One for the road...

why are you bovvered to be a christian... [part 2]

I just wanted to say thank you for the brilliant thougths being shared by people on my recent post: why are you bothered to be a christian exploring faith/mission/evangelism in a culture which is increasingly 'not bothered.'

I rasied the same issue here on Jason Clark's blog and included the following clip from English commedian Catherine Tate to illustrate:

Ari has also highlighted a really great looking sermon which explores finding God in the other and she follows it up with some awesome reflections on Christianity and love. Similarly this site advocating a new progressive alliance between people of faith [either in God or no God] seems to be a great opportunity to learn from each other rather than take a position of i'm right/you're wrong...

One of the most interesting/profound things i took from watching the TV programme ‘God is green’ that i blogged about, was how many religions have something at the heart of their sacred texts about caring for the planet - it was fascinating seeing this christian presenter interviewing hindus and muslims as well as evengelical american christians and exploring not just what the bible says but what their own faith teachings said…

I found that quite humbling in that often we look to overthrow a different faith, prove it wrong etc but this was an insight in how to view/engage/explore what all religions could do if they took these texts seriously…

God is green... but am I?

A lot of talk on the back of last nights channel 4 TV programme 'God is Green'.  If you want to find out some views on the programme, Rupert, Duncan and Marc all have good reflective pieces [Marc has even managed to snag this short interview with the presenter, major HT!].

My observations were:

• the compelling elements in all of the world's religions to care for the planet [and some of the more fatalistic responses  - from end of the world/2nd coming for christians to Karma for Hindus];
• the way that many evengelical christians in the USA are now waking up and beginning to actively campaign - so the decline of dominion theology [that we own the planet] and a replacement of stewardship theology [that we are charged to serve/care for it] - if you're interested in how this falls out of Genesis 1 & 2 check out this earlier post on two key hebrew words 'shamar' and 'abad'
• the ethical case for action which is not so much looking at the lead in someone elses  eye but the lump of carbon in mine - or to put it another way what happens when I believe something as a result of my faith and then start to act on it.

After watching 'An Inconvenient Truth' I went out and brought energy efficient lightbulbs for the house and started turning off my powerpacks for phone and laptop.  After last night I was reminded about what else I have decided to do - switch power provider, continue to walk more rather than drive [good for my fitness too] and look to offset any carbon from flying by schemes like this one from climate care.  We're also looking at replacing our boiler with a more energy efficient one as part of updating our bathroom...

what more?

I'm sure there is much more I could do so please inspire me:

• if you saw the show what are you planning doing as a response?
• what else are you doing regardless to help us a planet wean off our carbon consumption loving/protect the environment etc?

Choosing church...

So you're fed up with your church, tired, frustrated, disallusioned... it's too light weight, too deep, too loud, too quiet, too much bible, not enough bible, too big, too small, too worldly, too sheltered, too inward looking, too outward going, too modern, too ancient, too many comfy sofas, too many pews... etc etc.

So how do you choose another church to go to?  Maybe these might help...

1) Be clear about what you are looking for...

2) Lessons from one family's journey to find a new church...

God, Inc.

Really have been enjoying this short indie (no canned laughter) commedy The Office-esque series on youtube, except the office in question is run by The Boss...God...

Here's episode 1: In the beginning there was paper work ...

If you liked that then check out... epsidode 2: the mircles department and episode 3: who stole God's lunch?

Stephen Colbert interviews Richard Dawkins

I blogged here how I think Christians should be open/welcome (to) critique and used the example of Richard Dawkin's new atheism and his critique that religion is evil. It has sparked off some deep insightful comments...

For a critique of Richard Dawkins, please do enjoy the following clip...

Man grows up or a dark enlightenment?

Interesting TV viewing last night - I caught the 2nd part of Richard Dawkins programme on religion being the root of all evil (see here for some thoughts on last weeks show)...

I think I had a lot more sympathy for him last night, especially when it came to some of the interviews he had with some folks!  Richard posed an interesting Q that in fact parents indoctrinate (teach) their children who's minds are genetically pre-programmed to believe them and thus these things get passed on from generation to generation.. which is a valuable insight as I am sure it is true for some people on the other hand it doesn't explain why we are now living in a post-christian country.  Nor does it explain people like me who have had a long hard look at lots of alternative ways of living my life before deciding (on a fairly regular basis) that one based on loving God and loving each other is the path to take...

An excellent challenging point made by Richard was that as an antheist he could enjoy life a lot more as this world is all we have, so he was up for getting on and living life to the full.  Now ignoring the fact that believing there is no God is a form of faith the challenge comes to people of the Christian tradition as to whether they see life after death as the future, escaping earth - or as I believe that God is about restoring and renewing both heaven and earth - that we get to join with God in his mission of bring peace, love, justice into this world now.  That in fact Richard is right that we celebrate life now, that we should revel in the beauty of the planet, not as some random chance but since we are given a charge for caring about creation...

On More 4 channel there was a programme on called Dark Enlightenment which looked at the flip side of the debate - "a powerful polemic by Samuel Johnson prize winning historian Michael Burleigh argues that the modern world's rejection of faith and embrace of reason has been a disaster."  This asked the question that even those who believed in pure reason had to recreate religious imagery to fill the void and the gapping hole in our heritage by the white washing out of history of the church does not prevent spiritual hunger from breaking through...  interesting really as it portrayed a life with out divine inspired right or wrong is merely replaced by that which is decided by man and is not always any better...

Religious faith - the root of all evil

This looked like an interesting progamme on C4 - and I missed part I - "the God delusion!"  Never mind part II - "the virus of faith" is on next week and I'll try to be tuning in...

Now Richard Dawkins does seem to be asking a good question that lots of folks might be thinking - if I follow God will I end up some sort of a religious right wing judgemental biggot type - spreading hate rather than love...

...and who wants to be one of those?

Ok, now that seems a little unfair, it's not only religion that seems to turn some folk into aggressive repressers - history is littered with  as many athiest as religious inspired examples...

If logic is your kind of thing when it comes down to questions about whether there is a God, you might like to check out the Damaris article on this programme which sets out the moral arguement for God existing...

Another question to consider is why does the title of the show touch a root in us, bring such a fear in us to the surface?  I came across this Brian MacLaren quote today in "the emerging church" which offers this response to such questions...

"Scratch the paint and what (we) really mean underneath is this: 'I am desperately afraid of what happens when people become millitant and arrogant about their beliefs and values, because there is only a very fine line between militant and arrogant...and violent.' Living in a world of terrorism, ethnic cleansing, and racial-ethnic-religious hatred, (we) feel that strong beliefs and values are dangerous.

Rather than arguing... we would be wise to affirm (our) desire for peace and to encourage (us) to hold this belief or value in peace... strongly! 

Jesus took this very course in the religious world of his day, and the cross is a message to the world, saying, 'It is better to suffer violence for your beliefs than to inflict violence.  This is the way of God's kingdom.'"