Part 104. Believe and act on the message of Jesus.

I read the bible seeking to interpret and understand from the words the meaning, the message, the ideas, the concepts Jesus conveys to us. I concentrate on the synoptic gospels. It is a voyage of discovery for me to seek to discern the teaching of Jesus and how to give it practical effect. It all distills into obeying the two Great Commandments and with it the pursuit of social justice.

I do not regard the bible as a rulebook or an instruction manual to be followed precisely and slavishly. That is the way to legalism and control freakery, much loved by a fundamentalist literalist mindset. Rather, I consider it to be guidance, encouragement and support in the pursuit of His Kingdom on earth, in pursuit of social justice. It is empowering, it is inclusive. It is outward looking and dynamic. Indeed the very opposite of the legalistic, introspective attitude prevalent in fundamentalist circles.

Part 103. Sad to have to report..

Paul O'Grady has died aged 67. A lovely person, he was a Deputy Lord-Lieutenant in Kent. His work in animal welfare led to his being admired by Queen Camilla. He will be remembered by many for the documentary series he fronted on the work of The Salvation Army, an organisation he admired for its social work.

The Army has issued this statement. 'We are saddened to hear about our friend. Paul O'Grady's passing. We are so grateful for all he did for the The Salvation Army.'

As a gay person in a same-sex marriage he would not have been able to be an officer of the Army. It reeks of discrimination and the stench of hypocrisy. 

Part 102. Practical Theology

Practical theology is about action, about doing things. It is driven by the commandment of Jesus to love our neighbour and by the demand placed on Christians to follow him. The application of these, for want of a better word, principles, will change as the world around us changes. The principles are unchanging. It is not, as conservative evangelical fundamentalists argue, a matter of watering down our faith to make it acceptable to the secular world. On the contrary it is applying our faith in the world to promote God's kingdom, to challenge those responsible for discrimination, marginalisation and poverty. It is not to make our faith more acceptable in the world, it is challenging the world to change. 

Part 101. Fighting on.

Dear friends. I have been away for a few days to Dungeness between Rye and Romney. A bleak flat landscape, pebble beaches, rough seas, torrential rain and very windy. Very depressing but the weather does change for the better and so does my mood.

For people living in areas of multiple deprivation, the marginalised, the poor and those the object of discrimination the 'weather' does not improve. As Christians

we must fight on for change. It is our duty to follow Jesus and live by his example. Costly grace.

Part 100. To adhere, or not.

I became an Adherent member of The Salvation Army in 2014 following a home visit by one of the Majors of the corps.

My main reason for taking this step had nothing to do with theology or doctine but was driven by the impression I had of the work of the Army with the poor and downtrodden. Since 2014 I have become aware of the issues facing TSA regarding officership and sexual orientation. I am on the side of full inclusion as are many officers and soldiers.  

Will the forthcoming High Council see the election of a General disposed to promoting full inclusion? I hope so, but I have my doubts. Since I became an Adherent I have never been approached and invited to consider thinking about becoming a Soldier.  

Part 99. What do you do?

It is easy to say love your neighbour. But how do you act out the commandment? Let's take a practical example. It is late at night in the centre of town. It is cold and wet. In a shop doorway a person is slumped, holding a dog and surrounded by his few possessions. with newspapers to keep him warm. He is drunk and hostile when approached. What should you do? More pertinently, what do you do? What can you do?

The theology is clear, the duty is clear, but is its application clear to you at that moment?  

Part 98. Relief

It is a relief to discover that the theological opinions I expressed in my early posts are commonplace. For the past thirty-five years I have attended conservative evangelical churches with an occasional foray into Church of England liberal and Anglo-Catholic churches. Over the years I began to doubt much of the teaching presented in sermons and bible study groups to the extent that I ceased regular attendance. I remain an Adherent in The Salvation Army as I admire the direct support it provides for all in need and its developing campaigning role on social justice issues. However its literalist interpretation of scripture on sexual orientation issues may lead to me leaving

Part 96 & 97. Campaigning for social change

It is easy to campaign against something. However it is a lot harder to campaign for something. The difficulty is that people have different ideas as to the shape the new will take. Often there will be disagreement, a need to compromise. Take a hypothetical case. A church campaigns with others against the closure of a delapidated community centre run by the church but owned by the local authority. The campaign is unsuccessful but the local authority is amenable to matchfund a new centre. A major source of funding is the Lottery. However the church is opposed to gambling. So the choices are: 

refuse Lottery money and thus no centre 

accept the money and have a new centre.

the church to withdraw entirely and leave the new centre entirely in the charge of others.