The Vicar's theology blog

Short but with a Punch

November 11, 2007 - Ian

Philemon is the shortest letter that we have of the apostle Paul. But in it there is an amazing amount of ideas to think on and act on. It is a short letter but jam packed with wisdom...and a punch.

It is a letter that challenges us about repentance and forgiveness. Both of them come with a cost. Onesimus was a slave who ran away from his Christian Master – Philemon, and stole from him on the way. Onesimus did the wrong thing criminally, financially, morally and spiritually. But Onesimus becomes a Christian through Paul the apostle and so realises that he must go back to his Master and say “sorry” for doing the wrong thing.

And not only say the words but face the consequences. ... Read the rest of the Article. Post a Comment [1 Comment]

The Chocolate Slave

November 4, 2007 - Dale

One could be forgiven for thinking of this as the year of William Wilberforce. The latest appearance of the great agitator occurred this week at Hull when the Archbishop of York, John Sentamu gave the Annual William Wilberforce Lecture and homed in on chocolate. Apparently the Brits are addicted and spend more than 4 billion English Pounds on chocolate each year (= 8.2 billion USD).

However the lecture wasn’t about addiction or health but slavery. Ruth Gledhill reported in the Times, “More than 12,000 child slaves and trafficked child labourers are working in Ivory Coast harvesting 43 per cent of the world's chocolate cocoa beans, according to Stop the Traffik.”

The Archbishop appealed not for a boycott on firms that source their cocoa from such areas, ... Read the rest of the Article. Post a Comment [1 Comment].

A Common Word between us?

October 15, 2007 Muslim and Christians views on the Unity of God
The open letter written by 138 Muslim scholars to the Pope and other Christian leaders has received a mixed response from Christians around the world.

Its main thrust is to urge peace-making between Muslims and Christians. The letter sets the stakes very high. :...The very survival of the world itself is perhaps at stake." (p16).

At that level it is to be welcomed as an irenical overture to Christian leaders. Any dialogue which promotes mutual understanding and respect it to be welcomed. It is encouraging that the letter focuses on those passages in the Qur'an which focus on good relations between the followers of the two faiths. Christians should have no argument with an appeal based on loving one's neighbor.

The letter has other emphases as well. One of the repeated themes, and what is stated as the ground from which the two Great Commandments rise, is the Unity of God ... it is in this appeal to the common belief in the Unity of God that the letter shows one of its strengths as an inter-religious document. Read the rest of the Article. Post a Comment

A story about a story about ...

22 April 2007 The tragedy at Virginia

The terrible killings in Virginia have concentrated our attention again on the profound grief of a community suddenly robbed of some of its finest young people. News media have brought all kinds of reports and commentary on the tragedy. Including religious and theological perspectives....

As one might expect some of the speeches at the memorial service related to people’s reactions of anger and grief. But a number focussed on the problem of evil. “It's impossible to make sense of such violence and suffering.”, according to the President. There was encouragement to overcome evil with good. And to have courage in the face of suffering.

But there may have been a ghost in the reporting... Read the rest of the Article. Post a Comment [1 Comment]

A basis for good practice

15 April 2007

DEfence! DEfence! DEfence! You know the cry if you have been in a basketball stadium. Reaction! is another way to think about what to do when we come up against something that looks like a threat.

In the world of debates and arguments, reacting in defence against what appears to be a mistaken argument is a normal and natural way to cope – at first at least. Although some people prefer to go on the offensive. But in the to and fro of a debate it is possible for both sides to defend their position so strongly that they deny the true aspects of the other position.

Churches are no exception. Read the rest of the Article. Post a Comment [1 Comment]

Hope or fantasy?

8 April 2007 Easter

“You did not leave his soul in hell, nor did you suffer your holy one to see corruption.” This is a famous aria from Handel’s Messiah, but the lyrics have been adapted from King David. In fact David wrote, “…you will not leave my soul in hell, neither will you suffer your holy one to see corruption.”

Was David talking about two different people? Or did he think he was the holy one? And in any case was he left in the grave or not? A thousand years later, the apostle Peter thought that David was certainly dead and buried – they even had his tomb to look at if they were in any doubt. So was David talking nonsense? Or was it the kind of sentimental wishful thinking that is common when people face death? Read the rest if the Article Post a Comment.

A different music

6 April 2007 Good Friday

One of the many differences between the Christian faith and others is its music. Christians sing and rejoice and give thanks. We learnt it, of course, from the people of the Old Testament. The scriptures that formed the basis for the Christian faith had at their heart hundreds of songs (not all of them in the book of Psalms). Songs of grief, of joy, of thanksgiving, of praise.

Christians developed the practice, and in fact had many more reasons to give thanks than the people of Israel did. Christians were encouraged to sing, and new songs seem to have been sung from the very early days of the church’s life.

One of the best examples is in Philippians 2 which celebrates the big event that makes the difference between the old and new - the death (and exaltation) of Jesus. A death we celebrate on a day that is paradoxically named Good Friday... Read the rest of the Article. Post a Comment.

2007 theology blogs

What kind of excitement?

25 December 2007

A Common Word between us?

15 October 2007

A story about a story about...

22 April 2007

A basis for good practice

8 April 2007

Hope or fantasy? (Easter)

8 April 2007

A different music (Good Friday)