tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1684752445949340487.comments2023-06-29T16:23:39.806+01:00engagemarkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04556299081652933923noreply@blogger.comBlogger228125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1684752445949340487.post-37409185924376298112012-12-22T10:26:45.893+00:002012-12-22T10:26:45.893+00:00Link is broken...Link is broken...Abu Daoudhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18399746942963002389noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1684752445949340487.post-76813826512288471482010-08-26T18:21:19.403+01:002010-08-26T18:21:19.403+01:00You might be right. I certainly don't have th...You might be right. I certainly don't have the first hand perspective you have. Being about to visit Robben Island and townships must be amazing! I know I am trying to understand what happened in South Africa from distance. I'm intrigued to know, why did De Klerk abandon apartheid? Mandela does not provide a thorough analysis. How much was it about international pressure? Or was it because S. Africa had become ungovernable? Mandela suggests that whites improved their attitudes to blacks while he was in prison. Is this true? And, if so, why did they do it?<br /><br />I'm sorry to bombard you (or anyone else out there) with these questions, but I'm interested to know.markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04556299081652933923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1684752445949340487.post-68387368159549271632010-08-26T17:16:03.918+01:002010-08-26T17:16:03.918+01:00Well, i think i understand your dissent. I am read...Well, i think i understand your dissent. I am reading his long walk to freedom as well. I was on the Robben Island two weeks ago. I have been watching documentaries on SA past and Mandela era. I was in SA township this weekend. But i live in Cape Town Observatory-previously "whiteonly"residence. How many white where here, how many blacks where here? How long did apathied take? how many blacks did apathied kill before mandelas "Spear of the Nation." If you visit south africa and visit the township, board a train and toured the city-also District Six and other measume-then calculate how long it took non-violence and after violence for the apathied to crumble. Apathied was the law of the land, a law blacks disobeyed and whites enforced. If laws are enforced with violence, dispbedience might demand violenceAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1684752445949340487.post-36072529977573940622009-10-21T13:06:15.564+01:002009-10-21T13:06:15.564+01:00Vicar reminds you of me? Do his ears stick out too...Vicar reminds you of me? Do his ears stick out too?Kevinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1684752445949340487.post-73947454327850797842009-10-05T19:27:31.667+01:002009-10-05T19:27:31.667+01:00Hi Kev,
It is always a pleasure to hear your wise...Hi Kev,<br /><br />It is always a pleasure to hear your wise, pastoral tones anywhere, not least on this blog! And, fear not, you have not contributed to my frustrations with church. Maybe I overstate the case by saying I've been "screwed up". Church has also done me a heck of a lot of good and I think there were some great things about ICL, which I truly miss. In fact, it is interesting that the church we are currently going to reminds me of ICL so much - the vicar reminds me of you in many ways. It is one of the attractions of the place for us. And although I don't get much out of the service, it is a great place to be - with loads of genuine, real Christians, doing some pretty impressive things. This also attracts us. I certainly wouldn't describe churches as "repugnant". In fact, I've been disappointed by the general sweep that I have seen, but I know there are individual exceptions and I think the one we are settling into is one of these.<br /><br />I certainly hope to be able to contribute to the life of this church and to contribute to the advance of the kingdom in some small way. I think it will take time to get involved in things and feel a part of the community, but I think it will come. Still, I feel frustrated by the lack of time and energy I have for the things I really care about. Maybe this is fault of too high expectations, but I'm not sure I'm entirely willing to conform to society's expectations yet!<br /><br />I hope these answer your questions and I honestly don't think there is any reason to worry.markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04556299081652933923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1684752445949340487.post-76564060707846165462009-10-05T12:36:31.010+01:002009-10-05T12:36:31.010+01:00Hey Mark
It genuinely, honestly, grieves and pain...Hey Mark<br /><br />It genuinely, honestly, grieves and pains me to hear that you feel you've been "seriously screwed up by religion" in the past and unsettled and isolated as a Christian now. Forgive me if I've unnecessarily contributed to that.<br /><br />And I'm at work now so don't have the space to reply fully.<br /><br />My immediate questions are....<br /><br />- Are the churches you have visited so repugnant to you that you won't go? And if so, what is it about them that makes this so?<br /><br />- Given there is no perfect church, do you feel there is any congregation you could commit to where you can cope with the "format" and seek to be a positive influence in terms of ethical / justice issues?<br /><br />- Are you looking for somewhere / someone with whom you get down to the practicalities of social justice / making a difference / action, or a discusssion about these issues. There may be places you could do one of these but not both. Do you need to have both to lessen the sense of isolation? Could these needs be met from different communities?<br /><br />Yes, it's true that our lifestyles mean we have full diaries with only a set amount of hours in a day, but I guess there is always the ability to "do something" if we prioritise it. I guess there will always be a dissatisfaction in terms of what we could be doing if we had the time, but what are your expectations over how much you can do personally? That's not to point out how little you can do, but to work out how much is achievable and to get on with it.<br /><br />KevinKevinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1684752445949340487.post-1833389032846981842009-09-25T20:18:52.155+01:002009-09-25T20:18:52.155+01:00I guess laugh or cry is both good - at least both ...I guess laugh or cry is both good - at least both are strong emotional responses - I am in danger of a French shrug of the shoulders because I've heard it so many times before. Please, blogging community, keep me from this lethargy!<br /><br />It is great working with kids in this respect. I taught some of my year 10s yesterday about 3rd world debt - something they hadn't heard about before and they were incredulous - oh for a bit of childlike naivity - much better than grown up cynicism.<br /><br />Thanks for the pic, Schof, I'll use it with my classes - pointing out how small the income from debt repayments is.markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04556299081652933923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1684752445949340487.post-31906603383193585882009-09-24T17:06:54.491+01:002009-09-24T17:06:54.491+01:00In the light of our conversation yesterday - the r...In the light of our conversation yesterday - the role of worship leader is important, but not as we are accustomed to think of it. Not someone called to lead people to "encounter God", but to express the counter-story of the gospel.markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04556299081652933923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1684752445949340487.post-69409961128311070132009-09-24T16:52:32.717+01:002009-09-24T16:52:32.717+01:00I know what you mean about "reconciliation th...I know what you mean about "reconciliation that for now there is no resolution". I guess that's quite a grown up place to be. Life is just like that, unless we want to over-simplify things or ignore certain things. I hope you are able to make decisions, take steps towards something, even if not entire resolution.markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04556299081652933923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1684752445949340487.post-50234829160058472282009-09-21T14:06:11.484+01:002009-09-21T14:06:11.484+01:00Yikes - good point - love the idea of prophets and...Yikes - good point - love the idea of prophets and activists.<br /><br />People do now do activist / peace training but only on fringe why not in centre - taking Mclaren's lead re everything must change - what are the key challenges facing our world, and whats our response. We should be training people to tackle and help us tackle these. I am guessing that if I did a poll on the high street this lunchtme then very few members of the public would be bemoaning the lack of contemporary worhsip leading skills. That valuable role of worship leader is important - but only in the light of the above not in isolation. Why not change the worship leading course into an 'envisioning and equiping the people of God to be prophets and activists in the way of Jesus'!DShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11333505258698640765noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1684752445949340487.post-83329801195086898042009-09-08T22:58:17.803+01:002009-09-08T22:58:17.803+01:00Actually only listened to Percy - really liked it....Actually only listened to Percy - really liked it. Good for debunking the liberal bogeyman - this is real bible reading Jesus following stuff and appreciated the value placed on dialogue between all ends of spectrum, need for humility, conviction, courage and getting good news out. Don't know if this important strand of church can live to this clear encouragement/challenge but exciting for all if it can. Some of it kind of anticipates my greenbelt post to come in few mins/days when I get round to itDShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11333505258698640765noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1684752445949340487.post-26041637271255362532009-09-05T12:39:41.180+01:002009-09-05T12:39:41.180+01:001. How to interpret the pseudo Paul bits... To be...1. How to interpret the pseudo Paul bits... To be honest, I've thought about this a lot and I've contemplated a few strategies - a) take 1 Tim out of the canon. For me, 1 Tim is the most difficult. The canon is after all not as fixed as we like to think. But, even if this was right course of action - who has the power to take it out? Not me, for sure. b) recognise that there are good bits in the bible and less helpful bits. It is not consistently liberating. c) accept Brueggemann's contention that texts that appear not to be radical, with a little thought become liberational. This, it seems, is an act of faith. Help my unbelief! d) reader-response - make the text say what you want it to say - make it liberational!that's it, I'm afraid - any other options?<br /><br />2. are you being 'called again'?<br /><br />3. Revisiting Hosea - I definately think you should put something in writing about this. I don't know of anyone saying this about Hosea - it could be very helpful.markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04556299081652933923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1684752445949340487.post-41542775748757043312009-09-05T12:29:03.961+01:002009-09-05T12:29:03.961+01:00Thanks for this thought, DS. I like it! it is ce...Thanks for this thought, DS. I like it! it is certainly more satisfactory to have a political and social reading than a purely individual one.<br /><br />As I read your post, I was struck (or disturbed) by the martial imagery. To take a person captive and parade him or her through the streets of Rome is utterly disturbing for a Christian on a number of levels. How do I feel about the appropriation of this metaphor to talk about something (admittedly) less violent? <br /><br />It made me look at the text where the martial imagery takes central place. He seems to be defending himself against the charge of being weak - (not using weapons of authority to do something - don't know what?) He argues that we do not use the methods of Rome. We battle only in the area of thoughts, taking them captive. To me, this it is poorly concealed side-swipe at Roman imperialism and a clear statement that the church fosters a counter ideology (for want of a better word). Like you say, for our day, it takes captive consumer ideology. To what extent is the church fostering a counter ideology? How could it do so? This is on my mind a fair bit at the moment, because, for me, the church has co-opted the values of consumerism in an uncritical way and a way that is harmful to itself. I am convinced that the church will never be able to confront social justice until it extricates itself from the dominant value system and harbours an alternative.<br /><br />I'm up for warking out how we might begin to take the thoughts of consumerism captive - anyone to join me?markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04556299081652933923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1684752445949340487.post-60002576600802640932009-09-03T03:48:03.315+01:002009-09-03T03:48:03.315+01:00I raised an IPA to everyone at the Greenbelt festi...I raised an IPA to everyone at the Greenbelt festival this weekend. Thanks for the love.Chad Crawfordhttp://homebrewedchristianity.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1684752445949340487.post-14803675514497773162009-08-09T01:35:01.916+01:002009-08-09T01:35:01.916+01:00You are always one step from Deacon-hood. Listen ...You are always one step from Deacon-hood. Listen to the voice in your heart as it calls to you. <br /><br />Thanks for the link love.tripp fullerhttp://homebrewedchristianity.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1684752445949340487.post-49309373455340073762009-06-07T11:58:45.921+01:002009-06-07T11:58:45.921+01:00Abraham has become "a model of fidelity to Go...Abraham has become "a model of fidelity to God... And yet it is fair to say that if any of us saw a twenty-first century Abraham raising the knife on the roof of his apartment building, we would call the police; we would wrestle him down; even if we saw him lower the knife at the last minute, we would expect the Department of Children and Family Services to take Isaac away and charge Abraham with child abuse." (Barack Obama)markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04556299081652933923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1684752445949340487.post-48361001926101365932009-06-04T17:44:41.616+01:002009-06-04T17:44:41.616+01:00Thanks for this post, Schof. Before clicking on t...Thanks for this post, Schof. Before clicking on the link, I thought Sentamu had taken out an ad in the BNP paper about Jesus the asylum seeker! But, wouldn't that be a great ad? "Joseph, a Jewish asylum seeker claims his child is not safe in his own country and claims asylum! Stay Christian and kick Jesus out!"<br /><br />...something like that. Any better ads anyone?markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04556299081652933923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1684752445949340487.post-25728392221529116942009-05-07T21:27:00.000+01:002009-05-07T21:27:00.000+01:00"Checks out to check in." Great summary. Love it.
..."Checks out to check in." Great summary. Love it.<br /><br />Grace and Peace,<br />RaffiRaffi Shahinianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01981706290799593546noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1684752445949340487.post-27592059998221181832009-05-05T09:22:00.000+01:002009-05-05T09:22:00.000+01:00Thanks guys - ben - I'll call you to sort pick up ...Thanks guys - ben - I'll call you to sort pick up cheersDShttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11333505258698640765noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1684752445949340487.post-32800133058663256652009-04-28T12:36:00.000+01:002009-04-28T12:36:00.000+01:00I have a pair - W 46" L 72", still in the packet w...I have a pair - W 46" L 72", still in the packet which I'm happy to give.<br /><br /><br />benjaminhurrell [at] hotmail [dot] combenhurrellnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1684752445949340487.post-40167544616020335142009-04-28T08:49:00.000+01:002009-04-28T08:49:00.000+01:00Not sure, but will ask Clare. Let us know about o...Not sure, but will ask Clare. Let us know about other stuff though as we will be doing a bit of a sort out soon anyway so could look out for helpful things.Kevinnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1684752445949340487.post-17508532597782556802009-02-20T17:17:00.000+00:002009-02-20T17:17:00.000+00:00Absolutely mate. I mentioned this in a talk the o...Absolutely mate. I mentioned this in a talk the other day.<BR/><BR/>The various great awakenings in the US led to movements to improve women's rights, develop education for children, improve factory conditions, campaign against slavery and all sorts of great social stuffAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1684752445949340487.post-64748498539394736042009-01-28T12:58:00.000+00:002009-01-28T12:58:00.000+00:00LOL! As with the Good Book - it doesn't matter mu...LOL! As with the Good Book - it doesn't matter much whether these things were really said!markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04556299081652933923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1684752445949340487.post-81546438388322161452009-01-27T15:35:00.000+00:002009-01-27T15:35:00.000+00:00Thanks for these comments."I'm curious, other than...Thanks for these comments.<BR/><BR/>"I'm curious, other than inside its own community, when do you think Christianity ever had a good image?"<BR/><BR/>hmmmmm... interesting question. Having read your blog (which I very much enjoyed, by the way), I'd say you have some positive things to say about at least some aspects of the Christian heritage... which is probably where I am too. It has been some very good stuff and very bad.<BR/><BR/>I think your question is difficult beacuse whenever Christianity has a good image, people join up in large numbers, so to ask when it has had a good image besides within the community is hard to assess.<BR/><BR/>Certainly, I'd say it had a pretty good image from around 1740 to 1820ish in Britain and America, if the number of new recruits to the faith during that period are anything to go by.<BR/><BR/>Also, sometimes it has a bad image for the wrong image eg. the slave owners in the American south who didn't want their slaves converted because of the egalitarian consequences of Christianity!<BR/><BR/>I don't know whether you find my answers satisfactory. Feel free to argue back.<BR/><BR/>Thanks, Rache, for the reminder of Oscar Romero. His life sometimes reminds me of the advantages of being a celibate priest. I'm sure having no family responsibilities makes it easier to make the kinds of stand he did - or is that just a cop out?markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04556299081652933923noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1684752445949340487.post-3199217600455338582009-01-24T12:48:00.000+00:002009-01-24T12:48:00.000+00:00"Will Christianity, I wonder, ever recover its tar..."Will Christianity, I wonder, ever recover its tarnished image or forever be seen as the tool of oppression?"<BR/><BR/>Im curious, other than inside its own community, when do you think Christianity ever had a good image?Tit for Tathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09454132514796693591noreply@blogger.com