to be poor places for seed to grow were nevertheless given the opportunity for seeds to take root. Doesn’t this suggest to us the indiscriminate and reckless nature of God’s love for all? The seed is the Word of the Kingdom and the Word, John’s Gospel tells us is Jesus himself.
So Jesus himself, this parable, seems to suggest is being scattered throughout the world (perhaps in and through the Body of Christ, the Church). Some parts of the Body of Christ find themselves in areas like the path where the seed seems to be snatched away almost as soon as it is sown. That may seem a little like our experience in a culture where people seem resistant towards Christian faith and the media revel in sensationalising the debates that go on within the Church.
Other parts of the Body of Christ are in areas like the rocky ground where it is hard for the seed to take root and grow. We might about situations around the world where Christians experience persecution or where the sharing of Christian faith is illegal. Last weekend at St John's we were visited by a Congolese Bishop, Bishop Isingoma, the Bishop of Boga, who has lived through the war years in the Democratic Republic of Congo. His experience has been one of ministering in a situation of great trouble and trauma.
Other parts of the Body of Christ are amongst the thorn bushes where the worries of this life and the love of riches choke the seed. Again, we might think about our situation and the way in which our wealthy, consumerist society makes people apathetic towards Christian faith.
Finally, there is the good soil where the seed grows well and the yield can be as much as a hundred fold. Again, there are parts of the Body of Christ who find themselves in good soil. That is the current experience of Bishop Isingoma and his colleagues in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Recently, he confirmed 220 people at a church in Mafifi, which was originally built through the financial support of St John’s. Three months earlier he had confirmed 140 at that same church. The Anglican Church in the Democratic Republic of Congo is seeing significant numerical growth as is the Christian faith in many parts of the world outside of the West.
We can rejoice in that growth, although it is not an experience we currently share in the UK, and can support its continued growth through our mission giving and partnerships. We should not be discouraged because that kind of growth is not our current experience in the UK. Growth does still occur even when we are on the path or the rocky ground or among the thorn bushes. We can look forward to the Confirmation Service in October for our cluster of churches, which this year St John’s will host, and see that in each of our churches people have come to faith and grown in faith. Seeds have taken root even in the hard ground that is our current experience here in the UK.
This happens because God’s love is indiscrimate wanting all to have the opportunity to receive the seed of his Word. He sows Jesus, the Body of Christ, into the poor soil as well as the good soil knowing that some seed will not grow or be as fruitful but wanting all to have the opportunity to receive the seed of his Word.
He knows too that ground which at one time was perhaps rocky ground, as in the Democratic Republic of Congo during the war years, can become good soil in which spectacular growth can occur, as is now the case in the Congo. In this country we need to pray that our culture which currently feels like the path or the thorn bushes will in time also become good soil once again and, in the meantime, celebrate that growth that does occur on the path and among the thorn bushes.
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Neal Morse - We All Need Some Light.
What I am thinking of is the indiscriminate nature of the way the sower sows the seed. The sower scatters the seed on the path, on the rocky ground and among the thorn bushes, as well as in the good soil. Any farmer would know that the seed falling on the path, on the rocky ground and among the thorn bushes is going to be wasted because it is not going to grow well and yet the sower goes ahead regardless. What sort of farmer wastes two-thirds of the seed like that?
Was it because the sower was uninformed about the principles of farming or unconcerned about the harvest? Perhaps, instead, the actions of the sower are telling us something significant about the nature of God.
The seed was sown indiscriminately, even recklessly. Those places that were known to be poor places for seed to grow were nevertheless given the opportunity for seeds to take root. Doesn’t this suggest to us the indiscriminate and reckless nature of God’s love for all? The seed is the Word of the Kingdom and the Word, John’s Gospel tells us is Jesus himself.
So Jesus himself, this parable, seems to suggest is being scattered throughout the world (perhaps in and through the Body of Christ, the Church). Some parts of the Body of Christ find themselves in areas like the path where the seed seems to be snatched away almost as soon as it is sown. That may seem a little like our experience in a culture where people seem resistant towards Christian faith and the media revel in sensationalising the debates that go on within the Church.
Other parts of the Body of Christ are in areas like the rocky ground where it is hard for the seed to take root and grow. We might about situations around the world where Christians experience persecution or where the sharing of Christian faith is illegal. Last weekend at St John's we were visited by a Congolese Bishop, Bishop Isingoma, the Bishop of Boga, who has lived through the war years in the Democratic Republic of Congo. His experience has been one of ministering in a situation of great trouble and trauma.
Other parts of the Body of Christ are amongst the thorn bushes where the worries of this life and the love of riches choke the seed. Again, we might think about our situation and the way in which our wealthy, consumerist society makes people apathetic towards Christian faith.
Finally, there is the good soil where the seed grows well and the yield can be as much as a hundred fold. Again, there are parts of the Body of Christ who find themselves in good soil. That is the current experience of Bishop Isingoma and his colleagues in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Recently, he confirmed 220 people at a church in Mafifi, which was originally built through the financial support of St John’s. Three months earlier he had confirmed 140 at that same church. The Anglican Church in the Democratic Republic of Congo is seeing significant numerical growth as is the Christian faith in many parts of the world outside of the West.
We can rejoice in that growth, although it is not an experience we currently share in the UK, and can support its continued growth through our mission giving and partnerships. We should not be discouraged because that kind of growth is not our current experience in the UK. Growth does still occur even when we are on the path or the rocky ground or among the thorn bushes. We can look forward to the Confirmation Service in October for our cluster of churches, which this year St John’s will host, and see that in each of our churches people have come to faith and grown in faith. Seeds have taken root even in the hard ground that is our current experience here in the UK.
This happens because God’s love is indiscrimate wanting all to have the opportunity to receive the seed of his Word. He sows Jesus, the Body of Christ, into the poor soil as well as the good soil knowing that some seed will not grow or be as fruitful but wanting all to have the opportunity to receive the seed of his Word.
He knows too that ground which at one time was perhaps rocky ground, as in the Democratic Republic of Congo during the war years, can become good soil in which spectacular growth can occur, as is now the case in the Congo. In this country we need to pray that our culture which currently feels like the path or the thorn bushes will in time also become good soil once again and, in the meantime, celebrate that growth that does occur on the path and among the thorn bushes.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Neal Morse - We All Need Some Light.
Art & prayer initiatives
On Thursday I visited Reunited: Gwen John, Mère Poussepin and the Catholic Church at the Barber Institute in Birmingham to review the exhibition for Art & Christianity. With loans from Amgueddfa Cymru — National Museum Wales, Tate and Southampton City Art Gallery, the exhibition explores the development of the artist’s portrayal of single female figures, the growing importance of her drawings from 1910 onwards, and the inextricable links between her work and her new faith.
The same evening back in London I caught the tail-end of the Summer Party at wallspace where I was pleased to catch up with Martin Wroe, who I trained with at NTMTC. Martin is a writer mainly working for newspapers and websites. He is one of the editors of Developments Magazine, often writes for this and sometimes turns out a book, most recently this. He can often be found here and here, is one of the movers behind Generous and a Greenbelt trustee.
On Saturday I ran a Quiet Day on Praying through the Everyday for St Andrew's Hertford. Alan Stewart, the priest-in-charge is also a friend from NTMTC days and someone else who shares many similar interests to do with the Arts and spirituality. The group from St Andrews was engaged and engaging, we met in a hidden gem of a house and grounds, we reflected on prayer as an ongoing conversation with God in which we pray through our emotions and our everyday encounters and made use of poetry and music in our reflections. Among the poems used was John Berryman's first Address to the Lord:
Master of beauty, craftsman of the snowflake,
inimitable contriver,
endower of Earth so gorgeous & different from the boring Moon,
thank you for such as it is my gift.
I have made up a morning prayer to you
containing with precision everything that most matters.
‘According to Thy will’ the thing begins.
It took me on & off two days. It does not aim at eloquence.
You have come to my rescue again & again
in my impassable, sometimes despairing years.
You have allowed my brilliant friends to destroy themselves
And I am still here, severely damaged, but functioning.
Unknowable, as I am unknown to my guinea pigs:
how can I ‘love’ you?
I only as far as gratitude & awe
confidently & absolutely go.
I have no idea whether we live again.
It doesn’t seem likely
from either the scientific or the philosophical point of view
but certainly all things are possible to you,
and I believe as fixedly in the Resurrection-appearances to Peter and to Paul
as I believe I sit in this blue chair.
Only that may have been a special case
to establish their initiatory faith.
Whatever your end may be, accept my astonishment.
May I stand until death forever at attention
for any your least instruction or enlightenment.
I even feel sure you will assist me again, Master of insight & beauty.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
U2 - Window In The Skies.
The same evening back in London I caught the tail-end of the Summer Party at wallspace where I was pleased to catch up with Martin Wroe, who I trained with at NTMTC. Martin is a writer mainly working for newspapers and websites. He is one of the editors of Developments Magazine, often writes for this and sometimes turns out a book, most recently this. He can often be found here and here, is one of the movers behind Generous and a Greenbelt trustee.
On Saturday I ran a Quiet Day on Praying through the Everyday for St Andrew's Hertford. Alan Stewart, the priest-in-charge is also a friend from NTMTC days and someone else who shares many similar interests to do with the Arts and spirituality. The group from St Andrews was engaged and engaging, we met in a hidden gem of a house and grounds, we reflected on prayer as an ongoing conversation with God in which we pray through our emotions and our everyday encounters and made use of poetry and music in our reflections. Among the poems used was John Berryman's first Address to the Lord:
Master of beauty, craftsman of the snowflake,
inimitable contriver,
endower of Earth so gorgeous & different from the boring Moon,
thank you for such as it is my gift.
I have made up a morning prayer to you
containing with precision everything that most matters.
‘According to Thy will’ the thing begins.
It took me on & off two days. It does not aim at eloquence.
You have come to my rescue again & again
in my impassable, sometimes despairing years.
You have allowed my brilliant friends to destroy themselves
And I am still here, severely damaged, but functioning.
Unknowable, as I am unknown to my guinea pigs:
how can I ‘love’ you?
I only as far as gratitude & awe
confidently & absolutely go.
I have no idea whether we live again.
It doesn’t seem likely
from either the scientific or the philosophical point of view
but certainly all things are possible to you,
and I believe as fixedly in the Resurrection-appearances to Peter and to Paul
as I believe I sit in this blue chair.
Only that may have been a special case
to establish their initiatory faith.
Whatever your end may be, accept my astonishment.
May I stand until death forever at attention
for any your least instruction or enlightenment.
I even feel sure you will assist me again, Master of insight & beauty.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
U2 - Window In The Skies.
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