Is the strength of the Christian faith its moral guidance?

August 9, 2013August 9, 2013Danny Webster 1 Comment

Over at the Heresy Corner blog Nelson Jones has a rather amusing take on David Cameron’s latest intervention into affairs of a religious nature. Parts of it are very funny, and parts are trying a bit too hard to make a political point.

The Prime Minister was asked “What would your response to Jesus be on his instruction to us to sell all our possessions and give the proceeds to the poor?”

To which he replied: well that’s a tough one.

Or more fully:

“Um, that’s, I’ve done lots of these Cameron Directs and I’ve never had that question before.

“I’m a Christian and I’m an active member of the Church of England and I think like all Christians I sometimes struggle with some of the sayings and some of the instructions and some of the parts of faith as I think all people, well most people of faith do.

“What I think is so good about Jesus’s teachings is there are lots of things he said that you can still apply very directly to daily life and to bringing up your children. You know, simple things like do to others as you would be done by, love your neighbour as yourself, the ten commandments, the Sermon on the Mount, to me they’re still pretty fresh and good instructions, so I find those a set of instructions I can grapple with but the particular one you mentioned I find that one a little bit more difficult.”

He is also said: “I’m not saying religion is like pick and mix, you just pick the bits you like. I’ve always felt the strength of the Christian faith is the basic core of moral guidance. You can find moral guidance from other sources but it’s not a bad handbook”

David Cameron in the space of a few words sums up the challenge for Christianity in contemporary society. The challenge is presented in how his words carefully encapsulate a couple of key points, and in how he then goes on to miss the far bigger point. Continue reading →

The reliturgicalisation of the church

August 5, 2013August 7, 2013Danny Webster 3 Comments

There was a time when if you went into a church you knew what you would get. And then churches decided to do something different, except they all did the same different thing. Kevin DeYoung has a really interesting post on the Gospel Coalition blog assessing the New Evangelical Liturgy, and in particular critiquing it as by no measure superior to a older evangelical liturgy.

His comments are fascinating, and from the perspective of someone who has been a part of a few different types of church, largely correct. You get your welcome, your block of worship songs, your notices, a sermon, a closing song. You may also get some prayer thrown in before, during or at the end of the worship. DeYoung summarises his critique by saying: “I don’t believe it can be argued, by objective measures, that the new is superior to the old. Which liturgy has more pray? What one has more Scripture? Which one does more to accent sin and forgiveness? Which one anchors us better in the ancient creeds and confessions of the church? Which one is the product of more sustained theological reflection? Which is more shaped by the gospel?”

Firstly, he makes a point so obvious it is almost axiomatic, which is, all churches, denominations and congregations have a liturgy. They have a form and practice they use to structure their worship and teaching. There is order even in apparent chaos, there is order in refusing to conform. Many churches threw off the shackles of traditional liturgy because they felt it had become rote and devoid of the passionate intent with which they wished to worship God. And then they created new forms to structure their services, which are just as liable to become stale, routine and devoid of the orginal intent. DeYoung’s point is that all liturgies run that risk and he would rather have the older form than the newer. Continue reading →

It’s a bubble wrap life: thoughts on modesty

August 1, 2013November 27, 2014Danny Webster 6 Comments

Last night I ate at Nando’s. I went for a half chicken marinated in mango and lime dressing and it tasted good. I could have gone for it naked (or plain as they prefer to put it), but we all know that chicken tastes better when dressed. It made a good thing great. And it’s the same with people and clothes.

No it’s not.

I can’t do it. I can’t write an important piece about modesty, attraction, responsibility and liberty premised on an extremely tenuous food metaphor. I’m not going to suggest it’s like putting meat on the BBQ and then telling someone they can’t eat it, or anything about chocolate cake, sweets, or any other edible. I’m not going to say it’s like taking an alcoholic into a bar.

I’m not going to use any of those examples because they are about consumption. We eat food, we drink beer, we do not consume another person. And too often that is the problem when we talk about modesty and attraction: we do so from the mindset of a consumer. We think of other people as an it, as something that we either consumer or do not consume. And in doing so we deprive other people of agency. Continue reading →

Is a little sin tolerable? Investment and searching for the good

July 26, 2013August 7, 2013Danny Webster Leave a comment

The Church of England declares war on pay day lenders and then it’s uncovered they’re one of their investors. It’s a perfect story. And it draws back the curtain on the difficult business of ethical investment.

Further unfortunate headlines have largely been nipped in the bud by a frank and disarming interview with Justin Welby in the feared 8.10 slot on the Today Programme. He achieve that through such unorthodox techniques as:
1. Answering the questions
2. Being honest
3. Admitting fault

This isn’t a new idea for the Church of England, it’s had a similar policy toward unscrupulous lenders for twelve years, expanded in 2011 to prevent investment in the new breed of pay day lenders such as Wonga that have proliferated in the light of recent economic crises. The recommendation in its ethical investment policy on high interest lenders not to invest in companies with more than 25 per cent of their business in this area is not a cop out, and nor is it tolerating a little bit of sin.

The policy if correctly implemented – and my suspicion is that the investment through a hedge fund in which the Church’s pension fund invests is an error rather than a gap in the policy – means that companies engaged in pay day lending would not be invested in. However, were there a company that produces databases used for a wide variety of companies some of which were pay day lenders, then investment in this company would be acceptable as long as pay day lenders were not the core of their business model. Where the policy would fail to achieve its ends is if a pay day lender was part of a large business engaged in many different industries and the pay day lender comprised less that 25 per cent of its business, in this case the policy would need amending. And the policy is not rigid, it does not condone everything that isn’t automatically caught by the threshold, it allows the space for companies to be specifically excluded from investment. I expect that following this revelation closer attention will be paid and portfolios reviewed to ensure similar embarrassments are avoided. Continue reading →

New life and relentless love

July 4, 2013August 7, 2013Danny Webster Leave a comment

I’ve written before of the valleys of my faith, the days that run dark like the depths of caves, the silence that overwhelms, when shame threatens to extinguish hope. The days when I do not want to talk to anyone. The days after I write, the vulnerability hangover, when I’ve thrown my heart to the wild and it’s gone unanswered.

Those are the days when words come easily, they flow like the river of tears I wish would roll down my cheeks. They are the ache of a soul straining for relief, they are the wounds of a life left hidden for too long. They are the echoes that resound when there is nothing left to give, they are the beauty of the broken, they are the maudlin murmurings of the misanthropic.

And yet sometimes they are the easy way out.

Because not all days are sad. Not all require a torrent of words arranged to evoke emotions. Not all days spark passive aggressive pleas for sympathy. Some days are good. Some days are better than good. And sometimes in the midst of draining days comes a glimpse of the other. Continue reading →

Caring for sparrows: A response to Matthew Parris

July 2, 2013August 7, 2013Danny Webster Leave a comment

Matthew Parris wrote in the Spectator last week: “Why is Christianity so unhelpful on the very ethical dilemma that most concerns ordinary people in our everyday lives? Why does Jesus have nothing helpful to say about the ranking of obligations?”

His problem is that Christianity doesn’t help in the practical decisions of who to prioritise care for. Why is it that we consider some things more grievous wrongs than others, why are those closer to us more ‘important’ than those in identical situations who we do not know? He uses the example of someone applying for a job, we might want them to succeed, those who believe in prayer and many who do not, might pray for their success. But that success comes at a cost, for them to get the job almost certainly requires that someone else does not.

When I pray to find a parking space I’m probably interceding against someone else finding that slot.

And yet God cares for everything, appropriately given Parris’ example, Matthew 10.29 says: “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care.” Even more fittingly, the verses that immediately follow give possibly one of the few examples of biblical prioritisation. Continue reading →

Viral Vicar: relevancy, participation and leadership

June 26, 2013August 7, 2013Danny Webster 2 Comments

Once upon a time a vicar threw her hands up in the air. She danced like she did not care. And everyone loved it. That is accept a few dullards unable to see the fun and brilliance of celebrating a wedding through dance, who thought expressions of joy were out of place in the house of God.

The Rev Kate Bottley declared the couple man and wife and then began to dance, the couple joined in, then the wedding party, then people dotted around the congregation. The celebration was orchestrated, but it was contagious, more and more people joined in. (Aside from a couple of elderly ladies who clearly decided this was a bit too much.)

It was a stunt. It was an incredible stunt and it worked so well because this was not a hip trendy church in Camden, but a rural Church of England parish. The wonder was in the surprise and authenticity at the same time (I don’t think the fact it was almost certainly planned and practised makes it any less authentic). And it’s had nearly 300 000 views on YouTube. Continue reading →

Liking likes, revering retweets, and passionate about page views

May 30, 2013June 9, 2013Danny Webster 2 Comments

For a long time, pretty much since I started this blog, I’ve struggled against getting hooked on how many people are reading, how many retweets my links get, likes and shares on facebook and generally anything that boosts the numbers on my stats screen.

And I’ve beat myself around the head about it. I’ve told myself it is my ego getting out of control. That it becomes all about the numbers and not about the content. That if I follow this through to its logical end I’ll write whatever garners the most readers. I’ve also worried that I’m getting affirmation from buzzes and notifications and waking up to a lock screen on my phone full of compliments to scroll through.

I’ve felt it too. I’ve felt the thrill of people liking what I have to say. And I’ve felt the rejection of a post I’ve spent half a day on read by just a few dozen people.

There has to be something wrong with this attitude, I have told myself too many times. Too narcissistic, too insecure. Not confident enough or sufficiently assured in God’s love for me to let a petty thing like page views affect my emotional state.

And then I realise.

Knowing the love of God does not turn me into an emotionless auto-matron.

Continue reading →

Hope for humanity amid the darkness

May 23, 2013June 9, 2013Danny Webster 3 Comments

We did not expect nor did we invite a confrontation with evil.
Yet the true measure of a people’s strength is how they rise to master that moment when it does arrive.
44 people were killed a couple of hours ago at Kennison State University.
Three swimmers from the men’s team were killed and two others are in critical condition.
When, after having heard the explosion from their practice facility, they ran into the fire to help get people out.
Ran into the fire.
The streets of heaven are too crowded with angels tonight.
They’re our students and our teachers and our parents and our friends.
The streets of heaven are too crowded with angels, but every time we think we have measured our capacity to meet a challenge, we look up and we’re reminded that that capacity may well be limitless.

Probably my favourite quote from the West Wing.

Amid the rubble of yesterday’s horrific attack in Woolwich one aspect shines like a diamond in the mine.

The woman who stood up to the attackers, while they held a gun and a meat cleaver in their hands. The woman who stepped off the No 53 bus because she saw a man crumpled on the floor who might need some first aid. I frequently ride the 53.

Continue reading →

Found in The English Churchman: Pop Singer Raps Against Televangelists

May 17, 2013Danny Webster 1 Comment

Every other Friday at work I get a treat. I get to sit back for a few minutes and browse through the latest issue of The English Churchman. Their website is rather minimalist, but you might find a little bit about them.

Anyway, today produced this gem which I thought was too good not to share. I post it below without any comment, oh no, not even implicitly. (But make sure you get to the end of the 4th paragraph.)

Pop Singer Raps Against Televangelists

An American pop singer has criticised several well known preachers who appear on American television and at large events because they promise health and wealth to those who part with money to finance their ministries. In general they finance extravagant lifestyles and get nothing in return.

American “Rapper” Shai Linne has criticized the “prosperity gospel”. What is even more surprising is that he has identified popular televangelists like Joel Osteen, T.D. Jakes, Paula White and Benny Hinn as its preachers in his new song “Fal$e Teacher$”.

Linne professes to be a Christian himself and quotes from the Bible against false teachers such as those who preach prosperity.

Rap is a somewhat aggressive sounding type of youth music that has been taken up by some modern churches as a form of evangelism and even perhaps as worship. One imagines that this is encouraged by churches who seek to be contemporary. Presumably they claim that such forms are merely contextual and so are not sinful in themselves. For Christians with a sense of the holiness and majesty of God one would think that such forms would never be accepted.

While we cannot condone rap music, even outside church, one can only hope that the condemnation of false teachers by one such as this will serve as something of a wake up call to those who have been led astray and had their wallets emptied by the televangelists. The next thing is to wake up to the inappropriateness of rap music.

Taken from The English Churchman, No. 7871, Page 6