Somewhat impressively, less than half an hour after posting, Andrew Dowsett spotted my big head (thanks Zo) as number nine... prize on it's way (via st tom's). Just to confirm (Barky) the mouse was securely in the house... watch this space for more family friendly quizzes!!
Last week Anderson asked what article i was distributing in Darlington about emerging church, it was this introductory article (2001)from Michael Moynagh.
Incidentally if you saw this article and video about emerging church which i mentioned last week, part two in the series have just come out here along with this video introduction to Emerging Church. The second half of the report is really interesting. It highlights some of the key issues that conservative evangelicals have with the Emerging Church. Brian McLaren, who is interviewed says:
"The Bible's so much more complex than [a look-it-up encyclopedia of moral truths]. If people want to start picking out a verse from the Bible here and picking out a verse there, and picking out a verse, we're going to have stonings going on in the street. It's a crazy way to interpret the Bible, in my opinion. Now that doesn't mean that we just throw out the Bible, but we've got to learn ways to engage with the wisdom in the Bible that help us be more ethical and more humane and not less."
"I look back in history and I think, you know, for a long time people who believed in Jesus, believed in the Bible, either tolerated or actively defended slavery. I think ethically, out of faithfulness to God, we've got to realize that people in the name of the Christian faith have done some horrible things. And so we always have to be open to places where we're wrong."
I like that openness, but some, i guess understandably, are scared and very sceptical. In the report Prof. Don Carson describes McLaren's teaching as dangerous- "dangerous in the sense that he's diverting people from things that are central to the gospel, that are non-negotiable as part of the gospel, he's diverting people away from those things". In one way I guess what McLaren says is dangerous, but not because of Carson's reasons, but rather because it challenges so much of how we do and be church and creates an air of openness where the uncertainty of some and the bigotry of others can be dealt with. And what could be more dangerous than that?
checking in today, very dissappointed to have missed the competition! great photo.
Yaz
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Posted by: Yaz | July 19, 2005 at 03:13 PM