On Tuesday I heard Anna Robbins (Senior Lecturer in Theology and Contemporary Culture, London School of Theology) speak at the Christian Resources Exhibition on Using the Bible in Ethics.
As an example of the application of the Bible in ethics, Anna contrasted the ethical implications of the Christian story of creation (as opposed to Creationism) with those of the story of atheistic evolution, which she argued is the current dominant story told in Western culture.
Atheistic evolution, she suggested, sees the development of life as a closed system requiring no external divine intervention in which the purpose of life is the transmission of genes through procreation. The ethical implications of this story then lead, she argued, to the sexualisation of our culture, something which can be seen, for example, in the lyrics of the Top 5 downloads (currently in the UK - 1. Where Them Girls At (feat. Nicki Minaj and Flo Rida) David Guetta; 2. The Lazy Song Bruno Mars; 3. Party Rock Anthem (feat. Lauren Bennet and GoonRock) LMFAO; 4. Give Me Everything (feat. Ne-Yo, Afrojack and Nayer) Pitbull; 5. Beautiful People (feat. Benny Benassi) Chris Brown) and the premature sexualisation of children through such things as retailers selling items of clothing inappropriate for the age they're targeting, sexually provocative music videos and newsagents stocking lads' mags in the eyeline of toddlers, among other examples.
I've preached on this theme on several occasions, particularly at baptisms, mixing the following poem by Steve Turner, the understanding of the 'world' which Stephen Verney argues is found in John's Gospel, and Switchfoot's New Way To Be Human:
"These are your first lessons in living.
To begin we drag you head-first from your shelter,
away from your food, from your warmth.
We cut you apart from your only known friend.
We take you and beat you until strange gases
rush your lungs and pain jerks your frame.
These are your first lessons in living.
They will stand you in good stead."
In this poem life is portrayed as something hard and painful. It says that we are being born into a world where, if we don’t look out for ourselves, we will dragged from everything we enjoy and beaten up. And it says that our first lessons in living when we emerge from our mother’s womb, the placenta is cut and the nurse strikes us on the back to get us breathing are important lessons for us in survival. The lesson to learn is that in a world like this we need to put ourselves first, we need to look after No. 1, otherwise someone else will take what we have and hurt us in the process. It is what scientists describe when they talk about us having selfish genes which get us ready to live in a world that is about the survival of the fittest.
John the Baptist talks about this way of understanding life when he says that Jesus is the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world”. The word used for ‘world’ means a way of life centred on our egocentricity. In this way of life “the ruling principle is the dictator ME”. My ego is all-important. The world revolves around me, my needs and my wishes. I do what I want when I want and to whom I want. When society is organised like that people spend all their time competing with each other, manipulating each other and trying to control each other. It’s called the survival of the fittest and it is what scientists say the world we are born into is like.
John the Baptist says that that is a sinful way of life and that Jesus came to take it away. Jesus shows us a new way of being human. His way of being human can be summed up in the words of John 15: 13, “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends”. He looks at all of us, at all human beings, and says, “You are my friends”. Jesus allowed his own life to end so that all people could know what it is like to really live. Not to live in the old, selfish, self-centred way of being human but to live in his new way of being human, loving God with all our being and loving our neighbours as ourselves.
Similarly, in a recent post I used the recent Royal Wedding as an example of the way in which the language of what Robbins calls atheistic evolution is inadequate to capture our experience of the relationality of love:
"Instead of being about the mutual celebrations of love and affection which we saw between the couple themselves and also between the people of this country and the royal family, on the basis of measurable scientific knowledge what occurred Friday simply becomes about the survival of the fittest through the passing on of selfish genes in procreation. Our experiences of love and faith cannot be adequately captured through the language of scientific measurement. Instead, we need the languages of belief and imagination to give voice to what we truly experience of love and faith. As the Bishop of London said in his sermon, 'Faith and committed relationships offer a door into the mystery of spiritual life.'”
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Switchfoot - New Way To Be Human.
Saturday, 14 May 2011
Thursday, 12 May 2011
Will she say, "Yes!"
During Maggi Dawn's Writing on the Wall session last Saturday, the idea was mentioned that there may have been earlier Annunciations to other women but that Mary was the first to say, "Yes." This reminded me of the montage above, which I created for the Cabinet of Sin and Salvation. It is based on the idea, which I first heard in a lecture by Eamon Duffy, that all the key Old Testament figures were watching from heaven during the Annunciation willing Mary to say "Yes."
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Fleet Foxes - The Shrine/An Argument.
Monday, 9 May 2011
Windows on the world (153)
Harlow, 2011
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Jon Foreman - Your Love Is Strong.
Saturday, 7 May 2011
The Writing on the Wall (2)
Excellent day spent with Maggi Dawn at St Margaret's Barking today exploring the multiple layers of meaning opened up by the interaction between the Arts and the Bible. Click here for a summary of the material Maggi took us through; all linked to the theme of her most recent book, The Writing on the Wall.
This was a day for exploring connections and intereptations rememberiung that the Arts do more than simply decorate, illustrate or communicate Biblical narrative as part of the engagement between the two. Our differing responses to the images we viewed and the poetry we read reminded us both of the multiple layers of meaning contained in Bible stories and artwork which explore such stories and also the differing perspectives that we bring to our interpretations of these stories and artworks.
One image which generated a range of responses illustrating the essential ambiguity of art to which viewers return repeatedly was Banksy's Christ with Shopping Bags, which could provoke reflection on the religion of consumerism, the death of consumerism, the commercialisation of Christianity, and the gift that is Christ, among other possibilities. Maggi noted that good art produced by non-believing artists is better than poor art produced by believing artists. This is, I think, because good art contains the ambiguity which derives from multi-layered meaning whereas poor art functions only at the levels of decoration, illustration or communication.
Through the works we explored, we saw that there is an ongoing dialogue between the Biblical text, its influences and interpretations through artworks and other cultural influences, and the way in which each artwork that we encounter which derive from or make use of Biblical stories or images then affect our responses to those same stories and images when we next read/see them.
A particularly interesting insight from Maggi came in reflecting on Igor Mitoraj's The Annunciation door at Santa Maria degli Angeli e Martiri in Rome which strips the traditional imagery back to the barest minimum and fragments and truncates the protagonist's bodies. Gabriel's wing contains a face which can only fully be seen when the viewer looks at Gabriel from the perspective of Mary. My recollection is of Maggi reflecting that one possible interpretation could be that God's messenger's do not simply bring a message about God but, because God is the content of the message which they bring, also bring God himself. In this instance then the medium and the message were one.
Other fascinating material included a sustained reflection on the life of Abraham based primarily on the Andrei Rublev's Icon of the Trinity and Caravaggio's The Sacrifice of Isaac.
One overall reflection for me was the sense that much of the Bible leaves great scope for imagination because, unlike a novel or contemporary biography, it does not give detailed descriptions or explanations of character's contexts, emotions or thought processes. This then enables artists and readers alike to imagine what these may have been for themselves, as in the marvellous Annunciation poem from Noel Rowe's Magnificat sequence.
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Franz Biebl - Ave Maria.
Thursday, 5 May 2011
The Writing on the Wall
Looking forward to Saturday's Writing on the Wall day at St Margaret's Barking which I'm introducing and where Maggi Dawn will show how art, music, poetry, sculpture and film have been influenced by the Bible far more than we usually realise and how the arts do more than merely illustrate bible stories and characters: they also open up possibilities for interpretation.
The day will open up some of the theological and devotional adventures that become possible when the riches of the Bible are recognized within the world of the arts, and offer all kinds of inspiration, for teaching, preaching and personal spiritual growth.
Maggi Dawn is an author and theologian. She began her professional life as a singer-songwriter, but later after reading for a degree and a PhD in theology turned her creative talents to writing books. Maggi is currently based at the University of Cambridge where she is Chaplain and Fellow in Theology at Robinson College.
Her current publication, The Writing on the Wall (Hodder and Stoughton, June 2010), explores the way in which the Bible has become one of the building blocks of Western culture. If you love art, music and literature, and want to understand the hidden layers of meaning that derive from the Bible, this book is essential reading.
Maggi ran a similar day at the Cathedral Chapter House in Chelmsford in March, also as part of the Diocese's Lent & Eastertide programme - see here and here for feedback.
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Maggi Dawn - I Will Wait.
Monday, 2 May 2011
Creating community event
The community garden, which has been supported financially by Area 5 and 7 committees, London over the Border and the Fitter for Walking project, includes: new seating and plantlocks; a community noticeboard; sensory planting; original artworks; and a remembrance area. In addition, an area has been set aside for use by children at Downshall Primary School.
SKNPRA is receiving the Living Streets award for its work, with the Fitter for Walking project, in improving the local environment along Aldborough Road South in order to get more people out walking. This has included: a community audit of Aldborough Road South; presentations of the audit findings to the Area 5 and 7 committees; a community clean-up day; plantlocks for the community garden; a new bench at the corner of Brook Road and Aldborough Road South; walks organised for children at Downshall Primary School; a community mural project at Downshall Primary School; publicity for the local Church Art Trail; Church Art Trail walks; Newbury Park SNT action on speeding; successful funding application to Area 5 and 7 comittees for repair of the Seven Kings Park bandstand; and a successful community campaign to retain the Aldborough Road South public toilets.
The opening ceremony and the award presentation will take place at 10.30am and will then be followed (between 11.00am and 1.00pm) by a community information event in the community garden and a plant and table-top sale in the St John's Centre. For the community information event, community groups are being invited to set up a stall in the community garden displaying information about their work between 11.00am and 1.00pm.
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The Kinks - The Village Green Preservation Society.
Windows on the world (152)
London, 2011
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Echo and the Bunnymen - Bring On The Dancing Horses.
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