This is a short video clip of a few people from Enfield Vineyard sharing their wisdom regarding what Jesus meant when he said that to receive the kingdom of Go we need to be as little children.
Here is the image that I used as aide to raise the question how will you react when you meet Jesus face to face?
One day a group of theoretical physicists that no one outside of the universities had ever heard of, began to make the claim that they had discovered and refined a technique which they believed would have far reaching and profound consequences. At first of course, they were virtually ignored, which is odd because they had good resumes. They had many academic papers to their names and taught at some of the most prestigious places of learning anywhere. And their idea really was top notch.
Over the next few days their followers on social media went through the roof, and so the best statisticians in the land took a look at the numbers. They confirmed that the growth in the physicists’ followers was in fact truly exponentially, as compared to governmental-hype-exponential. Local, and then national media began to take an interest. Soon some of the physicists were being interviewed on radio stations, and by the big news YouTube channels. And no wonder. In a nutshell, the team claimed to have invented a way to pluck energy out of the earth’s magnetic field and turn it into electricity.
Most of the people who followed, or heard about the theoretical physicists’ claims had only a vague grasp of what they were talking about. Of course, this is natural and to be expected given how hard physics can be. Despite this, some people became very excited. These people sat at their computers, using their 280 characters to speculate about the theoretical physicists’ work and its potential to solve the energy crisis. Their procedure was cheap, potentially easy to replicate, used no fuel of any description, and created no waste at all. No carbon, no remote Lithium mines, no carcinogenic particles. And if the videos were to believed, this thing even worked. What’s not to like?
Others thought ‘no way’, didn’t believe the hype, and went about their business.
As if these claims were not wild enough though, there had been some more developments. Quietly and without fuss, the theoretical physicists had enlisted some of their experimental colleagues from down the corridor. Soon a small group of engineers were invited to lend their expertise to the project. Together they had tested a version of the device that was about the size of suitcase, and that with the addition of a simple, small, aerial-type-thingy-bob seemed to provide unlimited energy to power a car.
Could it be true? More verified, exponential, social-based growth.
Somehow, through an inexplicable series of events, you are invited to fit the device to your car, and participate in a test. On the day of the trip, surrounded by noisy crowds busily posting selfies with you to their various socials of choice, you get into your upgraded car, and drive, drive and drive some more. On arriving at Land’s End, you get out for a stretch and a cream tea, before setting off back to London arriving in time to set out the chairs at church for the Sunday service. Total energy cost. £0. Zip. Nada.
You simple cannot believe it. Except it happened. It actually happened. Those darn physics nerds. This really is the most awesome thing you have ever seen. Perhaps this really will change the world.
There is, however, a draw back. And it’s a serious one. Those physics nerds are dividing into camps. Something doesn’t fit. Something feels wrong. In order to explain how this device works, so that it can be built at scale and rolled out for use by the eager, energy hungry populations of the world, there will need to be a fundamentally re-write the laws of physics. A new(ish) physics is needed to explain how this device works. Turns out, if you look at it in a certain way, under the right light, Scotty was in fact, wrong.
‘So what?’ you say ‘Me, I got a free-to-run car. Who cares about some spat between the physicists? It is about as serious as a national philosophers’ strike’. But the discord builds. There are arguments on the socials. Groups of angry physicists and their supporters can be seen carrying placards and confronting each other, throwing insults and shouting in tongues about ‘entropy’ and ‘conservation’ and ‘Lenz’s Law’.
But as you think about it you realise that a way of understanding our world will need to be let go of. Though these ideas have served us well, they are only part of a bigger picture. They are in need of a Great Reset.
The theoretical physicists have demonstrated that foundational work by the likes of Maxwell, Newton and Einstein while not exactly wrong, is full of holes. Michelson and Morely, despite being superheroes of physics, are in danger of being demoted to the ranks of the ‘somewhat-deluded’.
Perhaps the aether exists after all? Perhaps things don’t have to always fall when you drop them? Not now. Not anymore. And so Physics needs a serious reworking. The implications are enormous. Everything we thought we understood about how the world works is, well not 100% wrong, but seriously flawed. You are faintly amused as you consider the prospect of anarchy in the physics world. But what about the effect on the energy companies? Or on those that have invested heavily in those faraway lithium mines? Or on environmental degradation? What about the shift in international relationships? Poverty? Human rights? Food?
‘Anyway’ you type as you shrug your shoulders, ‘I dunno about all that. Too big to think about.’ But as you log out of twitter you can’t help muttering out loud ‘that thing worked. It actually worked.’
‘Stuff the old physics’ you think. ‘It must have been wrong. Newton – you can keep your apple.’
Here’s the text for the Good Friday meditation 14/04/2022 at Enfield Vineyard. I tried to offer people an opportunity to reflect on the descent of Jesus from his heavenly abode into the midst of human life on earth, rather than concentrate on the awful physically pain of the last events.
If you would like to print you can download it as a pdf.
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Phil 2:5ff
Today is Good Friday. We don’t do a lot of the church calendar at Enfield Vineyard. If you were asked what is the most important day in the church calendar I wonder how you’d reply to that? I don’t suppose you could really say there is a most important day – you’d end up with a list, and certainly Good Friday would be on most people’s list
We have listened this morning to a few readings from the various gospel accounts. We have thought over something of the physical, emotional, and spiritual pain that was endured by Jesus. It can be hard to relate to the suffering – perhaps over time we grow a little immune to it, jaded even as we have heard it all before. It is good to wonder at what these final hours of this part of the act of the drama mean. They are deep, dark, profound and awful. There are endless levels of meaning to these events. Some say that the whole of history points towards this day. Events before moving forwards to Good Friday, and future events flowing forth from it.
For those who have ears to hear there is endless significance for our lives today.
If the Christian life, and perhaps the lives of us all, can be compared to ascending a mountain towards the presence of God then Paul paints for us a detailed picture of a divine descent. A descent that was costly, but one that ultimately pleased the Trinity. This divine descent was a restoration mission, driven as it was by love. Key to this descent is the idea of humility.
Paul describes Jesus as being ‘in the form of God’ a thought so profound that it has quieted the fervent discussions of the most self-assured theologians. How are we to think of this, ‘in the form of God’ as we go about our normal daily lives? The early church worked hard to, if not so much to say exactly what it meant for Jesus to be in the form of God, but rather to try and express something of the beauty of it and to say what it did not mean. Jesus in the form of God.
A few lines from the Nicene Creed express this idea:
the only Son of God, begotten from the Father before all ages, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made; of the same essence as the Father.
We humans, beloved as we are, find ourselves to be limited. We are bound by time, and time forces change upon us. Picture if you can what it was like before creation. Given that creation includes the creation of time itself, even that word ‘before’ is wrong of course. I cannot find the words, so I must draw from my own experience.
One springtime, while walking in a park on the edge of London it occurred to me that sound of the birds singing was louder than usual – clearer, sweeter, more defined somehow. And the sky seemed a blue I hadn’t noticed before. Was this possible? Lockdown, with all its consequences, had caused the continual drone of traffic to be silenced, and had held back the exhausting pace of life – at least for me in that moment – but clearing the atmospheric haze as well? Glimpses through the veil
Picture a warm, sunny day, a crystal clear stream flowing over smooth stones. This water is so clear and so very cold. The sound of its flowing is gentle, childlike, emotive. But emotive of what? The stones seem so solid, and the detail on their surface which I can see through the water’s sparkle takes my attention. There is no-thing on my mind – I am at liberty to just ‘be’ in this place. No sense of time pressing in, no tyranny of urgency, no vague sense of unplaced dis-ease or uneasiness or threat or insufficiency. No fear of what is to come. There is no need of anything. I am still, in the moment and at peace. Glimpses through the veil
You will have your own version of these “thin” places where something almost so other worldly you could miss it, called out to you. Such fleeting moments are pearls of great price, rare and ethereal They stir a longing, unrecognised and deep, a whisper of something more.
Now consider the purity in which the trinity dwelt before Jesus began his descent. My attempts at painting a picture fall away. There are no words for the blessedness of that state. Nothing of all the myriad of stresses that come against us to diminish the joy, the peace, the love. It is good for us to reflect on these things. They bring light to Paul’s words.
Jesus, Paul says ‘emptied himself’ of all this. What is this emptying that leads to a being which remains fully God yet becomes fully human. Most often an emptying of something implies a diminishment. An empty glass might be fine, beautiful even, but there is more to what the glass was intended to be. Here is the mystery. How does Jesus empty himself, yet remain fully God? How does the perfection of God walk among us???
And put simply, we struggle to comprehend this. And is this not how it should be: wonderful as the human mind undoubtedly is, some things one not meant to be understood.
The apostle does give us some insight though. This emptying of Almighty God necessitates Jesus taking the form of a servant, & being born as we are, leaving the clarity & splendour of his previous habitation & manifesting into human flesh to live out a life as ours.
Once in human form Paul tells us that Jesus humbled himself. Allow your mind to soak in this humility. What kind of God would take on a life of reduction? Consider the life of royalty. Not for the Christ this style of life. As he moves toward the final stages in his human life behold the God-man, around whom the whole story revolves, takes up a towel & washes dirty feet. God from God, light from light of the same essence as the Farther in human form as a servant. The upsidedowness of the kingdom.
Previously Jesus declared to an astounded audience:
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matt 5
This remains so counter cultural, so inverted, so upside-down. True humility is a step up the mountain towards the divine life. Jesus said so, & Jesus lived so.
The Apostle tells us that Jesus humbled himself as an act of obedience. This obedience led to the crucifixion.
The cross is many things. The events leading up to, & culminating with hammer & nails, spear, blood & water are weighty & mysterious. They speak of humility and descent. They speak of emotional torment & physical pain. They speak of identification. Jesus, God, endured what we endure. He has known rejection, mockery, isolation. He has known physical pain, his body shutting down, life ebbing away. He has experienced the horror or the final enemy, death itself. Imagine that. The Lord, the giver of Life, the only source of life itself, humbles himself to the point of death. Let know one say, let no one say that God is ignorant of our the nature of our lives.
What kind of God would allow himself to be spat on? To be blind folded, hit & asked to name the assailer? What nature of being surrenders his head to thorns & his heart to such degrading mockery? How is it that the eternally blessed Creator submits his hands & his feet, & allows himself to be staked out, & suspended vertically? How does the uncreated one endure the life draining out of him? How far has this One descended? God from God, light from light of the same essence as the Farther.
Our last session – and where to start? Inevitably most of the content was left uncovered. I tried to get somewhere away from the idea that fall itself was just about eating a fruit when told not too. A bit like saying ‘no’ to a toddler maybe? We discussed how surely God must have known what would happen.
I tried to move towards the serpent’s attack on Adam and Eve’s identity. Pride and the desire to be like God is usually thought of as being the root. In light of the image/idol nature of humanity teaching, what was the fall about? Yes, it includes pride of course, but there is also an attack on the divine, royal nature that has been given to them as God breathed into them to animate them in his tselem. How could they desire something that they already had?
I’d like to have said more about their role to continue God’s creation out into the earth, subduing it and making it all fit for God’s presence. And if they already had knowledge of good and evil, which they clearly did, what did God mean when he talked about ‘eating of the fruit of the tree of good and evil?’ Why was the serpent in the garden if that was a holy of holies as Genesis seems to suggest? How were the consequences of their actions suited to the nature of their action? Was their a change in Adam and Eve’s nature? If God knew it was going to happen it must be ultimately good?
So many questions!
It is my hope that people went away with a new sense of the depth of the origin story. I hope that people’s faith was deepened at the profound, coherence of the narrative, and the awe of being made in God’s image.
Will there every be another course like this at EV? I’d like to think so. In the style of theology a better question might be ‘Will I ever do another course like this at EV?’ Judging by the feedback a number of people would be up for one. Others who couldn’t make it have asked for a repeat. One thing I do know is that it wont be long before its all bubbling up in me again.
What do you think?
Origins 12 – Fall-ward
Origins 13 – Fall-ward – 2
The aims of session – 5 were to consider the implications of our image / idol status introduced in session 3 and bedded in via session 4 and to prepare the way for our last session which will be on the fall.
After recapping the ideas surrounding humanity as being the incarnation of Yahweh Elohim (which is pretty shocking of course) we tried ot summerise it – here’s a small part of that:
God’s own image/idol was the real deal. In contrast to the surrounding cultures this image/idol breathed, had thought, life, agency, and would truly represent and mediate the sovereign presence to creation
me
Keen to bring this into everyday life we talked about the four minute video that was set for homework and how this clearly showed the divine, royal calling of humanity in action.
Moving away from the animal kingdom I aimed to stress the practical nature of Gen 1:26-28 by talking about how the realisation of our divine/royal station effects all our dealings in our lives – ethical, moral, business – all relations. Then we looked at the tragedy of our projection of our own nature into an idol. Imagine my surprise when, unprompted – someone came to one of the main conclusions. I love teaching.
Then a rabbit popped it’s head out of a hole to remind us that perhaps the image/idol material was all about ‘identity‘. Thanks for dropping by Mr Rabbit.
To end this session we did a brief walk through writers of the 2nd to 21st centaury and how they spoke of this image/idol status. If you want to see the inspiring quotes of the likes of Maximus the confession and C.S. Lewis see the powerpoint.
Now, we are ready to look at the fall…..
Origins 9 – So what?
Origins 10 – Fall-ward
For our next session please take a moment to watch this moving little video. Watch especially for the crowds’ reaction and the reaction of the elephant.
Consider this interaction in the light of our being Yahweh God’s image/idol. Is it a reflection of God’s character as you understand it? How does it fulfil our royal mandate to tend for Eden (temple) and to make his presence known in our world. Would you go so far as to describe it as an act of worship? How does it fit in the light of world events?
Please add a comment below – I mean you don’t have to – but you know, discussion is good.
Our fourth session already – and I was really pleased that the ‘full class’ discussion times were gaining momentum.
The aim of this session was to dig deeper into why the authors of Genesis 1 chose such contentious word, tslem, (in Hebrew obviously!) to describe humanity given that most often tslem is used to describe idols. Why not use a less loaded word; there were certainly other options. We suggested that this must have been a deliberate choice, or else something of an oversight. We left this hanging at the end of session 3.
In session 4 we saw that the Hebrews, surrounded by polytheistic cultures as they were, stuck their necks out and wrote their creation account as a polemic (argument) against the practices and beliefs of those cultures. We saw that the Hebrew Bible is very clear concerning the nature of dumb and detestable idols, and that the Mesopotamian and Egyptian cultures were too. It was just that later had views completely out of sync with Israel.
To the Hebrews creation was a temple, but a temple it seems with no cult statue (idol). There are no animal deities, nor was anything in creation deified (such as the sun or moon). Humanity are not created as slaves or from the carcass of a fight between gods. Rather humanity is the animated image-idol, the icon, of Yahweh, placed within the temple, imbued with power and authority to re-present God’s sovereign presence to the creation.
So tselm is used because it is loaded with implications about the nature and purpose of humanity.
Origins 8 – Ears to hear, eyes to see
We began with a very brief look at what is an idol from a biblical perspective rather than how we have changed it’s meaning. I stressed that God forbids idolatry. Next was a quick trip into 21st century image-saturation contrasting the ease with which we create images to the expense and difficulty that was required back in history.
From here we girded our loins and did a word study on the Hebrew words behind ‘likeness’ and ‘image’ in Genesis 1:26-28. Looking at a pile of references from the Old Testament we were able to draw some conclusions about what the Hebrew authors of Genesis were expressing by their use of ‘likeness and image’. Image and likeness are physical, visual, concrete terms. They refer to the whole person and not to just an aspect such as intelligence. The word for ‘image’ is used to refer to humanity in creation (and Adam and Eve’s first child) and (shockingly) almost exclusive to a pagan idols. Therefore we are left to conclude that in some senses we are God’s image-idol.
But what does that mean? It just sounds wrong. We will certainly unpack this in upcoming sessions. For now just to say – we are not God(s) and neither does God worship us. To be human is more wonderful than we realise it seems to me. As one of my lecturers put it:
To liken humanity to a statue of a god is either dangerously careless or deliberate and profound
Crispin Fletcher-Louis – Creation and Worship, Lecture notes
Origins 5 – What is man(kind) that you are mindful of him?
In Session 2 we focused on the translation of the notoriously difficult verse 1 -especially that pesky first word. Just how do you translate ” In beginning created God…” – — yes, no “the” in the first clause.
Then we looked at what an alternative translation would be:
When God began to create the heavens and the earth,
Safaria amongst others
the earth was formless and empty,
darkness was over the surface of the deep,
and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
And (then) God said ‘let there be light…’
Suggesting that Genesis 1 is NOT the first chapter of the story after all – though we still said that God created everything as per John 1 of course.
Next it was off to a deeper look at “tohu and vabohu” again, this time to see how the words were used elsewhere in the Hebrew bible. We ended with a quick discussion of just what does it mean to be created in God’s image and likeness and why is idolatry such a big no no.
Origins 3 – In beginning, creatio ex niliho
Origins 4- Positive and negative in gen 1vs2
In the first session of our ‘Origins’ course we looked at a few ideas around how we learn. After that we began to look at the initial state of play as Genesis 1 kicks off with ‘formless and void’. This is the turned around completely as under the direction of Yahweh Elohim the Artisan as earth takes on structure and is filled with life. Beautiful.
Lots of positive feedback after this session – I was especially happy to hear such a buzz from the four discussion groups – I thought they might sit there in silence not discussing. Not a bit of it!
There were also some really good questions asked – and, as predicted, some questions had no easy answers.
Can’t wait to move into the next topic.
Origins 1 – Intro and scene setting
Origins 2 – What was creation?
Here’s a couple of hundred words to describe what the aim of the ‘Origins’ course is.
After some thought I have decided to go with the topic of Genesis 1-3. Here’s a little more detail of what to expect. I expect the curriculum to be driven by the follow strands.
As you probably know I end up talking about Genesis virtually every time I preach. Why is this? I guess it is because it is the Hebrew Origin story and so clearly, obviously underpins what our Christian faith is all about.
Unsurprisingly to me, when I announced the possibility of doing something more in depth on Genesis I was asked about discussing Evolution vs Creation. We might, perhaps, make a passing reference to the subject on our way towards something else. It is not my intention to get into that particular rabbit hole. As somebody once said to me ‘the text is so much deeper than that’. So here’s a brief look at what I am thinking about covering.
This is the starting, and ending point, of course. We will look deeply into some of the text, and some of the words to help us understand how the Hebrews saw the cosmos before the acts of Gen1. We might unpack the ‘formless and void’ of vs 2 , and the famously beautiful phrase ‘image and likeness’ of vs 26 which is so debated. We might look into the order of the 6 days narrative and what our God given role in Eden was. Why a garden? What is outside the garden? Why the description of the rivers, and precious stones?
We will spend some time in this chapter taking an overview of just what is Hebrew author saying to us about those famous events. What is the tree of the knowledge of good and evil? What is ‘a serpent’? What was the attack that faced our ancestors? Just what was going on in the fall?
The Hebrews who wrote Genesis were obviously part of a wider society, just as we are today. Naturally again this means they were influenced by these cultures. Again, we can gain useful insights into what the writers were thinking when they wrote. Archaeology and alternative creation stories such as the Sumerian shed light on how the Hebrews and their contemporaries thought about God, and the human.
Hopefully we will get to look at this at least in part – since it is so intrically linked into Genesis 1 and 2. The temple is described as ‘Creation in Stone’ – really? And if so, so what? We might consider the belly of the earth, and even some of the mathematics behind the construction (don’t worry, it is totally awesome). What is that large bowl of water for? And those mysterious pillars? And why is their no cult statue in the Holy of Holies? Does this have any bearing on how we do church?
Overall, I aim to show that this ancient story, has direct consequences of our understanding of humanity and our relationship to the divine. This is not a study for dry and dusty university lecture theatres. It is relevant, life changing and – put plainly, utterly beautiful.
A few possible subjects for the proposed study group.
Based on WTC module. To include:
Based on my dissertation, the writings of Gregory of Nyssa and my book (flip – no need to buy/read)
To include:
Based on WTC module. A whizz through the whole gospel looking at the big themes
A look at how some of the early church understood these enigmatic teachings of Jesus
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 13 December 2021
Verified Purchase (on Amazon)
This book is both an engaging exploration of Gregory of Nyssa’s works and a powerful account of disillusion, wrestle and transformational encounter. The two are interwoven throughout the book as the author explores Gregory of Nyssa’s works and the journey they have taken him on. The book is beautifully written and deals with complex concepts from Gregory’s writings in a simple and engaging way. The insights highlighted from Gregory’s work challenge many modern assumptions and evoke a new way of seeing and being. Highly recommend.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 30 December 2021
Verified Purchase (on Amazon)
This is a great book that really explores and explains (in a clear way) the teachings of Gregory of Nyssa’s work. I’m no theologian (I had never heard of Gregory before I picked up this book) but the author really helps open up Moses and the beatitudes in a new exciting way. I was challenged in many different ways about my walk with the Lord. This is a book I no doubt will re-read time and time again. I hope you will find it helpful as I have. Definitely recommend this to anyone wanting to expand their thinking in a new and challenging way.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 3 January 2022 (Amazon again)
This book is a fascinating blend as the author takes us from everyday experiences to mystical encounters with God, from scientific proof to unprovable but unshakeable faith. I found this a deeply moving and exciting account of how God can touch each of us, whoever we are and whatever our circumstances. Edward is obviously a gifted teacher as he is able to convey to us sometimes complicated and difficult concepts with a disarming simplicity. One of the many joys of the Christian life is that we can learn from and be inspired by those that have gone before us. This book will introduce many to Gregory of Nyssa, a real superstar of the faith.
Peter 30th Novermber 2021
Having personally know Edward for a number of years now his passion for God and the search for a deeper encounter really comes through in this wonderful book. I’m no theological thinker and I found some of the concepts difficult to understand, but it did me the world of good to focus differently on Moses and the beatitudes. This is a book I will no doubt read again and again to help me think about my walk with Jesus. May God use it to help u get closer to him.
I am beyond pleased to announce the pressing of the ‘publish’ button for my first book ‘Climbing the Ancient Hills’ on 24th November 2021. Though I kept it quiet (I thought) the first copies zipped their way over the digital highway to take up residence in their new Kindle-based homes. The paperback was hatched some two weeks later on the 9th December.
Seeing it on Kindle was one thing, but holding in your hands the first copy of a book that you have written left me feeling is a sober and humble. Sober because there is a part, actually a big part, of me that simply cannot believe that it has happened – or more accurately that I have made it happen.
I vividly remember a time sitting in Neros in Enfield typing up a section of the dissertation on which the book is based. It one was one of those ‘wow’ moments that theology creates, though I cannot bring to mind exactly what triggered this specific wow. No matter. As I sat there, with literal waves rippling in the core of my being, a thought popped into my head – ‘this would make a good book’. I sat on that thought for a long time.
In December 2016 I submitted my dissertation, the result of some two years of work. A few days latter I got my feedback. Burried in this was a line suggesting that I consider getting my work published. I still wonder about this – were the people who marked my work being super nice to me? Or were they serious? I mean, feedback on a MA paper is not really the place that you say things that you do not really mean is it? I sat on that thought for some time as well.
I explored getting it published in a journal, but put that on pause – I do not really know why – somehow it just did not seem the way to go. But an idea was planted, and soon it started to poke its head up above the soil. What about trying to bring some of this life giving, ancient teaching, to christians like me? Comitted, evangelical, protestant, thinkers – but spiritualy tired, disappointed and in need of an infusion of life. Those whose shoulders are pinned into submission – the wrestling confused. Those who think ‘there must be more than this’.
And so I set out to use my personal story, and set some of my experiences to the music of Saint Gregory of Nyssa’s understanding of the Divine. I wanted to demystify his writing, taking his complex ideas and making them available for people to relate to. A huge task, at times overwheling, but one that I would not have missed for the world.
The writing of this book involved standing on the shoulders of many great spiritual thinkers. I am humbled that I was introduced to the Fathers, that I was guided to consider this ancient teaching. I am humbled to take their work and to dare to add my own reflections to their understanding. Through their writings I have continued my ascent towards union with Christ, and for this I am thankful.
Glory to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, who was, and is, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen
Chameleon photo by Parikshit Dholariya from Pexels
Study group is working through Micah. Whilst preparing I found myself drawn to write another meditation. This time the passage is Micah 5:1-5 but really its centred on vs 1 and 2. You can read the background here. There is lots of blood and political intrigue… along with some very famous passages.
Now muster your troops, O daughter of troops; siege is laid against us; with a rod they strike the judge [King] of Israel on the cheek.
But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days. (5:2)
These are, for many of us, pulsating, throbbing, frantic times. You cannot fail to notice the tension of the resounding beat of the times we live in. The bold, the brash, the loud-mouthed and opinionated dominate.
Across the pond men jostle with unimaginable bluster and self-promotion. Closer to home, the voices relentlessly speak of ‘Covid, covid, covid’, limiting our lives and bringing fear and apathy in equal measure. The people seem restless, diminished, angry. I am restless, diminished, and angry. As the weeks turn to months I echo the psalmist, ‘How long O Lord’?
The noise takes many forms, competing as it does for our attention, and it will not settle until it has every part of us. Even if we could look it straight in the eye, and bring the full force of our intention upon the noise, it seldom quietens down. It is only by intense effort of the will that I can turn my mind from it. Of course, many of the noises that we are surrounded by are not in themselves bad things. Our bodies have needs. Food and warmth. Time with our trusted ones. Intimacy and alone-ness. All these are right and good. But I often feel the pull to some new sound and for the most part I cannot quiet the noise long enough to hear the still, small voice that comes to us if only we will give it space.
Mistakenly, in a moment of what was pride and foolishness, I once preached that I did not want a quiet time, but rather it’s complete opposite – the loud time. Maybe this was youthful ignorance, or stubborn rebellion. I do not know. Perhaps the passing of time brings us to a place where it is easier for us to appreciate the quiet, the still and the small.
Micah, writes when the priests, prophets and politicians – the leaders of the time – were taking advantage of the people they were meant to be protecting. The loud, proud power structures of the day were seeking all the attention and seizing the land that belonged to the families. The quiet voice of righteousness was lost and the people suffered as a direct consequence. Micah rages against the injustice. A time of chastening is at hand. It is a fearful thing. It is hard for us to imagine the dread the common dread of the common people. The Assyrian army stood outside the walls of beloved Jerusalem.
‘Now muster your troops’ commands the prophet Micah, ‘for siege is laid against us’. At times this is how our lives are. A woman may lose her source of income or her innocence. A man may lose his purpose or his health. Circumstances, bad choices, even deliberate attack leads us to feel hemmed in, trapped, humiliated, pensive about the marauding shadows that threaten to devour us. A siege against us.
‘Now muster your troops’ says Micah, and adds the mysterious ‘O daughter of troops; siege is laid against us’. What does this image of family and warfare bring to your mind? Perhaps, as Israel was referred to as a daughter it speaks of the threat the before community. Perhaps it speaks of their vulnerability.
‘But…’ says Micah. ‘But…’
‘But you….’ We would not normally address a tiny village as ‘you’ – a thing made of dust and clay. A living thing, by its nature, brings forth life. That is how it has been decreed from the start. Once life was breathed into our Mother and Father in their divine bliss, so they are instructed by Yahweh Elohim to ‘Be fruitful and multiply’ and to fill the earth. Adam and Eve became living beings. They became ‘you’. God, through Micah speaks life to an inanimate thing. Life where there was no life.
‘But you, O Bethlehem…’ Bethlehem is an Anglicisation of the Hebrew ‘Bait Lechem’. House of Bread. So Bethlehem is a ‘House of Bread’. Allow your mind to wander with that one for a moment. What is bread? A house?
But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah…’ or Ephratah carries many nuances. The Hebrew root means ‘fruitful’. It is also a version of the name Rachel, barren as she is described, she who gave birth to sons from whom grew two of the twelve tribes. So this house of bread is personified fruitfulness.
Micah undertakes a huge twist in the narrative. From corrupt Jerusalem, the most powerful, noisy place in all Israel, and from the daughters of the troops who were to repel the siege, our focus is abruptly yanked away, and propelled forward in time to a tiny village, so small that it wasn’t even named in the clans, or families of Judah. Unknown. Unsung. Except in prophesy. The King, the priests and prophets of Micah’s day, who with all their noisy, arrogant brashness that big city life would entail are temporarily wiped from view as Micah paints a picture. Looking back and looking forward.
Rachel – the mother-root of the nation. The head and not the tail who will walk closely with The Creator. House of Bread – the promise of fully inclusive blessing, provision, strengthening, restoration. Micah looks forward to the new ruler in Israel, who has come forth from the old, from the ancient days, the days of eternity. The thread that runs through the history.
This ‘up-side-down’ ruler from the small, quiet place, will return the people, the tribes of Israel. He will shepherd in the strength of the ‘otherness’ that comes from his Father. This will spread out into all the earth. Bait Lechem Ephratah, the ‘fruitful house of bread’ will be a source of blessing for every tribe and tongue in every nation across the whole earth. From east to west, north to south. The God-man is the perfect King, Priest and Prophet that those in Micah’s time never saw.
Consider how intimately and deeply these pictures are sown together is so few words. Consider the mind behind it who can bring such enormity out of such quietness and stillness. Not the loud, or the brash, or self-promoting for Yahweh. But rather the small, the unknown, the little ones. No wonder if is said ‘Blessed are the poor in Spirit’.
One of the key themes of Micah is that of land. When Micah (~ 740-690 BCE) was delivering his prophetic messages to the ruling elite of Jerusalem one of the things he railed against was the fact that the inherited land of the common people was being taken from them with impunity. He says that these things were done in the morning light, so degraded was the leadership of the time.
Here is the meditation we did in Life Group last week on the passage in Colossians 1. As is usual for our group, we only touched on many of the themes within the verses. In preparing I felt that the tendency is to bring our rational and intellectual minds to a passage -which of course is a good thing. Yet some passages will not give up their treasures like this, hence a meditation.
We read the passage over several times to get us started. You might like to do the same.
In the last post we considered the division that existed between the Jewish people and the Gentiles, ie everyone else, in the time of Jesus. A ‘fence’ between them had been erected that protected the Jews from ethical decay, forbidding intermarriage, cultural appropriation or even eating with Gentiles. According to Williamson Jews saw Gentiles as ‘less than human’ and in response gentiles regarded Jews with suspicion. (1)
As a child I soon learnt that I had a rare, somewhat deliberating condition. This aliment, because that’s how this condition seemed to me, often left me feeling like a ‘side dish’ as the kids say today. There seemed to be a code, that the other males fell seamlessly inline with. Despite my best efforts to learn and use this code, I was always several steps behind. It seemed all the other boys effortlessly received regular updates regarding this code, and that these updates were easily understood and incorporated into that most cruel of environments, the primary school playground.
In this post we look in a little detail at what it means to be dead – no not like that. How did Christ make us alive according to Paul? We also see that a cabbage has much to teach us of the Divine Realm. But we begin with The Essenes.
The Essenes, authors of the ‘dead sea scrolls’ wrote that as a member of their sect you were “raised from the worms of the dead”. The language seems somewhat overstated to us. Paul however, embraced it. We can see similar thoughts as he kicks of Chapter two.
Ever found yourself floundering as you read Paul’s letters? Do you wonder if you’re missing something? Do you start reading a chapter full of determination, and then find yourself at verse 5 thinking about if you’ve fed the dog with little idea of what you have just read? If you are someone who finds Paul easy then good for you! This post is not for you, but rather for those, like me, who have a somewhat more difficult relationship with Paul.
Previously in the first two verses we marveled (!) at how Wesley and Whitfield were able to paint such a cornucopia of theological goodness in so few words. We considered the barrage of triggers that were thrown at the singer by phrases such as ‘joyful all ye nations rise’ and ‘pleased as man with man to dwell’. Unsurprisingly verse three doesn’t disappoint as another volley of Christology is planted in the consciousness, setting free the ‘white horses of imagination’ to kick up their heels and gallop joyously. Such is the power of the poetry and biblical allusion.
In the first part of this mini- series on Hark The Herald Angels Sing I got excited about verse 1, where the writers of this awesome carol describe the manifestation into our physical realm of the angelic realm and God’s presence. Celebrating the day of Jesus’ birth leads to the final restoration of the nations into their God-ordained place of perfection. Wow. But for now…. nothing is eternal. Everything we experience is subject to decay.
Hark The Herald Angels sing is a fantastic romp through some truly inspiring theology. It is too good to be only sung at Christmas – its going to feature at my funeral. The more mystically minded Christians speak about the participation with God as being like swimming in the sea. You can paddle in the shadows or go in further until you are surrounded. Either way you are participating in the experience and being of the sea, yet there remains a vast body of which you know nothing stretching out beyond.
School was a funny old time. The seven years at secondary were not the happiest years of my life, not by a long shot. My school was very academic, and pushy, which was ok as long as I could keep my head down. I was that child who was into things. Electronics. Astronomy. Woodwork. Punk music. Squash. Girls.
But not languages. Definitely not languages. Foreign languages bought me pain. Oh, and fear.
In the previous post we looked at the Satisfaction Theory of the atonement. As we saw, this was developed by Anselm who drew heavily from the honour based culture of the middle ages in which he lived. Now we turn to look at a theory which does not seem have its focus in any cultural setting at all, and as such has a timeless, culture -free quality to it.
When I first heard about this theory I reacted in a strongly negative way. In my youthful ignorance it seemed faintly ridiculous. I flatter myself by thinking I have grown up since my mid 40s! Either way I am less black and white in my thinking , and a lot happier as a result…
Anselm of Canterbury (1033-1109)[1] – considered by some to be one of the greatest Christian thinkers – wrote a much loved book called ‘Cur Deus Homo’ – ‘Why Did God become Human?’ In this he has a dialogue with one of his students, who goes by the superb name of ‘Boso’. Boso wants to understand the doctrines of Christianity, and I therefore consider him my rightful ancestor. He is a clever chap, trained in philosophy – which is where, on both counts, the relational similarity between us breaks down.
Anyway, Anselm sets out to explain various Christian doctrines in as easy a way as possible.[2]
First published this post in October 2011…. having re-read it I figured it deserved another shot.
Just had an interesting moment!
Running “Spotify” on my phone, plugged into the Hi Fi, listening to “What does anything mean, basically” by The Chameleons – and its been a number of years since I heard it. Nearly every song evokes a strong, significant emotional response in me – you know memories of college, old friends that I haven’t seen in years, feelings of studying physics in the uni library, drinking in the student bar, playing in bands, the optimism of youth etc etc. Every song a winner, wave after wave of pleasure. Some of the musical arrangements are frankly beautiful; stunning almost – shimmering veils over pounding rhythms that wont let up. They should have been just MASSIVE. Bigger than the biggest thing ever.
This post carries on the introduction to the recapitulation theories that were framed by Irenaeus (130-202). Irenaeus was taught by Polycarp, who in turn heard sermons preached by a certain John the Evangelist. Imagine what that must have been like – to meet first generation apostle – someone who knew Jesus the man? So, we are right back almost at the source.
When I was at school I read Shakespeare and Chaucer; perhaps I should say I was ‘forced to read’ Shakespeare and Chaucer. To be honest, I did not understand much of school, and English Literature classes were some of the most boring of all! (ha ha, the irony!) I could read the words of these old books no problem, but put the words together and they didn’t mean much to me.
At long last it is time to launch into one of the theories of the atonement, or more correctly one of the early church Father’s writings about atonement. In study group one of these went down very easily, and the other required a bit more wrestling. I could see that their horizons were being opened up – which is exactly what happened to me when I first heard these ideas too. On reflection though, as I look back, it seems to me that I was being in introduced to ‘a half remembered tune’ playing ‘softly in my mind.’ [1] … See what you think!
The very early church certainly proclaimed the cross, yet seemed to not spill much ink explaining how it provided salvation[2]. Sure, the New Testament (which they didn’t have then of course) mentions various metaphors as we have seen. From the second century Irenaeus (130-202) and others began to think of cross in terms of conflict with the powers of the day. This goes beyond the ‘Jesus is Lord’ vs ‘Caesar is Lord’ that we might think we understand, off into the spiritual, cosmic realm.
Recently it has been suggested to me that God does not want us to question the ‘how’ of Christianity. Surely God wants us to have a child-like faith they suggest. I never quite understand what people mean when they use that phrase. I sense an implied criticism, though probably none was meant. I have also become aware that some Christians feel threatened in the context of theological study. Some even wonder if God in some way would prefer it if we didn’t ask. Why is this?
Have you ever wondered if its ok to ask questions? Do you ever question the lyrics in worship songs? Do you feel that accepted answers are just too simplistic ? Me too.
In the last post I introduced two of the creeds. These are recited week in week out by Christians the world over. Given that these blogs are written to support a study on atonement why take this detour into something seemingly so off topic?
Simples. These creeds were written at a time when the church was working out its beliefs – there was really only one church then, but lots of competing theories about who, or what, Jesus actually was. The creeds went some way to giving a unified set of beliefs. What is really interesting is that the ‘how’ of the atonement does not seem to feature very much in either of them. It is almost as if it was not an issue to them. Think about that for a moment. It is simply astounding!
I have become increasingly interested in how the beliefs of Christianity developed. Yawn yawn… Sure, history is cool, but more important to me is how our following of Jesus is to be understood and lived out in a society has changed so dramatically since the documents we use were written. There are gigantic shifts going on – scientific, technological, cultural. Some of the most basic assumptions about our nature are shifting. Our understanding of the universe we live in has mushroomed (though it is still tiny, tiny mushroom in my opinion).
In this post I consider the role of the Creeds – and ask ‘should they even have a role?’ These creeds are short(ish) statements which encapsulate what Christians believe and in some cases were written over 1500 years ago. They are widely used – and by ‘widely’ I mean ‘all around the world’ kind of widely.
As you might know I was/am a teacher – having done some 14 years in the classroom. During my time in secondary schools I watched several wonderful new ‘initiatives’ that were ‘bound to raise attainment’ come into fashion and then quietly fade off the agenda as the mandarins at the top of the profession altered their views. Some ideas even return for a second go attempt at delivering the prize of 100% ‘A*s for everyone’.
I began to think about doing a series on the ‘Atonement’ in life group as soon as life group started – sometime in September 2018. I plunged into the idea during July 2019. I began by getting the group to share testimonies, which was very good – though not as I thought it would be because there was so little atonement in their stories. Interesting.
In the meantime I had gone off and rejoined Oak Hill Library (where they train vicars…) What unbridled joy to be able to go in there again, where I used to study for my MA. I came out with an average sized pile of books to read over the summer. I sure do need a hobby.
In consequences – part 1 we started by saying that on one level the effects of the fall are only too obvious as we look around us. We now have experiential knowledge of evil. We then began to dig into the often stated maxim that you become what you worship focusing on the loss or rather diminishment of our spiritual senses.[1] We reminded ourselves that the human heart finds it hard to trust in the creator.
Adam and Eve are now caught up in the constant cycle of growth and decay. Adam was originally taken from the ground (‘adamah’) and now they return to the dust – (‘to the adamah’). The death promised to them if they eat the fruit includes more than just physical death. Now they experience the ‘annihilation of their fundamental essense’ and are subject to the ever changing nature of their fallen being. [2]
John D. Currid, Baker Books, Grand Rapids, 1997
Reading this book has been really eye opening. As someone who has always nurtured an interest in ancient Egypt, but have been rarely with any opportunity to express it, I could hardly contain my anticipation on opening it. Currid is an associate professor of Old Testament, and holds a Ph.D in archaeology. It is clear right through the text that he is driven by a desire to follow where the various sources lead, and is not on a mission to prove that the Old Testament says more (or less) than the authors intended.
At the start Currid takes the bull by the horns and looks at an issue that is “most troubling” or “nagging” for Biblical Scholars. [27]
Throughout this short series of posts I have been attempting to get across the enormity of the situation that the writer of Genesis so economically presents. Once grasped, the implications are simply gigantic. The myth of Adam and Eve is embedded in our culture, and as such it can be difficult to access its power. It has become a ‘fairy story’ for children and consequently the message is largely lost as it is turned into a revenue generation tool for the corporations. It seems to me that our culture likes to minimise the ‘old myths’ and those who are open minded enough to pay attention are forced to grapple to gain anything useful beyond variations of ‘God saw that it was good’ and a sense that somehow things went belly up.
In the previous post – “The Fall -What it wasn’t” we dismissed the idea that Adam and Eve were trying to become like God in a “divinity” grab or some form of status upgrade. We also saw that it is a good thing to desire the knowledge of good and evil. So what did they do wrong? On a superficial level their eating of the fruit was a simple act of disobedience. In this post we’ll take a closer look to see if we can shed some light on this topic.
When my offspring were little, they would sometimes defy us. This is natural and normal and I think we’d have worried if it hadn’t happened. We went through a time of putting them on the naughty step for their age in minutes. Once I was caught out and spent a glorious 40 something minutes of absolute peace with nothing to do. It was bliss. Punishment can backfire!
We have seen something of the awesome task given to our first Mother and Father – that of extending the temple (sanctuary) of Eden out to encompass the whole of the earth. Now it’s finally time to begin to answer that question – just what did they do wrong? Notice they – not Eve. Our culture has tended to emphasie the sin of Eve, and the stupidity of Adam, but to my mind the text clearly portrays a ‘both / and’ situation. In this post I want to look at a couple of common ideas about what was done wrong, and kick them out into the long grass.
The “Standard Model” of the fall raises many questions. Most important, at least for me, concerns just what it was that they fell from? If your concept of looking after the garden is limited to dead-heading the roses and keeping the ‘large mammals’ off the grass while planting out seedlings and cuddling rabbits then maybe the fall is a welcome opportunity to expand your horizons! Coupled with this there is the issue of how God is portrayed. If you think he is capricious and easily angered then you have no issue with what happened. If, however, you think that the revelation of God through Christ as love is a ‘sure foundation’ then either you enter into wrestling-mode with the narrative or you just park the issues.
In the last post we looked at bringing to life of an idol and what this means to us. Now its time to begin looking into the foundational myth of the fall of Adam and Eve. Even people with no exposure to religion have a grasp on it. You can see this if you look at some of the ways business has taken the story up. It is highly parodied, and often paints Eve as a seductive temptress and Adam as a childish fool. All this is totally predictable of course, since the myths themselves have so much to teach us that it’s no wonder ‘the world, the flesh and the devil’ have conspired to belittle them.
In this post I want to begin with a telling of the “Standard” version. I am grateful to a fellow student who wrote this in an essay entitled “What did Adam and Eve do wrong?” I have only slightly altered it.
In “human identity – divinity” we cemented the connection between image (tselem) in Genesis 1 and cult statues or idols. To the people of the aNE (ancient near east) an idol was the living embodiment of their god, and not just a physical thing like a statue in the local park. To them it was not only alive, and in it their god was fully present to them. If you think about it this sheds light on the way humans could worship idols them and lavish care on them. Clearly, the understanding of the writers of genesis was very different to ours.
In the first post “human identity – representation” we looked at the Hebrew words used for image and likeness. In “human identity – crowned” we looked into the royal meaning behind some of the words the Hebrew bible uses to describe Adam and Eve’s role and status. Given that the same ‘image’ language is used in Gen 5 it is clear that what was true of Adam & Eve is true for all of us – they were ‘God’s Royal Representatives.’ We briefly concluded by saying that to the cultures of the aNE, royalty were seen as children of a god. We cited two examples of this, and left the implicit link to Adam & Eve unspoken. It’s time to dig into this at last.
In the first post “human identity – representation” we looked at the Hebrew words used for image and likeness. We concluded that the authors of Genesis wanted us to think-in an holistic manner, which suggests that to their mind the image/ likeness was something included ideas around a statue ie physical. We also introduced the idea that we are made in such a way as to represent (think re-present or to “present again”) Yahweh God. We also saw there was a very clear, and somewhat disturbing “idol” theme to the word image (tslem). So there was lots to chew on. Back to our key passage Gen 1 for something a bit regal…
In the previous posts I set out something of my thinking regarding the directions this series on atonement would go. We now come to look at Genesis to get a grip on what we, as humans, were created to be. Remember, our aim here is to look at our purpose and our nature as well – what can be referred to as our ‘ontology’. There will be several installments.
Reading in Genesis 1 26 we see:
Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea …”
As I said in the first of these posts – atonement – ‘asking the question‘ this subject is a right old rabbits’ maze of dimly lit tunnels. One question leads to another and another and another – you get the idea. It is easy to get lost (unless you are a rabbit) and at times, you need to go back to the start…
Whatever people say, the bible does tie together. Sure, there are difficult, weird and mysterious bits.
When planning the Atonement series for our home fellowship group (ugh – what awful terminology) I started off by getting the members to give their testimonies. I had thought this would take two sessions, and I wasn’t wrong. In all eight people shared something of their various journeys to faith and it was really, really helpful. I deliberately didn’t give them much of a steer – just ‘take as long as you want’.
Most people started with ‘my testimonial isn’t very interesting’ or ‘mine isn’t very dramatic’ or some such phrase.
One time in home group we worked through Mark’s gospel reading a good chunk (like 3 chapters) and then considering it in the light of, well, whatever cropped up really. Without wanting to overstate it, this a great series – so much came out of our attempt to have a ‘first-time’ reading of it. The pace is remarkable.
So much of what Jesus said and did turned things upside down – the first are last, the untouchables are touched, the marginalized are heard, power structures are ignored. Marvelous.
Over the last four or five years I have found myself wondering deeply about my understanding of the many issues surrounding ‘sin’ and ‘salvation.’ It has been a long process. There were several false starts but it really got going when one of my lecturers asked ‘What if God just forgave sins?’ Good question. What if he just did?
Recently I was looking for something to read. When we cleared out my parents’ house one of the hardest things to deal with was the books. Did they have some boring looking books – and my mum had become something of a regular visitor to charity shops towards the end! But as someone who loves books it was hard to just throw them. So they have been sitting on my shelf for several years, and now I was packing for a holiday with nothing to read. In the end I just reached out, picked something off the shelf and zipped up the suitcase.
When we go on our family holiday we always have what the girls refer to as ‘boring parent days‘. And I am pleased to say that in Spain we managed to get not one, or two but three ‘boring parent days’. On one of these I had one of those little experiences of God that leaves me wondering.
Micah lived in a time in which there was great exploitation of the middle and lower classes by the ruling, Jewish elite. He is appalled at what is going on, and his book is written largely in response. It contains many different styles of writing, and includes some very well know passages that have become part of the churches lexicon – good thing?
Whilst this is quite a technical paper, I found the opportunity to study a book about which I knew nothing most rewarding. I know it raises some difficult questions, especially the violence motiff – with its usual set of questions, ethical side-steps and misunderstandings… All I’ll say here is that we need to remember that the bible records the spiritual journey of a people as their understanding, like ours, progresses. I certainly am reflecting at length on this as i write.
Three different questions were raised with me after the talk I gave on 2 Peter 2 at Brig. I thought I’d quickly respond to them here.
I do appreciate the conversations and the feedback so feel free to keep the conversation going if you’re interested.
What were those ‘Celestial Beings?’
In 2Peter2:10, speaking of false teachers, Peter writes ‘Bold and arrogant, they are not afraid to heap abuse on celestial beings’
I mentioned how there was a lot of debate about the word/phrase translated ‘celestial beings’ – a better translation of it seems to be ‘glories’ – so the question is what does Peter mean by the glories. I spoke about two possible translations – ‘dignitaries’ in the sense of those in authority and ‘angels’ (note there is no reference to good or bad angels). A third option was mentioned to me, which I did come across i my reading – that of it being the ‘apostles’ – so the false teachers were abusing the apostles – the glories. Whilst indeed this is in the commentaries that I read, it didn’t seem that popular – but it is interesting option.
Am I A Heretic?
This essay was within the field called ‘systematics’ – which is about drawing out doctrines from the whole teaching of scripture. In this essay I chose to look at the differences between Barth and Pentecostalism. I grew up under a synthesis of Evangelicism and Pentecostalism. Barth has been described as the ‘Most influential theologian since Thomas Aquinas’ – and no, I don’t have a reference for that.
What I found is Barth waffles. Strong statement? Maybe. His ‘Dogmatics’ runs to 13 volumes. Fortunately, his writing on the baptism in the Spirit runs to around 30 pages. Interesting?
This was a stonker of an essay, which was both a joy and a pain to write. Both of these theologians wrote masses of material. Augustine is in some sense known as the Father of the Western Church, and much of what we believe in the West goes back to him. Interestingly, I recently heard some Orthodox Theologians expresses the opinion that Augustine was a heretic … when considering some of his views. Gregory was new to me, and I was so impacted by him that I am considering doing something on him for my dissertation.
The subject matter of this essay is not for the timid evangelical who doesn’t want to have their reading of scripture challenged. When the eastern and western churches ‘branched off’ they each took some unique theology with them. In my opinion the east has A LOT to teach us.
I couldn’t get enough of the Gregory of Nyssa. What a depth. What an insight. Perhaps the same is true of Augustine, but given the subject matter I’d take the East any time.
Read on… if you dare (well kind of)
I am sure I had read Lamentations before I opted for this essay – but I couldn’t really remember anything much about it. I knew it was a ‘depressing’ book, perhaps written by “weeping Jeremiah”, and that it was hard work.
How WRONG I WAS. The more I studied it, the more I fell in love with this book. It is so exquisitely put together, and the language is so brutally honest that I simply could not get enough. Its an anguished cry from the heart, and nothing is left unsaid. Such a short essay as this cannot begin to do justice to the structure, let along the content.
I studied for it by a pool in the Canary Islands! At the same time Isis (IS etc) where rampaging their way through the Yazadi and Christian minority groups in Iraq. You couldn’t get a sharper conflict of situations, nor perhaps a more compelling reason to meditate upon the words of Lamentations.
This was one of the best essays I have had to write yet – I knew next to nothing about Jonathan Edwards – was I in for a treat! Coming from a scientific background I really appreciated Edward’s analytical approach which he applied to the Little Awakening. He left an enormous legacy of theological writing, and is regarded by some as the greatest theologian from America.
I for one, couldn’t get enough!
For about two years I worked in the healing rooms, an international para-church organisation offering prayer for healing. The history of the Healing Rooms, based in Spokane is well worth a read, but for this essay I had to reflect on the shared beliefs of the group I worked with. Some of these were obvious, such as ‘God still heals today,’ but as I reflected I realised that there were many assumed beliefs and practices that under girded what they did, and that a number of these were just assumed to be true. Of course, this could be said about any ministry!
It is not my intention to knock the healing rooms. I was blessed by the people and the work. I both ministered and received ministry, and learnt a lot on the journey. I shared the vision, and went week in week for nearly 2 years. It has been very interesting to look back though and consider what was going on!
This was a ‘relatively’ easy essay in that the sources were quite straight forward. What really stuck me was just how much I have been a dualist – you know, its either ‘right’ or its ‘wrong’. So, I’d thought Paul must have either totally gone along with the Roman Empire, or totally not!
The more I read the more wonderfully subversive Paul became – he was a low grade anarchist, of sorts, and he knew how to play the system… I am stuck by just how conservative the church has become and I for one need to adopt the astuteness of the ‘Political Paul‘ and by inference the ‘Political Jesus’.
In our 10-14 year old youth group we have been listening to the testimonial of a young muslim lady. Its led to some great conversation, and some thought provoking questions.
Some of the leaders missed bits and wanted to catch up – so we have made it available here on “Maxelcat speaks”.
Enjoy!
I have now started the MA course in Kingdom Theology, and this was my first essay which, as predicted dropped by 10% – it seems that a 10% reduction in mark is about normal going from a post grad to an MA!
In the church I think we struggle to understand Paul (now there’s an understatement). We have ideas about Paul, Jesus and Judaism, and for the most part, if you are like me, they are filed under ‘Don’t really get it.’
On Sunday 21 July 2013 I went to my favourite nature reserve in Tring with the aim of having a go at some butterfly photography. Last time I did this was with film, when every time you pressed the button it cost you! Now of course, you can press to your heart’s content and while away the wee small hours Photoshoping till dawn…
There were 100s of marbled whites, so many that after a bit 3 or 4 flying around each other in a territory dispute hardly raised an eyebrow – “Oh, look more marbled whites…” Weirdly as soon as you go through the gate of the reserve, there they are all over the place, and as you leave its as if they never existed. There must be some kind of force field keeping them in, or maybe they can read.
Over the years, both in and out of the church, I have been subjected to a lot of “Leadership studies”. Much of it was interesting, especially the psychological material, but some of it seemed to be rather separate from the real world of trying to engage busy colleagues with a variety of “Opinions” in change across a culture.
Whatever you think about Jesus I guess he must have been a superb leader – not many can claim a legacy of change like his. I was particularly interested in what drove him – how did he keep focus when he was pulled in so many directions by so many people, and just what was he aiming at anyway? When he closed his eyes and day dreamed what was he thinking about?
This was one long title… “Describe and reflect critically on the contribution of Jesus of Nazareth and the study of his life to an understanding of leadership today with specific reference to you own, somebody else’s or a community’s development”
What, according to Genesis 1, is the nature of human identity and purpose in God’s original design for creation?
I want to start my essay with a reference to a novel by C S Lewis. The character Ransom, sent from Earth to the Edenic Venus, finally meets the Adamic character referred to as “the King” together with “The Queen”. Ransom is overcome, and lies prostate before them and finds himself involuntary speaking.
‘Do not move away, do not raise me up’ he said. ‘I have never before seen a man or a woman. I have lived all my life among shadows and broken images…. Take me for your son. We have been alone in my world for a great time’.[1]
The idea of Adam and Eve as royalty never appealed to me before, but it now seems probably to me in the light of study for this essay, that Lewis had grasped the royally, divine nature of Elohim’s creation.
Recently I am across this picture of Homer Simpson reading his bible. At first his expression made me laugh but the more I thought about it the more I decided that this was truly an insightful depiction of me reading my bible.
First Homer looks worried. Do you ever feel worried when you read some of the bible. I do. Mostly because I have this sense that I just don’t understand it. I know its all inspired, and all brilliant but, well you know, we all have bits that just don’t make sense!
In Mark 13 one of the disciples, on seeing the temple, seems to have an excited moment and says to Jesus something like
“Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!”
Jesus replies by giving a prediction of the destruction of the temple, but then seems to muddy the waters by talking about earthquakes famines, wars and other end-time “Apocalyptic” type signs. The gospel must be preached to all nations. The “abomination that causes desolation” will come ‘The sun will be darkened and the moon will no longer give its light.’ And so on. He then really makes things hard by saying:
Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.
Beccafumi Crucifixion and trinity Trinity (detail) 1513 – is this how you see the crucifixion?
I am doing a part time theology post-grad course which, naturally enough, has led to having to write essays. I haven’t always found that this comes naturally to a scientist who now does what I loosely call “Programming”…
Mission? Yawn? Well, maybe not yawn as such – more guilt and “Please, not me”.
Is mission in Genesis 1?
Today I have started the “Missiology” module of my theology studies in anger. One of my favourite bits in the bible has always been Genesis ch 1 – 3. I find that even after years of “Study” there’s still more in there. Ever asked yourself why so there has been so much attack against the early books of the bible???
C’mon – Is mission in Genesis 1?
On Sunday 2nd of January 2011 I went on a retreat. This meant going to a nature reserve in the Chiltern Hills, where usually I can wander around for a whole day and not see anyone.
Recently the question “What is the last thing that God said to you?” has been in the air. I’ve heard it asked on several occasions. I have convinced that God wants to speak to us. The unique revelation of Jesus Christ was that God is our Father. Logically, what kind of Father doesn’t speak? We wouldn’t think much of a silent one now would we?
Genesis 2 tells the story of how God created mankind.
And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. The LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. 2 vs 7,8
All scripture is God breathed and useful for training. However, if God says something more than once then we are to take extra notice of it…
You might like to read this first…
I left the last post at the rather discouraging point of saying “That I gave up”. And in some ways I did.
As I grow older, and hopefully wiser, I come to realise that in those earlier days I had been seeking the answer to my “Is there a purpose” question in the wrong way. I needed to raised my head, go above the nitty gritty and look down. How best to do that. return to scripture of course.
He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water John 7 vs 38
God in His wisdom is more concerned with creating the image of Christ in us. I have thought for years that God usually has a different agenda to me. We have been set into freedom, not into law. We need to come at this “Purpose” question within that knowledge. He wants to create the image of Christ in us – so that we are walking in “Peace, joy, love” and so on. His desire, it seems to me, is for us to be so walking in intimacy with Him.
My wife and I started out as Anglicans. We often joke about “Good old Anglican balance” – somehow they are skilled at holding two seemingly different ideas together. And here is another one.
The bible clearly teaches that there are specific things that God has prepared for us to do. Perhaps things that only you or I can do. But as important as all that sounds (and it is!) we also have to remember that God is molding us into the very image of Christ. Sometimes (and perhaps its nearly always) then God will be more concerned about how much “peace, patience, kindness” and so on is flowing out of our “bellies” to the world around us than weather we work here or there.
Thats’s the “Freedom” that God for us.
How utterly wonderful.
More than a decade ago I went through a phase of trying to discover my purpose. Why had God put me here? Was it purely just as a training ground for what happened in the hereafter? Was there some sort of divine reasoning behind me? Is there more than “The chief aim of man is to know God and enjoy Him forever”.
I have to say that in my nearly 30 years as a Christian this is one question that just keeps on coming. I don’t think I have ever satisfactorily answered it. Sometimes, I reckon, just get on with life. You know, walk the dog, build web applications, spend time with my family. Other times I am struck by a few verses in the bible that seem to suggest that there is more. Its not that those things I listed, and lots of others are bad – of course they aren’t! Its just that the question wont go away – does God have something specific that He wants me to do? I wonder am I alone in thinking like this?
Ephesians 2:10 says:
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
But what are they? And if that verse means more than the general “Stuff of life” how do you find out?
Prov 25:2 says:
It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter.
The bible says that God is not the God of confusion. But there are things that God conceals from us, and we have to search for them. Sometimes God needs to know that we are really serious about something before He reveals it to us.
One day we will all meet our Maker. I don’t want to get there – how do I say this – and discover that there was so much more that God had planned for me. I believe that God Has almost “Bound” Himself to fulfill His promises, but He is not bound to fulfill our destiny – that is down to us.
Some years ago I read a couple of books by the same author about discovering your purpose. He believed that we each have a a God given purpose, that we each can be “Great” as part of the divine destiny that God has for each of us. However, despite all this, he went to great lengths to state that sadly, most people reading the book would not discover their purpose. They would, for one reason or another, just give up. In response I gritted my teeth, girded my loins, set my face forward… and gave up.
A few years back, when my little ones where really little this song was all the rage. How we enjoyed doing the rain coming down and washing away the foolish man’s house on the sand.
Around that time I was reading Dallas Willards “The Divine Conspiracy”, perhaps one of my all time favourite books. One of the things I took out afresh from this book was just how practical the Sermon on the Mount is. Jesus was truly a genius. He fully understood how people interact with each other, and what goes on in their hearts (inner man). So its a good idea to listen to what He says.
If we/I carried out what is written in the sermon on the mount, we’d change the ecosystem around us. You couldn’t help it!
My children where singing and singing that the “Wise man builds his house up on the rock“. And then it hit me – this little parable is right at the end of the sermon on the mount – ie its part of the sermon on the mount. And Jesus also says that the person who hears His word, AND DOES IT, is like a man who builds his house upon the rock.
I’d never noticed that!
You want to be wise, and to be able to stand when the storms of life come? Then DO the Sermon on the mount. Do it. Do it as “Preparation” for when those inevitable storms hit. Jesus doesn’t want admirers he wants disciples – doers. And He wants us to be “Doers” because its better for us. So let’s join with the apostle !!!!!! when he exhorts us to be doers or the word and not just hearers.
Read that sermon. Do that sermon. Build that house.
We are bombarded. If, like me, you have embraced facebook and forums, can’t turn off your mobile, and check your emails constantly then you are bombarded too.
I think the greatest invention of my lifetime is the Walkman. This is because it ultimately gave birth to the iPod, which in turn led to an explosion of wonderful, wonderful podcasts. There is a fantastic banquet of epic proportions laid out for internet savvy Christian who has access to iTunes (other podcast systems are available…).
And I can’t get enough! Thank you Father for your provision!
When I teach I often joke, saying that I have yet to have an original thought. I find that when I teach, its usually a smorgasbord of all the other teaching that I have been bombarded with other the last months. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing! However, wouldn’t it be great to have something really original to say? To be frank, I have had some original ideas,but just to give credit where its due here’s my list of sources – well, some of them – you’ll find their influences through out my teaching!
All that’s good of course – you listen, you filter, you assimilate you pray over. But I crave the original.
I am convinced that God has much to say. There is an inexhaustible supply of fresh insight for us, waiting. Derek Prince said something along the lines, respectfully, that the bible is “Nothing more than black marks on white paper” if the Holy Spirit doesn’t make it alive. You can read it, and its interesting, maybe even beneficial, but you need the Holy Spirit to bring the words to life.
The words in the bible have to be applied to our situations. If they aren’t, it can do your head in. When the Holy Spirit of God breathes on a passage, often just a line or two, and applies them directly into our lives it is life and health and food and drink. Now there’s my original thought.
To my experience the original most often comes when I draw away. Get quite. Just me, and my bible (and sometimes coffee…).
Maybe, its easier to download a new Chris Voluton, read a theological tome, ask the wife, than it is to draw away, still your mind, and listen to God. He’ll bless in what you listen too, if you apply it (remember that Wise man building his house upon the rock). But when you get away on your own, turn off the teachers, and focus on loving logo – the unobtainable original becomes possible!
Well, there’s my original thought.,
When all is said and done…
“The work of God for you” replied Jesus, is to believe in the one whom He has sent to you” – John 6. Philips
The disciples had just asked Jesus “What must we do to carry out the work of God”.
On the surface its a really good question, seemingly. The disciples are expressing their desire to carry out the work of God. Sure, they would have mixed motives. But lets be generous to them – they had just seen Jesus feed 5000 men, walk upon the raging sea, and the boat they were in mysteriously transported to their destination.
The people had responded to the dispaly of the miraculous by wanting to make Him king, and so Jesus had gone off on His own. Its at this point that, after the searching disciples had found Him that they ask Jesus their question – “What must we do to carry out the work of God? ”
Jesus had a different agenda. We must learn to hear His agenda through the rush of our own. I am with the disciples. I want to carry out the work of God. And I would have said that the work of God is all that “Your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven” stuff. But, as so always is the case, I would be looking at from a fleshy perspective. Like them, I wanted to be going out all guns blazing, making a difference, seeing the captives go free.
But Jesus has a difference idea – the work of God for the disciples, at that time, was nothing more than to believe in the “Sent One”. To look at Jesus and to believe Him. Nothing more. No “Go and do this” or “Take this ministry”. The other stuff clearly came – look at the disciples later on – their relationship with Jesus changes (servants to friends), and after Pentecost they see dramatic warfare. But it looks like, at that stage the emphasis was on “believe in the one that God has sent to you.”
You don’t have to be “Mr Discerning” to sense in the church a great frustration at its powerlessness. We hear of great break through, but its always somewhere else. Every so often Here, we get “glimpses of glory”. The frustration is everywhere – in the homegroup I run, in the Healing Group I take part in, on podcasts I listen to. Some people call this “Holy Frustration” which has always seemed like an odd idea to me.
So, maybe for us our work at the moment is to “Believe in the Sent One”. Could it be, that we can’t move on to inherit the land until we do this? Might it be beneficial for us to take a step back, and check on our “Belief in the Sent One”? Could it be that we are tyring to build the house without its foundations, or on the sand…