This could have really been another caption competition: ++ Morgan looking like he has toothache at the sight of the slide, or perhaps just hoping that somebody will quickly buy what he considers an embarassing artefact found at the back of a cupboard, in the "closing down" auction
A longer and more recent quote which the Governing Body hacks may wish to ponder can be found in the last 2 paragraphs of this entry from your esteemed fellow blogger: https://archbishopcranmer.com/james-obrien-pope-religious-identity/ It really does hit the Illiberal nail on the head.
PP. I find Dylan Thomas'poem spot on for this ongoing sage. "Do not go into that goodnight... rage rage against the dying of the light".
Sad days ahead if the Jackson motion is passed, Monmouth vacant and, the outcome hopefully a man of God the laity and clergy on the GB needs to use some bottle for one.
The issue is not that we disagree about what is true, because we never have. It is fundamentally that there is no longer a shared theological language in which to discuss what we are disagreeing about and this means we no longer have tolerance for a view other than our own. Instead the shared theological language has been replaced by the relative stance of the spirit of the age. Sadly I reflect on the recent events where such a polarised intransigence to talk caused the death of the late Lyra Mckee, God rest her soul, two embittered camps were dead set on zero dialogue or tolerance and through this it gave rise to partisan and self justified actions of hatred. Rather than a theological belligerence we need to find a solution to restore the fluency in our theological debate and a tolerance for people who have a different view to our own. Did not Christ give us a new commandment, so GB become Christlike and find tolerance for all, not just for one group.
I heard an excellent sermon, last Sunday, on 'doubting' Thomas and his absence from the upper room in John 20.19ff, preached by a well-known theologian and broadcaster, based in a cathedral on the south coast of England. She said...
"Thomas chose to take himself away from the community of the church; to do his own thing. And it is not perhaps co-incidental that the name of Thomas came to be associated with a short piece of early Christian literature which was never part of the New Testament, but was widely circulated in some parts of the early Christian world. The Gospel of Thomas is a gospel of sayings. There is no birth of Jesus, no cross, no resurrection, just a collection of teachings, some of which are very like those in our Gospels and some of which are very different. But whether they sound the same or different, they all have a kind of spin which makes them distinct. The Jesus of the Gospel of Thomas is a mystic, a solitary, who calls others to the solitary life. It attacks those who are involved in mundane work, like trade and commerce. You get the impression that the kind of Christians who treasured this Gospel were those who thought themselves a bit special, a bit above the ordinary run of the mill Christians, those whose direct personal experience of the living Jesus was far more important than their belonging to the Church. It is usually thought of now as a Gnostic gospel; that is it was produced by the Gnostic Christians who fizzled out into various groups which came to be thought of as heretical. The problem of Gnosticism is that it dissolves faith into psychology. Everything comes down to personal choice and preference, and the Christianity of these groups easily dissolved into cults and sects, each marketing its particular take on the Christian story and promoting its particular spirituality. When Christianity becomes only a private and personal matter, when I will only associate with those who are like me, when I find myself feeling superior to the institutional Church, then, a vital part of the Gospel is lost. This should make us vigilant, because the seeds of Gnosticism are taking root right across the Church of England at the moment, particularly among those who claim it is more attractive to younger people, and will put bums on seats and cash in the collection."
No bugger is reading or listening AB.
ReplyDeletewho's commenting then? robots
DeleteThis could have really been another caption competition: ++ Morgan looking like he has toothache at the sight of the slide, or perhaps just hoping that somebody will quickly buy what he considers an embarassing artefact found at the back of a cupboard, in the "closing down" auction
ReplyDeleteA longer and more recent quote which the Governing Body hacks may wish to ponder can be found in the last 2 paragraphs of this entry from your esteemed fellow blogger: https://archbishopcranmer.com/james-obrien-pope-religious-identity/
It really does hit the Illiberal nail on the head.
Thank you Alan. Commentators are free to add captions and comments.
DeletePP. I find Dylan Thomas'poem spot on for this ongoing sage. "Do not go into that goodnight... rage rage against the dying of the light".
ReplyDeleteSad days ahead if the Jackson motion is passed, Monmouth vacant and, the outcome hopefully a man of God the laity and clergy on the GB needs to use some bottle for one.
The issue is not that we disagree about what is true, because we never have. It is fundamentally that there is no longer a shared theological language in which to discuss what we are disagreeing about and this means we no longer have tolerance for a view other than our own. Instead the shared theological language has been replaced by the relative stance of the spirit of the age. Sadly I reflect on the recent events where such a polarised intransigence to talk caused the death of the late Lyra Mckee, God rest her soul, two embittered camps were dead set on zero dialogue or tolerance and through this it gave rise to partisan and self justified actions of hatred. Rather than a theological belligerence we need to find a solution to restore the fluency in our theological debate and a tolerance for people who have a different view to our own. Did not Christ give us a new commandment, so GB become Christlike and find tolerance for all, not just for one group.
ReplyDelete"Mene, Mene, tekel upharsin."
ReplyDeleteI heard an excellent sermon, last Sunday, on 'doubting' Thomas and his absence from the upper room in John 20.19ff, preached by a well-known theologian and broadcaster, based in a cathedral on the south coast of England. She said...
ReplyDelete"Thomas chose to take himself away from the community of the church; to do his own thing. And it is not perhaps co-incidental that the name of Thomas came to be associated with a short piece of early Christian literature which was never part of the New Testament, but was widely circulated in some parts of the early Christian world. The Gospel of Thomas is a gospel of sayings. There is no birth of Jesus, no cross, no resurrection, just a collection of teachings, some of which are very like those in our Gospels and some of which are very different. But whether they sound the same or different, they all have a kind of spin which makes them distinct. The Jesus of the Gospel of Thomas is a mystic, a solitary, who calls others to the solitary life. It attacks those who are involved in mundane work, like trade and commerce. You get the impression that the kind of Christians who treasured this Gospel were those who thought themselves a bit special, a bit above the ordinary run of the mill Christians, those whose direct personal experience of the living Jesus was far more important than their belonging to the Church. It is usually thought of now as a Gnostic gospel; that is it was produced by the Gnostic Christians who fizzled out into various groups which came to be thought of as heretical. The problem of Gnosticism is that it dissolves faith into psychology. Everything comes down to personal choice and preference, and the Christianity of these groups easily dissolved into cults and sects, each marketing its particular take on the Christian story and promoting its particular spirituality. When Christianity becomes only a private and personal matter, when I will only associate with those who are like me, when I find myself feeling superior to the institutional Church, then, a vital part of the Gospel is lost. This should make us vigilant, because the seeds of Gnosticism are taking root right across the Church of England at the moment, particularly among those who claim it is more attractive to younger people, and will put bums on seats and cash in the collection."
Imagine Peggy the Pilate coming out with that?
No - but she will wholeheartedly agree with the bit that says "stay IN the established church". What if Martin Luther thought 'no, I'll stay an RC'?
Delete