threesixty°

threesixty – a Christian gap year

http://www.ageofstupid.net

“Oh no, not ANOTHER film about climate change”

These were my words recently as The Age of Stupid, a film about climate change was starting on our threesixty training in June in the Bristol hub. After watching the film the problem of climate change was really seriously raised in my mind and my attitude has completely changed towards the issue.

The short film uses real clips from documentaries and news programmes which really show how important it is that we are seriously considering the problems and begin to do something about it. This isn’t a film like one’s I’ve seen before which are full of computerised predictions and CGI which feels sometimes a bit ridiculous and farfetched.

There are some real issues we need to be considering such as:

• Flight usage
• Using public transport where possible
• Walking/Cycling places is even better than public transport
• Where food is sourced
• Recyling and waste
• Using less electricity where possible

I have started to really analyse my lifestyle which has invovled a large number of flights over the past few years and my attitude to buying local produce etc which can be difficult on a budget. However I am beginning to realise that living on a budget may be the least of our concerns in the future when climate change may become more and more evident and it will be too late!

To what extent should we artificially prolong life when naturally it would have ended?

“Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed” Genesis 9 v 6

“Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?  You are not your own; you were bought at a price.  Therefore honour God with your body”  1 Corinthians 6 v 19-20

We are created by God and given life by God. Our lives are a gift from God and we are stewards of them, they are God’s to give and to take away according to his will. Our bodies are temples of the holy spirit and we are given the honour and challenge of looking after them and using them to bring glory to God in all ways possible.

I believe that we do not own our lives, God does. Therefore it is not up to us to decided when they should end. God is the giver and taker of life, not us. However, we have been given the gift of medical knowledge and ways in which we can treat/cure/help people with some illnesses or physical problems. These two facts raise the question of to what extent should we use our gift of medical skill when that could save lives when they would naturally have ended.

Another aspect of this question is the issue of quality of life. Can life be of such low quality that it is reasonable to prefer death? When writing to Philemon Paul tells him that he has “learned the secret of being content in any and every situation” (4 v 12) As Christians we are able to have joy in every situation through Christ. Joy is a deep contentment which overrides situation or circumstance. We can not always be happy but through the love and assurance of Christ we can take joy in every situation. This can be tricky and also easier to say outside of a situation than in one and I think that is an important thing to remember when discussing issues such as this. It is alright to have views, however strong but we do need to remember the importance of sensitivity of being outside of potential situations that others may be in themselves. Quality of life is very personal to the individual and the situation. However I do think that life is of very high value and should be treated like that. Despite this I do think there are situations in which it is understandable and reasonable to prefer the idea of death to life and we need to respect that. As a christian I do think that life should be treated as sacred and our actions should represent that. I think this is the key to the answer to my question. Each situation will require a different response and aslong as we are doing it for the glory of God, keeping in mind that life is sacred and not ours to own, then I think with prayer and thought a conclusion can be drawn as to what exten we should articficially prolong life.

big questions

I’m sitting on a train pondering my “big question” for training purposes. Our lives were created by God and given to us by God. We are stewards of them, not owners. At any point in time we can lose our lives, and I am going to be thinking about to what extent it is right to try and stop this happening. Should we always try and prolong life at all costs when naturally it would have ended? This bring up the issues of sanctity of life - the idea that life is God given and therefore eternally valuable. It also brings into question the more subjective issue, quality of life - a valuation of how much the individual feels like their life is worth living, taking into account any illness, disease, family circumstances etc.

i’m doing alot of scribbling and thinking and bible searching. there will be some actual thoughts to come soon enough……

ecotheology

If the earth is temporary and not our final “destination” why should we bother looking after it?

Revelation talks about a renewal of the earth, of a time when tears will be wiped away and there will be no more suffering or pain. A new earth will come about and the old earth will pass away.

‘Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.’ Revelation 21 v 1

This is a common idea of what will happen at the end of time, our current (the old) earth will pass away and be replaced by a new, perfect earth and “shalom” will be restored to be like it was in the very beginning of Genesis. It is an easy option to take this verse and the fact that the earth will eventually pass away so what is the point in trying to look after it and keep it pure.

All the way back at the beginning of the bible in Genesis 2, we read about the creation of the earth, of how the earth started with no plants and shrubs and God created them, created minerals, rivers, trees for food, animals and humans. He puts Adam and Eve in charge of it all.

‘The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it’ Genesis 2 v 15

God gave man the responsibility of looking after his creation. As world was created by God we are only stewards of it, not owners. We are given the job of looking after it, from the plants to the rivers and the minerals. It is our God given duty to look after the earth and everything in it.

Another view on what will happen to the earth is that the kingdom of God can be present here. When God works through us we can bring a part of the kingdom to the earth.

Regardless of what is the eventual fate of the earth, the likelihood is that the earth will still need to be providing for and sustaining generations to come and out of respect for that we need to stop destroying and start replenishing and giving our planet a chance to recover from the past years. The rate of consumerism today is unsustainable and the planet hasn’t got enough resources to support it much longer. We need to stop demanding so much of our planet. As great as the small things we can do are eg. recycling, turning off electric appliances at the wall, using public transport and not flying as much, we need to reevaluate what we are demanding from our planet.

We need to change what we take from the earth, not just try and compensate for what we have taken….

Intimacy and Involvement chapter 3 question

This is our church mission statement:

Intimacy: We believe that at the heart of all we are and all we do is a genuine depth of relationship with God.

Involvement: We believe that the direct result of being in relationship with God is an active engagement in our local communities.

Inclusion: We believe that the church is not about deciding who should be in and who should be out, but, like Jesus, embracing all and serving all in their journey towards God, regardless of gender, age, physical and mental ability, sexuality, race and creed.

Influence: We believe that we must be a prophetic voice within society. Martin Luther King Jr said “The church must be reminded that it is not the master or servant of the state, but rather the conscience of the state.” But our words only carry weight and bring light when they are confirmed by our deeds.

Interdependence: We have a practical commitment to supporting and working with the other member churches of the Oasischurch Network, through the giving and sharing of resources including finance, time and skills.

INTIMATE
Jesus Christ is at the heart of who we are, what we believe and why we do what we do. We want to be a community that gathers around him and lives out the kind of lifestyle that he so perfectly demonstrated. Not everyone within our community will personally put Christ in this central role, but will often share in the values he embodied. Nonetheless, intimacy with our Creator, through Christ, is at the very core of Oasischurch.

INCLUSIVE
We hope that anyone and everyone will fit in with us; our aim is to love people as much as they are open to being loved. We firmly believe that God loves and values every single human being, and has actively included everyone in his invitation to share in the promise of a new hope for a better future. Therefore we want to reflect this in welcoming each person we meet, whatever their story, beliefs or lifestyle.

INVOLVED
Far too often Christianity has been accused of being a ‘nice set of beliefs’ but of no practical good to the world. We believe differently; we believe in a faith that works and has the potential to change the world into the place God intended it to be. Individuals within our churches are encouraged to think about how, when and where their God-given gifts can become best involved in his world. This might be through working with others to deliver the transformational activities and programmes that the church runs in our areas, or through simply reflecting Christ in their day-to-day life. Our aim is to support everyone as they strive towards this.

INFLUENTIAL
We believe that the good news of our faith applies as much to social structures as it does to individuals. We want to be churches that are influential through being socially engaged, politically involved and globally aware. We are churches where we are honest enough to see that the world is not as it should be whilst being hopeful enough to believe it is not beyond redemption.

INTERDEPENDENT
We need each other. Oasischurch values diversity and encourages genuine, honest and vulnerable relationships. This is not an easy thing, especially in our challenging culture and varied locations, but we believe that to achieve real social change we need to be a committed community, however difficult or broken that might be in practice. We also acknowledge that we are one group of churches, within many thousands of churches, that make up the ‘body of Christ’, and we are keen to support and partner with others who are like-minded.

Simplicity

Simplicity is one of 12 spiritual disciplines contained in Richard Foster’s book ‘The Celebration of Discipline’. It is based in the idea that our relationship with God will be stronger if we have less worldy ties and desires.

The more we have, the more we want. In this world of consumerism and the obsessive nature of the desire for more we have become addicted to possessions, storing money, spending money and gaining more and more in a way so extreme it is not healthy. Part of the discipline of simplicity involves understanding what we actually need, and being contented with that. The other main factor is understanding that we are totally dependent of God, all we have is from God, therefore not technically ours and consequently available to others aswell.

Here are some of my thoughts as I read the chapter in the book on simplicity:

• Sacrifice not compromise. Simplicity involves giving up things that are excessive, not trading them for something else. For example giving up buying lots of new clothes and accessories just to save the money up and spend it on a more expensive holiday. Or recognising that a sports car is not necesary, so selling it, buying a smaller car but then spending the money you have made on a new sofa/dining table. Simplicity is about limiting the total amount of money spent to what is necessary.
• Simplicity doesn’t mean living without nice things, in a cold house lit by candles sleeping on the floor in potato sacks. However simplicity means recognising the need of others aswell as the needs of yourself and those close to you as of equal importance and if you are capable of helping others, using your good financial situation to benefit them.
• There is also a problem raised with simplicity in some respects, wearing clothes until they wear our for example, and not following fashions will alienate you in society. I know that it’s not people or society that we are living for or trying to please but once regarded as not part of “normal” society it is harder to get alongside the people who may need to know about God’s love and that could be shown that through a Christian. On the other hand though living in such a way makes you stand out so in a way you are demonstrating a different way of living.

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?”

Matthew 6:25-27

Intimacy and Involvement

Chapter 1 Question 2

In the Western world where the consumer is king, how can we begin to restore selfless Christianity?

At the core of selfless Christian living is God. We need to put God at the centre of our lives and live for him, not ourselves, not for other people, not for material possessions. We need to use our money to honour God, not ourselves. Spending unnecessary money on ourselves is a habit it is too easy to get into, especially in our consumerist society. We need to stop expecting to gain from everything that we do. We should do everything for the glory of God, with nothing else in consideration

Chapter 2 Question 5

Spiritualities condoning withdrawal and isolation are not always helpful. How can our faith communities (be they rural or urban) avoid this peril?

Faith communities need to contain people, or it’s not really a community! We need to realise that part of a relationship with God involves relationships with other people. They can support us, nurture us and challenge us in our faith. Church is a good way to avoid the peril of isolation, meeting regularly with other christians is the best way to prevent isolation. We need to realise that although we are not mortal in this world, we need to be present in it, and involved with people around us.

Since our witness as God’s people should be as wide as all creation, discuss how we might be faithful to God’s original intention in the following areas of our lives:

• Money - We need to recognise that money is of no eternal importance, and even to a point it is of no temporary importance. We need to use money wisely, not being extravangant, spending money on things we want and don’t really need. An attitude of want and not need to money increases materialism in society and is not how we should live in God.
• Sexuality - We need to make sure we strive to live in purity and with integrity in all aspects of life and this is a lot more clear cut in sexuality in my mind. I believe sex was created to be enjoyed by a man and woman who are in a loving, committed relationship. I also believe that all aspects of physical relationships fall under this category too. These days physical relationships can be treated with little thought/concern and i think that’s not how God intended it to be.
• Family Life - I believe God intended children to be brought up in a family unit, who all love each other and respect each other for who they are. Family are the core support of most people and i believe that God intended it to be that way. There are so many broken families at the moment, something i’ve realised more and more since i’ve moved to london and it’s so sad. We need to keep God at the centre of familys and support each other within family.

We have seen how Jesus had special concern for the poor, the marginalized, and the outcast. How can we follow Jesus in this path? Who are the poor and marginalized today?

As i have said in a previous post i think the overriding important attitude to have is love for everyone. This is what Jesus did, loved and accepted everyone for the fact that they are God’s children and that he loves them. Jesus is God so i guess that means he couldn’t not. We can follow Jesus’ example by having this attitude towards everyone.

marginalize - relegate to a lower or outer edge, as of specific groups of people

In my mind everyone is marginalized in some way due to the compartmentalising of society, cliques, groups of people, labels on people. The most marginalized people though are people such as foreign people, british people of non british ancestory, those with behavioual differences, the homeless, the poor, those with different views to the majority of society. there are lots of reasons that people become marginalized but the improtnat thing for us to remember is that we are all equal in God’s eyes.

There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.