The Jacket Fits

I happened to read the dust jacket of McLaren's book "A New Kind of Christian" today and although I think I've probably read it before, I hadn't remembered it - or maybe it just struck me in a new way tonight.

Do you ever have that situation where you read something time after time, and then one time you read it it just stands out, as if you're reading it for the first time? Well that's how it was with this piece.

Here's what it says, and I'll let it speak for itself:

'This stirring fable captures a new spirit of Christianity - where personal, daily interaction with God is more important than institutional church structures, where faith is more about a way of life than a system of belief, where being authentically good is more important than being doctrinally "right," and where one's direction is more important than one's personal location.'

This sums up brilliantly how I feel...I think I may take this week to mull over each part of this paragraph and see what comes as I meditate on it.

More soon...

Talking genetic engineering with a 15 year old

Tonight I was helping my son do some homework on genetics and their influence on behavior. He had to research some of the human traits that are now thought to be influenced to some extent by genetics. He chose stammering, and looked at some of the research that's been done looking at bio-markers in the human genome.

It inspired some interesting and challenging conversation regarding our ability to manipulate genetics and whether we have a moral right to do so.

I really want Matt to be able to think through his own position on these kinds of issues without me laying on my own interpretation. As a parent I find it hard to convey my own moral compass whilst also allowing my children to reach their own conclusions on what's right and wrong. At some point strong guidance has to give way to being a sounding board.

I hope that in my discussions I reflect an image of life influenced and guided by a faith in the creator.

How does the world look from where you are?

In McLaren's book, Neo presents to a group of students, and much of his talk is centered around the last major shift in world views - from the 15th century when the Medieval gave way to the modern world view.

It's interesting to think about how big an impact our worldview has on how we perceive things around us, and yet I know I spend little time thinking about that fact - that I'm viewing everything through the eyes of a white, middle class, 40+ year old (yes I know - I cringe typing that - somewhere in side my head I still think I'm in my 20's...).

If you had talked to someone in the 15th century and described your view of the world, and church, you would have been labeled a lunatic, or a heretic - and maybe you would have been tortured or killed for your views. Our view of spirituality would have been so foreign to someone then - as would our views of science or culture. And yet people living then were at the height of the Medieval era - they were the most enlightened people that had existed up until that point in history - they were making new discoveries in science and astronomy, the church was at the height of its influence - and yet everything they understood was about to be turned on its head...maybe that's where we are today?

It seems that the emergent conversation is based around a shift in world view - from seeing things through a modern, christian-centered world view, to viewing them in the context of a post modern, post Christendom world.

The challenge for me personally is how I shake off the old and embrace the new - thoughts or ideas on a post card (or via my guest book...!!)

Kiva.org

A friend at work sent me a link to one of the best sites I've seen in ages - http://www.kiva.org/

It's a way of investing money in entrepreneurs who are working in their own developing countries in places such as Africa, Central and South America. You can invest as little as $25, and choose which project you wish to invest it. Once enough money has been raised, a loan is given to the individual, who then repays it over a 6-18 month period. At the end of the loan repayment, you get your money back, which you can take out, or re-invest in another project.

What a fantastic way to invest in the lives of other people and make a real difference!

I'm sure if Jesus was alive today, you'd find his profile on kiva.org - I wonder what his user name would be...?

We were meant to live for so much more

I was in the gym last week and this song by Switchfoot came on in the spin-class and I got hooked on the tag line in the chorus:

"We were meant to live for so much more - have we lost ourselves?"

And that line kept churning over in my mind - we were meant to live for so much more...we were meant to live for so much more...I was meant to live for so much more...

Last week I heard that a friend of ours in the UK had lost her mum to cancer after she had been ill for a number of months, and the week before my parents lost a close friend of theirs, and the dad of my first girlfriend, to cancer too.

Sometimes in the past I've felt like I've lost myself - but with so much pain and heartache around, it makes me more determined to ensure that I don't end my life wondering if I was meant to live for so much more...

A Short History of Time...

In McLaren's book, Neo introduces Dan to his view of history, and its progression from Prehistory to Postmodernity.

This goes from Prehistory, through the Ancient World (2500 B.C.), to the Medieval World (A.D. 500) to the Modern World (A.D. 1500) and finally to the Postmodern World (A.D. 2000).

Although this is probably an over-simplification I found it helpful in understanding that each period in history is an evolution from the previous - it's not that one is better than another, it's just different. The Modern World grew out of the Medieval World, the Postmodern out of the Modern.

I was thinking about this as it relates to my understanding of the bible - and my interpretation of it.

Having attended mainly evangelical/fundamentalist churches, I have grown up accepting the Bible as the infallible word of God. I still believe it is the word of God - inspired by the Holy Spirit, but I am growing in my understanding that it was written by people in the Ancient World, who had an Ancient World view. I think that I have interpreted the Bible, and read it, from a Modern/PostModern World view - with my whole frame of reference being different to those who wrote it. This probably then applies to how we have used the bible to base much of what we do as Christians, especially in relation to church (both its structure and content).

This doesn't invalidate the Bible at all - rather it opens up a richer way of interpreting what was written.

This may seem very straight forward to you - depending on your view of the Bible, but this is actually a pretty radical shift for me, so bear with me...this means I have to reassess a lot of areas that I probably accepted without really questioning them before.

I can feel the battle inside because I do believe that the bible is inspired by God, and I don't believe in complete relativism - if there is no absolute truth we are completely adrift, and that is a hopelessness that doesn't feel like Good News.

I need to think this through more - I feel like I'm looking through a glass, dimly, so if you have any thoughts on this area that you feel may be helpful, I would love to hear them.

More later...

Living With Uncertainty

Last week the company I work for announced a major reorganization that will result in plant closures, job cuts and a lot of uncertainty for thousands of people.

At this stage my own job looks ok - although I'm not naive enough to think that I will remain unaffected. As I listened to our CEO address analysts, and then other senior leaders of my organization meet with our department, and gradually smaller and smaller groups, I understood that there had clearly been much work going on in parallel before this announcement was made. Sure there were rumors - and in the absence of the truth people fill the void with all kinds of rumors - but there was a whole team of people working away, constructing a new future, and we got occasional glimpses of it, but didn't fully comprehend what was happening until last Monday.

As I was driving in to work today I was thinking about that, and realized that that's a lot like what I think has been happening with my life. I had glimpses of an alternative way of living as a Christian - I read something on the Internet, or listened to a podcast - but all along there was a parallel way of being that I didn't fully comprehend until recently (and even now, saying I fully comprehend it is crazy...).

I know that at work things will never be the same - this is true for my own spiritual journey too.

I know that there will be much uncertainty and angst at work as people try and assimilate the messages and work though the question of "what does this mean for me, in my situation." This is also true for my spiritual life.

Although this current time is painful at work, I believe that it was the right decision for the company, and will result in a healthier future. I see this mirrored in my life as a Christian too.

There's a line from a Kevin Prosche song that says "the natural things, speak of the invisbible..." and the truth of that line struck me again as I drove in to work.

Peace.