Dear Evangelical Atheist, of the kind that broadcasts anti-religion in all possible spheres of communication,
YOU DO NOT HAVE A MONOPOLY ON REASON. Your self-satisfaction with your own powers of deduction is truly awe-inspiring. Your belief in atheism's potential to save the world from irrationality and boredom is, ironically, irrational in itself, and not all that tempting. In my opinion the increase of atheist dogma spouted in all public forums over the last decade or so is far in excess of anything the Church or other religious bodies or individual Christians have "forced" on New Zealand society.
Sincerely,
Allie
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Wednesday, November 04, 2009
Why God is amazing, #256
Okay. So. This is what has happened tonight in our flat which gives me one of those lovely shivery feelings of "My goodness, God is really looking out for us!" Looking out for us in every aspect of our lives, not just the big "important" stuff.
1) I spent some birthday money my grandmother gave me on a new vacuum cleaner, which our flat sorely needed, as our old one had basically lost all sucking power. This enabled me to vacuum all living areas and my room in time for my birthday party a few days ago, and it enabled the other girls to vacuum their rooms.
2) I decided on a whim the other night not to leave my new vacuum cleaner in the laundry, where it was a little bit in the way, and moved it into my room.
3) This afternoon (and this is going to sound like a bad thing) our washing machine clogged, and flooded the laundry, also sending some water out into the kitchen and the bathroom. We had to mop up these rooms, leaving them sparkling clean, and we also tidied up the numerous Things that were lying around the laundry, leaving it neat and sort-of-spacious-looking.
4) A couple of hours later, there was a knock on the door. It was the woman who will hopefully be our landlady next year. She had rung up our current landlord (who has a grudge against us because we had to take him to court) for a reference, and he had said that we were too messy - which is, by the way, a very unfair statement and not borne out by his overall experience of us. She liked us when she met us, viewing her rental property, and decided a good idea would be to turn up unannounced and ask to view our current flat, to see if we really are as messy as our landlord says. Knowing that a) all our rooms were clean because we had a new vacuum cleaner, and b) we had just mopped kitchen, bathroom and laundry, we happily showed her around!
So, somehow, I removed my new vacuum cleaner from a room that was going to flood the next day, without knowing this was going to happen. Somehow, an "accidental" flood that caused a minor inconvenience for us actually ensured that our flat was sparklingly clean and well-kept when our possible landlady arrived.
God is AWESOME.
1) I spent some birthday money my grandmother gave me on a new vacuum cleaner, which our flat sorely needed, as our old one had basically lost all sucking power. This enabled me to vacuum all living areas and my room in time for my birthday party a few days ago, and it enabled the other girls to vacuum their rooms.
2) I decided on a whim the other night not to leave my new vacuum cleaner in the laundry, where it was a little bit in the way, and moved it into my room.
3) This afternoon (and this is going to sound like a bad thing) our washing machine clogged, and flooded the laundry, also sending some water out into the kitchen and the bathroom. We had to mop up these rooms, leaving them sparkling clean, and we also tidied up the numerous Things that were lying around the laundry, leaving it neat and sort-of-spacious-looking.
4) A couple of hours later, there was a knock on the door. It was the woman who will hopefully be our landlady next year. She had rung up our current landlord (who has a grudge against us because we had to take him to court) for a reference, and he had said that we were too messy - which is, by the way, a very unfair statement and not borne out by his overall experience of us. She liked us when she met us, viewing her rental property, and decided a good idea would be to turn up unannounced and ask to view our current flat, to see if we really are as messy as our landlord says. Knowing that a) all our rooms were clean because we had a new vacuum cleaner, and b) we had just mopped kitchen, bathroom and laundry, we happily showed her around!
So, somehow, I removed my new vacuum cleaner from a room that was going to flood the next day, without knowing this was going to happen. Somehow, an "accidental" flood that caused a minor inconvenience for us actually ensured that our flat was sparklingly clean and well-kept when our possible landlady arrived.
God is AWESOME.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
now I know in part, then I shall know fully
A very ponderous old man at my church stood up yesterday and gave us a rendition of a little poem which I'm not going to try and reproduce here, but went something along the lines of this: If Jesus came to visit your house, would you try and hide all the magazines, TV guides, books lying around and make it look like your Bible had pride of place?
Okay, so I get what he's trying to say, but all I could think of was how excited I would be to see Jesus.
Okay, so I get what he's trying to say, but all I could think of was how excited I would be to see Jesus.
Monday, October 12, 2009
God and suffering
What heartbreaking news. Two-year-old Aisling Symes. One week missing. One child's body found tonight in a gutter in West Auckland.
Last week, the tsunami in Samoa. Earthquakes in Indonesia. Floods in the Philippines. Et cetera.
In September, me, my friend, visiting Auschwitz. It happened a long time ago but time does not diminish the horror of what happened.
It's times like these that I am thankful for a God who is just and who will punish the evil.
But it's times like these that I feel I have to justify the title of my blog. How can a God who lets these things happen possibly be nice? The Psalm I quoted; why doesn't God always answer this prayer? And I'm never going to have a definitive answer for this.
I will be thinking about this over the next while and I will try to say something that does not sound incredibly trite and easy. At the same time I will not deny that I feel, overwhelmingly, that God is GOOD.
Last week, the tsunami in Samoa. Earthquakes in Indonesia. Floods in the Philippines. Et cetera.
In September, me, my friend, visiting Auschwitz. It happened a long time ago but time does not diminish the horror of what happened.
Break the teeth in their mouths, O God;
tear out, O LORD, the fangs of the lions!Let them vanish like water that flows away;
when they draw the bow, let their arrows be blunted.Like a slug melting away as it moves along,
like a stillborn child, may they not see the sun.
It's times like these that I am thankful for a God who is just and who will punish the evil.
But it's times like these that I feel I have to justify the title of my blog. How can a God who lets these things happen possibly be nice? The Psalm I quoted; why doesn't God always answer this prayer? And I'm never going to have a definitive answer for this.
I will be thinking about this over the next while and I will try to say something that does not sound incredibly trite and easy. At the same time I will not deny that I feel, overwhelmingly, that God is GOOD.
Monday, October 05, 2009
turning the other cheek
"You have heard that it was said, 'Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well." Matthew 5:38-40
Sometimes I wonder if we, as a Church, really take Jesus seriously. Or if we really want to implement his ideas in our lives.
I've had a lot of conversations lately that involved situations I was faced with, or other Christian people were faced with, which centered around a "difficult" or "dishonest" person who was trying to take advantage of me or them, sometimes in very small and insignificant ways, sometimes in much more significant ways. And I mentioned this principle, spoken from the very mouth of Jesus, as an example of how, perhaps, we should behave.
These are some of the responses that have followed:
- Jesus didn't mean we have to become doormats.
- It's not "loving" to give way to people all the time, because they'll just learn to rely on people always doing that for them.
- Jesus was talking about "evil people", not every-day relationships.
In response, I would acknowledge the grain of truth in these arguments. We would not, for example, give our children everything they ever asked us for, because it is definitely not loving to allow them to grow up spoiled and greedy.
But I wonder if we are in danger of explaining Jesus' words away entirely, treating the Sermon on the Mount as an amazing example of theological radicalism, and removing the need for it to be applied to our lives. We should not deceive ourselves - they are radical teachings - and Jesus meant every word. I don't think any of us will ever be able to live up to them, but shouldn't we at least acknowledge the desirability of this?
Monday, September 07, 2009
high church
I'm on a learning curve. A Church of England learning curve. Okay, so I actually attend an Anglican church at home, on Sunday evenings, but it's a student church and VERY "low church" - actually quite similar to the church I've grown up in, with its emphasis on Biblical teaching and meaningful singing.
Then the denomination I've grown up in (Open Brethren) has always been inherently anti-high church and grew out of a protest at the ritual and repetition of Church of England services. We don't DO glitzy churches or strange clothing or incense or liturgy or anything along those lines. We just don't. It's not so much a strong opinion anymore, as it used to be, it's just how we do it.
Since I got here (England), the only churches I have attended have been high church.
Carshalton All Saints, the local church which I have been attending with the family I am staying with. This is high church (though not exceedingly) - we attend the children's service, but it's still all liturgy and some very traditional hymns with pipe organ accompaniment. A bizarre experience when kids are running round, bursting into tears, talking noisily, playing in the aisles - actually kind of nice. It's strange for me, though, getting used to the idea of getting splashed with water as the vicar walks down the aisle splashing it at people (and I still haven't found out why), while going to take the bread and wine and having it placed in my mouth for me seems like a weird invasion of personal space.
Then on Sunday I attended Evensong at St Paul's Cathedral. Standing as a procession of choristers and a whole bunch of ministers parade in behind a big gold cross, sitting, standing, repeating, singing (which was fun), chanting, listening to passages of Scripture read out with a solemn "Here ends the lesson" afterwards - the only familiar thing for me was the sermon. In that glorious setting, though, it all seemed to fit. I can't say I felt any closer to God than in my boring little church building at home, though, or the school hall where our campus church meets. The only exception was the absolutely spinetingling pipe organ which was obviously played by someone really good, and which swelled up to fill the whole, enormous building at the conclusion of the service. Wow.
When I think of these two churches, and compare them to my only experience of Anglicanism at home - I realise how varied the Church of England is. And in the past I would have been tempted to say, my type is better. I still prefer my comfort zone. But I am starting to see how ritual could suit some people, and how the words they repeat every Sunday could mean just as much, or more, to them than the "freer" atmosphere of the "low church" or the nonconformist denominations. I don't know. In future, anyhow, I will try not to judge.
Then the denomination I've grown up in (Open Brethren) has always been inherently anti-high church and grew out of a protest at the ritual and repetition of Church of England services. We don't DO glitzy churches or strange clothing or incense or liturgy or anything along those lines. We just don't. It's not so much a strong opinion anymore, as it used to be, it's just how we do it.
Since I got here (England), the only churches I have attended have been high church.
Carshalton All Saints, the local church which I have been attending with the family I am staying with. This is high church (though not exceedingly) - we attend the children's service, but it's still all liturgy and some very traditional hymns with pipe organ accompaniment. A bizarre experience when kids are running round, bursting into tears, talking noisily, playing in the aisles - actually kind of nice. It's strange for me, though, getting used to the idea of getting splashed with water as the vicar walks down the aisle splashing it at people (and I still haven't found out why), while going to take the bread and wine and having it placed in my mouth for me seems like a weird invasion of personal space.
Then on Sunday I attended Evensong at St Paul's Cathedral. Standing as a procession of choristers and a whole bunch of ministers parade in behind a big gold cross, sitting, standing, repeating, singing (which was fun), chanting, listening to passages of Scripture read out with a solemn "Here ends the lesson" afterwards - the only familiar thing for me was the sermon. In that glorious setting, though, it all seemed to fit. I can't say I felt any closer to God than in my boring little church building at home, though, or the school hall where our campus church meets. The only exception was the absolutely spinetingling pipe organ which was obviously played by someone really good, and which swelled up to fill the whole, enormous building at the conclusion of the service. Wow.
When I think of these two churches, and compare them to my only experience of Anglicanism at home - I realise how varied the Church of England is. And in the past I would have been tempted to say, my type is better. I still prefer my comfort zone. But I am starting to see how ritual could suit some people, and how the words they repeat every Sunday could mean just as much, or more, to them than the "freer" atmosphere of the "low church" or the nonconformist denominations. I don't know. In future, anyhow, I will try not to judge.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Chagall in Chichester Cathedral
Based on Psalm 150:
Praise the LORD.
Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heavens.
Praise him for his acts of power;
praise him for his surpassing greatness.
Praise him with the sounding of trumpet,
praise him with the harp and lyre,
praise him with tambourine and dancing,
praise him with the strings and flute,
praise him with the clash of cymbals,
praise him with resounding cymbals.
Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.
Praise the LORD.
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