Following the stuff I wrote on April 1st it seems Lord Carey is in the news again …. for once I seem to be agreeing with Ruth Gledhill who writes for the times.
I think the article and video sum up pretty much how many Christians in this country feel today – I really do hope people don’t listen to people like Lord Carey (who is entitled to his view) and somehow feel all Christians feel and think like him.
So … election time is upon us and many will be wondering why, a whole week on, I have not made any comment. That is partly because I have been reflecting on the whole election stuff and my views (which are well known to many of you) and it has been an interesting time. My reflections, which will become clearer below, have challenged me to seek to understand the other side of some arguments that are bouncing around in the worldwide church at the moment as well. For me it has been quite challenging time in seeing things from the other side of the arguments of sexuality and women bishops in particular. I believe sexuality should not make any difference and look forward to seeing women bishops, but I am aware there are other Christians who see things very differently.
It is clear to us all that at election times in the UK we all see things differently. I will speak bluntly (but please hear me out before you jump to the bottom of the page to make a comment telling me I am wrong). I truly believe that as a Christian there is no other option but to vote Labour. I seriously cannot see or understand how any Christian can vote Tory. I know I am only talking about two parties here – but realistically we all know that Number 10 will be occupied by either Gordon Brown or David Cameron in a few weeks time.
I think it is our duty as Christians to support all, with a particular preference for the poor and marginalised, and I can only see the Labour Party being the political party that is interested in doing that. I am totally convinced a Conservative government would make things worse for the marginisled and poor of our country and so I cannot ever entertain the thought of myself voting such – even if that would mean I was voting for policies that were not particularly in my interest. I believe the Tory party to be totally disinterested in the poor and marginilsed of this nation. I read scripture and feel to vote Tory goes massively against how I interpret the living out of gospel values. For me, as a Christian, voting Tory is so so wrong!
And yet ….. I know lots of Christians who will be voting Tory. These people are not just names or acquaintances but are people I value, love and respect. Most of them I have counted as close friends for the best part of 20 years. For the last decade I have been drinking with some of these friends before footy games in the Conservative Club in Gillingham High Street – but I still cannot see, and I do not understand, how they combine their faith with their voting intention – but I know that they do and that they do so with integrity.
I know these friends take their Christian faith just as seriously as I do; they will pray as I will and they are voting in the way that they believe God is calling them to vote. I don’t understand how, and if I am totally honest I don’t even like it; but I can, and do, accept it. And before you point it out; I am fully aware that there are lots of Christians very active in all three main parties within Christian-political organisations like Christian Socialist Movement (CSM), Conservative Christian Fellowship (CCF )and Liberal Democrat Christian Forum (LDCF) which can all be found via the Christians in Politics website. No one party has more Christians than any other and I guess that simply confuses me in light of the strong convictions I outline above.
So … why the ramble …. well I think election time offers an important reflection time for all of us. Within Christian politics strong views can be held by individuals but those strong views do not result in cold stand offs where fellowship, communion and love cannot be shared. Those strong political views do not stop MP’s being friends and nor do they stop me spending time with good friends of different political persuasions. But … with doctrine disagreements this is exactly what seems to be happening.
Christians can believe different things and still be Christians. Election time highlights that fact quite profoundly and I believe if people took this on board in the current church scene then opposing viewpoints could be held together.
My Tory friends do not see me as any less of a Christian because I have a different political view to them. I do not see them as any less of a Christian because they have completely different views to me. If this can be the case in political beliefs, can it not also be the same for doctrinal beliefs? Surely we need to realise that none of us have the monopoly on truth or being correct – we all have shaded of it and it is when we combine that a fuller, more accurate, picture is achieved! Well …. that’s my thought anyway!
By the way I have seen some Chritians talking about not voting. That is ridiculous – please consider carefully and vote for someone …. if you are thinking of NOT voting then you should watch this little video where each of the leaders of the main three parties addresses Christians after an introduction by Archbishop John Sentamu. Please … whatever … use that vote!
This is my entry for Photo Friday under the theme of overcast …. a little late for Friday but before the deadline of this coming Friday!
We have had a brilliant week away with good friends in Cornwall.
We had a wonderfully relaxing time with special people and outstanding views – one such typical sunset in the picture with people silhouettes chatting as we watch.
It’s always great to go away with people you can just switch off and relax with – talk when you need to and sit quietly when you want to.
I have returned again, as we did in January, feeling really blessed and relaxed along with being very conscious of the special people we have around us.
The space has again enabled me to see members of my family and friends in a different way. It has enabled me to gain perspective once again on a lot of things. The space has allowed God to do some stuff in my head too – something there about ideas needing spaces etc etc.
I am back now – and I’ll have to wait and see if the space-idea formula causes anything to emerge!
It was odd this morning, though, waking up and hearing nothing after a week of waking to the beautiful sound of the waves. I realised how much I miss that from my Weymouth days and how I had got to take it for granted and now, more worryingly, how much I’d forgotten I loved the sound.
The bad thing about holidays, though, has got to be the coming back – it is hard getting into the work mode again … but it will come quickly – after all how much does it take to get into my sort of coffee and chat work mode!
‘It is finished!’
a cry dwindling
into the pause
named Saturday,
displaced by the nativity
of a fresh whisper;
Ricocheting in the empty tomb
Discharged of its ward
announcing
He is Risen!
Happy Easter!
Today I have been trying to reflect on what this saturday myst have been like for the disciples and followers of Jesus.
Yesterday we experienced the horrific death of Jesus with the accompanying shock and fear. Some his, some loitered but, by the end, all apart from John seemed to have disappeared.
But today …. today the disciples woke and it would have sunk in.
Jesus was dead.
The Messiah was dead.
He ha really gone.
It was all over.
Their dreams had come to an end.
Would there have been a certain numbness to this day?
Would they have kept thinking ‘this time yesterday I was ….’
… wishing they could turn the clock back.
Would they have been thinking ‘If only ….’
… wishing they could have done something to make it different
And what about the ‘I wish I hadn’t done ….!’
… wishing there was some way to make it all right again.
Today God had left them.
Today God descended into hell.
That must have scared them!
Today was a nothing day
a vacuum day
a day of unbelief
a day with no God.
Rant alert! If you may wish to avoid this post if you:
(1) agree with the claims of Lord Carey that Christians are being persecuted in the UK
and
(2) want to get Delirious to number 1 in the charts for Easter
… as you are not going to agree with me or like what I say!
These two items in the news and flying around facebook have really niggled me over the last few days.
First Lord Carey whinging that Christians are being persecuted in this country and suggesting that we should stand up for ourselves. This has really annoyed me for two reasons. I believe the comments are incredibly insensitive in light of real persecution of Christians in other countries such as Nigeria or Zimbabwe. Rochester Diocese has strong links with Zimbabwe and we have been hearing horrendous stories of people being beaten and murdered by police for trying to attend church. When a letter from the bishop was read in the cathedral at the midnight service on Christmas Eve people were shocked and moved to tears. You can red more here. To suggest we are persecuted in Britain because some people cannot wear an item of jewelery at work is an insult to those Zimbabwean Christians.
Secondly, Lord Carey and his friends have suggested we should stand up for our rights. I thought that as Christians we are to imitate Jesus in our lives. I am interested how Lord Carey feels this is a demand that Christians can make? During Holy Week I am more conscious than normal that Jesus does not stand up for himself. Jesus does not defend himself during his trial even though he was innocent of any crime. Jesus leaves it to God. Show me anywhere in the Bible where Christians are told to stand up for themselves? We are warned, however, in plenty of places that life will be hard for us – Zimbabwe is experiencing that as I write and you read – and maybe in the UK we will experience something in the future. We are not, however, being persecuted, victimised or even sidelined now!
It’s exciting to see the current Archbishop, whom I admire greatly, speaking out against this inappropriate ‘persecution in the UK’ statement.
My rant continues to Delirious and the campaign to get Christians to unite to get their song to number 1 in the charts for Easter. I just wonder ‘why?’ in exasperation!
The only people to benefit from this will be iTunes and the members of the band.
Getting the song to number achieves …. well what does it achieve. Please, if I am missing something here tell me?!
It’s great that Christians can unite to do something, but please can’t we be more imaginative than getting our own songs to number 1? can’t we unite around something that will make a difference – that, if you like would really make history!
If we put this in a wider perspective – a few days ago we saw Sport Relief on British TV screens. We learned that 3000 children die unnecessarily each day of the year from malaria because they do not have a £5 mosquito net to sleep under each night. 3000 children each day of the year – that’s a 9/11 atrocity every single day of the year! That figure is just from malaria – imagine adding the figures from other diseases and hunger. I feel tears developing as I think. In case you were wondering that amounts to a death toll equalling more than the total population of Birmingham every single year.
Is it any wonder people do not take Christians or our faith seriously in this country? – 3000 children dying daily, brothers and sisters in Christ being massacred in other lands through wanting to worship – and we moan about not being able to wear a silver cross and get very excited about getting a song to number 1.
rant over!
I was challenged in my thinking again this morning after the reading in Giving It Up was reflecting on John 12:1-8.
This is the scene where Jesus visits Mary, Martha and Lazarus and Mary sits at his feet and washes Jesus’ feet in mega expensive perfume. In particular Maggi draws attention to the fact that Jesus does not tell Mary to stop. He did not say anything like ‘that’s enough now, I know you love me so you don’t need to do this!’ Jesus seems to sit back and allow Mary to perform this incredibly extravagant act who was very possibly pouring her entire life savings over his feet.
Maddi suggests that Jesus shows that he has reached a time when he simply needs to be cared for and loved. Too often we see stories of what Jesus did for others – here we see what others did for Jesus.
Jesus allowed himself to be cared for.
Jesus allowed himself to be served.
I guess in my ministry (for sake of a better word) this is what I find most difficult. My role, as I see is to serve others, to be a servant, to help others. When things get tough I persevere because that is what we are supposed to do. But here I think Jesus challenges us all in that martyr type outlook. Jesus seems to suggest that there are times when we need to allow others to care for us. As Maggi writes: ‘If even Jesus needed that, how much do we need it? It’s something worth remembering when we’re tempted to be self-sufficient under stress’.
This news report shows that your emails and letters to MP’s do make a difference.
Finally, the UK government has done the right thing and is backing calls for Burma’s leaders to be referred to the war crimes tribunal.
This is a major step forward and will be welcomed by those who can only dream of freedom in Burma. It’s really important that the Burmese generals are not allowed to think the world has forgotten the daily atrocities that these men oversee.
Keep your emails going and your prayers flowing!
The Shiny Headed Prophet 