I am who i am....

http://starseyer.blogspot.com/2004/11/who-i-am-in-universe.html

I stumbled across this and I quite liked the idea, especially when I realised it was a revamp of Neil Anderson's "Who I am in Christ" ~ http://www.students.yorku.ca/~kaldeway/faith/04dec2003.shtml

So who am I:

~I am fundamentally good
~I love
~I am loved
~I am infinately valuable
~I am no more valuable than anyone else
~I find God by embracing other people
~...especially those less fortunate than myself & whom most people would rather ignore
~I am a seeker of truth
~I am honest
~I am intelligent & well educated
~I find meaning by using my intelligence and skills for the good of others
~I am materially rich
~I have a responsibility to those who are poor
~I have much to learn from those who are not intelligent, not educated and not rich, and what they can give me may be far more valuable and precious than what I can give them.
~I am amusing, fun and and enjoyer of life in all its fullness
~I come from a Christian tradition and I can celebrate this without shame
~I am a universalist and a pluralist
~I am a religious liberal and do not need to be ashamed of this either!
~I am a learner and am enriched as I appreciate the traditions of others.

Ok, anyone else want to join in?

Pizza and baked beans with Gerry Adams

This morning I wasn't woken up by my radio alarm clock. Instead I somehow managed to integrate the radio 4 news broadcast into my dream! The news was about the Northern Irish peace deal, and I dreamt I was eating pizza and baked beans (wierd or what) at a table with all the Northern Irish political leaders - and guess who I was sitting next to....Gerry Adams.

It was a formal dinner (with beans and pizza ) and someone stood up and announced that the young Ian Paisley was going to give a speech, at which point I whispered to Gerry Adams, "As if the dad wasn't bad enough!" which made him snigger!!!

Then there actually was a speech on the radio by the young Ian Paisley were he was demanding to know why the IRA couldn't give photos of the weapons disarmment and he then said that they didn't complain when the photos of murdered innocents were all over the newspaper and surely that should have been more humiliating. At which point I turned to Gerry Adams and said, "You know what, I normally don't agree with a word he says, but he's got a point!"

Wierd or what?!?!

BTW - what does anyone think of this photograph business in the NI peace deal?

Healing the church's divides...

Mark Greer and Andy Goodliff have recently mentioned Brian McClaren's view of generous orthodoxy. Can I ask if either of them are reading - could you please explain a little more of what you meant by this? I've only read a little McClaren and was put off my his writing style although he makes some excellent points. Thank you!

What with this whole hoo-ha about Steve Chalke "repudiating his evangelical past" and "defecting to the liberals" (ha, as if!), it seems the old conservative-liberal divide continues, which is such a shame. I've straddled both sides of this fence. I've been a conservative Christian, I've been (maybe I am) a liberal Christian and now I see myself as more of a seeker with no real allegiances to any theological perspective.

I wonder if we need to focus, not on creeds/beliefs/theology but on the kind of stuff I assume Steve Chalke was actually on about - following the social and practical teachings of Jesus?

I pondered in the shower this morning and realised that despite my rather colourful rants about the evangelical church, I have actually gained quite a lot from my membership of it in the past, and what I am now stems very much from some of the moral and ethical prinicipals I grew to value within it. The people who have always inspired me most, are not the theological thinkers, but those who act with tremendous generosity and compassion towards those who are in some way poor or disadvantaged.

My first ever Christian hero was Keith Green, not for his music (that was soooo my dad's generation), but for the integrity of his lifestyle. His opening his home to unwed mothers, drug addicts and hippies and his treatment of the least with respect and kindness. Another of my heroes was Steve Chalke. Not for his floppy hair or GMTV make-up & voice, but for his work amongst the poor and his ability to create an awareness amongst the general public.

I realised, that I am grateful to the Baptist church I grew up in for introducing me to Tear Fund, educating me about the reality of poverty and practical action that can be taken to allieviate suffering. I am grateful to Tony Campolo for his creative, colourful at at times angry rants about injustices perpetrated by Western governments and the church's hypocrisy. His commitment to the poor and the least inspire me like not even Don Cuppit could ;P

All of these people are deeply conservative and evangelical - but I am grateful to them, not for their theology, not for their models of atonement and my God, not for their music, but for their ability to care, to communicate the plight of the poor and call for action - at the bare basics level of making room for the people we meet every day and at the level of international politics and social justice activism.

I think also, we (all of us), have got to learn how to listen to those who think differently from us. I have got to learn not to balk and declare cosmic child abuse to my friends who think penal substitution is a good thing. Although, I shall continue to find that way of looking at the cross as deeply unsatisfactory, it doesn't make them sub-human. And neither, my friends, does my liberal universalism, make me stupid, niave or lacking in commitment and integrity.

I think if we listen to one another, and learn to see each other as friends rather than as theological opposition or "liberal" or "evangelical", but simply friends beneath whatever labels we put on ourselves and one another we can come to a renewed appreciation both of one another and also of our own perspectives. We can be most enlightened in our own perspectives when we take on board the perspectives and share a little light with one another.

"Unity is love not likeness" wrote someone called Moore, and Dan Seeger wrote of the Quakers...

"Perhaps it is given to us to show how a great people can be gathered into a unified and loving community while respecting, and even celebrating its individual members' distinctiveness. But one thing is certain, we Friends cannot preach reconciliation, unless we ourselves are reconciled."

Us too - we cannot reconcile the divisions in our world, unless we first are reconciled to one another.

Books....

It seems to be the trend to posts books that people have found particularly good, entertaining or helpful...so why rebel ;)

I think it might be helpful to summarise each book and what it meant for me.

The books I've read recently seem to fall into a couple of categories:

Love, relationships, sexuality....

I've spent a lot of time thinking and pondering sexuality and relationships recently. Partly because I am a psychologist and infinately nosey about the intimate details of people's lives and experience, partly because I want to be understanding and generous to those friends of mine whose sexuality falls outside the mainstream (and by that I don't mean gay ;P), and partly because I'm a women in her mid-twenties and so evolution and biology conspire to make me think about these things!!

Eleven Minutes, Paulo Coelho

"Once upon a time, there was a prostitute called Maria" so begins Coelho's book. This book was first and foremost a wonderful pacy story about a prostitute called Maria. She gets our sympathies from the word go, and we journey with her from niave teenager to excited traveller, from frightened foreigner to erotic dancer, from erotic dancer to scared prostitute, from experienced madam to S&M queen...and oddly ending up vulnerable, warm, naked and held. This is a story about sex, about love, about how sexuality can strengthen, dominate, humilate, comfort, dehumanise and humanise. It is about a journey from fascination with pure physical pleasure to an understanding of sex as the most sacred and intimate of human encounters. A story about the vulnerability we need to explore our inner light, to share it with another human being and pursue contact, touch, sensation and sex as a sacred activity in the context of genuine love. I liked it both as a racy story about classy whoring, and as a spiritual reflection on love and sex.

Jeanette Winterson, Oranges are not the Only Fruit

A lesbian growing up in a Pentecostal church. You can't beat that!!! Actually Winterson's observations as someone who was in precisely that position are extremely touching and complex. You're never quite sure if you should hate her church, laugh at them or be endeared by their quirks. Again, its a story about self-discovery, love and humanity. Its a classic, albeit interspaced with rather wierd fairy tales that try to be profound but somehow just flop! The BBC dramatisation is excellent!

Jo Ind, Memories of Bliss

Alas, I don't just read novels. Jo Ind is the first and the only book written from a Christian perspective about sex that I've ever found helpful. Burn the Joshua Harris and the Relationships Revolutions - this one makes down to earth sense. I think we need a new sexual ethic. There is no such thing as the "Biblical one", and adults get married for love these days - gone are the days of teenagers marrying as a business agreement between families. Jo Ind gave me inspiration in my quest for a generous and compassionate sexual ethic that fulfils the heart of what Christ taught us to do - love ourselves, love our neighbour, love God.

Walter Wink, "Homosexuality - Questions of Conscience for the Churches

Balanced stories from evangelicals, liberals, catholics, quakers and whole manner of people that helped me to reflect on how to love my neighbour who is gay. Thanks Wink!

In the novels category...

His Dark Materials, Phillip Pullman

What higher recommendation could a book have?! No not a glowing Guardian review! The Catholic Herald declared it fit for burning, so I couldn't miss out on this one could I?! Actually its a strikingly good, fast paced story and a really enjoyable holiday read! I read all three in a week I spent in Ireland. I thought it was an excellent reflection on power-plays, religion, friendship and sin. Sin, being that which is labelled as unacceptable actually being that which gives us humanity, and sin, which is committed in the name of stamping sin out. Well, maybe that's just me. I enjoyed this one - mostly for the story, and the haunting description of the death of the ancient of days! I can't wait for the film!

Life of Pi, Yann Martel

I don't know why I liked this one - I just did. Its a lovely story, and a reflection on stories and their worth. This one is strangely gripping.

God of Small Things, Arundhati Roy

This is an excellently, cleverly plotted story in intricate language inspired by the Indian use of English. It is beautifully written and full of well developed and hilarious characters. Ultimately it reflects on the hypocrisy of the adults in the world of two child twins whose cousin accidentally drowns. There's a lot in this book, and its one of the few books I intend to read more than once! Quote of the book is this one, describing the communist party, but that could just so easily describe any of the adult institutions...

"Another religion turned against itself. Another ediface constructed by the human mind, deciminated by human nature."

In violence and suffering...

In the last two years who hasn't wondered what drives someone to violence and terrorism. A lot of books I've read (Richard Holloway, Harvey Gillman's intro to the Quakers) cite quote Ellie Weisel, Jewish survivor of the Holocaust. I've read two of his books...

Night - the story of a Weisel's experiences as a young man in a concentration camp and the ensuing horrors and death that he experiences. This book is harrowing and haunting and can only leave its readers disconcerted, disorientated, empty and uncomfortable. But this is the world we live in, and Weisel helps us experience horror and disgust. The pivotal moment in the book, for me, was Weisel's description of the hanging of a child that he was forced to watch. He describes being "alone-terribly alone in a world without God...", and the inevitable question, "Where is God now?". Rising from within his heart, Weisel heard his answer "Where is He? Here He is-He is hanging here on this gallows..."

Dawn - the fictional story about another Holocaust survivor who flees to Israel and takes to terrorism against the Palestinians. As I watched the horrors that have unfolded in Iraq, the kidnappings, the capture and subsequent executions of Kenneth Bigley and Margaret Hassan, the horrific tragedy of Beslan - I am reminded of the unnerving and terrible truth that terrorists are human too.

I think that's probably enough for now...maybe I'll come back to this!