andygoodliff

The misread Rowan Williams

Rowan Williams does not do soundbites. He does carefully argued and constructed arguments. The problem
is in our reductive society / politics / media everything has to do be reduced to soundbite and headline. Some of what the media and the politicians are saying Rowan Williams said last night on Sharia law is way off mark (Will Gordon Brown ever stop peddling his crap 'British values for Britain' and the such like, no one buys it!). Interestingly you might think the Archbishop would learn after the media in almost all quarters twisted what he said about the nativity story - he said certain traditional elements are legend and not scriptural - this was turned into Archbishop says christmas story is just a legend. Sean Winter and Kester Brewin warn us off passing judgment without actually engaging with what Rowan Williams actually said. You can read it here (the argument is fairly complex). I found Paul Valley's analysis in the Independent pretty on the mark.

John Sentamu and his dog collar.

In August 2006 he held a peace vigil in a tent and now in December 2007 the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu has, in an "Old Testament style" prophetic statement, cut up his dog collar - the sign of his Anglican identity - and won't wear one again in protest until President Mugabe of Zimbabwe leaves office. He said:

"Do you know what Mugabe has done? He's taken people's identity and literally, if you don't mind, cut it to pieces. This is what he's actually done to a lot of - and in the end there's nothing.

"So, as far as I'm concerned, from now on I'm not going to wear a dog collar until Mugabe is gone."

He continues to impress as a church leader. Partly he has not got himself tarnished with the homosexuality debate and is more free than Rowan Williams to speak on issues. Having said that, Rowan doesn't do badly himself. Its good to see these British church leaders engaging - prophetically - on these kind of issues. See Jim's reflections here.

Jesse Jackson at Regent's

The photo is of Jesse Jackson preaching at New Road Baptist Church on Tuesday evening, after having earlier spoken with ministerial, graduate and undergraduate students at Regent's. On Wednesday he returned to Regent's for more meetings with students and a lecture called 'Freedom and Education'. It was a great couple of days. I thought he preached really well (loud and rhetorical) and it was a great service. The question and answer sessions with students showed his political skills as he keep re-iterating his message for more a level playing field for black and other ethnic groups, which means more access to universities like Oxford and Cambridge. He showed a good grasp of the Iraq situation, suggesting that America has lost its moral authority (in my view they lost that a long time ago, if they ever really had any).

tescopoly - why i don't shop at tesco's

According to today's independent there's a new book out next week called tescopoly, which claims tesco's ruins towns and stifles choice. Read the article here. The tescopoly website is here. I've not shopped at tesco's for over a year now. I just don't like their approach and do believe their share of the market is too big.

more on Blood Diamond

This is a violent film, the wanton destruction of life I found difficult to watch. This is not the popcorn violence of Bad Boys 2 or Mr and Mrs Smith.  Having seen the film and now watching the news about a third murder in South London of a young person, you are left searching for answers. Surely the answer is not to open two more prisons. The recent stories of  African countries - Sierra Leone, Rwanda, Dafur, Zimbabwe are stories of violence, of senseless violence. How do we respond to this violence? Blood Diamond is not a horror film, but there is something horrific about scenes involving children playing soliders. Here we see children given the ability to take life, who are told that a gun will give them the respect.  Again this is the reality of some children's lives, and we encourage children to literally play games (the latest being a supposedly 'Christian' game). Brodie gives one way of responding.

does Jesus love Osama?

This story from ekklesia about a baptist church in australia which has used the slogan 'Jesus loves Osama' on billboards is interesting. I like its provocative nature and I think it makes a challenging theological point. I'm not sure what the goal of the sign is. Is this a good idea?

The Incovenient Truth

This is a must-see and unsettling film. If there is one film you see this year, see this one. If you don't know what global warming is or why it is important, go and see this film. As Al Gore says, global warming is a moral issue. It is a Christian issue. The truth of global warming might be incovenient, but it is still the truth. This is a well-presented and well-argued case for changing the way we live, for cutting down on the energy we use. Get your home, your church, your workplace, your school making changes. Visit the website. Take action.

Pope Benedict and Islam

I'm glad the Pope apologised today for an offence caused by his speech last week. However I must admit I am was horrified to see that the response by some Muslims in some countries was a violent one. Did they not recognise that the Pope was saying that was no room for violence within religion? So to respond violently - through attacks on churches - only goes to show there is some unfortunate truth in what some people have interpreted the Pope as saying. (Please note, I do not think Christianity has any less of a violent history). Muslims were right to voice their disappointment, maybe even displeasure, at the Pope's words, but there is no room for violence or incitement to violence. The Pope was either naive or being provocative and should have taken greater care with his words, or who he was quoting, or making more clear his point, or why the quote did not reflect his views on Islam (perhaps they do, see Giles Fraser). The Pope is right to want to confront Islamic extremism, but equally he must also confront Christian extremism, especially that of the growing evangelical right in America, some of who are looking for a war with Islam, or believe they are in a war with Islam. This Pope is emerging as much more interesting than many people originally thought.

What's Happened to Childhood?

A letter in the Daily Telegraph yesterday, signed by a variety of different people (including Philip Pullman, Robert Beckford, and lots of early childhood experts) are concerned that the rise in depression and behavioural problems amongst children is linked to too much junk food, too much screen-based entertainment and school system only interested in results. All the other papers have a response today (Times, Guardian, Independent).  This is not a new issue. Most of the letters' signatories have been going on about it for years. Rowan Williams wrote about it in Lost Icons (2000). The sad thing is that not much is changing. My worry is that this will be another 2-day news story from which little will change. One of the things we decided about Lounge (Bunyan's 11-16 youth club) was to avoid have computer games nights for the reason that most young people play computer games every night. It's an interesting question and an important one for the church. Do we as churches offer an alternative? Do we encourage and challenge those who are parents to think about how they raise their children? I rarely, if ever, have heard the church I belong to say anything about parenting or childhood. I'm not suggesting we become prescriptive, who of us would claim to have all the answers, but I do believe that the church needs to create spaces where conversations can taken place. I worry when I see the poor diet some children I know have and the way television rules in a house. We need to enable children to be children. I love watching Hannah with children because although we are not yet parents, she has learnt the skills that enable children she knows and works with to wonder and question and enjoy the world in which they live.

Sentamu's Public Witness

Just about to go to bed, when I discovered that Archbishop Sentamu is to forego his holiday to fast and prayer over the next 7 days for peace in the Middle East. He is to camp out at Yorkminister and through his public witness encourage people to pray for peace. This is a man who knows about Christian leadership. This is a man who goes the extra mile. Hannah and I as we spend next week near Holy Island will endeavour to pray with him for peace. I might even see if we can pop into York to join him.