The grind of poverty

"The true horror of existence is not the fear of death, but the fear of life. It is the fear of waking up each day to face the same struggles, the same disappointments, the same pain. It is the fear that nothing will ever change, that you are trapped in a cycle of suffering that you cannot escape. And in that fear, there is a desperation, a longing for something, anything, to break the monotony, to bring meaning to the endless repetition of days."

— Albert Camus, The Fall

Stark but real, as I testify from personal experience and from witnessing the lives of others imprisoned in a life of poverty, discrimination or marginalisation. Society and politicians fail individuals caught up in this life of despair. Christians emphasising the need for repentance and salvation as the ticket to the kingdom of heaven, whilst downplaying the call of Jesus to work for the kingdom on earth, offer no solace, comfort or escape route from the misery of everyday life, from hand to mouth existence, from loan sharks, from any number of debilitating factors.

It is no wonder that church attendance by the poorer sections of society has fallen off faster than amongst the better off. It is perceived as an irrelevance in the life of people struggling to survive in the cycle of suffering. Individuals caught up in this situation need hope that things will change now, not at some indeterminate time in a heavenly kingdom. Liberation theology is a step in the right direction, so is progressive theology and praxis. The vital element is that of engagement in the society around us, helping at point of need, but above all striving to engage successfully with those in positions with power to make systemic change.

 It is 40 years since the Church of England published Faith in the City and a little later Faith in the Countryside. Both documents laid out the scale of poverty, destitution, deprivation, marginalisation and discrimination in England. Since then little has been achieved to overcome the misery identified in the reports, although there have been countless other reports, all gathering dust, of the scale of the issues and possible solutions.

Make no mistake: the failure lies with the political process, the failure of governments of all persuasions to instigate and then maintain the changes needed. Governments claim it is all a question of priorities, of use of scarce financial resources, of no discernible public agitation for change. 

For followers of Jesus it is a moral issue, a matter of loving your neighbour, of helping at point of need, but above all demanding social justice and with it concomitant systemic change. Some choose to do so though faith based organisations, others through secular bodies. others through both.  

The problem is the sterling work of the voluntary sector in providing assistance to individuals at point of need, necessary though it is, masks from society and politicians the sheer scale of the misery suffered daily: inflicted by an uncaring political process. The myriad reports inform us of what is wrong, politicians choose to look the other way.

We at St Paul's do respond as resources of time, funding and premises permit.  Locally campaigning to retain the post office as it  was and the Youth Council campaigning currently for a pedestrian crossing on the A264 are examples of St Paul's engagement, the foodbank offering practical support is an illustration of St Paul's responding to need. Could we do more?  A suggestion. A campaign to improve the 281 bus service?

The General Speaks

The Salvation Army General, Lyndon Buckingham, said this recently:

"Amidst the backdrop of increasing uncertainty, violence, hatred and people becoming increasingly vocal and unkind, Christ calls us to be in the world and be different: counter-cultural, radical."

"The world, though it might not want admit it, needs us right now.  This is not the time for us to shrink back, to hide, to circle the wagons and just look after ourselves.  We are witnesses in the world that grace matters, that forgiveness and long-suffering and perseverance count, that mercy and grace shift the world."

"It is the practising of these principles and not the reciting of them that turns communities around.  It is the giving of ourselves fully to it that brings transformation."

In other words the mission of The Salvation Army is expressed through practical action and compassionate living, not just words.

I agree entirely with the thrust of the argument, indeed it reflects much of my thinking concerning love your neighbour by giving assistance at point of need and campaigning for systemic change to bring about social justice.

And yet, I have a nagging doubt.  What does the General mean by counter-cultural and radical?  Jesus certainly was both of these with his concern for the marginalised in the society of his time and his reflections on the  religious, political and social cultures of his time.

What does it mean to a faith body that holds to a conservative evangelical understanding of the bible to be counter-cultural?  How do the words of Lydon Buckingham play out in the context of homophobia and the lack of full inclusion within the Army based on an  individual's sexuality and partner relationships?  Next week I am meeting two Army officers who until recently led a corps (church) with an inclusive agenda.  I'll seek to tease out their thinking.

Difficult times

We live in difficult times. 

Hold up a placard in public proclaiming support for Palestine Action and you will be arrested for supporting a terrorist organisation: yet the government continues to offer succour and material support to Israel.  Israel's actions in Gaza are condemned as genocide in a recent United Nations report.

Should you be transgender your life is being made difficult by a decision of the Supreme Court and subsequent proposed guidance by the  Equality and Human Rights Commission.  The proposed guidance is opposed by over 650 business organisations and organisations compaigning for liberty and equality.

Gay individuals in the Church of England look askance af the turgid progress (if any) of  the Living in Loving and Faith saga. 

And then there is the resurgence of right wing ideology manifested in the electoral gains made by Reform and the recent march in London by right-wingers.  This march was soured by violence from a minority: in stark contrast to the placard waving protesters supporting Palestine Action.

Added to all this is the pantomime, or is it tragedy, of the government. The Deputy Prime Minister resigned, the Ambassador to the United States of America resigned and advisors are dropping like flies. Will the Prime Minister be next: the vultures are circling.

Then there is the difficult economic situation with a stagnant economy, upheaval over proposed changes to social security, increased homelessness 

Plenty of scope for us to be glum, despondent, even depressed. 

What does a follower  of Jesus do in these circumstances, this conjery, this litany of upset and potentially disaster in our society?  Are we powerless?

The principle of  'love your neighbour' requires us to help people at point of need.  We have also to campaign for systemic change to deliver social justice.  It is a hard road to follow, many obstacles are placed in the way.  Those with power will do their utmost to defend their position.   But win we can,  sometimes.  So, let's not be glum, despondent or depressed, but fight on either by ourselves or in concert with others. For those professing to follow the way of Jesus, it is a demand placed on us:  not simply intellectual assent, but a call to action. 

The Golden Rule

 God it is beyond description, it is the subject of our imagination and searching for explanation of how the universe came into existence, what it is and our place in it. Humanity's enquiry has elicited some understanding of the universe but can we comprehend its vastness? I cannot even begin to provide an answer to the God question. I know my mortality: soon enough I shall die,  and then what?  

So I turn from the unknown and direct my energies to consideration of and campaigning on concrete issues: combating poverty, deprivation, racism, misogyny, marginalisation, discrimination and exclusion, not only at point of need but also campaigning for systemic change to achieve social justice. In this endeavour the way of life concepts attributed to Jesus in the synoptic gospels together with ideas developed by Liberation Theology theologians such as Gustavo Gutiérrez and Jurgen Moltmann have been the major influences on my thinking and action.

Christians do not have a monopoly of the principle 'love your neighbour'.  Worldwide similar expressions of desired behaviour are to be found in a broad range of faiths, as well as in the secular world. The principle known as the Golden Rule, promotes a high standard of ethical behaviour.  It is a consequence of my background, experience etc that I approach the Golden Rule from a Christian perspective.

In Matthew  7:12 we read:

     'In everything, do to others what you would have them do to you.'

This principle may be construed in a number of ways:

It is a positive statement of how we should behave towards others and what we should hope for from them.

It is a negative statement of what we should not do to others as we would hope others would not do to us.

If we see our neighbour in need we should assist them as we hope they would help us.

If we perceive our neighbour is in poverty, discriminated against or excluded, then we would not accept this for ourselves and therefore should seeking systemic change to systems promoting or causing social Injustice.

Danger ahead.

 

Paul Marshall owns the Spectator political magazine and the television station GB News.  At one time he sought to own The Daily Telegraph.  All pursue right-wing agendas.

According to Wikipedia  'Marshall has given at least £10 million to the Church Revitalisation Trust to plant new churches in the Holy Trinity Brompton network, which as of 2024 has over 100 churches.  A source inside the CRT described it as "promoting an evangelical agenda to the masses", and as an "antidote" to the "liberal wokery" of the Church of England.'

Recently he has been in the United States encouraging conservative Evangelicals with media influence to  promote MAGA  style policies in The UK.  

This linking together of politics, media and faith influence must be a cause for concern for those who follow the way of Jesus, the way of love and promote inclusion for all, social justice for all and an end to marginalisation, discrimination and poverty.  

  

On understanding scripture

 Don Cupitt is correct: God is believed wrongly by many to be a a metaphysical /anthropomorphic entity  Beliefs are human creations, not god given. It follows from this that the bible is not the infallible word of God, literally, symbolically or metaphorically.  

Marcus Borg emphasises the bible is of human creation. It is valuable insofar as it sets out the teaching attributed to Jesus as that time. But, it is not fixed in the time it was written, it is for us to determine our understanding of the teaching in and for our own time. The teaching is not a set of rigid, fixed, unchangeable rules, rather it sets out broad, general principles capable of adaptation to changing cirumstances. The teaching is not in some musty, old, dead document rotting away in the mire of irrelevance: no, it is a living document assisting us to show the basic concept of love by our actions.

 I subscribe to the postmodernist ideas of Jacques Derrida: in particular his thesis that words mean what the reader or hearer decides they mean. Such understanding may or may not accord with the intention of the author. Language is fluid, not rigid nor fixed in any timeframe. Thus ideas and concepts may mean one thing to their author: their interpretation and understanding is entirely within the domain of the recipient. It is contexual only within a specific timeframe. This suggests to me that seeking to understand scripture by reference to its historical context is a fruitless exercise, as is the quest for the historical Jesus.

Unsurprisingly there is diversity of opinion as to the import of passages of scripture. Can there be a literal meaning? How can we know the intention of the orginal author? Is the bible a sound, unchanging, repository of theological 'truth'. Or is it evidence of past thinking, worthy of study to assist us in grappling with the present day  issues of belief and faith?

Added to the mix is disputation as to style. Is it metaphor, literal, narrative, prose, poetry, story, fable,  allusion, symbolism etc.?

A few quotations:

The Christian story does not drop from heaven fully written. It grew and developed over a period of forty-two to seventy years. This is not what most Christians have been to taught to think...Christianity is an evolving story. It was never, even in the New Testament, a finished story.

JOHN SHELBY SPONG.

I let go of the notion that the Bible is a divine product. I learned that it is a human cultural product, the product of two ancient communities, biblical Israel and early Christianity. As such it contained their understandings and affirmations.

MARCUS J BORG

My point is not that these ancient people told literal stories and we are not smart enough to take them symbolically, but that they told them symbolically and we are now dumb enough to take them literally.

JOHN DOMINIC CROSSAN

I read scripture to better understand the principle of love your neighbour attributed to Jesus as  set out in the synoptic gospels.  It is not be to read as an instruction manual nor as a fixed set of narrow rules, rather it is a wide-ranging principle capable of broad interpretation and application.  Sadly many christians do not accept this as they continue to support policies of marginalisation, exclusion and discrimination in our society.