Browsing Archive: October, 2011
In
his fourth question Brian McLaren asks who Jesus is and why he is important.
Asking such a question would suggest that he is actually opening up a debate on
the nature of Jesus’ humanity and/or divinity – but this is not something he
does. Rather he responds to some of the pictures drawn of Jesus in the US
particularly – suggesting that they find their roots more in the Greco-Roman
and Platonic meta-narrative referred to in his first question.
Roots
The
two versions of Jesus that he de... Continue reading ...
I found
this quote over at Lesley’s Blog:
So if we
ask whether this or that form of ordained ministry models a humanity that looks
full or joyful or renewed, maybe that is the crucial question. And frequently
the answer is no, for men and for women.
When
looking at challenges such as employment practice, work patterns, couples in
ministry, and a whole range of issues, we might ask whether this human ministry
looks as though it stands for an attractive, a transforming and transformed,
new hu... Continue reading ...
Posted by Dyfed on Thursday, October 27, 2011,
In :
Hell
In the last post I looked at
John the Baptiser’s warning about Jesus coming in judgement to sift the wheat
from the chaff and that the chaff would be burnt in an ‘unquenchable fire’
(Matthew 3:12). There are a number of other references in the New Testament to
this fire that never goes out and it would seem that they take their image from
the very last verse in Isaiah 66:24 – ‘And they will go out and look upon the
dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; their worm will not di...
Continue reading ...
Posted by Dyfed on Wednesday, October 26, 2011,
In :
Random
Derren Brown is a firm favourite in this house by now. He’s a great
showman, of course, but also brings fascinating insights into the world of
hypnotism, clairvoyance, and – grit your teeth for this one – a lot of what is
seen as Christian experience. A new series of his has begun on Channel 4 and it
started with a bang.
Bobby Kennedy
The challenge he set himself for the first show was to see whether he
could manipulate someone to the extent that that person would assassinate a
given targ... Continue reading ...
Posted by Dyfed on Tuesday, October 25, 2011,
In :
Random
It felt important at the time. He was tall and thin and had a grey
beard. His black hoody and shell suit bottoms were quite dirty though he didn’t
smell as if he’d been wearing them for a long time. He had a small, knitted cap
on his head which every now and again he adjusted just in case the wind was about
to blow it off. His face was quite reddened as if he had often been standing in
the weather doing the same thing.
And he stood there that day – plastic water bottle in hand – and re... Continue reading ...
Is
God violent, cruel, and genocidal? This is Brian McLaren’s third question and
surely all would answer with a resounding ‘no’. And yet there are many passages
in the Bible – and especially in the Old Testament – that suggest that this
exactly how God can be at times, passages that make him appear very un-Christ-like.
The question that McLaren attempts to answer is whether this is a true
reflection of God or whether the truth is that God is actually like Jesus –
loving, forgiving...
Continue reading ...
Posted by Dyfed on Saturday, October 22, 2011,
In :
Politics
As promised, some photos of the Occupy protest in London, with some added commentry notes. The main banner situated at the front of the camp and seen by all who walk towards the main entrance to St Paul's - seen in the background. The camp occupies this corner of the cathedral's site only. Taken from the steps of St Paul's this photo shows some of the camp. Access to these steps was clear and very much available. Entrances to the cathedral were all clear and the organisers of the protests were ... Continue reading ...
Posted by Dyfed on Friday, October 21, 2011,
In :
Politics
The coverage of the Occupy protests was very slow to get going –
especially by the BBC – when the whole thing first sprung up in the US as Occupy Wall Street.
Coverage has also been muted since the camp was set up by the London stock exchange but when I saw
the first TV news report I knew that I had to go there. And on Wednesday that’s
what I did. Here are some thoughts about what I saw. I’ll post some photos and
video footage tomorrow and on Sunday I’ll reflect on the involvement o...
Posted by Dyfed on Thursday, October 20, 2011,
In :
1859 revival
As was stated in the
previous post, the 1859 Welsh Revival is mostly connected with the name of
Dafydd Morgan. Not highly regarded within his county and virtually unknown outside
it, Morgan was an ordained Calvinistic Methodist minister though without a
local church of his own to lead and pastor. Despite this humble ministry,
however, it was Dafydd Morgan who was to be used as a powerful and anointed
preacher and revivalist, travelling up and down Wales for the remainder of the
revival.
Morgan... Continue reading ...
Posted by Dyfed on Tuesday, October 18, 2011,
In :
Hell
John the Baptiser certainly
had a way with words and the day he talked of Jesus coming to burn up the chaff
must have been a striking moment for those who heard him (Matthew 3:12). They
would have been very familiar with the picture John painted, of course, for
using a winnowing fork to throw up the grain into the air in order to separate
it from the chaff would have been something that was well known to all.
The chaff – being the husk
that surrounded the grain and the bits of stalk brought... Continue reading ...
Brian
McLaren suggests that reading the Bible like a ‘written constitution’ has led
the church into supporting some clearly wrong actions such as slavery. A
different way of approaching the Bible is to see it as an ‘inspired library’.
‘This inspired library’ says McLaren, ‘preserves, presents and inspires an on-going
vigorous conversation with and about God, a living and vital civil argument
into which we are all invited and through which God is revealed’.
God-inspired nonsense... Continue reading ...
Posted by Dyfed on Friday, October 14, 2011,
In :
Random
The binge drinking culture that is now prevalent in the UK is a deep
cause of concern. As a magistrate I see its effects on a regular basis as so
many assault cases before the courts have alcohol consumption as a key element,
and as a Welshman too this subject interests me, for despite the temperance
movement in the 19th century, Wales and alcohol have had an
ambivalent relationship to say the least.
Agression from within
Continue reading ...
Posted by Dyfed on Thursday, October 13, 2011,
In :
1859 revival
As detailed in the last post,
the 1859 Welsh Revival torched the village of Ystumtuen exclusively because of
the work of Humphrey Jones. His mission had begun in his home village of Tre’r
Ddôl and had lasted there for four weeks. He moved on, probably as part of a
pre-prepared plan, to Ystumtuen and there he stayed for five weeks. But the
move to the next village – Mynydd Bach – was to represent a significant shift
in the revival’s history.
Mynydd Bach’s first
Methodist chapel was b... Continue reading ...
Posted by Dyfed on Wednesday, October 12, 2011,
In :
Hell
Let’s begin our trawl
through the relevant NT passages that are often interpreted as being references
to hell because Jesus refers to the fire of judgement in them. Rather than take
each individual verse one by one I’m going to gather them together and deal
with them according to their theme.
Burning dead wood
The first theme to be looked
at is the motif of throwing dead wood, trees, or branches into the fire because
the tree has not produced fruit. The most obvious example – though not ... Continue reading ...
Posted by Dyfed on Tuesday, October 11, 2011,
In :
Random
I forgot to take my tablets with me this last weekend and sure enough within
a couple of days or so I ended up with a migraine. The tablets do something in
the brain that usually keep the migraines at bay and they have been a real
blessing over the 18 months since they were prescribed.
Feeling rough but hopeful
So there we were in Antioch’s Sunday morning meeting and I felt rough;
not as bad as some migraines I’ve had, but still the nauseous feeling was there
and a fuzziness in my head. As ... Continue reading ...
How
should we read the Bible? This is Brian McLaren’s second question and it deals
with the authority of the Scriptures. In conservative church circles this is a particularly
sensitive subject and daring to question the ‘word of God’ is seen as a step
too far in any quest. McLaren tackles the issue, however, with a penetrating
force that cannot simply be ignored.
Science textbook
He
suggests that we have ‘got ourselves into a mess with the Bible’ and that this
mess is threefold. Fir... Continue reading ...
Posted by Dyfed on Thursday, October 6, 2011,
In :
1859 revival
Ystumtuen was a lead mining
village in the Rheidiol Valley some twelve miles to the east of the town of
Aberystwyth. This was to be Humphrey Jones’ next mission field in the 1858-60
revival. The first Methodist mission was established there in 1807 and they had
built their first chapel in 1823. The church must have been growing at a steady
pace since they built a new chapel in 1840 and in the year of revival this too
was being added to. Good soil, then, for a revivalist to come and plant th...
Continue reading ...
Posted by Dyfed on Wednesday, October 5, 2011,
In :
Hell
In the last post on the
picture of hell as fire I explored some interpretive issues in the Old
Testament suggesting that figurative language and context were key things to
take into account. From that I would argue that it is fair to conclude that
while fire is used as a picture of God’s anger towards and punishment of sin,
there is very little in this OT motif that can be used to prove the existence
of hell as eternal conscious torment. The punishment of fire is severe and
fully reflects G...
Continue reading ...
Great Britain is a Christian country and our government should govern
based on Christian principles especially when it comes to defending godly
marriage. That pretty much sums up a story that appeared on the Christian Institute’s website last week.
Many of you will agree with that sentiment but let me invite you to consider
what the Institute premise their
assertion of Britain’s religious attachment upon.
Majority is Christian
They laud the results of the ‘Integrated Household Survey’ (... Continue reading ...
In
last week’s post I shared McLaren’s suggestion that the Christian story has
been hijacked by a philosophy that was essentially pagan and which emphasised
the destruction of the body and all material things but the salvation of a
disembodied, eternal soul with god.
The Hebraic worldview
Is
there an alternative understanding? Yes, says McLaren, if we read the Bible
from the Hebraic worldview. Our problem is that we have read back to Jesus and
his good news through the lenses provided for u... Continue reading ...
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