Thursday 1 October 2009

At last ...

... I have found something meaningful to do with bad Theology books. ;)

Sunday 6 September 2009

"God works DESPITE the Church, not because of it ..."

Time and time I am reminded of the above phrase, and in fact rely on it to stop me becoming disillusioned by the bigotry, politics and power struggles within the Church.

The Anglican church in Port Elizabeth has again proclaimed it's love of bigotry and regression http://www.epherald.co.za/article.aspx?id=467360

Unfortunately, what the person who wrote the article forgot to state was that it's not all Anglicans that are opposed to gay clergy or gay marriage, but only those who have a limited understanding of Scripture and find it too uncomfortable to read it inclusively.

Thankfully, there are many who are willing to recognise that Theology is not always comfortable and should always be practised in a way that is relevant to both the current context and it's original context ... even if that is not the way it was taught to you. That's what discovering truth is ... and thankfully there are many who are happy to discover it.

Saturday 17 January 2009

The race is on...

LOL ... I've just found the news articles about the atheist bus campaign that's ruffling evangelical tail feathers.

The buses have amusing phrases on them, like "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life." This became a news item when a bus driver refused to drive one of the buses, because the website name ( http://www.atheistcampaign.org ) offended him.

I guess I can understand how evangelical Christians could be upset at the banners, but I just find them funny. And you can't really make exceptions ... the evangelicals have been using buses for years ... with the alpha course and jesussaid.org banners. So why should the atheists not get a crack at it?

Interestingly enough ... people seem to be a lot more passionate about the atheist campaign than by the alpha or jesussaid campaigns. Compare http://www.justgiving.com/alphaposters/ with http://www.justgiving.com/atheistbus . The difference is astounding, and quite funny.

Who knows ... Perhaps this is people saying that Christianity needs to find a message that includes people, rather than attempts to scare them into submission and conformity? That the Church should focus on how it can serve people, rather than dictate to them? That Christians should not feel so threatened by people who don't conform to their method of thinking, but should be ready to share the playing field and hear (and understand) their views? That the Church is in no position to focus on how it can exclude people ... it should focus on how it can include and welcome them and celebrate their differences?

For that reason, I reckon the atheist bus campaign is a good thing. At least it encourages discussion and inclusion.

Tuesday 6 January 2009

Bizarre...

Who would have thought they would ever see the day when footballers were better at expressing God's will than the pope? I guess it ties in with the commonly felt notion that football stadiums are the new cathedrals.

Perhaps footballers have now become the proclaimers of Good News to the masses, and the pope is now an overpaid, overly dramatic individual with an over-full wardrobe, a distorted sense of reality and a home that's oversized?

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/beckham-fights-antigay-prejudice-1228180.html