With the start of the new year ( I have to keep saying this to remind myself to think in terms of 2013 rather than 2012) we return to our reflections on 1 Corinthians, a letter which provides an inspired guide to living as Christians in a pagan society.
We increasingly live in a diverse, pagan society. As Chesterton once remarked, when people stop believing in God it does not mean that they end up believing in nothing, rather they end up believing in anything. Even those public figures who pride themselves on their atheism are when one takes a closer look, closet pantheists. (A pantheist is someone who regards the universe as god. When one reads the writings of many atheists it is striking how often they refer to the universe, nature, or even the process of evolution itself in personal terms. Some, such as Richard Dawkins, even go as far as to refer to the universe in terms that we Christians reserve for God.)
The Biblical teaching on how to live as a Christian in a pagan society can be summarized in the acrostic FAITH.
Faithfulness to God above all else.
Attention to our culture.
Intelligent probing of issues.
Tactfulness towards our fellow believers.
Humility to admit when we have got it wrong.
“there is but one God, and Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.†1 Corinthians 8:6
Wednesday 9 January 2013
December 23/30 2012
Apparently the cost of true love has increased this Christmas! If one were to buy one’s true love all the items listed in the song “The Twelve Days of Christmas†one would have to spend £67,000 (Yes, there are sad people who bother to calculate this!). This is actually an increase of 6.1% when compared to last year (Yes, there are even sadder people who bother to make the comparison!).
Of course, giving an expensive gift is no certain measure of true love. Too often the expense of the gift is a smokescreen to cover something else, as in the case of parents who shower their children with luxurious presents to disguise the lack of time and attention they devote to them during the rest of the year.
At Christmas time we are reminded that the greatest gift comes in the form of a person, and through him the gift of eternal life. At Christmas we celebrate how God sent His son to live amongst us and die the death that was destined for us, so that we could share in the eternal life that belongs to Him.
The only gift that we can give in response both cost us nothing, and costs us everything. There is no money that we can give the Lord, there is nothing that we can do to match what He has given us. All He asks from us is simply everything, our lives.
“ God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die. “ (John 3:16)
Of course, giving an expensive gift is no certain measure of true love. Too often the expense of the gift is a smokescreen to cover something else, as in the case of parents who shower their children with luxurious presents to disguise the lack of time and attention they devote to them during the rest of the year.
At Christmas time we are reminded that the greatest gift comes in the form of a person, and through him the gift of eternal life. At Christmas we celebrate how God sent His son to live amongst us and die the death that was destined for us, so that we could share in the eternal life that belongs to Him.
The only gift that we can give in response both cost us nothing, and costs us everything. There is no money that we can give the Lord, there is nothing that we can do to match what He has given us. All He asks from us is simply everything, our lives.
“ God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die. “ (John 3:16)
December 16 2012
Of Sense and Censuses
“In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.†(Luke 2:1)
A census drove Joseph and Mary away from Nazareth, and down to Bethlehem where Jesus was born. More recently the results of the 2011 census have started to emerge. Whilst the number of foreign born residents has raised the ire of the traditional xenophobes others have focused on the changes in the area of religion, with close to 4 million less Britons identifying themselves as Christian when compared to the previous census. What does this all mean?
1. A census measures identification, not belief. What has happened is that 4 million people, who do not attend church and have no active faith, have preferred to identify themselves as “without religionâ€, rather than as “Christianâ€. From a Christian perspective, this decrease in merely nominal Christianity is to be seen as something positive.
2. Those who define themselves as “without religion†are still interested in spiritual matters, and many are open to finding out more about Jesus. The number of people who explicitly identify themselves as atheists remains low, considerably less than those who identify themselves as Jedi Knights!
Overall, the challenge of living in a diverse and pluralist society remain, and we will increasingly find ourselves surrounded by people from different religious backgrounds and those who choose not to follow a specific religion. God is shaking up the world and our country so that the mission field is not something we here about in exotic stories told by “missionaries†but what we meet when we open our door and walk out into the streets as people convinced that Jesus still is the only Lord and Saviour.
“In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.†(Luke 2:1)
A census drove Joseph and Mary away from Nazareth, and down to Bethlehem where Jesus was born. More recently the results of the 2011 census have started to emerge. Whilst the number of foreign born residents has raised the ire of the traditional xenophobes others have focused on the changes in the area of religion, with close to 4 million less Britons identifying themselves as Christian when compared to the previous census. What does this all mean?
1. A census measures identification, not belief. What has happened is that 4 million people, who do not attend church and have no active faith, have preferred to identify themselves as “without religionâ€, rather than as “Christianâ€. From a Christian perspective, this decrease in merely nominal Christianity is to be seen as something positive.
2. Those who define themselves as “without religion†are still interested in spiritual matters, and many are open to finding out more about Jesus. The number of people who explicitly identify themselves as atheists remains low, considerably less than those who identify themselves as Jedi Knights!
Overall, the challenge of living in a diverse and pluralist society remain, and we will increasingly find ourselves surrounded by people from different religious backgrounds and those who choose not to follow a specific religion. God is shaking up the world and our country so that the mission field is not something we here about in exotic stories told by “missionaries†but what we meet when we open our door and walk out into the streets as people convinced that Jesus still is the only Lord and Saviour.
December 9 2012
Is Celebrating Christmas Publicly Offensive to those of Other Religions?
A company in London stopped paying overtime to its workers claiming that this was offensive to those from other religious backgrounds. So I asked, Mandeep, a girl from a Sikh background with a Muslim Uncle if anyone in her family would be offended if they were paid extra for working on Christmas day…
It is simply not true that those who follow other religions in this country are offended when we celebrate Christmas. I have received Christmas greetings from Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims, including cards with Christian themes! (There may be exceptions, but then we also encounter some people who call themselves Christians and have strange ideas). Thus, the Hindu Council once sponsored a traditional nativity scene at Westminster Abbey to dispel this myth. Rather, this is the claim of lazy secularists, who would leave us living in a joyless society without any values or principles to guide us, after all Ebenezer Scrooge was the arch-secularist.
At Christmas we can celebrate with joy. Whilst we respect the right of those to hold other religious views, or none at all, we still affirm with joy and conviction “Glory to God in the Highest and on earth peace to men on whom his favour rests.â€
Saturday 1 December 2012
December 2 2012
“Where was God?†This is a question which is commonly asked during times of tragedy. At times this may come across with an unintentional irony, with people who have constantly lived their lives to exclude God suddenly wondering why their wish seems to have been fulfilled.
However, it can also be the cry of the faithful. Those who are patiently waiting upon the Lord, and wonder where He is, in a time of tragedy, in a time of bereavement or as they are left picking up the pieces of broken dreams.
Christmas is a reminder that God is so often found at work at the margins, amongst the poor, the vulnerable and the weak. Christmas is a reminder that the life of faith is often a life of waiting, and trusting in the Lord even when faced with situations that we cannot understand.
As Christians we confess God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. As we wait for Christmas we will be reflecting in the coming weeks on the Father who sends at Christmas, the Son who is present at Christmas and the Holy Spirit who empowers at Christmas.
However, it can also be the cry of the faithful. Those who are patiently waiting upon the Lord, and wonder where He is, in a time of tragedy, in a time of bereavement or as they are left picking up the pieces of broken dreams.
Christmas is a reminder that God is so often found at work at the margins, amongst the poor, the vulnerable and the weak. Christmas is a reminder that the life of faith is often a life of waiting, and trusting in the Lord even when faced with situations that we cannot understand.
As Christians we confess God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. As we wait for Christmas we will be reflecting in the coming weeks on the Father who sends at Christmas, the Son who is present at Christmas and the Holy Spirit who empowers at Christmas.
November 25
The issue of women bishops has been a major news item this week. Now, it is not my intention to criticise another denomination, and as a Baptist I am more likely to be opposed to male bishops than supporting women bishops, but I believe it is a good opportunity to indicate the main reasons why Baptist churches endorse the full ministry and leadership of women.
It is biblical. The Bible narrates women doing all the activities which we expect from leaders. Leading worship: Myriam. Leading men: Deborah. Preaching: The many prophetesses of the Old Testament. Teaching: Priscilla. There is even a woman, Junia described as being “notable among the apostles.†Why should we stand in the way of women doing today, what they were allowed to do in Biblical times?
It is the work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit has called and gifted many women for service, why should we stand in the way of His work?
Some do point, however, to 1 Timothy 2:10-15 to oppose female leadership. In context, as leading New Testament scholar NT Wright indicates, this passage is probably urging that women be given full opportunity to learn and study Scriptures in submission to God so that they will not be deceived as Eve was. They should not exert unhealthy leadership over men as was common in the Diana cult in Ephesus. In contrast, Paul was willing to endorse healthy forms of female leadership in many other churches, which include all the roles and actions carried out by our pastors, deacons and other leaders.
It is biblical. The Bible narrates women doing all the activities which we expect from leaders. Leading worship: Myriam. Leading men: Deborah. Preaching: The many prophetesses of the Old Testament. Teaching: Priscilla. There is even a woman, Junia described as being “notable among the apostles.†Why should we stand in the way of women doing today, what they were allowed to do in Biblical times?
It is the work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit has called and gifted many women for service, why should we stand in the way of His work?
Some do point, however, to 1 Timothy 2:10-15 to oppose female leadership. In context, as leading New Testament scholar NT Wright indicates, this passage is probably urging that women be given full opportunity to learn and study Scriptures in submission to God so that they will not be deceived as Eve was. They should not exert unhealthy leadership over men as was common in the Diana cult in Ephesus. In contrast, Paul was willing to endorse healthy forms of female leadership in many other churches, which include all the roles and actions carried out by our pastors, deacons and other leaders.
Tuesday 6 November 2012
November 4th
A colleague of mine once remarked that when at Bible College she went to a lecture on holiness and noticed it was poorly attended. The following week she went to a lecture on evil spirits and demons and the venue was packed out.
As the growing fascination with Halloween shows, there is something seductively attractive about the power of evil. Yet this morning's reading reminds us that this attraction is deceptive, for evil has a devastating effect on people and communities. It also reminds us that above all, our focus should be on Jesus, the one who has defeated all evil.
As the growing fascination with Halloween shows, there is something seductively attractive about the power of evil. Yet this morning's reading reminds us that this attraction is deceptive, for evil has a devastating effect on people and communities. It also reminds us that above all, our focus should be on Jesus, the one who has defeated all evil.
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