Objective Morality

This past weekend I had the opportunity to engage some ‘secular’ (by this I don’t mean non-Christian) friends around a variety of social and moral issues. As we dialogued it became increasingly aware to me that our presuppositions regarding morality were dichotomous. The result: we agreed to disagree.

Subsequent to that conversation I find myself reflecting on one of my own presuppositions viz. objective morality. In my thinking it seems impossible to make any moral judgements without some kind of objective morality. Moreover, I find myself exploring ideas and methods by which to articulate the need for an objective morality.

Do you think it is possible for human society to function without a framework of morality? On what foundation can/does one build a moral framework?

Enhancing humans or a new creation?

In my review of T4 I expressed my disappointment that although the the film was well poised to explore the philosophical and moral implications of human enhancement it failed to do so.

I am now pleased to announce that the Cambridge Papers group have published a paper titled ‘Enhancing humans or a new creation?’ In it Denis Alexander summarises transhumanism, describes the scope of current enhancing technologies, and provides a Christian critique, presenting the biblical strategy for human transformation as a compelling alternative to the transhumanist project.

You can find it here.

The Hole in Our Gospel

I am reading Richard Stearns’ ‘The Hole in Our Gospel’ at the moment.

Stearns is the president of Worldvision, a Christian humanitarian organisation dedicated to working with children, families, and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice.

In the book he sets about answering the question: ‘What does God expect of us?’ As part of the answer he urges followers of Jesus to look beyond the walls of their churches, to partner together actually demonstrating God’s love for the world instead of talking about it.

Responses to the book seem favourable, with Eugene Peterson saying of the book: "Read this compelling story and urgent call for change-Richard Stearns is a contemporary Amos crying 'let justice roll down like waters x2026;.' Justice is a serious gospel-prophetic mandate. Far too many American Christians for too long a time have left the cause to 'others.' Read it as an altar call."

Gary Haugen, President & CEO, International Justice Mission echoes this praise: "Rich Stearns calls us to exhilarating obedience to God's life-altering, world-changing command to reflect his love to our neighbours at home and globally. The Hole in Our Gospel is imbued with the hope of what is possible when God's people are transformed to live radically in light of his great love."

I continue to have high expectations of the book and as I read am compelled to think about and act on my own involvement in missio dei.

An early thought sparked by the book is illustrated by the Eugene Ionesco quote: “Ideologies separate us, dreams and anguish bring us together.” Or for the Christians “Our doctrines, traditions, pet theologies or pet moralities separate us, God’s dreams and human suffering bring us together”

I wonder if herein lies one of the answers to Jesus’ only unanswered prayer?

'12 Steps' as a model for Christian formation

My thinking about Christian formation has been profoundly influenced by Dallas Willard. His ‘The Divine Conspiracy’ and Renovation of the Heart’ remain among some of my favourite reads.

In the latter book Willard draws from the 12 step model employed by Alcoholics Anonymous stating that:

“Any successful plan for spiritual formation, whether for the individual or group, will in fact be significantly similar to the Alcoholics Anonymous program.”
– p.85, Renovation of the Heart

Willard offers the following adaption of the 12 steps in the Renovation of the Heart Leaders’ Guide, page 5A:

1. I admit that I am powerless over sin and that my life has become unmanageable.
2. I believe that God—through His action and those of His Son Jesus and the Holy Spirit—can restore me to sanity.
3. I will turn my will and my entire life over to the care of God.
4. I will make a searching and fearless inventory of my life to discover all the ways I have engaged in self-worship (by being in control instead of living surrendered to the will of God).
5. I admit to God, to myself, and to another human being the exact nature of my wrongs.
6. I am entirely ready to have God remove all the defects in my character and replace them—through His presence—with the thoughts, emotions, will, behaviour and relationship patterns of Christ.
7. I humbly ask God to help me become willing to deny myself—and the desire to live life on my terms—and to remove my shortcomings.
8. I will make a list of all the people I have harmed and become willing to make amends.
9. I will make direct amends to all I have injured.
10. I will continue to take personal inventory, and when I wrong someone, I will promptly admit it.
11. I will, through prayer, meditation, and the practice of other Christian disciplines, attempt to improve my conscious contact with God.
12. Having experienced some measure of authentic transformation as a result of surrendering all aspects of myself to the power and presence of Christ, I will carry this message to others and continue to practice these principles in all my affairs.

What I like about Willard’s 12 steps is that they are theologically well informed, missional and most importantly ‘doable’. However, at first glance it seems as though they lack the communal dimension of formation. Perhaps herein lies the their strength. While not appearing as overtly communal they are undergirded by a recovery model that functions within the context of a healing community.

I’m thinking to rework them to more overtly reflect the role of community in our formation any thoughts?

Pope: St Paul’s bones found

I stumbled on an interesting article in the New York Times. The piece titled  ‘Pope Says Tests ‘Seem to Conclude’ Bones Are the Apostle Paul’s’  suggests that the apostle Paul’s bone have been finally unearthed, from the article:

“Vatican archaeologists in 2002 began excavating the eight-foot coffin, which dates from at least 390 and was buried under the basilica’s main altar. The decision to unearth it was made after pilgrims who came to Rome during the Roman Catholic Church’s 2000 Jubilee year expressed disappointment at finding that Paul’s tomb — buried under layers of plaster and further hidden by an iron grate — could not be visited or touched.”

Call me a sceptic if you must, but that these are Paul’s bones are unlikely in my view.

Sinaticus Online

Today marks the end and beginning of a four year project that has launched Codex Sinaticus into the digital age.

The Sinaticus website reports that “Codex Sinaiticus is one of the most important books in the world. Handwritten well over 1600 years ago, the manuscript contains the Christian Bible in Greek, including the oldest complete copy of the New Testament. Its heavily corrected text is of outstanding importance for the history of the Bible and the manuscript – the oldest substantial book to survive Antiquity – is of supreme importance for the history of the book.”

As  on who has a particular interest in the New Testament this is as exciting as the original discovery of Sinaticus. Bruce Metzger in his Text of the New Testament, recounts the story of how Dr Constatin von Tischendorf  found and rescued the codex from a monk who was using the it to stoke the monastery fires.

“The Codex Sinaiticus Project is an international collaboration to reunite the entire manuscript in digital form and make it accessible to a global audience for the first time. Drawing on the expertise of leading scholars, conservators and curators, the Project gives everyone the opportunity to connect directly with this famous manuscript.”

My thanks go to Donna Radley for drawing my attention to today’s launch.

megachurch

Regularly I am asked what I think about megachurches. As such from time to time I like to read and discourse about church in all her forms. Annually the Hartford Institute for Religion Research publishes a US national survey of megachurch attendance. Here are some prominent finding of the 2009 survey:

• Young and single adults are more likely to be in megachurches than in smaller churches.
• Nearly two-thirds of attenders have been at these churches 5 years or less.
• Many attenders come from other churches, but nearly a quarter haven’t been in any church for a long time before coming to a megachurch.
• Attenders report a considerable increase in their involvement in church, in their spiritual growth, and in their needs being met.
• Forty-five percent of megachurch attenders never volunteer at the church.
• New people almost always come to the megachurch because family, friends or co-workers invited them.
• What first attracted attenders were the worship style, the senior pastor and the church’s reputation.
• These same factors also influenced long-term attendance, as did the music/arts, social and community outreach and adult-oriented programs.
• Attenders can craft unique, customized spiritual experiences through the multitude of ministry choices and diverse avenues for involvement that megachurches offer.

You can download the survey here.

So what do you think about megachurch?

Food

It is hunting season in South Africa. I will be catering for a variety of hunting parties. As a result my blogging efforts will become sporadic.

That said, here’s a sneak peek at this weekends menu:

Thursday Supper:

• Sundried tomato and mascarpone cheese soup served with Moroccan harissa dusted capsicums and fire baked yoghurt bread
• Blesbok babotie served on yellow Basmati Rice with sambals and Mrs Balls™ homemade chutney
• Pears in vanilla infused red wine stuffed with mascarpone cheese and walnuts

Friday Supper:

Butternut soup served with biltong, cremazola and fire baked beer bread

• Pan fried kudu steak marinated in marula jelly and green Madagascan peppercorns
• Baked potato served with biltong crème fraiche
• Green Pumpkin stuffed with ‘tellichery’ pepper mince, croutons and fresh cream
• Fire roasted beer bananas peppered with walnuts smothered in thick cinnamon cream and maple syrup

Any takers?

Blog available as Facebook notes

Just to let you all know that I finally got my act together and that you can now view this blog as notes via my Facebook profile.

belong, believe behave…

Reflection on Jesus Christ’s philosophy of ministry, no matter how brief,  seems to reveal a discernable pattern. Jesus sought first to create a safe place where marginalised people people felt secure. Security breeds a sense of belonging. More often than not the people that spent time with Jesus slowly began to believe his remarkable claims. Those who progressed from belonging to belief increasingly began to act in accordance with their sense of identity and beliefs.

This philosophy of ministry remains attractive. As the saying goes ‘people don’t care about how much you know, until they know how much you care’.  Sadly, I suspect that for many their church experience reflects quite a different philosophy. (Church here being defined as an extension of Christ’s ministry to usher in the Kingdom of God).

Allow me to caricaturise my suspicions… Behave! Believe! (like me) then on those grounds you may belong… Just as long as you keep behaving and believing.

Encouragingly and increasingly, Christian ministries are once again embracing the philosophy of Jesus. The following article by John Burke illustrates this well.

only a matter of time

In light of the calls for the decriminalisation of prostitution ahead of the 2010 World Cup it seemed to me inevitable that a similar call would be made for the decriminalisation of marijuana. Find it here.

Interestingly Thuli Madonsela commentator on this blog is one of the legal consultants.

Surving SkyNet

The year is 2018... Judgement day has come and gone, and yet the machines' relentless and murderous quest to see the extermination of the human race continues....


John Connor (Christian Bale) is the fated leader of the human resistance against SkyNet and its army of terminators. Seen by most as the prophetic leader of the resistance Connor has learned to trust no one. It is this that makes the entrance of Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington) part human, part machine so difficult. As the film unfolds we see Connor deciding to 'follow his heart' as he joins Wright (bent on redemption) on an search and rescue (later destroy) mission into the heart of SkyNet's operation centre.

McG's Terminator Salvation made a tidy US$ 105 495 000.00 at the box office. Despite what seems to be a financial success (certainly true in South African terms) the film has met with mostly critical if not scathing review. I suspect the film targets an audience of a lower age than any of the film's prequels (the lack of theatre blood is noticeable.) However, my own critique lies not in the film making per se (the make-up, CGI and special effects are fantastic!), but is rather, levelled at its' robotic storyline. The film just lacks heart...

Ours is a world defined by the heartfelt narrative keys of relational storytelling. One can't be blamed for thinking that, in the mind of the scriptwriters, the heart of good film making is blowing stuff up. The film falls short by doing special effects at the expense of narrative.

The fact that Marcus Wright is part human part machine postures the film for a thoughtful exploration of theme of technologically modified humanity, cyborgs and the like (c.f. the ongoing work of Kevin Warwick of Redding University). Disappointingly, here too it fails any prospect of thoughtful dialogue is in the words of a fellow reviewer '...smothered in quasi-religious symbolism and primary-school philosophising'.

Hopefully this is last, and the terminator will not be back...

reading together: the hidden spring

In chapter two of his book 'Simply Christian' Tom Wright begins the chapter (titled ‘the hidden spring’) with a clever allegory that illustrates how enlightenment/modernist thinking has (until recently) sanitised our religious experience by divorcing it from day to day experience. The waters of religion were confined to a ‘small sub-department of ordinary life’. He seems to imply that there existed a professional relationship between religion and philosophy. Both were able to control their sub-departments, without fear of interference from each other.

However, the underground waters of ‘spirituality’ have made their way to the surface again; with both positive and negative effects. Negatively, ‘September 11, 2001 serves as a reminder of what happens when you try organise a world on the assumption that religion and spirituality are merely private matters, and that what really matters is economics and politics instead.’ This resurgence in spirituality was to be expected; for many of the world's peoples (especially so in a South African context) spirituality is an integral part of everyday life and cannot be compartmentalised.

Wright asserts that ‘the hidden spring’ of spirituality functions as ‘an echo of a voice’. By calling to those woven into the now faded tapestry of modern secularism it suggests to us that there is ‘more to our reality than this'. Moreover, spirituality has lost its’ stigma and is no longer a minority interest. One need only visit a bookshop to find that the ‘spirituality’, ‘self help’, ‘mind body spirit’ sections occupy a significant amount of floor space. What then ‘are we to make of ‘spirituality’ as we listen for the echoes of a voice that may be addressing us?’

At this point Wright gives the Christian explanation of the renewed interest in ‘spirituality’. Briefly, if it is true that ‘there is a God whom we can know most clearly in Jesus’ then a resurgence of spirituality should be expected. In Jesus we see a God who loves people and has created them to know and respond to that love. Given that people (and their world) have been seriously damaged by evil, simple self help, better social conditions, etc are not sufficient. Rather, complete rescue is required.

In this renewed interest, ‘we should expect that in the quest for spirituality people will embrace options that are less than what would actually be best for them'. Back to our water analogy: ‘people who have been starved of water for a long time will drink anything, even if it is polluted’.

The New Testament defines ‘true spirituality’ as the care of those unable to care for themselves (Jas 1:27). What I found most edifying in our discussion time was that this is the direction we took (albeit unintentionally).

It would seem that these first two echoes are inexorably linked.

Once again we revisited the fundamental tension between beauty and pain. These two realities are all too true to the human experience. Living in this world as a follower of Jesus means we try to live in the tension of the life's beauty and pain. Poverty of spirit is the result of embracing too much of life's pain. Personal peace and affluence result from the extreme of embracing too much of it's beauty. The one numbs you to the reality of God's glory and the other to the reality of human suffering...

Another required tension exists between the need for both structure and freedom. We talked at length about how as followers of Jesus we struggle to find the tension between ‘piped’ water and ‘spring’ (our metaphors for structure and freedom). Our exploration of the interplay between Christian institution, which tends to pipe water and informal Christian community which tends to bubble like a spring; in the final wrap indicates the need for both/and. In the same way that natural springs tend to become muddy and polluted without some structure to hold the water, relationships too become contaminated and can even be damaged without appropriate relational structure. Applying this thought to the role of institution and individual we seem to have agreed that, in our quest for ‘true spirituality’, institution is perhaps better able to address ‘systematic injustice’, and the individual what we called ‘symptomatic injustice’.

Back to ‘the hidden spring’, the quest for spirituality may be the echo of voice, however, not shouting so loudly as to compel us to listen, nor whispering so quietly as to be drowned by the clamour of the world in which we live. No, rather when combined with a passion for justice, ‘some might conclude that it would at least be worth listening for further echoes of the same voice’.

Diabetic Foot Day

Increasingly in medical circles there is a working together of multidisciplinary teams to ensure holistic treatment. One such endeavour is the Diabetic Foot Working Group of South Africa.



The Diabetic Foot Working Group of South Africa is having a diabetic foot day on Saturday 30th May 2009 from 9H00-13H00. The event provides opportunities to learn about the newest foot care and footwear available, to meet with key members of the working group which includes a Physician, Vascular surgeon, Podiatrist, Physiotherapist and Woundcare sister. The workgroup team will be available to discuss any problems and answer questions. The medical industry will be show casing new technologies and products.

Part of the event includes the chance of winning fabulous prizes not least a weekend getaway for 2 people for 2 nights.

The event is being hosted at Doxa Deo Church, 7 Atterbury Road (just off Hans Strydom road)

For further information contact Andrika Symington at +27 12 548 9499

paying the price

In response to current debate in South Africa, a heartfelt concern for those damaged by, and the comments made about my earlier post titled ‘to legalise or not?’ I will be thinking (and blogging) through what I think could be a holistic Christian approach to the sex industry in South Africa (and hopefully abroad). To whet you appetites (pun not intended!) I leave you with this quote:

“prostitution is survival, not sexual behaviour. The majority of women involved in prostitution do so in order to survive and as a result of previously experienced child sexual abuse, physical and sexual violence, poverty, homelessness, drug dependency and mental health problems.” - Routes Out Annual Report (2002-2003)

The complexity of these issues require rigorous, careful and holistic reflection and thought, this together with my current schedule suggests that this may take longer than I (or my readers would like). For this I apologise in advance.

of hookah's and ethics... follow up

It seems from the hookah and ethics discussion that some people feel that the social benefits of hookah smoking outweigh any health, spiritual or ethical concerns. Most of the argumentation seems to have taken the route that hookah smoking is a 'matter of indifference' to God and is, therefore, not a moral issue per se. Proponents of hookah smoking seem to me quite vociferous, but are in no way the vocal minority. It would seem rather that they represent the liberated majority.

Their arguments are unconvincing...

Arguing from the perceived relational benefits of hookah smoking proponents seem to minimise other (valuable) data. (The notion that 'relationship' is the trump card when making ethical decisions warrants further discussion). I hold too a cynical view of human nature... Hookah smokers do so because they like it, community is one part of liking it, agreed. Community, however, by definition, does not require hookah smoking. I suspect that there are other more persuasive reasons that hookah smokers like to do so.

There are absolutely no health merits to hookah smoking; rather there are only health demerits. Damaging ones health in order to facilitate community, arguably, speaks of a lack of wisdom. Far better ways to facilitate relationship exist. By way of illustration: ask any cancer suffer whether there is a sense camaradery, loyalty and friendship in a chemo ward, they'll answer 'absolutely!' Then ask them whether they think there are better contexts in which to relate...

There is a tradtional saying among black Africans: 'indlela ibuzwa kwaphambili', loosly interpreted this means that 'the way is inquired of those who have gone ahead'. When thinking of one who has gone ahead St Paul comes to mind... You say: 'everything is permissable' I say: 'not everything is beneficial'. (1 Cor 6:12)

my tweets

Those who re interested (or bored) enough to want to follow my tweets can do so at @yellofishza

to legalise or not?

The following two quotes come from a recent news article:

"The personal moral views of people such as prosecutions boss Mokotedi Mpshe should play no role in deciding whether sex work is legalised, NGO Sweat (Sex Workers Education and Advocacy Task Force) said on Wednesday."

"She (Vivienne Lalu, Sweat's advocacy programme co-ordinator) told Sapa that while Sweat respected people's right to hold a Christian moral view -- which was essentially what Mpshe had been expressing -- South Africa was a secular state, and it was inappropriate that those views should be enshrined in the country's laws."

I found the article interesting as it raises the question of whether it should be permissible for ones worldview to influence every area of their life and work.

Arguably, legislation should be evaluated not on the basis of whether it allegedly 'enshrines a Christian moral view' but whether it does what it is supposed to do viz. protect, correct and direct the society that is making it.

I suspect that for this reason Mpshe may have it right.

Their is suffiecient scientific (secular) research that shows that the legalisation of prostitution opens a pandora's box of social ills... sex trafficking perhaps being one of the most insidious.

Too many South African's are already in bondage, need we legalise new ways to further enslave?

Who knows perhaps the next 'right' we choose to legalise is the the 'right' to pedophilia...

'Constitutional rights' forbid that we allow that to happen!

free coldplay album: 'right left right left'

Coldplay fans will be delighted to know that they have a free album titled left 'right left right left' available for download. (Yes, free!)



The album is a live recording that will be handed out (as a CD) to all fans attending every remaining Coldplay live show in 2009 (apart from Festival shows). The free download is available until the band play their final 2009 show.

The album is a 10 track live recording . (Tracks are from their recent studio album).

Enjoy!

reading together: the longing for justice

Following from my previous post titled ‘reading together’ my communal journey through Simply Christian continues. In the first chapter Tom Wright begins to explore the first of the ‘echoes’... ‘the longing for justice.’ Early in the chapter he makes it clear that ‘a sense of justice comes with the kit of being human.’ Yet all too often justice proves too elusive, bullies get away with violence, innocent people are convicted, the list goes on.

He goes on to cite historical examples to counter that when it comes to justice although we often, in the misquoted words of T.S. Elliot, have the meaning but not the experience. Justice sometimes is done. ‘Apartheid was dismantled.’ Wilberforce and Woolman helped end slavery. Martin Luther King’s tireless campaign challenged the racial prejudice of the United States.

Perhaps one of the most perceptive parts of this chapter is: “The line between justice and injustice, between things being right and things not being right, can’t be drawn between ‘us’ and ‘them’. It runs down through the middle of each of us.”

I think that Wright get’s it very right at this point. Each human being lives with a double nature that on the one hand expresses the best of who we are yet within a heartbeat also expresses the worst of who we are. Our longing for justice is as much internal as it is external.

Wright argues that the last fifty years has seen an increase in ‘moral sensitivity’ (contra popular opinion). He argues that people care very passionately about moral issues. While I’m inclined to agree with his basic premise it would seem to me that the last fifty years have seen a shift away from some traditional moralities (e.g. sexuality, personhood) while at the same time seeing and increase in ‘pet moralities’ (e.g. environmental stewardship). At this point I agree with Wright who claims that: “The gentle art of being gentle - of kindness and forgiveness, sensitivity and thoughtfulness, generosity and humility and good old fashioned love - has gone out of fashion.” He contends that the shrill demanding of ‘rights’ too often destroys the longing and hope of justice or (in my thought) the Hebrew concept of ‘shalom’.

The narcissistic tendencies notable in our societies often give rise to the displacement of the ‘rights’ of others, or stated differently their hope of justice. A mother’s ‘right’ to terminate her pregnancy displaces the child’s ‘right’ to life. The ‘right’ of same-sex couples to adopt a child displaces that child’s ‘right’ to either a father or mother. (No, I’m not being cliché, Evangelically PC, fundamentalist nor judgemental. In a society where either of these examples are options there is a lack of ‘shalom’ and therefore injustice.)

Many people (myself included) dream of a world without prejudice, where the bullies do not go unpunished. As we dream these dreams ‘hope is kindled’ and deep within the human psyche (and collective consciousness) the passion for justice listens carefully for the ‘echo’ of a voice that claims someone does care, there is purpose to all of this which includes justice, we and the things around us will indeed be ‘put to right’. Perhaps most exciting thing of all is that the dream is becoming reality.

of hookah's and ethics

There has been a marked increase in the smoking of 'hubbly bubbly' among South Africans. I was recently asked by a friend who works at a Christian school whether I had observed this trend and my thoughts regarding it.

Some initial thoughts include:

I attempt to be as inclusive as possible in my approach to culture. However, careful and cautious thought (and action) is (are) required.

I’m uninformed about the origin and purpose of ‘hubbly’ which should be influential factors as to whether one takes that the stand that the occasional ‘hubbly’ is immoral.

For integrity's sake it worth noting that some of the most popular Christian authors were smokers. That confessed I’m also very aware of the human tendency to 'pet moralities'... Smoking is evil! Chocolate is a blessing! In my mind this emphasises again the importance of rigour and consistency of thought. Neither should be dismissed. Logically it follows then, that something used appropriately constitutes a moral use thereof. Consequently, something used inappropriately (or abused) constitutes an immoral use thereof. (Abuse is here defined in a broad sense and could include the abuse of Christian freedom, of another person, a substance, ones body or the abuse of context).

St Paul argues that everything is permissible but not necessarily beneficial. Elsewhere, that leaders are to be above reproach (In Paul I think a case can be made that 'above reproach' could be defined contextually). Also important for Paul is that we are Spirit led... Which begs the question: Is the Spirit leading us to smoke 'hubbly bubbly', drink alcohol, eat chocolate, or make use of social networking tools like Facebook, etc?

Other Pauline arguments that I think may apply (by extension)
include :

• Your physical body is a temple honour God with it (1 Cor 6).
• Don't cause others to stumble by the abuse of your freedom (Rom 14).
• Food eaten in the presence of demons constitutes demonic worship (1 Cor 8- 10).

I recently read an article that suggests that WHO research indicates a link between 'hubbly' smoking and an increased risk of TB or hepatitis infection. It seems that communal practises may not be all they are cut out to be! ;-)

How would you answer my friend's question?

Angels & Demons

My daughters are in the fortunate position to have both their grandmothers within visiting distance. I on the other hand am fortunate because grandmothers make the best babysitters. (My appreciation for extended family has grown and is growing exponentially since having children!) Friday night saw the girls sleeping at their grandparents. My wife I: pizza and a movie...



Angels & Demons is actually the prequel to The Da Vinci Code, and casts Robert Langdon as a protector of the Catholic Church rather than attempting to exposing it. This novel is in the opinion of many, a far better read than The Da Vinci Code. Either way both stories are popular conspiracy theories posing as historical fact.

Ron Howard’s first Dan Brown adaptation failed miserably, not least at the box office. His decision to have another go with Angels & Demons is nothing short of bold. Turning a prequel into a sequel takes big ‘cahones’. Sadly, it seems that the fate of Angels & Demons may be similar to that of The Da Vinci code. At best, it (Angels & Demons) has received a 39% rating.

All that said, the film is fast paced with some good cinematography. (You get to see some of the best of Rome and her churches.) Tom Hanks once again fills the shoes Robert Langdon who is called upon by the Vatican to help them in their fight against one of the churches’ ancient enemies... The illuminati. According to the film the illuminati were a secret society of enlightened scientists who were persecuted by the Catholic Church. They have now returned to avenge themselves and destroy the church. This science conquers faith motif falls short, with the message of the film being that although science and faith are never going to be lovers, they can at least flirt a little.

In the final analysis though being unable to rely on preposterous claims (sorry, no Mrs Jesus here!) Angels & Demons falls short, offering to viewers little more than mindless entertainment, the opportunity to eat fresh popcorn while holding hands in the dark and a significantly lighter wallet. As a result I doubt whether Ron Howard and his team will make an appearance the Oscars.

new look

I hope you like the new look and feel... Thanks to my friend Duncan who blogs at findingnormalcomics.blogspot.com. He created the header image.

reading together

One of the greatest tragedies of the time in which we live is that reading has become a very lonely thing to do... Some friends and I have started reading together. Our plan is to, together read, pray, talk, blog, twit or whatever our way through Tom Wright's Simply Christian.

In his introduction Wright invites the reader to discover what Christianity (in the broad sense) is all about. He raises four areas of contemporary concern as pointers to a transcendent reality. "The longing for justice, the quest for spirituality, the hunger for relationship and the delight in beauty" are to Wright 'echoes of a voice'. As we hear each of these themes it is as though we hear the "elusive yet evocative sound of someone speaking just around the corner, out of sight."

He continues in the introduction to, in his precise albeit academic fashion, outline the book's structure and his approach in writing it. The stated purpose of the book is an attempt to listen to the 'echoes of a voice' and in so doing commend the Christian faith to both those outside it and explain it to those inside it.

From our discussion...

It is interesting to note that while Wright's echoes represent a penetrating assessment of contemporary concerns they are, arguably, underpinned by the 'echo of the voice' of authentic reality.

I guess 'reality' is something of a buzzword at the moment and one can't help thinking that the 'Truth' debates of old have been re-framed. While it is not four lettered word 'Truth' has for the most part become a dirty word. 'Reality' it seems is far more palatable and caters well to our post modern tastes. It would be premature at this stage to decide whether the book does indeed succeed in listening to the echoes and thus present an authentic reality.

Derrida is credited with having said that justice and law are not synonymous. Much of our discussion was spent exploring these themes. Particularly insightful was the distinction between systemic injustice and individual injustice and more specifically Christ's modus operandi when confronting these.

I hope to continue to post on our progress through the book and some highlights of our discussion. I hope to be consistent in this commitment and accurately reflect that which I am (and by extension we) are learning. I, therefore can think of no better way to conclude this post than by quoting Wright's introduction: "Being a Christian in today's world is, of course, anything but simple. But there is a time for trying to say, as simply as possible, what it's all about, this seems to me that sort of time."

Renewal

I have a renewed interest in blogging...