headwayyouth- phil smith's blog

Three days to go!!!

I'm really looking forward to the demo in Edinburgh this weekend. For those that can't be there Barky is directing the blogosphere to the virtual G8 summit set up by ActionAid where you can get the world's most powerful people to do whatever you like- fight, drink, dance etc... very funny!

I'm hoping to get the opportunity to hear George Monbiot speak on Sunday. He's one of my anti-capitalist hero's alongside Naomi Klien, Noreena Hertz et al- but i was disappointed to read this article by him where he slates Bono and Geldof...

"Take their response to the debt relief package for the world’s poorest countries that the G7 finance ministers announced ten days ago. Anyone with a grasp of development politics who had read and understood the ministers’ statement could see that the conditions it contains – enforced liberalisation and privatisation – are as onerous as the debts it relieves. But Bob Geldof praised it as “a victory for the millions of people in the campaigns around the world”, and Bono pronounced it “a little piece of history.” Like many of those – especially the African campaigners I know – who have been trying to highlight the harm done by such conditions, I feel betrayed by these statements. Bono and Geldof have made our job more difficult."

"Geldof and Bono’s campaign for philanthropy portrays the enemies of the poor as their saviours. The good these two remarkable men have done is in danger of being outweighed by the harm."

Blimey, a little harsh me thinks! Maybe i won't go and see George Monbiot after all. Truth be told, despite my attempts at buying organic and fair-trade and avoiding Gap and MacDonalds (except on the odd occasion), I think i might be a bit of a common-moderate in this whole movement!

Apology

Last Saturday I posted about Jim Wallis and Billy Graham. In hindsight i think it was a bit unfair. Although i might not really get the whole crusade thing Billy Graham has done more for Christianity over the last century than most, so i guess we should all be thankful for the message even if we don't appreciate the means.

Bono and some other guys have put together this tribute. It does give you some idea of the impact that this one bloke has had on the world.

"At a time when religion seems so often to get in the way of God's work, with its shopping mall sales pitch and its bumper sticker reductionism -- I give thanks just for the sanity of Billy Graham, for that clear, empathetic voice of his and that southern accent, and part poet, part preacher, the singer of the human spirit I'd say. Yeah, I give thanks to Billy Graham"- Bono

Ideas and Idea

Barky posted about the idea-a-day website today... it made me smile a lot!

I also got site of the new idea (the magazine of Evangelical Alliance). There is loads of good stuff in it about Make Poverty History. It's so encouraging that Evangelicals are speaking out so loudly about this and even more encouraging is the meeting the arch-bish is convening with church leaders (oh and Gordon Brown) on this very theme (Ekklesia have more on this here). At the back of idea they always have an apologetic article, this months article is entitled 'Isn't the Bible sexist?'

As you would expect, Amy Orr-Ewing of Zacharias Trust , vehemently defends the Bible as something that isn't sexist in any way, nor does she really entertain the thought. She concludes...

"When we come to the text of the Bible with the issue of sexism in mind, we must be clear that while God is predominantly spoken of with male imagery and ultimately incarnates Himself as the man Jesus, female imagery is also used for God, and Jesus constantly affirms the value of both men and women"

For me the article misses the point a little. It focuses on the person of Christ, who few people believe to be sexist (though i do wish he didn't compare a Canaanite woman to a dog in Matthew 15) and almost ignores the written text altogether. Taking the text as the starting point, and not it's main character, nor it's author or any interpretation, such an article must take seriously the sexist undertones that run throughout scripture and the sexist interpretation that have held sway since its inception, otherwise it's just another case of naive evangelical theology which plagues those of us trying to engage with our culture...

Just a thought...

You have to be joking...

Saw this book mentioned in Sunday's Observer... i fear it may be taking the What Would Jesus thing too far(especially because to the best of my knowledge the book doesn't feature any criticism of multinationals). Duncan MacLoed has more to say here

VURCH

I glanced over the new Bible Society magazine this morning and heard about this project in Bristol to demonstrate the relevance of the Bible by relating it to stories in Eastender's...clever

I have also found VURCH, which is an amazing virtual church. The prayer and meditation sections are particularly good. Plus if you're a bit nosy, which if you blog you probably are, you can read other people's prayers, or perhaps more constructively read one of the many great articles, I just read this by Mike Riddell.

Rembrant vs. Coldplay

Yesterday was a the ordination of Matt Finch- a diamond geeza currently based in Downham Market. The service was painfully trad but it was good to see some young blood being ordained, especially matt! Pete was there and it was good to chat to him. He got Matt a very holy present... an icon of Rembrant's 'Prodigal Son'. Although i'm not an art expert by any means, i love this picture and i'm amazed by so much about it. What i love most is the hands thing... if you look carefully the hands of the father are different, one is a fella's, one is a ladies... major faux pas... or maybe not... maybe Rembrant was the radical, way before his time highlighting the feminine qualities of our Abba Father.

As I was driving back from the ordination this morning I was listening to the new Coldplay album (again) and 'Fix You' directed my mind back to the story of the Prodigal Son so i thought i'd make another postcard (click to enlarge) to go with the  Thomas Merton one...

BBC Motion Gallery

I haven't quite figured out how the licensing for this works yet, nor how expensive it is but i've just found BBC Motion Gallery, which apparently stocks 300,000 hours of footage from the Beeb. Although most of it has a big banner across the middle, some of it is great and well usable for worship (eg this) or as a discussion starter (eg this)

Something old, something new...

As with most Saturday mornings, today i've sat down and read the paper. In particular the Independent (though zoe's mum also has a copy of today's telegraph (tory-graph) which i expect to cast my eye over this afternoon).

There are two great articles in today's independent, one on Billy Graham and the Last Crusade and one about the ministry of Jim Wallis, entitled 'The Moral Minority' (which unfortunately isn't on the web yet).

Both articles are good, but what is interesting is the comparison between the two. In the article about Graham, the event (evangelistic rally) and the personality (Billy Graham) become incredibly intertwined; in one paragraph the author is talking about Graham's health, the next he is talking about 200 million people that have heard him preach. And although the author doesn't make this parallel, the immanent death of Graham (his words not mine) therefore somehow seems to signify the end of this model of ministry (distant, authoritarian, white-middle-class, preacher man) and the crusade in New York represents one last push to crack what Graham considers the toughest nut.

In contrast the article about Wallis has a different feel, it seems altogether more hopeful. Whereas Graham seems to be dying down, Wallis just seems to be warming up... "When it comes to faith and values and politics, the monologue of the religious right is over and a new dialogue has just begun". He's not getting much attention from the White House but others are taking notice (he met Blair during his last trip to the states and is meeting everybody's favourite Gordon Brown this week) and his rising popularity in the States means that sooner or later this 'Moral Minority' is going to be too big to ignore.

Graham insists that he must preach the Gospel alone and never mixes religion and politics- he rejected an invitation to join Martin Luther King Jr on his historic rally in Washington DC, for example- but Wallis thinks the two are inseparable- "Martin Luther King did it best with the Bible in one hand, and the Constitution in the other". Interesting therefore that one article is so reminiscent and one is so hopeful...

Co-op vs. Christian Voice

Read this story in the Guardian today, about Co-op asking Christian-Voice to leave there bank because of their anti-homosexual views(Christian Voice the guys made famous by their anti-Jerry Sringer stance). Christian-Voice immediately made a press release (which you can read here) in which Stephen Green, National Director of Christian Voice, says

"The decision from the Co-operative Bank fits a pattern where politically-correct bully-boys try to attack Christian organisations, Christian symbols, the Bible, and in the case of Jerry Springer the Opera and BBC2, even the person of our Saviour."

Which i thought was quite a good response, but he then goes on to say...

"Of course we make ‘discriminatory pronouncements on grounds of sexual orientation’. We have been criticising homosexual rights ever since we started eleven years ago."

The guys from Co-op have chucked Christian Voice out for being homophobic, a charge which they fail to deny, so i say good on Co-op... i wonder if anyone else will get the chop though, and how far will they go. I know a few clergy who have anti-homosexual views, i'm sure some of them bank at Co-op, I better warn them...

Sings and Blunders

For those feeling a little down at the minute, Ship of Fools have just released some new signs and blunders to keep you happy.  As per usual, I find myself shamefully humoured by the rude ones...

"Rodney Oliver writes: A priest in Ballarat, Australia, had been a professional musician before he was ordained. As a student he used to make pocket money by playing one of the few theater organs left. He bought a tiny keyboard – one of the ones that seemed to have an endless range of imitating other instruments. He took it to a Mothers' Union meeting and played all sorts of music on it. Next Sunday in the pew notes was a report of the meeting. It concluded with...

The Vicar spent the last half hour of the meeting entertaining the ladies with his little organ. They were all delighted, and are hoping that he will come again next month."