Smug Church...

I've been looking through some quotes that I have collected and thought these were worth an airing!
"Many forms of spirituality appear to focus on the inner life as if that were sufficient in itself. Without care, this can promote a smug self love which as no outworking in behaviour. Love is not love at all until it is tested by the Other, and no love is worthy of the name which does not respect and strive for justice" pp 107

Riddell, M (2000) Sacred Journey. Lion
We're being bombarded with smug politicians at the moment. All with the right answers. All with the right questions. Smug isn't that palatable. Here's me thinking about smug Christians. Here's me thinking of the danger of the smugness of church.
"It is never a good idea to set out on a crusade to vanquish evil, either from ourselves or from society at large. By campaigning against it , we simply draw attention to that which has no life in itself. Far better to make love our goal, and to refine our own love so that it becomes a source of hope and healing in a confused world." pp 206

Riddell, M (2000) Sacred Journey. Lion
Something nagging at me says that if we are to make any difference at all we need to look at our motivation. Something nagging at me says that if we are to make any difference at all we've got to identify the danger signs of self love however we wrap it up. Something nagging at me says that if we are to make any difference at all we've got to beware smug!

Unless of course we are content to remain unpalatable.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A bit of sally bashing....

Came across a good bit of Sally bashing over at salvationsoldiers I have to say we try and make sure that everything we raise goes into projects that build local community in Poplar but hopefully if you read this blog you get that sense anyway.
Read more

Lost Voices of Mission...Fred Brown

Image
Along the world famous Oxford street in London's Westend; nestled in among the classy frontage of designer shops there is almost an unnoticeable, unimpressive wooden door. It is more or less alongside The Regent Hall's main entrance onto the busyness of Oxford Street. People pass the wooden door oblivious to the equally unimpressive wooden steps that go up three storey's to what was Regent Hall's youth club. When I was 10 I played on these bare wooden steps totally unaware of the significance behind and upon which I played. Many years later I discovered a university youth work course - as an induction to Youth Work - stopped outside this insignificant wooden door to point out that Youth Work as we know it in the UK started behind this door. ...whether that be the surbanite flower people that flooded the Westend to express their free love; or the hard core drug community this unimpressive wooden door became the 'portal' that blurred encounter between church an
Read more

Types of Christian Spirituality...

Image
It is easy to think and to limit ourselves to a single approach to Christian spirituality. A 'if it works for me it should work for you approach' tends to narrow our appreciation of other ways which actually impoverishes our experience of spirituality. Urban T. Holmes has developed a means of exploring spirituality and helps develop an appreciation through discovering links between spirituality, temperament and predisposition. The diagram illustrates his ideas together with potential inherent dangers. The vertical continuum speaks and helps us understand our relational orientation to God. This ranges from engaging with God through understanding and theological process to a more emotive response. Horizontally speaks of a persons preferred means of pursuing the spiritual life. Kataphtic speaks of affirmation and the need of something tangible in an individuals spirituality- this may take the form of worship, art, even imagination with the use of metaphors, symbols and images play
Read more