Confused.com

Suggested this to Simon as a post to this blog. His response was to invite me to join as a contributor. Could be a big mistake...

Anyway, I came across a review for a new edition of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, which included an extract from the Wife of Bath's prologue. The esteemed lady is speaking to her fellow pilgrims about the experience she's gained by being married five times. As she does she says something about Jesus' perspective which made me laugh because it's often how I feel when reading the Bible.

This is for all those who know just how hard preaching can be, for all those who are training for pastoral ministry, and especially for all those who think that they understand the Bible quite well.

The Wife of Bath's Prologue, as retold by Peter Ackroyd [Italics added by me]

I don't care what anyone says. Experience of the world is the best thing. It may not be the main authority but, in relationships, it is a good teacher. I know all about unhappiness in marriage. Goodness me. Oh yes. I was 12 years old when I first got a husband. I've had five altogether, thanks be to God. Five of them trooping up to the church door. That is a lot of men. By and large they were gentlemen, or so I was led to believe. Yet I was told quite recently - I forget by whom - that our Saviour attended only one wedding. It was in the town of Cana. So, the argument goes, I should only ever have been married once. And then there was the time when Jesus rebuked the Samaritan woman. They were standing beside a well, weren't they? “You have had five husbands,” He said. “And the man you are living with is not your husband.” He was God and man, so I suppose He knew what He was talking about. I don't understand what His point was, but I am sure He had one.

To read the rest of the extract and the accompanying review click this link - http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/books/article5945019.ece

Simon Woodman interviewed

Simon Woodman of South Wales Baptist College has been interviewed by Andy Goodliff. You can read the interview here.

What do you get if you divide science by God?

Another interesting BBC News Magazine article I missed earlier in the week.

Well It's interesting to a non-scientist like me!

The Bible and Hip Hop

The music-video channel which had been blasting in the cafe this morning went suddenly quiet, causing me to glace up. You can imagine my suprise to see...

When I was a child, I spoke like a child,
I understood as a child, I thought as a child;
But when I became a man,
I put childish things away.
- 1 Corinthians 13:11

...before the music of 'Dead and gone' by T.I featuring Justin Timberlake started up.

If (like I was) you're curious, there are links to the video and lyrics below. But a word of WARNING - it contains explicit language, of the variety found in most hip hop.
Video & Lyrics

Even more T in Church

Sermon Bingo. We've all either played it, or secretly wished we had the guts. For those serious about the game, there's another semi-pro level of play opening up to us:
'Naked Pastor' has been creating theologian T-shirts.

How about challenging a friend? You each wear one to church, and whoever's got the first thologian to get a mention in the sermon wins.

I reckon I'd have pretty good odds with this one!

De-baptising?

An interesting article on the BBC news website.

Comedy quotations from the Edwin Stephen Griffiths Lecture

Held at the South Wales Baptist College on 11 March 2009.

A deacon questioned if the woman minister would be physically able to baptise a man. The response:
“Good gosh man – have you seen her hands?!”

If baptism is like birth...
“Should we add a new bit to the end and give them a slap?”

Baptism without coming into fellowship is like saying:
“I want to be married, but not actually to anybody”

From the speaker to a tutor, repeatedly:
“I wish you’d behave!”

One person’s relationship with chocolate is:
“...outright adoration, within the bounds of idolatry”

“Your mission should you choose to accept it is to save the entire church. Good luck.”

From one tutor, to a superior:
“I’m just glad you realised that if you were perfect, that isn’t you!”

“I found myself struck down in Asda whilst pushing a trolley with appendicitis”.

Darwin vs. Divine?

Focusing on the important issues

What is really important in our Christian discipleship?

On March 10th I am due to give the final lecture in an eight lecture series on Darwin and Evolution, which are being given through the Centre for Christianity and Culture at Regent’s Park College in Oxford. The title of my lecture is “The Challenge of Evolutionary Theory for the 21st Century Church.”
The lecture series has been chosen as 2009 marks the bi-centenary of the birth of Charles Darwin (February 12th) and the 150th anniversary of his major work on natural selection, the Origin of Species, (November 24th).

Darwin’s observation of natural variation and selection together with Mendel’s recognition of genetic inheritance paved the way for our modern understanding of the evolution of life. For biological research and our knowledge of life on earth this is truly important, but for Christian faith?
This scientific breakthrough has led to some heated debate both in science and in the church. There are scientists who believe that everything in this world can only be explained by science, and there are Christians who believe that the only way to understand the origin of this world and its life is through a literal reading of Genesis 1-3

By emphasising extreme positions both suggest that the theory of evolution leads to atheism, and both emphasise that the literal interpretation of scripture is the crux of the argument. This is bad science and bad theology: reducing life to a nothing but atoms and molecules, where there is no room for meaning or for human freedom, and a biblical interpretation that fails to recognise context and genre of the words – giving a one-size-fits-all approach to reading and understanding of scripture.

The result is a false dichotomy of nature or God, which is far removed from the ways in which both scientists and theologians of 17th and 18th centuries viewed the world – they saw the discoveries of science as a revealing of the ways in which God worked in the world.
Darwin’s theory of evolution put God back into the world as an active participant, rather than the machine minder of Sir Isaac Newton, who was outside of his creation.
It was therefore no surprise that Christian scholars Charles Kingsley, Frederick Temple, Aubrey Moore and John Henry Newman in the UK, and Benjamin Warfield, James Orr and Asa Gray in USA welcomed Darwin’s ideas. In fact Darwin himself and also his keenest advocate, Thomas Henry Huxley, both left room for God in their assessment of the origin of the world.

We know that God faithfully and lovingly ordered creation, and declared it to be good.
Evolution is a process within the universe’s story. This story is not a chance process but is constrained by the physical (God-given) parameters of the universe’s beginnings and by its (God-given) laws. I believe that we should recognise the way in which God has brought the universe and life of planet earth into being, and praise God for his faithfulness, his creativity, and every aspect of his grace that we find in our lives in this world.

When we have reached this conclusion we can move on to our calling as disciples of Christ to be Gospel people sharing God’s desire for all human beings to know him, and through the Cross of Christ to be brought into an eternal relationship with the creator of the universe.

In a radio discussion last month about Darwin and evolution on BBC Wales’ “All things considered,” presenter Roy Jenkins asked me if I thought there were more important issues for attention by the church. I responded with my sadness at the amount of time and money that is being spent in this debate, especially by those groups that advocate ‘creationism’ and ‘intelligent design.’
We are living in a time when the world is in the grips two crises: an economic crisis and the crisis of global climate change. Both require drastic and immediate action, and both are having a disproportionately adverse affect on the poorest in our world. If we are to act out our Christian discipleship standing up for God’s priorities of justice and mercy we will need to give priority to allowing God’s redeeming love to flow through us and to change us, so that our lives will bring hope and life to those in greatest need.

Our priority is to focus on the important issues of life in Christ and life in all the fullness that God intended now, rather than arguments about how life on planet earth developed in past ages.

John Weaver.

'School trip' to Babylon and Byzantium

A great day in London to see some very informative exhibitions. A huge thanks from all who made it to Simon for all his work organising it and shepherding us around on the day: