Run with it...

Ah I am on holiday this week!  I love the UK weather - grey!  I love my list of jobs to do - none!  I love that i've set the kids clock back by an hr each night so they get up at 8 thinking it is 7! 

Running...

I am starting to gear up for running the marathon - I am meant to be doing a half marathon in sept but it looks like I will be on holiday for that!  Nevermind, as part of my training I have started using Map My Run which not only maps where I run (using google maps), works out the distance, calories burnt off, average pace etc but acts as a training diary as well.

Reflecting...

I wrote a guest piece for Jason Clark's site last week, asking the Q: "are we fundamentalist enough?" It was prompted by a documentary I watched which was occassionaly scary and often quite hyped!  The question is whilst it is easy to be offensive and the label fundamentalist carries such -ive connatations, what does a healthy christian fundamentalist look like/sound like/be like?  If someone was following me around with a camara what would I say/do?  It prompted 4 questions in my mind:

1. what does our views of sexuality sound/look like?
2. what do we think of science/arts/culture - how are we shaped and shape?
3. how do we treat/interact with other religions/beliefs
4. what do we campaign for/protest about/involve ourselves in?

Engaging...

Interestingly there is a a great week of thought over at Jason's this week: a faith to live for... a faith to die for?  We have a guest author Craig Hovey, who is exploring where martyrdom fits into our western christianity?  Worth stopping by and engaging with!

Comments

[Toni]

FWIW I have considered myself fundamentalist since becoming a Christian. I think it was partly reaction to the baptist church I grew up in, which appeared laissez-faire about faith and God - provided you didn't actually rock the boat. It is only really the last 10 years that I've seen fundamentalism as having negative connotations, usually with the word 'American' in front of it.

It was also at a time when the 'theologians' I'd met (or bibliologists as I called them) didn't seem interested in finding out what God was actually saying, but only in supporting their pet way of doing church. The idea of wanting to go back to fundamentally following what God said in the bible was fresh, challenging and radical. It still seems to be the last 2, as culture has not become any more Godly in its increasing liberal development.

[Paul]

Thanks Toni - I like you reclamation project :)

What strikes me is that maybe the danger is as a "fundmamentalist" we can major in the minors as those are for us the fundamentals.

so that comes down to asking what does good faith look like? What are the fundamentals that we should be fundamental about?