In days when Evangelical distinctives are increasingly being eroded by a culture of 'unity before doctrine'- the following links on a recent anouncement by Benedict XVI should make all Bible believing Christians pause for thought....
BBC: Pope Approves Lourdes Indulgences
Telegraph: Trips to Lourdes to cut time spent in purgatory
Catholic New Service: Pope OKs plenary indulgence for Lourdes' 150th anniversary
Friday, January 25, 2008
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Podcast Presuppositions
The Friday Night BBC Radio 4 Comedy Podcast is usually a hit & miss affair – a few good lines in among a lot of old gags. It seems though that rather than concentrating on producing better material our current batch of comics are much more interested in promoting secular (anti religious) values in their half hour of air time. This week, in among jokes as cutting edge as, ‘Britain’s a good place to live for a start it’s not France’ (sic), Punt & Dennis took it upon themselves to expose the dangers of religious belief.
So we had a little girl’s voice asking her Daddy if there was a God. The father replied in measured gentle tones, ‘well some people think there is and others don’t, you really have to make up your own mind’. This was followed by the suggestion that this little girl would grow up enlightened, reasonable and an all round good citizen. Next the same little girl’s voice asked the same question. This time the father screamed in an Ian Paisley accent, ‘Yes there is and if you don’t believe it you’ll burn in hell forever’. The implication being that this litle girl would grow up to be a repressed and fanatical suicide bomber. How the audience laughed.
Firstly notice the stereotypes, the non-religious (or at most agnostic) father is reasonable, intelligent and in the business of promoting intellectual freedom in his children. Whereas the religious father is clearly an irrational bully and in the business of brain washing. Thus even before any actual assessment of their views is begun those in the religious camp find themselves vilified and caricatured. Now I know this was a comedy programme but nevertheless like the racist comics of previous years it drip feeds anti-religious prejudice into mainline culture – it gives permission for others to mock. The anti-faith lobby in Britain today leaves Christians feeling a little like Jews in 1930’s Germany – a minority who it is acceptable to distain, a group whose own human rights must always take second place to the accepted values of the political and media classes, and those upon which the blame for many of society’s ills can increasingly be laid. That of course (I hope) is to over-dramatise the situation but those who claim to promote the greater good in our society should be wary of such parallels.
Anyway, back to the joke in hand and the presupposition that children should not be told what to believe – how pleased people are when they tell you that they were brought up to make up their own minds about God. For them it is a mark of enlightened parenting and their intellectual independence. However, I suspect that most of them weren’t told in response to the question, ‘Are black people inferior to white people?’ – ‘well some people think they are and some don’t, you’ll have to make up your own mind about that’. Or to the question, ‘Would it be alright to kill someone if you really hated them? – ‘well son, I wouldn’t like to say, it’s really a matter of what helps people personally’. No self-respecting parent would fail to give strong and unambiguous guidance on such issues.
The option of ‘make your own mind up’ is left for categories that are regarded as essentially trivial, e.g. is Revolver a better album than Sgt Peppers? (The answer is ‘yes’ by the way). So Punt & Dennis are doing no more than revealing that they don’t think God is important. God is a matter of indifference. So whether my children believe in God or not – so what. The implication being that there are no implications. This is the presupposition that we need to tackle such secular beliefs upon – because as CS Lewis said: ‘if Christianity is false it is of no importance, if it is true it is of infinite importance. The one thing it cannot be is moderately important.’
So we had a little girl’s voice asking her Daddy if there was a God. The father replied in measured gentle tones, ‘well some people think there is and others don’t, you really have to make up your own mind’. This was followed by the suggestion that this little girl would grow up enlightened, reasonable and an all round good citizen. Next the same little girl’s voice asked the same question. This time the father screamed in an Ian Paisley accent, ‘Yes there is and if you don’t believe it you’ll burn in hell forever’. The implication being that this litle girl would grow up to be a repressed and fanatical suicide bomber. How the audience laughed.
Firstly notice the stereotypes, the non-religious (or at most agnostic) father is reasonable, intelligent and in the business of promoting intellectual freedom in his children. Whereas the religious father is clearly an irrational bully and in the business of brain washing. Thus even before any actual assessment of their views is begun those in the religious camp find themselves vilified and caricatured. Now I know this was a comedy programme but nevertheless like the racist comics of previous years it drip feeds anti-religious prejudice into mainline culture – it gives permission for others to mock. The anti-faith lobby in Britain today leaves Christians feeling a little like Jews in 1930’s Germany – a minority who it is acceptable to distain, a group whose own human rights must always take second place to the accepted values of the political and media classes, and those upon which the blame for many of society’s ills can increasingly be laid. That of course (I hope) is to over-dramatise the situation but those who claim to promote the greater good in our society should be wary of such parallels.
Anyway, back to the joke in hand and the presupposition that children should not be told what to believe – how pleased people are when they tell you that they were brought up to make up their own minds about God. For them it is a mark of enlightened parenting and their intellectual independence. However, I suspect that most of them weren’t told in response to the question, ‘Are black people inferior to white people?’ – ‘well some people think they are and some don’t, you’ll have to make up your own mind about that’. Or to the question, ‘Would it be alright to kill someone if you really hated them? – ‘well son, I wouldn’t like to say, it’s really a matter of what helps people personally’. No self-respecting parent would fail to give strong and unambiguous guidance on such issues.
The option of ‘make your own mind up’ is left for categories that are regarded as essentially trivial, e.g. is Revolver a better album than Sgt Peppers? (The answer is ‘yes’ by the way). So Punt & Dennis are doing no more than revealing that they don’t think God is important. God is a matter of indifference. So whether my children believe in God or not – so what. The implication being that there are no implications. This is the presupposition that we need to tackle such secular beliefs upon – because as CS Lewis said: ‘if Christianity is false it is of no importance, if it is true it is of infinite importance. The one thing it cannot be is moderately important.’
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Deleting the Junk
info@greenviewchurch.co.uk – is the email address for anyone wanting to contact the church via our web site. Unfortunately this address seems to be a magnet for large amounts of junk email. Most of which have rather purile headings which I have to scan through just in case there is actually a legitmate enquiry in there. I have to confess that at one point I hadn’t checked it for several weeks only to find on opening it that over 2000 emails has accumulated. I then had the tedious and time consuming task of deleting them - 25 at a time. It took ages.
It’s amazing how relatively quickly the whole account got completely swamped and clogged up with this defiled rubbish. But it got me thinking of the daily rubbish that accumulates in my own life – both my own sin but also the defilement that external sinfulness brings to it (e.g. things seen on TV, comments overheard, other people’s bad behaviour etc). Because uncleanness in the Bible contaminates people both from internal and external sources. Unchecked that contamination can swamp us spiritually and clog up our relationship with God. Which is why we need daily cleansing or, as my old Pastor used to say, ‘to keep short accounts with God’ (i.e. don’t let sin built up in your life – cancel it out quickly and regularly). In the Old Testament such was the ‘ease’ with which you could get contaminated that sacrifices and washing rituals were readily available for quick cleansing.
Every day we need to clear out the accumulated junk in our lives by getting before God in confession and in asking 'to be every whit clean’ (Jn 13:10 AV). I’ve learnt the lesson – every day I open up that email account and delete the junk before it gets out of control.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 Jn 1:9)
It’s amazing how relatively quickly the whole account got completely swamped and clogged up with this defiled rubbish. But it got me thinking of the daily rubbish that accumulates in my own life – both my own sin but also the defilement that external sinfulness brings to it (e.g. things seen on TV, comments overheard, other people’s bad behaviour etc). Because uncleanness in the Bible contaminates people both from internal and external sources. Unchecked that contamination can swamp us spiritually and clog up our relationship with God. Which is why we need daily cleansing or, as my old Pastor used to say, ‘to keep short accounts with God’ (i.e. don’t let sin built up in your life – cancel it out quickly and regularly). In the Old Testament such was the ‘ease’ with which you could get contaminated that sacrifices and washing rituals were readily available for quick cleansing.
Every day we need to clear out the accumulated junk in our lives by getting before God in confession and in asking 'to be every whit clean’ (Jn 13:10 AV). I’ve learnt the lesson – every day I open up that email account and delete the junk before it gets out of control.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 Jn 1:9)
Monday, November 12, 2007
The Golden Compass - Atheism for Kids
December 7th sees the release in cinemas of 'The Golden Compass' - a film aimed at children (although not yet rated) that is based on a trilogy of books by Philip Pullman. It looks set to be a holiday season blockbuster and will doubtless generate lots of publicity in the coming weeks - see a trailer here:
THE GOLDEN COMPASS
Once again Christians will feel the discomfort of anti-Christian atheism being slickly promoted in mainstream culture - for Philip Pullman's self-confessed desire in writing the 'Dark Materials' trilogy was do for atheism what CS Lewis' Narnia books had done for Christianity. The Golden Compass is truly atheism (of the particularly anti-Christianity type) for kids. Although set in a parallel world to ours its agenda is very clear - it is a world in which the church (or Magisterium) is a sinister body whose aim is to suppress freedom and a world in which God is a senile fading despot. It is a world that can only be saved by the 'upward fall' of humanity - to do what Eve did and reject God thus creating a Republic of Heaven. This is a mainstream Disney -type kid's film which will be in cinemas everywhere in four weeks time.
For a slightly more in-depth response to the original novels you can read my own review here: PULLMAN REVIEW
THE GOLDEN COMPASS
Once again Christians will feel the discomfort of anti-Christian atheism being slickly promoted in mainstream culture - for Philip Pullman's self-confessed desire in writing the 'Dark Materials' trilogy was do for atheism what CS Lewis' Narnia books had done for Christianity. The Golden Compass is truly atheism (of the particularly anti-Christianity type) for kids. Although set in a parallel world to ours its agenda is very clear - it is a world in which the church (or Magisterium) is a sinister body whose aim is to suppress freedom and a world in which God is a senile fading despot. It is a world that can only be saved by the 'upward fall' of humanity - to do what Eve did and reject God thus creating a Republic of Heaven. This is a mainstream Disney -type kid's film which will be in cinemas everywhere in four weeks time.
For a slightly more in-depth response to the original novels you can read my own review here: PULLMAN REVIEW
Friday, November 09, 2007
How the UK changed between 1997 & 2007
Make of these what you will...
I copied the following statistics from a special Observer Supplement on the Blair Years published earlier in the year. I came across then again recently and thought they might be of use as sermon illustrations or just general interest...
Life Expectancy
1997 - 74.8 (m) & 79.7 (f)
2007 - 76.6 (m) & 81 (f)
Households with multi-channel TV
1997 - 25.5%
2007 - 78.6%
Pupils at Private Schools
1997 - 473,000
2007 - 615,000
Average House Price
1997 - 72,382
2007 - 172,006
Number of Mobile Phones
1997 - 8m
2007 - 65m
CCTV Cameras
1997 - 100,000
2007 - 4m
Men using Viagra
1997 - 0
2007 - 900,000
Average attendance at Premiership matches
1997 - 18,463
2007 - 34,171
Prison population
1997 - 61,114
2007 - 79,380
Visits to Museums
1997 - 14.4m
2007 - 38m
Cost of flight between London & Frankfurt
1997 - £325.00
2007 - £118.90
I copied the following statistics from a special Observer Supplement on the Blair Years published earlier in the year. I came across then again recently and thought they might be of use as sermon illustrations or just general interest...
Life Expectancy
1997 - 74.8 (m) & 79.7 (f)
2007 - 76.6 (m) & 81 (f)
Households with multi-channel TV
1997 - 25.5%
2007 - 78.6%
Pupils at Private Schools
1997 - 473,000
2007 - 615,000
Average House Price
1997 - 72,382
2007 - 172,006
Number of Mobile Phones
1997 - 8m
2007 - 65m
CCTV Cameras
1997 - 100,000
2007 - 4m
Men using Viagra
1997 - 0
2007 - 900,000
Average attendance at Premiership matches
1997 - 18,463
2007 - 34,171
Prison population
1997 - 61,114
2007 - 79,380
Visits to Museums
1997 - 14.4m
2007 - 38m
Cost of flight between London & Frankfurt
1997 - £325.00
2007 - £118.90
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Hitch Hikers Guide to Evangelism Pt 1
I recently attended a seminar on ‘one-to-one evangelism’ (run by Mark Simpson & David Gibb of St Andrews CofE in Leyland) and thought it may be helpful to share some of my notes.
Evangelism Frustrations in a Large Evangelical Church
1. People come to the church with experiences of successful evangelism in CU’s, Summer Missions and other para-church events but don’t see the same results in the church.
2. The church runs evangelistic events and courses but the number of non-Christians brought along is often disappointingly small.
3. Most growth is from people ‘drifting in’ rather than from outreach contacts.
Result: is guilt about lack of evangelism (success) – often by leaders who then transfer their guilt to the rest of the church.
The problems (why are we so poor at this?)
Many of us are quite private people. We live in a society that is not very relationally motivated – individualistic and materially focused (Christians aren't immune from this). We are mobile and often don’t live or work in the same place long enough to build-up substantial friendships. We are busy both in work and in church.
Titus ch.2
Different groups in the church are addressed but a common theme emerges – there is a focus on how they live: their behaviour and lifestyle. Why? So that God’s word will not be brought into disrepute, to give opponents no basis for their attacks, and to make the Gospel attractive. Titus is a letter with a major emphasis on being people ‘eager to do what is good’.
The problem is that we often want to skip the above and go straight to a Gospel conversation – which can be personally wearing, turn others off and damage building longer term relationships.
Four Principles
1. Be Natural: Don’t force the Gospel. Be genuinely interested in others. Do things you actually enjoy (i.e. don’t do things simply to make contacts with potential converts) as then your friendships will be natural and genuine.
2. Be Long Term: Real friends will accept invitations. Give time to others – work often allows this best.
3. Be Gospel Ready: Have a Gospel outline practiced – you may not use it all but at least you’ll have something clear to say if an opportunity arises. Pray! This also has the side-effect of making us more sensitive to spotting potential opportunities.
4. Be Church Connected: Good Gospel preaching equips Christians to share their faith. Keep doing the evangelistic events so people do have a stepping stone for their contacts. Recognise the naturals ‘the people people’ and give them the freedom to be with others (i.e. not stuck behind the scenes or doing in-house church activities every night).
Evangelism Frustrations in a Large Evangelical Church
1. People come to the church with experiences of successful evangelism in CU’s, Summer Missions and other para-church events but don’t see the same results in the church.
2. The church runs evangelistic events and courses but the number of non-Christians brought along is often disappointingly small.
3. Most growth is from people ‘drifting in’ rather than from outreach contacts.
Result: is guilt about lack of evangelism (success) – often by leaders who then transfer their guilt to the rest of the church.
The problems (why are we so poor at this?)
Many of us are quite private people. We live in a society that is not very relationally motivated – individualistic and materially focused (Christians aren't immune from this). We are mobile and often don’t live or work in the same place long enough to build-up substantial friendships. We are busy both in work and in church.
Titus ch.2
Different groups in the church are addressed but a common theme emerges – there is a focus on how they live: their behaviour and lifestyle. Why? So that God’s word will not be brought into disrepute, to give opponents no basis for their attacks, and to make the Gospel attractive. Titus is a letter with a major emphasis on being people ‘eager to do what is good’.
The problem is that we often want to skip the above and go straight to a Gospel conversation – which can be personally wearing, turn others off and damage building longer term relationships.
Four Principles
1. Be Natural: Don’t force the Gospel. Be genuinely interested in others. Do things you actually enjoy (i.e. don’t do things simply to make contacts with potential converts) as then your friendships will be natural and genuine.
2. Be Long Term: Real friends will accept invitations. Give time to others – work often allows this best.
3. Be Gospel Ready: Have a Gospel outline practiced – you may not use it all but at least you’ll have something clear to say if an opportunity arises. Pray! This also has the side-effect of making us more sensitive to spotting potential opportunities.
4. Be Church Connected: Good Gospel preaching equips Christians to share their faith. Keep doing the evangelistic events so people do have a stepping stone for their contacts. Recognise the naturals ‘the people people’ and give them the freedom to be with others (i.e. not stuck behind the scenes or doing in-house church activities every night).
Hitch Hikers Guide to Evangelism Pt 2
Finally (see Part 1) – DO DOOR TO DOOR
'What?' - you cry, isn’t that the antithesis of all the above ? Don’t people just hate that kind of thing? Isn’t it so passé and a big turn-off to non-Christians?
A number of years ago I was stuck in Fort William having just completed the West Highland Way and facing the prospect of getting back to Glasgow with only 11p. My friend suggested we hitch hike – well I had heard the stories about foolish people who picked-up hitch hikers and had to be scraped out the ashtray later on. So I assumed that no-one in their right mind would ever pick hitch hikers and that to stand at the side of the A82 with our thumbs stuck out was a hopeless idea. ‘No’, insisted my friend it was perfectly feasible and that he could categorically assure me that before 150 cars passed us by we would get a lift. So we stood as car after car sailed by (some drivers ignoring us, some laughing at us, some wondering what sadistic weapons of torture were concealed in our rucksacks – but (and much to my friends delight) before we got to ‘150’ a car stopped and gave us a lift! The reality is that there are still enough people (albeit a pretty small minority) who will still give people lifts that it makes hitch hiking a viable option (sadistic killers take note).
Now door to door has, if nothing else, the side benefit of helping Christians to be ‘Gospel Ready’ and evangelistically focused. But more than that it may be that there are still enough people out there who will respond positively to getting a leaflet and seeing the church take an interest in them that this is still a worthwhile activity (the JWs & Mormons obviously think so).
So this is something we are looking into starting around the Shawlands and Pollokshaws areas. Anyone interested in being part of this will be very welcome.
'What?' - you cry, isn’t that the antithesis of all the above ? Don’t people just hate that kind of thing? Isn’t it so passé and a big turn-off to non-Christians?
A number of years ago I was stuck in Fort William having just completed the West Highland Way and facing the prospect of getting back to Glasgow with only 11p. My friend suggested we hitch hike – well I had heard the stories about foolish people who picked-up hitch hikers and had to be scraped out the ashtray later on. So I assumed that no-one in their right mind would ever pick hitch hikers and that to stand at the side of the A82 with our thumbs stuck out was a hopeless idea. ‘No’, insisted my friend it was perfectly feasible and that he could categorically assure me that before 150 cars passed us by we would get a lift. So we stood as car after car sailed by (some drivers ignoring us, some laughing at us, some wondering what sadistic weapons of torture were concealed in our rucksacks – but (and much to my friends delight) before we got to ‘150’ a car stopped and gave us a lift! The reality is that there are still enough people (albeit a pretty small minority) who will still give people lifts that it makes hitch hiking a viable option (sadistic killers take note).
Now door to door has, if nothing else, the side benefit of helping Christians to be ‘Gospel Ready’ and evangelistically focused. But more than that it may be that there are still enough people out there who will respond positively to getting a leaflet and seeing the church take an interest in them that this is still a worthwhile activity (the JWs & Mormons obviously think so).
So this is something we are looking into starting around the Shawlands and Pollokshaws areas. Anyone interested in being part of this will be very welcome.
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