URBANarmy

"I don't believe in what you believe but I believe in what you do..." He'd put his rolled up tenners in the bucket and had gone almost before I could smile. I was collecting for Deptford SA as they raised money at Borough Market and for the rest of the time I spent collecting while the carols were played I wished I could've explained to the guy that he might have been surprised how close our beliefs may be. So much of what I believe is shaped by doing, and living out the life and values of what I see on the life of Jesus! It always seems a shame that the church has done so well making that which people saw as being amazing in Christ so predictable!

Some helpful articles here from the likes of NT Wright, Elaine Storkey and more here "I see the launch of Fulcrum as a call to evangelical Anglicans of whatever background to work together, to play a full part in the Church of England and the wider Anglican Communion, to make the running, instead of always reacting, to be in the front row of innovative Gospel-work." Tom Wright , Bishop of Durham, Fulcrum National Launch

Spent some quality time with a friend last week at Tate Britain . It was good to let the art direct our conversation. The William Blake exhibition was worth a look . His picture of Isaac Newton and the associated inscription however caused me an element of concern - apart from the fact that I hope that rock was warmed up before he sat down; he might've been a clever bloke but he really should have listened to what his mum had to say about piles!! While clever William Blake has Newton missing out on the infinity of the endless circle. His inscription reads: "He who sees the infinite in all things sees God. He who sees the ratio only sees himself only..." Definitely something to be careful off - just to underline this for me, a daily meditation was waiting in my inbox from henrinouwen .org "As we look at the stars and let our minds wander into the many galaxies, we come to feel so small and insignificant that anything we do, say, or think seems completely useless. B...

And so we took him down (Or thought we did), Wiped off the sweat and spittle From his face, Washed the dried blood, Threw out the crown of thorns, And wrapped him once again In swaddling clothes. A tomb can be a cramped, Confining place, Far smaller than a stable. We laid him there (Or thought we did). We were not able To comprehend The infinite contained. For us it was the end. Only the harsh realities Of death and stone Remained. Elizabeth Rooney I've kept this picture and poem saved from Kathryn's blog last year. It is to easy to forget this day - but it seems odd to miss the sense of isolation, loss and alienation of the disciples that first Easter Saturday.

While religion ever slides to the right and to the embrace of conservative ethics and politics, the Bible remains a dangerous book calling us to ongoing conversion. That conversion is not simply the call to abandon our own pathetic and pitiful personal wrongdoing, but also involves a conversion from the social deformities that inhabit our soulscape. The idolatries of our time - control, consumerism, exploitation, militarism, narcissism - need to be expelled from our ways of thinking and acting, as much as the personal wrongdoing of greed, pride, lust and deception. (pp 139) Ringma, C. (2003). Seek the Silences with Thomas Merton .

Having identified Infancy/Institutional and Adolescence /Critical Von Hügel moves on to what he identifies as being an Adulthood/ Mystical stage in faith development. Characterised by a growing awareness of an inner consciousness of God that is incommunicable and mysterious. There is release from critical analysis and the discomfort of incessant search for meaning; there is a renewed appreciation of the stories of Infancy, but within a new depth of meaning and understanding. No longer is there either the need to define or deconstruct God - there is comfort in the mystery of God. To ignore this stage of faith development would be to anaesthetise or shut ourselves off from God; equally this stage in isolation to the Institutional and Critical elements of faith development would become self preoccupied. There is a balance to be struck. For instance to neglect the sense of mystery would be for us to be intellectually alive but spiritually barren; or for us to be simply content wi...

Today I had three things that I wanted to offer as a thought in WBC's daily prayers - none really connected for me in isolation - while I could have got away with it I knew that they weren't going to hit the mark. Twenty minutes to go - on the school run - the penny dropped, there was a connection between all three. Today I had three things that I wanted to offer as a thought in WBC's daily prayers - none really connected for me in isolation - while I could have got away with it I knew that they weren't going to hit the mark. Twenty minutes to go - on the school run - the penny dropped, there was a connection between all three. Ringma talks of 'learning the gentle art of letting go' or 'renunciation' as : 'a form of detachment that breaks the power of the immediate, the pressing and the dominating realities of our lives, which frees us for a re-engagement. This re-engagement is always new and different because our empty hands have been filled with Go...

I've never been that convinced that conditioning young impressionable minds to believe out of fear of the fire and brimstone of a medieval eschatology is the way to encourage our children to be part of God's plan of putting the world to rights... I went with a couple of good friends to see the infamous Golden Compass; my inbox still full of warnings from well intentioned people suggesting that it would be a route to atheism. The problem of course being that these people - no doubt never having been to see the film or read the books - fit the bill of Church that quite obviously so appalled Pullman when he wrote his clever allegory. A Church that dictates faith constructs through fear and entrenchment. The allegory was there to be seen - the abuse of education of children by the church. I've never been convinced that telling our kids 'that they really ought to be friends with Jesus because if they don't they'll go to hell' is the way to introduce them to the ...

I've just been sent a press release regarding a BBC series to run during Holy Week 2008. The Passion is a dramatic re-telling of the last days of Jesus not a sign of Mel Gibson in sight! The cast includes Cold Feet star James Nesbitt as Pilate and EastEnders actor Paul Nicholls as Judas Iscariot. The part of Jesus is played by the relatively unknown Joseph Mawle. The series starts on Palm Sunday 16th March. More details here . No doubt rejesus will be worth a visit when it starts.

Continuing with my notes from Gerard Hughes' God of Surprises with regard to von Hügel's approach to faith development. The first part is here Adolescence /Critical If 'Infancy' is where we absorb information, the stage described next by von Hügel as 'Adolescence' is where we make sense of what we know in our context through questioning. This stage is also described as the 'critical' stage as a growing awareness; the search for meaning; search for direction is worked out and contributes to a stage of faith characterised by criticising and theorising. The security blanket of simple and literal answers meeting basic needs of faith no longer makes sense within a desire to discover and integrate faith within every day life. This can be an uncomfortable transition, as to question and to dig deeper into understanding God feels disloyal and guilt can prevent any wider exploration of God's narrative. However, to not foster such questioning has a danger of le...

We have been preparing a session on Faith Development; Kate explicitly went with Fowler, I implicitly used von Hügel's The Mystical Element in Religion - thanks to Gerard Hughes' God of Surprises. Basically von Hügel in two volumes looks at three stages. Infancy - where we absorb information; Adolescence - where we make sense of what we know in our context through questioning and Adulthood - where we have a growing awareness of an inner consciousness relating to God who is incommunicable and mysterious. It is easy to fall into the trap of seeing these stages as successive stages to pass through; however each contains elements of each other. It is easy to fall into the trap of seeing this as a neat and simple explanation, or to dismiss it for exactly the same reason. What this, Fowler and others offer - with recognised faults - is a helpful support to help understand ourselves as we seek to 'know' the depth, width and height of God. Infancy/Institutional: Also known...

Having finished Richard Dawkins The God Delusion I have to say I thought I was going to have a bit more than I bargained with but I was pretty disappointed. His arguments seemed to be based around the worst that religion has to offer - so ironically I found myself not disagreeing with a lot of what he had to say. An argument based on the best of what religion has to offer might have been interesting. His arguments seemed akin to someone writing off science based on the worst that science has to offer - which of course would be a ridiculous thing to do. Incidentally, today is the anniversary of Hiroshima. This care of Jim Wallis' blog Mitsuyoshi Toge, born in Hiroshima in 1917, was a Catholic and a poet. He was in Hiroshima when the atomic bomb was dropped on the city on August 6, 1945, when he was 24 years old. Toge died at age 36. His firsthand experience of the bomb, his passion for peace, and his realistic insight into the event made him a leading poet in Hiroshima. This poem...

"I never really had any problems with Jesus Christ, but Christians were a bit of a problem for me... Bono " This is probably old hat by now. I borrowed a DVD recording of Bill Hybels interviewing Bono last year for a Willow Creek leadership summit. (pictures here ) There were some great quotes coupled with some great music video. I tried to write my favourites down - probably not verbatim but close enough to get the gist. "I never really had any problems with Jesus Christ, but Christian's were a bit of a problem for me..." "The story of grace is really the story of Jesus Christ turning the view of the universe on its head ... it is counter intuitive ... it is hard for humans to grasp ... it is easier for us to grasp atonement, revenge, fairness but we don't grasp grace ... I need grace" "I grew up suspicious of Christianity but I was determined to learn more about the life of Jesus..." "My favourite line in the Lords prayer is ...