Category: Thoughts

Sorry I’m about about to reveal something to you but instead want to explore the two senses of the word revelation.

Revelation in one sense has a very particular revealing of something unknown or hidden. This is what newspapers often call revelation. Within the Bible there is the occasional revelation – the book of revelation is full of this stuff. Something that we could not know if it was not revealed to us. However, this is not often shown in the Bible where there is something that we would only know if God specifically told it to us. We might find this in the prophets or the book of revelation for example.

The other sense of revelation is that of showing something, in other words just to show something or reveal something that isn’t a direct message but is simply made known. Much of the Bible should be seen in this way. General stuff that we could discover in other ways. For instance the gospels give us information that we widely available at the time they were written. They are not revelations in the first sense but they are revelations in the sense that they tell us something about Jesus.

It is important to see this distinction because we need to appreciate that not all revelation is of the first kind but also that the first kind if actually very limited.

One of my other responsibilities is to help promote evangelism in the District as the District Evangelism Task Group Enabler. One of the things that the District committed itself to was to employ an Evangelism Enabler. We deliberately chose the word evangelism to avoid any confusion over using the name mission – people understand evangelism better even if some get hung up on tele-evangelists they have known.

We had a meeting to support the DEE (District Evangelism Enabler) and something came out again about how depressed the church seems to be. Unfortunately we have talked so much about decline that we seem to have accepted it as an inevitable part of our work. The more depressed we become the less attractive our message is. The gospel is supposed to be good news but all we ever seem to talk about is the bad.

The news that God love us is surely enough. If our old churches are no longer working then lets concentrate on where God is choosing to work and then we will see God’s kingdom grow. I don’t believe that God has finished with church or that the way we have done church is wrong but shouldn’t we as Christians spend our time working where God wants us to, rather than moaning about where God used to work?

Let’s get positive about our faith, still the largest by far and growing faster world wide than ever. God’s good news is still good news!

In Pilates encounter with Jesus during Holy Week there is the question raised of what is truth? It is an important question and we shouldn’t see Jesus’ reluctance to answer as anything more than an understanding on the part of Jesus that Pilate doesn’t get it. After all Jesus just said everyone on the side of truth listens to me. There is something ironic in those Christians who quote Pilate about truth but fail to quote Jesus, it seems to me.

We should be on the side of truth, no matter where it takes us.

So where does knowledge come from? The Empirical Scientist will claim it is nothing more than what can be physically observed. This fails on all kinds of counts. For instance, it has been pointed out that literary criticism (which is not an empirical science) can tell us that in the book Pride and Prejudice Mr Collins is not the main hero of the story. This is a truth that has nothing to do with physical or mathematical observation. There are other sources of truth than simply physical investigation.

The theologian will also want to add God as a source of truth. If God exists, as a theologian must conclude (if they don’t then they are not theologians but more religious and thought history students) that God is a source of truth. Of course then Christians will want to claim that Jesus Christ is also a source of truth and his incarnation was a deliberate act of God to pass on some truths about God (revelation).

For those who search for truth we should desire to bring in to our thinking all possible sources of truth: Empirical Science, Philosophy, Psychology, Revelation, Mathematics, etc.

Let’s get back to quoting Jesus and not Pilate: “Everyone on the side of truth listens to [Jesus] me.”

Just completed a redesign of the Jesus Course web site. It is now more user (and webmaster) friendly.

If you like it why not stick a link on your own web site? There are some images and suggested links on this page …

I came across the story of a man (who says he is a Christian) who is taking on the challenge of being an Atheist for a year. This, of course, follows on from lots of other people who have tried various ways of living for a year.

It seems to me that this is a crazy idea. If you believe something is true – which as a Christian presumably he must – how can you then say that for a year you will not believe it? Isn’t this being dishonest with yourself? What about his relationship with God? Isn’t it a little arrogant to say to Almighty God that you are not going to believe or worship for a year for the sake of your experiment?

He seems to be a little upset that all of the Christian organisations he is currently working for are raising questions and some of them giving him the sack. He works in a pastoral role as well as a research and teaching role (as I understand things – I might be wrong). If someone worked promoting atheism and then became a Christian I would expect them to resign – not complain if they get the sack.

If anyone else if seriously considering an experiment of becoming an atheist for a while I would counsell against it – there are some lines you should not cross.

But that’s just my opinion.

Spirituality is a Christian word which finds it roots in the vulgate where the Latin spiritus is used to translate Greek pneuma and Hebrew ruah.  It talks both about the Spirit of God and our own spirit and is often used in a way that means where our and God’s Spirit meet. Spiritual things are not just any vague something that makes us feel better but a meeting of the human with the divine.

So what is good spirituality? And is there such a thing?

I think it is true that some things are better than others and maybe some things should be left well alone. Practice of the occult, for instance, is often just too dangerous in that it opens one to things that are not from God and some which are very harmful to a persons spirit.

The best practices have to be those that connect us with God in the best ways. I guess we will vary on what those ways might be  – what is the best for me may not be the best for you. However, one of the things that psychological research has demonstrated is that there are actually some things that we all benefit from and which will touch everyones spirit.

Wide open green spaces have a beneficial effect on us all (save those with problems that make open spaces terrifying for them I guess). Music is all something that seems to have universal effect – although some music seems to be more harmful to the soul than others.

However, for me there has to be God in the midst of it. How can something be truly spiritual if it does not include God’s Spirit? Wide open green spaces are great but for me only because they are part of the wonder of God’s creation. Music for me is good but only when it is connected with God in some way – either through the words or because the music gives me a sense of true creativity (which stems from God in the first place of course).

Good spiritual practice has to be something that connects us to God. Have you ever tried prayer? Now that is good!

What things get you going in your spiritual practices?