My Advent Hope

Here's my magazine article for November:

Starting on 23^rd November our Advent talks have the title “My Advent Hope”. We're blessed to have some senior figures from the Diocese and the Methodist District coming to offer their thoughts on this topic, but I thought I'd throw in my two penn'orth on the subject!!

I went to Liverpool Hope University College and so 'hope' was a much used word. The tagline for the college was taken from a book by Cardinal Suenens: “to hope is not to dream but to turn dreams into reality.” This was a slightly more poetic way of saying 'if you want something you need to work for it'. Apart from the overuse of the word 'hope', there was always something that niggled me about it, and I only realised what that was when I learned more about the Biblical use of the word.

When we use the word 'hope' we tend to mean a vague wish that something will happen, and it is usually uncertain. In contrast when the Biblical writers use the word 'hope', they are often talking about something that is certain. This 'hope' is something that is yet to happen but it definitely will happen and it mostly refers to salvation. So Paul writes about “the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time” (Titus1:2) and “the hope stored up for you in heaven” (Colossians 1:5). God has promised eternal life to all who die trusting in Jesus, and as he can't lie, all those who die trusting in Jesus will receive eternal life. That means that those who have faith in Jesus can put their hope in a certain future and can therefore face death with confidence. So Paul writes “Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.” (1Thessalonians 4:13-14).

This certain hope is based not just on the promise of God but also in the fact that Jesus died and rose again. So Peter writes “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” and “Through [Jesus] you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God” (1 Peter 1:3,21)

November is traditionally a time when Christians remember the saints - all those who have died in the faith of Jesus, whether well-known or not - who now enjoy the eternal life for which they hoped. The focus for Advent too is on the future; as we prepare to celebrate the first coming of Jesus as a baby in Bethlehem, “we wait for the blessed hope – the appearing of the glory of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13).

Luther, The Reformation and the rejection of superstition

Here's my magazine article for October:

On 31st October 1517, a German monk called Martin Luther nailed a piece of paper to a church door in Wittenburg. So began what has come to be called The Reformation. Luther's petition, although initially against dubious methods of fundraising by the Church, grew into a much wider protest against the doctrines and practices of the Roman Catholic Church, which lead to the formation of the 'Protestant' churches, including the Church of England. For most people the 500th anniversary of this event will pass unnoticed and unmarked, unlike the 20th anniversary of the death of Princess Diana or the 100th anniversary of Passchendaele. Yet the Reformation had a profound effect not just on the religious beliefs of millions of people but also on the the way the world is today.

It has been argued that without the Reformation, the technological and scientific advances of the Enlightenment would not have occurred. Ironically for some atheists the Reformation's rejection of some of the superstitious religious practices of the Mediaeval world has enabled the modern world to rejection all religion as superstitious. This is often the way that the relationship between religion and science is framed: superstitious religion vs rational science. The truth however is more complicated. Many aspects of Christianity in particular can be verified, and conversely some scientific theory is based more on ideology than fact. But also religion and science are actually on the same side when it comes to superstition.

The philosopher Roger Scruton has recently spoken about religion and science in contrast with the magical worldview of the Harry Potter books. Superstition and magic, Scrutton says, are rooted in the belief that we can control the universe, whereas religion and science acknowledge that we can't. A magical outlook arrogantly asserts that anything is possible if you know the right spell, whereas religion and science humbly admit that there are gaps in our knowledge and abilities. Scrutton argues that although this magical view is alright in fiction, it is a problem when it also becomes the outlook in real life. From a Christian perspective, the magical worldview is not only contrary to reality but also spiritually harmful.

31^st October is associated more these days with Halloween than Martin Luther, and I have written in previous years about the dangers of celebrating Halloween (here and here). Not only does it open people up to attack from malevolent spiritual forces but in normalising witchcraft and magic it perpetuates this magical outlook on life. In a world of magic, Scrutton explains, there is no need for God because we are god: we can control everything. Genesis 3 tells us that Satan tempted Adam and Eve not just to disobey God but to want to be God; that was the original sin and is the defect in all humanity.

Magic promotes the idea that evil can be overcome simply by knowing the right spell. Christianity teaches that evil can only be defeated by God himself: as a prayer from the Book of Common Prayer puts it: “we have no power of ourselves to help ourselves”. What Martin Luther reminded us was that God has defeated evil through Jesus' death and resurrection, all we have to do is receive that salvation as a free gift.

(For more on the Reformation, see the magazine from Church Society)

Thanking God for The Wurzels and Autumn Days

Here's my article for the Septmber magazine:

One of my earworms this summer has been The Combine Harvester Song (Brand New Key) by the Wurzels, which has to be one of the oddest proposals in history! Another, more traditional harvest song that you may hear over the coming months is one of my favourites from school, 'Autumn Days'.

'Autumn Days' like many harvest songs lists things that we like or enjoy (although some of them, like 'jet planes meeting in the air to be refuelled' and 'the song the milkman sings' are rather quaint nowadays!) and says “thank you” for them. Thanksgiving is of course one of the main themes of harvest time, and gratitude is a very important habit to cultivate, but it only recently occurred to me that 'Autumn Days' doesn't actually say who we're thanking for these things! This of course makes it an almost perfect song for a multi-cultural, multi-faith society as everyone can sing it together and the singer decides for themselves who they're thanking. For religious people it will be their particular deity, for non-religious people it will be other people.

This non-committal thanksgiving is in contrast with the common exclamation “Thank God!” which is used by those who say they are atheists almost as much as by those who do believe in God. It is often used in situations where the outcome has been something which is beyond human control, or has been unlikely, or as an expression of relief. Militant atheists would no doubt claim that such exclamations are a cultural hangover from the time when most people believed in God, and there is no doubt that often the phrase is used unconsciously, but I think there is a deeper explanation.

Our inclination to be thankful is a deeply ingrained realisation that we cannot do everything by ourselves, that we rely on other people for our continued existence. Being grateful and showing our appreciation to others may be evolutionarily beneficial to us (if we don't say thank you we might not get that help again) but it also satisfies our longing to treat others as we ourselves would like to be treated. It recognises that other people are not a random collection of atoms whose only use is to be of benefit to us, but that they are fellow humans and therefore worthy of respect.

But there is also a recognition that there are things which are out of human control. Psalm 19:1 says “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” And Paul writes in Romans 1:20 “since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” He says that this knowledge should remind us to thank him for his love for us. We enjoy the fruits of the harvest, but sometimes forget that he has given them to us.

Harvest is a time to thank those, near and far, who help to make our lives better, but most importantly it is a time to think about all the things God blesses us with and to say a heartfelt “Thank God!”

What's in a name?

Here's my article for August:

As any keen pub-quizzer will tell you, the months of July and August are named after two Roman Emperors; Julius Caesar and Augustus respectively. As humans we have a habit of naming things after significant people as a way to commemorate, remember and celebrate them. When I went to New York, I was amused to find that a slipway was named after someone (they obviously weren't important enough to have a whole road named after them!). And at the farewell service for the last Bishop of Lincoln, the Dean relayed some of the great Bishops of Lincoln and the additions they made to the Cathedral. He joked that the major addition that Bishop John oversaw was a new toilet block, suggesting that maybe they should name it after him!

Naming things after people is not always without controversy, especially commemorations we've inherited from previous ages. Colston Hall in Bristol is to be re-named because of the Bristolian slave trader Sir Edward Colston. Oxford University has recently resisted pressure from campaigners to remove statues, paintings and commemorations of Cecil Rhodes and other colonialists. Liverpool also resisted an attempt to re-name all of the streets associated with slave traders, as this would have meant renaming most of Liverpool's most famous streets, including Penny Lane!

This desire to re-name can spring from a laudable desire to recognise the parts of our history that by today's standards are regrettable, but they can also be seen as an attempt to airbrush history. The counter argument is that, as George Santayana wrote, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” Whether we like it or not, our history, both good and bad, makes us who we are and our mistakes should be remembered so that we remember not to repeat them.

Very few people will ever have anything public named after them, which for most of us is a relief! The public scrutiny that comes with public recognition is not something that most of us would like. In our day-to-day lives we can often get away with 'airbrushing' our past and our present, hiding those bits of which we're ashamed or those bits we know others would disapprove of. Both Mark Twain and Arthur Conan Doyle claim the urban legend of sending friends or upright citizens a telegram saying “Flee at once - all is discovered” and some or all of the recipients leaving immediately! The story rings true because all of us have things we'd rather others didn't know about us. And worryingly in this age of social media, our mistakes can become widely known within hours!

Even if we can hide our skeletons from those around us, God knows everything about us and one day we too will see the whole of our lives; the good, the bad and the ugly. Yet the amazing thing is that despite knowing all about us God still loves us! And more than that he wants us to say sorry for the bad things, and in his mind they will be airbrushed out so that we can start again.

A fine life?

Here's my article for this month's Broughton magazine:

As regular readers of this column will know, one of the highlights of my year is to watch the Broughton Primary School's summer musical production, which this year is Oliver!.

Both the musical and Dickens' novel 'Oliver Twist' are rollercoasters of emotion, with memorable characters that we come to love (or hate!). One of the best characters in the story is Nancy, the prostitute and former thief, who acts as a kind of go-between between Fagin and Bill Sikes, who is her pimp and her lover. Nancy plays a pivotal rôle in the ending of the story when she rescues Oliver and delivers him to Mr Brownlow. For this act of kindness, Nancy is brutally murdered by Sikes. Nancy's death is shocking but it was based on a real-life murder of a prostitute called Eliza Grimwood, probably by her pimp and lover, William Hubbard, in 1838.

What makes Nancy such a great character is that she is such a tragic figure. She doesn't seem to have a sense of her own worth so she is trapped in the life she has. In 'It's a fine life' she sings “Not for me, the happy home / Happy husband, happy wife / Tho' it sometimes touches me... / For the likes of such as me... / Mine's a fine...fine... life!”. And in Chapter 46 of the novel she says “I am chained to my old life. I loathe and hate it now, but I cannot leave it. I must have gone too far to turn back,-- and yet I don’t know.” One of the tragedies of her life is that she doesn't seem to believe that redemption is possible for her, that she doesn't deserve anything better than what she has.

However, the thing that touches us most about Nancy is that she loves a man who doesn't love her, and worse than that, a man that abuses her. And though we're screaming at her, she stays loyal to him. Even when helping Oliver, she is careful not to betray Skies. Her loyalty is most obviously seen in the song “As long as he needs me” where Nancy describes how despite what he does to her, she will stay true to him. The song hints that perhaps she sees something loveable in Sikes that we don't see, but the impression we get is that she is deluded or deluding herself about this. The real reason she stays with him is probably that she's lonely and Sikes gives her enough attention and 'needs' her. We know, though Nancy doesn't seem to, that Sikes could quite easily find another woman to do what Nancy does.

Nancy's situation perhaps reflects the thoughts and feelings of many people who face domestic abuse; trapped by a false sense of loyalty and love for their abusers. There may be an answer for those like Nancy in realising that redemption is possible. Throughout the gospels Jesus encountered people who were hope-less, who were rejected by society and thought little of themselves. He showed them that they were precious to God and through that encounter their lives were changed. Redemption is possible for us all; even Nancy, and even Sikes.

Brenda, elections and the Archbishops

Here's my article for the June magazines:

You may agree with Brenda from Bristol, and when thinking about the forthcoming General Election exclaim “Not another one!” But whether we like it or not we are having another election. Brenda's reaction perhaps reflects a more widely held weariness about yet another chance to 'have our say'. That is why the Archbishops of Canterbury and York wrote in their recent letter to the Parishes and Chaplaincies of the Church of England that one of their obligations “at these times is to set aside apathy and cynicism and to participate, and encourage others to do the same.”

It is easy to take for granted the privilege we have to vote in democratic elections but the example of the Suffragettes and the Chartists to name just a couple should remind us that the right to vote was one that had to be fought for. And we only have to look around the world to see places where free and fair elections are not possible. However, that doesn't mean that we can be so naïve as to think that democracy is a perfect system nor as arrogant as to think that we should impose Western style democracy on other nations. But here in this country we do have the right to vote and we should use it.

The Archbishops also say that Christians have the higher obligation to pray for those standing for office, and to continue to pray for those who are elected. They encourage us “to engage prayerfully with the candidates and issues in this election” and to “recognise the enormous responsibilities and the vast complexity of the issues that our political leaders face. We are constantly reminded of the personal costs and burdens carried by those in political life and by their families.” This will involve the criticising of policies for their logical, economic and moral flaws and perhaps holding these policies up for ridicule but in our examination of the issues and policies we should not forget that the politicians are all human beings.

However, importantly, the Archbishops say that “Contemporary politics needs to re-evaluate the importance of religious belief.” This might seem an obvious thing for them to say but their further statements show that this is deeper than saying that religious belief should be respected. They say “Religious belief is the well-spring for the virtues and practices that make for good individuals, strong relationships and flourishing communities” and “The assumptions of secularism are not a reliable guide to the way the world works.” They are reminding us that none of us are neutral or impartial in our outlook, all of our actions and thoughts stem from particular worldviews; some religious, some non-religious. A point of view should not be dismissed merely because it is a religious view. In fact, only religious viewpoints make sense because without a belief in God, concepts like good and bad, and right and wrong cease to have any objective meaning: they simply describe whether we like something or not (see the video "Can you be good without God?" by Andy Bannister).

However you decide to vote, and whatever the result, the Christian prayer to God remains the same “thy kingdom come on earth, as it is in heaven.”

Thy Kingdom come

Here's my article for May's magazines:

There's lots of talk about kingdoms at the moment. On TV there's the second series of Bernard Cornwell's 'The Last Kingdom' about the struggle between the Saxons and the Danes, and also the second series of 'Versailles' the drama about the rule of Louis XIV, the Sun King. In the first the kingdoms are won and held by battles and bloodshed, and in the second the kingdom revolves around the whim and will of one person, the king.

This month, however, the Archbishop of Canterbury, has invited us to think about a different kingdom, the Kingdom of God. Under the title 'Thy Kingdom Come' Archbishop Justin has invited Christians around the world during the time between Ascension and Pentecost (24^th May-4^th June), not to fight for a kingdom but to pray for God's Kingdom to come. He has deliberately echoed the words of the Lord's prayer, in which Jesus taught us to pray “thy kingdom come: thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven”. And this phrase gives us a clue as to what the coming of God's Kingdom looks like. God's Kingdom is all about God's will being done on earth, but unlike the absolute rule of Louis XIV, God's absolute rule is one of justice and peace to give us all abundant life, not just to please the king.

It also reminds us that the Christian vision of life in God's Kingdom is not really about what happens to us when we die or at some future time, it's about what happens in the here-and-now. God's Kingdom on earth started with Jesus' death, resurrection and ascension so it's something that he invites us to be part of and also to help bring about. And we become part of it by following God's will in our lives.

This is easier said than done, but it starts with having a relationship with Jesus and a living faith in him, so the focus of the time of prayer is not just to pray for people's needs; personally, locally, nationally or internationally but to pray that people will come to know Jesus and that Christians would be empowered to speak about their faith.

As usual on the days before Ascension, we'll be having our 'Rogation Day Blessing Service' where we will be asking God to bless the parish and the midweek services will have a particular focus on praying for God's Kingdom to come, so please feel free to join us as we pray or to send us any requests for prayer.

As Ian Adams has written on www.thykingdomcome.global “To pray 'Thy Kingdom Come' is to pray for a shift in the world around us...But to pray 'Thy Kingdom Come' is first to pray for a shift within ourselves.” Are you brave enough to pray that prayer?