TIM KELLER on presenting the Gospel as both challenge and appeal

The following quotation is from a comment by Tim Keller in a blog discussion about his views on sharing the Gospel by connecting the story of Jesus to baseline cultural narratives. He says, "you have to show in line with the culture's own (best) aspirations, hopes, and convictions that its own cultural story won't be resolved or have 'a happy ending' outside of Christ." At the same time he explains that an effective presentation of the Gospel will both appeal to and challenge existing cultural narratives. He makes the following exegesis of 1 Corinthians 1.22-25 to help illustrate this:

1 Cor 1:22-25 is a good example of what I'm talking about. Your own Paul Barnett talks about it somewhat in his commentary on the text. Jews wanted a powerful Messiah, and the Greeks' ideal was the philosopher king. These were 'baseline cultural narratives.' For Jews--power, for Greeks--philosophy and wisdom. Paul preaches the cross to both challenge and appeal. He uses the weakness of the cross to show the Jews that they've made an idol of power, and the foolishness of the cross to show the Greeks they've made an idol of wisdom. And yet, he also is willing to preach Christ as the true power and the true wisdom. So on the one hand, he adapts and on the other hand he challenges. He is saying to Jews, 'You seek power? Well, here is the true power.' He says to Greeks, 'You seek wisdom? Well here is true wisdom.'

I thought this was a really helpful description of what Paul is doing here and a useful model for sharing the Gospel.

I was reflecting recently with someone about modern cultural narratives which provide opportunities for sharing the Gospel - connection points. We're all familiar with the way that films, for example, can provide what you might call 'leaping-off points' for talking about spiritual realities; for example, a movie like the Matrix gave us a whole new set of vocabulary for talking about choices and faith and reality. But are there other cultural narratives which we should be making better use of, thinking creatively about connections with the Gospel story? One I considered was the environmental narrative that's so current right now, as we think seriously about the consequences of our choices and our stewardship of this planet. Are there ways to speak into this theme and engage with these questions that bring the light of Jesus to bear? What about the big themes of national security, terrorism, personal liberty and the surveillance issue (privacy vs security)? How do we respond and what story are we telling in the light of these?


Tim Keller's 'The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism' sounds like an interesting read.


Thanks Matt!

The power of the Nudge

Here's an interesting article on the power of the 'nudge' from the Sunday Times.

Politicians are devouring a book called Nudge, written by two American academics, Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein, which demonstrates how "thoughtful choice architecture can be established to nudge us in beneficial directions without restricting freedom of choice". That is, by knowing how people think, we can design 'choice environments' that make it easier for people to choose what is best for themselves, their families, and their society.

The article mentions one example of this type of 'choice environment' - an ingenious little gadget called the Wattson which displays the amount of electricity you are using through colours and numbers, thus encouraging users to reduce the amount they use.

As the article explains, 'Nudge' is also encouraging politicians to think creatively about the power of social norms to influence our behaviour. As well as reducing our electricity consumption, other examples of areas in which social norms might provide a 'nudge' include organ donation and rubbish disposal.

...Realising that financial incentives and penalties such as green taxes had a limited effect on behaviour, Schultz set out to analyse how the energy usage of 300 people in San Marcos, California, could be changed for the better by invoking social norms.

He arranged for the participants to be told on their energy bills what the typical usage in the area was.

"Telling people what others are doing does tend to have an effect," he said. "But there are instances where it can boomerang – if you are using less energy than your neighbours, say by making a sacrifice by not running your air-conditioning, you can feel like a sucker." The result: your energy consumption goes up, not down, to meet the norm.

...Schultz’s solution was to add a little nudge. Some of the participants in his study had a smiley face added to their bill if they used less energy than the norm and a sad face if they used more. The results were startling. Among the participants receiving the emoticon, the boomerang effect completely disappeared. High users reduced their consumption by even more and low users kept their own down.

Disarmingly simple. So simple, in fact, that you wonder why no one's done it before!

Or, what about this "clever use of choice architecture [to] find a middle way for organ donation":

... "We quite like the idea of ‘mandated choice’ in this context," he said. This does not involve any presumption of opt-in or opt-out. Instead it requires people to make a deliberate choice by tacking the process onto something else, such as applying for a driver’s licence or a passport. That solves the problems of both our inertia and bias in the system.

You can see why the politicians are interested in this stuff. Something so simple is surely worth a try? But, as the article states, "it sounds too good to be true. Is it more wishful thinking than sensible policy? Can social norms really change our behaviour?"

The Barchester Chronicles

My latest audiobook listen has been 'The Chronicles of Barset', a dramatised version of Anthony Trollope's 'Barchester Chronicles', made by the BBC in the early 90's. The Chronicles is a series of six novels "set in the fictitious cathedral town of Barchester. They concern the dealings of the clergy, the gentry, and the political, amatory, and social maneuverings that go on among and between them." (Thanks to Wikipedia). Despite a slowish beginning it's turned out to be a real delight. I'll have to actually read the books next!

There are some fantastic characters in this series, from the gentle and harmless Warden, Septimus Harding, (who in this version has an endearing habit of humming softly in difficult moments) to the slimy Mr Slope (boo, hiss!) and the quite brilliant Archdeacon Dr Theophilus Grantly. Dr Thorne is my favourite story out of the six I think, with its predictable but ultimately satisfying ending, but the battles between the formidable Mrs Proudie and the horrible Mr Slope puts Barchester Towers a very close second! After a little deliberation my favourite characters - as in who I actually liked - were Lucy Robarts (who is adorably melodramatic and lively in this version), Dr Thorne and Miss Dunstable (who I warmed to immediately as a kindred spirit!), but I think I managed to resist the much-sought-after Eleanor Bold!

Thoroughly recommended.

Wycliffe and Tyndale

[Still in my addiction to audiobooks phase!]

After finishing the unabridged 'Dune' by Frank Herbert (read by Scott Brick), which was a completely absorbing 22 hours on another world (and even more marvellous to listen to than read), I'm now listening to Melvyn Bragg's Adventure of English. It's a truly fascinating story for anyone interested in history and language and Robert Powell's narration makes the words and language come alive. From Beowulf to Chaucer to Elizabeth I... (that's about as far as I've got!)

I'm currently deep in the Middle Ages; being inspired and moved by the stories of Wycliffe and Tyndale and their respective Bible translations. Tyndale sounds like a fantastic character particularly. The story of him agreeing to sell a whole print run of 6000 copies to the Bishop of London - which were then burnt - and then using the proceeds to finance a new version - pure brilliance! And Melvyn Bragg rightly raves about the lyricism and brilliance of his translation. He introduced a huge number of new words and phrases into English (see the Wikipedia article for examples). The King James Version stuck to his phrasing and vocabulary in most cases and lots is still familiar today in modern translations.

Tyndale was a preacher and his version was a preacher's Bible, lyrical and memorable. Bragg comments that English Bibles today still share this legacy from Tyndale of being designed to be read aloud and understood by all.

"I defy the pope, and all his laws... If God spared him life, ere many years he would cause a boy that driveth the plough to know more of the Scripture than he did."

Bragg has some great quotes from Tyndale and others, which sadly I cannot share because I don't have the text in front of me, but I highly recommend reading the book - or even getting the audiobook (I have a subscription at Audible - by far the cheapest way!)

Your Atonement is Too Small

From an article on Christianity Today, reviewing 'A Community Called Atonement' by Scot McKnight. Looks interesting!

...A Community Called Atonement is not just a bridge-building book. It is also an expand-your-vision book. To parody J. B. Phillips's famous title, this book could have been called Your Atonement Is Too Small.

McKnight's gaze follows the way Paul focuses his wide-angle lens. McKnight reviews the various metaphors, pictures, and theories of Atonement implicit in Scripture and looks for the big picture. Taking themes expounded by the earliest church fathers—victory, ransom, recapitulation—he wraps them together into one package called 'identification for incorporation.'

Yancey

Christianity Today has a really nice article about Philip Yancey, one of my favourite Christian writers.

I'm a big fan of Yancey's writing, especially 'What's So Amazing About Grace?', which is always in my 'Christian classics pile'. I was also reminded today of how good 'In the Likeness of God' (by Yancey and Dr Paul Brand) is - a fascinating journey through the intricacies of the human body and the insight they give us into the body of Christ. Loved it - the science and the theology!

Clip clip and away

How did I survive so long without an MP3 player? I've wanted one for years, but just kept putting off the crucial decision. Now, finally, I have my very own shiny red, matchbook-size 2GB player and I'm quite addicted to its charms.

The player that's captured my heart is the Sansa Clip 2GB with Radio - the red version, of course!

After first being drawn to its shiny red gorgeousness and miniature proportions and then charmed by its helpful little screen and friendliness to others (computers and software alike), you could now say I'm looking forward to a comfortable, committed future together...

It has a fantastic inbuilt clip - thus the name - which has proven really useful at the gym, the good sense to keep your place in an audio book even when you switch over to listen to something else, a radio, sensible controls, easy volume adjustment and it sounds great!

[advert over] :-)

I've also rediscovered audio books. Not a cheap option compared to a book, but what a treat! I signed up to Audible for a couple of months and this may be a new addiction! I listened to The Hobbit (unabridged) first - all 12 or so hours of it. Absolutely brilliant! For days you couldn't get much sense out of me at all, it was all 'What has he got in his pocketsess?' and 'the eagles! the eagles!'

My second find, and another treasure, has been Tim Butcher's Blood River, read by the author. In 2004 Tim, a correspondent for the Daily Telegraph, made his way alone across one of the most dangerous countries in the world, the Congo, inspired to follow the route of the famous explorer HM Stanley. This is his account of the adventure, the people he met and the history of this apparently doomed country. Obsessed, yes; crazy, probably. Yet this is a fantastic tale and a deeply provoking and affecting account of the present-day Congo and the forces which have shaped it and continue to do so. Thoroughly recommended.

Quote from The Silver Chair (or John 6.44!)

"You would not have called to me unless I had been calling to you," said the Lion.
"Then you are Somebody, Sir?" asked Jill.
"I am."

EUGENE PETERSON on Well-Worn Paths

"Christians tramp well-worn paths: obedience has a history.

"This history is important, for without it we are at the mercy of whims. Memory is a databank we use to evaluate our position and make decisions. With a biblical memory we have two thousand years of experience from which to make the off-the-cuff responses that are required each day in the life of faith. If we are going to live adequately and maturely as the people of God, we need more data to work from than our own experience can give us. ...

"A Christian who has David in his bones, Jeremiah in his bloodstream, Paul in his fingertips and Christ in his heart will know how much and how little value to put on his own momentary feelings and the experience of the last week. ...

"What we require is obedience - the strength to stand and the willingness to leap, and the sense to known when to do which. Which is exactly what we get when an accurate memory of God's ways is combined with a lively hope in his promises."

From 'A Long Obedience in the Same Direction' by Eugene Peterson

The Widow and the King

I've just finished re-reading 'The Widow and the King' by John Dickinson, a teenage medieval fantasy that my brother Leo bought me a couple of years back. We both read and enjoyed his first book, 'The Cup of the World' and then had to read the sequel. They're a great couple of books, engaging and intelligent, and I'm always left with plenty to think about.

'The Widow and the King' is about a boy's escape from, and finally battle against, an enemy he variously calls the 'Heron Man' or 'The Prince Under the Sky'*. The Prince is a formidable and very creepy enemy who is always working in the background, whispering in peoples' ears, bringing down kings and corrupting the wise, bringing despair and destruction. It's not hard to see why I found in this book a worldview I could understand! The book is really quite scary at times, and there is a coherent (and occasionally heartbreaking) inevitability to the character development.

(*this works well as a title for Satan doesn't it?)

This is ultimately a story of good against evil. The boy, Ambrose, is the son of a previous king and an obvious heir. He tries to do the right thing, but he's innocent of the realities of the world he lives in. The book tells the story of his journey to wisdom, whilst at the same time vindicating him in his innocence and goodness. Of course we know that, in this book as well as in life, goodness will conquer evil in the end, but in the meantime, the Prince is depressingly successful in his destructive and corrupting aims.

One of the major and most compelling themes in the book is the theme of forgiveness. Ambrose is convinced that forgiveness is necessary and that a king must have mercy. He argues this out with Aun, who knows by experience that a king who forgives an enemy instead of destroying him may suffer the consequences:

"And as for forgiving - it's not free, not even for a king. It's like taking on debt. And a king who forgives too much pays with his life. Remember that."

There are so many interesting subthemes in the books, and half-references to a worldview which makes sense to me, that I'd probably be surprised if John Dickinson was not a Christian. But if he isn't - he's stumbled on some significant truths about the world. CS Lewis talks about all stories reflecting something of the 'BIG Story', so perhaps that's what's happened here.

I've been thinking a lot about atonement recently and I'll probably be posting some of my reflections this week.. so until then.

God at War

I've finally finished reading 'God at War' by Greg Boyd and I find I have mixed feelings about it as a book. The overall thrust of his argument is very compelling and his analysis of the warfare motifs in the ministry of Jesus particularly persuasive. I find his reading of the NT as being fundamentally about the Kingdom of God 'at war' with the world/the kingdom of Satan is hard to dispute.

However, attempts to build a coherent 'theory of everything', to systematize the Biblical material, should always be treated with caution. As NT Wright points out, when we come to the Bible "looking for particular answers to particular questions...we have thereby made the Bible into something which it it not" ('How can Scripture be Authoritative?' 1989, see also 'Scripture and the Authority of God'). Systematic theology never sits completely comfortably alongside the Bible taken as a whole - just when you think you've 'got it' an unruly verse turns up to confound the theory.

As with any thesis of this nature, 'God at War' seems a bit 'rough at the edges', where at times the thesis is stretched just that little bit too far. Boyd is an enthusiastic theorist and always interesting, but there were moments in the book when I felt uncomfortable with the extent to which he seemed to be 'trying too hard' to pull in a variety of Biblical material to support the warfare theme. Notable in my mind is his warfare re-interpretation of the Lord's Prayer.

Despite these criticisms, I found 'God at War' a provocative and always-interesting book which I would definitely recommend - if only as a starting point for conversation. Those who know me well will know I am a big fan of Greg Boyd - although more in his preaching and energetic exposition of ideas than in his books - and I came to the book already persuaded by his God-at-war theodicy and understanding of Jesus' ministry.

In my view, Boyd is most challenging and convincing in his teaching on Jesus and the Kingdom of God and I know that he would agree that it is these ideas that are worth paying the most attention to. As I mentioned in a previous post it is his high view of Jesus (as with NT Wright) which I find most compelling. I've often heard him start teaching / preaching with the statement 'God looks like Jesus Christ', from Jesus' statement in John 14.9 "Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father." He will then go on to explain how we should always move from the known to the unknown - our understanding of God should start with Jesus, who is "the exact representation of his being" (Heb 1.3). If we want to know what God is like we should start by looking at Jesus (as opposed to philosophy or religion). As Boyd often says, "God looks like a man dying on a cross for those who crucified him."

The strength of this concept is what anchors his theodicy - his starting place in explaining the problem of evil. Since, he argues, the evil in the world around us does not accord with a God who, as Jesus Christ, rebuked sickness (and the wind and waves - Mk 4.39) and battled Satan (e.g Mk 3.23, Lk 13.16) it cannot be God's will. Evil is the result of wills other than God's. This fits with the NT's teaching that Satan is the archon (ruler) of the world (Jn 12.31, 16.11), the "god of this age" (2 Cor 4.4) and the "ruler of the kingdom of the air" (Eph 2.2), who has the whole world under his control (1 Jn 5.19).

Further explanation I will leave to Boyd as he is much more articulate than I! 'God at War' is the first book in a Trilogy, of which the second is 'Satan and the Problem of Evil' (onto which I shall move) and the last is as yet un-published. I would highly recommend his January 2005 sermon 'Being the Kingdom in a Groaning Creation' - given in the aftermath of the Boxing Day tsunami - as a summary of some of these ideas.


'God at War' concludes with a declaration of hope:

"The hope that the New Testament offers is not the hope that God has a higher, all-encompassing plan that secretly governs every event, including the evil intentions of malicious angelic and human beings, and that somehow renders these evil wills 'good' at a higher level. To my way of thinking, at least, that supposition generates a truly hopeless position... If justice is, on some secret transcendental plane, already being served, what do we have to look forward to? If God is already vindicated because 'the big picture' justies [a victim]'s torment 'for the good of the whole', then we really have no reason to hope that things will fare better for [a victim] or ourselves in the world to come.

"In direct contrast to all this, the ultimate hope that the New Testament offers is eschatological. As sure as the Lord came the first time to defeat his cosmic enemy and our oppressor in principle, just as certainly he shall return again to defeat him in fact. Because sickness, disease, war, death, sorrow and tears are not God's will, and because God is ultimately sovereign, we can have a confident assurance that someday, when his foes are ultimately vanquished, God will end all sorrow, and will wipe away every tear from our eyes (Rev 20:4). Precisely because our present suffering is not God's will - however much he can now use it for our ultimate good - we can have an assurance that it shall not always be this way."

As Boyd likes to say, "we live in a Good Friday world, but Easter Sunday is coming!"

The Cosmic Trilogy

I've finally got around to re-reading CS Lewis' Cosmic Trilogy: Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra and That Hideous Strength.

Overall, I'd best describe the trilogy as Very Odd, although not necessarily in a bad way! Not science fiction as you'd know it, but fantasy as Lewis does best, with talking beasts and fantastic creatures, only set this time in space. As in the Narnia stories he has woven in the 'Deeper Magic', the Story above - and below - all stories, while creating a cosmology entirely his own.

The Trilogy tells the story of a man called Ransom, a Christian professor who finds himself quite unexpectedly taken to Mars (or Malacandra), and then later to Venus (Perelandra). His journey out of the 'Silent Planet' (that is, Earth) leads to some remarkable discoveries about the universe, and a radical perspective change in his theology and cosmology.

My favourite book was the second. It's thoroughly fantastic, functioning as a myth in the way that Lewis does best. Ransom goes to Venus and witnesses the birth of a new race and its first temptation. Will this Eden also fall?

One of my favourite pieces of dialogue in the book is the conversation between the Green Lady and Ransom about why she is human and why fantastic creatures occur only on the more ancient worlds.

She is bewildered by his question and asks him, "How could they come again? Since our Beloved became a man, how should Reason in any world take on another form? Do you not understand? That is all over. Among times there is a time that turns a corner and everything on this side of it is new. Times do not go backward." Jesus is the turning point of all history. Nothing will ever be the same again.

The 'black archon' of Earth, whom Maleldil has blockaded on the planet (thus, 'the Silent Planet') has found a way to travel to Perelandra in the body of a twisted physicist called Dr Weston. In some of the most interesting scenes in the book, Ransom is forced to watch as the 'Un-man' uses every trick in the book to tempt the Lady to disobey Maleldil. Until finally, the Presence himself turns up.

Much to Ransom's dismay, there will be no supernatural intervention. He is Maleldil's representative on Perelandra and, not only must he 'do his best', in fact the very outcome of the battle is in his mortal hands. Literally in his hands, for the struggle he must have with the Tempter is a physical one, to destroy the human body that he inhabits. This is not what he expects, for "no such crude, materialistic struggle could be what Maleldil really intended...it would degrade the spiritual warfare to the condition of mere mythology." But he comes to realise that in the Incarnation, the spiritual has been bound up with the physical to such a degree that they can no longer be separated. He cannot draw a parallel between Eden and Perelandra because "What had happened on Earth, when Maleldil was born a man at Bethlehem, had altered the universe for ever."

It is Lewis' high view of the nature of humanity and his reflections on the universe-shattering nature of the Incarnation which is the most distinctive theme in the book. His use of Ransom reflects his understanding that God has chosen to effect his redemptive purposes through men and women:
"When Eve fell, God was not Man. He had not yet made men members of His body: since then He had, and through them henceforward He would save and suffer."

The task has come to this man, Ransom, to save a world from a fall. But, in one of the most thrilling lines in the book, the Voice tells him, "My name is also Ransom". He comes to understand that if even he fails "this world also would hereafter be redeemed. If he were not the ransom, Another would be...Not a second crucifixion: perhaps - who knows - not even a second Incarnation... some act of even more appalling love, some glory of yet deeper humility... her Redemption was beyond conceiving".

The outcome of the story I'll leave to you to find out!

Lewis' creations are always memorable, his fantasies tend to stick around in your consciousness, invading your worldview. You're left having to remind yourself that no, Mars really is just a cold and barren rock. And there's almost a sadness in coming back to reality and remembering the facts. Yet at the same time, it's a short-lived sadness, for his re-telling of the Big Story leaves me with a deeper, wider view of the real story. For, however fantastic the universes that Lewis creates, the reality is infinitely more glorious! Who can comprehend the mind of God, the intricacies of his plan, the delights he has in store for us?

(I've lots more I could say about That Hideous Strength, but that will have to wait for another day.)

I'd certainly recommend the first two books of the trilogy, for although they don't represent Lewis' best writing, they'll unsettle and stretch your worldview and that's never a bad thing!

The face of God

I've been reading a number of excellent books this holiday as part of my research for an essay on the Kingdom of God. Not least among them for good thinking material has been 'The Challenge of Jesus' by N.T. Wright, as well as his bigger tome 'Jesus and the Victory of God'.

The main thrust of Wright's argument is that Jesus' parables and teaching about the coming of YHWH to Zion, as well as his Temple prophecies (e.g. Mark 13, Luke 19) were primarily intended for his contemporary audience, to be fulfilled in their lifetimes and most centrally in Jesus himself. He argues that Jesus was concerned first of all with revealing God's purposes right now (i.e. in 30 A.D.) and was not principally interested in revealing his 'second coming' - something which would have made no sense to disciples who were still coming to grips with the nature of the 'first'.

Despite his focus on (re)discovering the historical Jesus, I was struck by his high view of Jesus and not only his description of Jesus as God, but his redrawing of God in light of Jesus. I'll let him speak for himself:

“I suggest that we think historically about a young Jew, possessed of a desperately risky, indeed apparently crazy, vocation, riding into Jerusalem in tears, denouncing the Temple, and dying on a Roman cross – and that we somehow allow our meaning for the word ‘god’ to be recentred around this point.” (p.92)

“The portrait [of God] has been redrawn. At its heart, as disclosed in biblical writings, we discover a human face, surrounded by a crown of thorns.” (p.92)

“The Shekinah glory turns out to have a human face.” (p.89)

(All quotes from 'The Challenge of Jesus' by N.T. Wright.)

All of this reminds me of a quote I've been meditating on these last few months from one of my favourite people, Greg Boyd. As he's fond of repeating in sermons, "God looks like Jesus Christ."

Patches of Green

I've previously posted on Christianity on Trial, a book well worth reading for its balanced and convincing approach to historical Christianity and the church's successes and failures.

The conclusion to the book asserts that "if knowledge of such dark episodes [such as the Crusades] in the history of Christianity is essential, it is also corrosive if it is the only knowledge of the past that most people possess." (p.208) The writers point out it is not just society at large, but also the church itself, that has been quick to over-represent failures and paint a unbalanced picture of Christian history that doesn't take into account all the facts available.

The book has been a excellent read and given me a much better sense of the detail of history as well as the bigger picture - the redeeming work that God has done and is doing. I've been especially struck - in a similar way to reading a biography - by what God can accomplish through individuals; the powerful impact that one or two people can have on a society, William Wilberforce being a powerful example. His story, and that of the other British abolitionists and what they accomplished, is almost beyond belief.

In 1770, slaves comprised 22% of the population of Britain's American colonies, 90% in the East and West Indies. Between 1791 and 1800, 400,000 slaves were sold, making these some of the most active years of the slave trade (p.33). It was during these years, when the British economy was heavily dependent on slavery, or slave-produced goods, that the antislavery movement began to pick up steam, driven by the Methodists and men like Wilberforce. The Abolition Act of 1833, brought the emancipation of 780,000 slaves, at a cost to the British government of 20 million pounds!

Equally striking is the reminder, in the conclusion, that we "have no need to pore over historical works to appreciate an example of the more hopeful side of the Christian legacy" as significant examples exist even in the last half century. The collapse of communism in Eastern Europe began with a nonviolent campaign in Poland, sparked off and encouraged by visits by Pope John Paul II in 1979 and 1983. The authors make a convincing case for the importance of the church and Christian faith, as well as the impact of the Pope, during the ensuing events. They comment that even the Chinese government recognised the role that the churches had played and on their own turf sought to 'strangle the baby while it is still in the manger' (p.211). They argue that Christianity's "indigenous growth outside the West is one of the signal democratizing forces around the globe today." (p.211)

Philip Yancey also remarks on these 'patches of green' in a chapter in What's so Amazing about Grace:

"Remarkably, we have lived to see these [Eastern European] dissidents triumph. An alternative kingdom of ragged subjects, of prisoners, poets, and priests, who conveyed their words in the scrawl of hand-copied samizdat, toppled what seemed like an impregnable fortress. In each nation the church operated as a counterforce, sometimes quietly and sometimes loudly insisting on a truth that transcended, and often contradicted, official propaganda. In Poland the Catholics marched past government buildings shouting 'We forgive you!'" (p.261)

God as Engineer or Programmer?

I enjoyed this excerpt from the 'Christianity and Science' chapter of Christianity on Trial by Vincent Carroll And David Shiflett.

Some clerics, such as the Dominican friar Giovanni de San Gimignano (d. 1323), actually encouraged sermonizing on technical topics. He included in his encyclopedia for preachers a description of everything from windmills to fortifications, to glass making. For that matter, observes Gimpel, "the greatest homage the Middle Ages offered the architect-engineer was to represent the Almighty, in thirteenth and fourteenth century miniatures, as an architect-engineer Himself, measuring the universe with a large compass. It is as if today, in film on the Almighty, God were to be represented programming a computer."

TOM WRIGHT on the pattern of incarnation

"I tell you the truth, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me." John 13:20

Those who go in Jesus' name, who get on with whatever work he gives them to do in his spirit and his love, are given an extraordinary status and privilege. Anyone who welcomes them, welcomes Jesus, and thereby also welcomes 'the one who sent him'. You probably won't recognise it at the time. You'll be too busy thinking of the people you're working for and with. But, as you look back, you may be startled by the joy of realizing that as you walked into that house, that hospital, that place of pain or love or sorrow or hope, Jesus was walking in, wearing your skin, speaking in your tone of voice. 'I've given you a pattern,' he said, and he meant it.

Tom Wright, in John for Everyone - Part 2

Incarnation...behind the scenes

I was skimming through Wild at Heart by John Eldredge this morning, and was struck by the reminder that the night of Jesus' birth was no 'silent night' in heaven.

Eldredge points out that our 'Silent Night' or 'Away in a Manger' picture of the nativity scene, quiet and intimate, is in many ways a deceptive one. For a fuller picture you have to turn to Revelation 12:

A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads. His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child the moment it was born. She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter...

And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down ‚— that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.

(Rev 12: 1-5, 7-9)

Eldredge continues...
As Philip Yancey says, I have never seen this version of the story on a Christmas card. Yet is is the truer story, the rest of the picture of what was going on that fateful night. Yancey calls the birth of Christ the Great Invasion, "a daring raid by the ruler of the forces of good into the universe's seat of evil." Spiritually speaking, this is no silent night. It is D-Day. "It is almost beyond my comprehension too, and yet I accept that this notion is the key to understanding Christmas and is, in fact, the touchstone of my faith. As a Christian I believe that we live in parallel worlds. One world consists of hills and lakes and barns and politicians and shepherds watching their flocks by night. The other consists of angels and sinister forces" and the whole spiritual realm.

The Early Christians...

...In their own words.

I've been dipping into The Early Christians In Their Own Words, a 'topically arranged collection of primary sources', edited by Eberhard Arnold, the founder of the Bruderhof community.

These texts, translated from Greek, Latin and Hebrew, range from letters and accounts to apologetics, poetry and confession, and offer a fascinating glimpse into the life of the 1st and 2nd century Christians.

The most striking texts I've read so far are those concerning the martyrs. The most revealing perhaps is a letter from Gaius Pliny, the governor in Asia Minor, to the Emperor Trajan, asking for advice on prosecuting Christians: "I do not know what or how much to punish or to investigate." He asks whether Christians should be punished even if there is no crime, how he should determine guilt where names had been given by an informer, and whether he should acquit those who denied being a Christian and worshipped the statues of the gods. As regards the last, he points out: "It is said that those who really are Christians cannot be compelled to do any of these things in any circumstances."

Gaius Pliny explains that Christians who continued to confess their faith, despite threat of the death penalty, were "led away to their death, for I had no doubt that, whatever is was that they confessed, their stubborness and inflexible obstinacy certainly deserved to be punished."

He also reveals his concern about the large number of those 'imperiled': "The contagion of this superstition has spread not only in the cities but even to the villages and to the country districts."

Trajan replies that Pliny has followed the correct procedure and explains that Christians "should not be sought out", and should be pardoned on 'repentance'.

There is a further letter from the Emperor Hadrian, again concerning the legal implications. His instruction is that accusations against Christians should go through the proper channels and proof should be given that "the people concerned are acting against the law". He also speaks strongly against accusations brought with "slanderous intention".

It's amazing to get such a clear picture, from the Roman authorities, of the life and health of the early church. The letters reveal the very real danger of life as an early Christian and yet the church is clearly growing and thriving, and with a reputation preceeding it - that the Christians would rather die than recount their faith.

Finally, Pliny also offers what is apparently the earliest external account of Christian worship, describing "their custom to meet on a fixed day before sunlight and, alternating with each other, to sing a hymn to Christ as to a god.... After doing this it was their custom to part from one another and then to meet again to share an ordinary and harmless meal."


(If you're interested in reading the correspondance for yourself, the link at the top of the page takes you to the ebook version, in pdf format. )

HENRI NOUWEN on the Beloved

Henri Nouwen reflects on hearing the voice that says "You are my Beloved, on you my favour rests", from the book 'The Return of the Prodigal Son'.

As the Beloved of my heavenly Father, 'I can walk in the valley of darkness: no evil would I fear.' As the Beloved , I can 'cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out devils.' Having 'received without charge,' I can 'give without charge.' As the Beloved, I can confront, console, admonish, and encourage without fear of rejection or need for affirmation. As the Beloved, I can suffer persecution without desire for revenge and receive praise without using it as proof of my goodness. As the Beloved, I can be tortured and killed without ever having to doubt that the love that is given to me is stronger than death. As the Beloved, I am free to live and give life, free also to die while giving life.

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

This was a short reading interlude to enjoy some fiction, the mark of my holidays beginning!

There are reviews aplenty of this book, the 2002 winner of the Man Booker Prize, and I will add my praise but see no reason to repeat here what many have done so well. The Guardian's reviewer perhaps sums it up best: "The better story has a tiger in it."

I enjoyed the teasing way in which Yann Martel tests our credulity as the story continues. How far will we go with him? This is story in many ways about the power of storytelling, the extent to which we are willing to suspend disbelief for a good story, neatly paralled in the retelling at the end. As the Guardian's reviewer points out, the underlying narrative has the "neatness of fable".

For me, the most poignant moment of the story is the "bungled goodbye" at the end. Of all his interactions with Richard Parker, this one is perhaps the most credible and the least like story, and yet we're wrenched, like Pi, by the way in which this particular story doesn't end as it should. As he says, "What a terrible thing it is to botch a farewell...It's important in life to conclude things properly."