Sunday, September 21, 2008
Palmer, P. (2000). Let Your Life Speak. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
The spiritual journey is full of paradoxes. One of themis that the humilation taht brings us down - down to ground on which it is safe to stand and to fall - eventually takes us to a firmer and fuller sense of self pp70
5 monsters we need to ride down if are to cast less shadow and cast more light
Insecurity about indentity and worth - identity becomes dependant on performing some external role.... identity only found in that we are Children of God.
Belief that the univese is a battleground - fear of losing a fight... universe is working together for good
Functional atheism - belief that ultimate resonsibility for everything rests with us.... we are asked only to do what we are able and we should trust the rest to others.
Fear of natural chaos of life. Become devoted to eliminating all remnants of chaos....chaos is teh precondition to creativity.
Denial of Death - projects and programmes that should have been unplugged long ago are kept on life support to acomodate the insecurities of a leader ho does not want anthing to die on their watch
86- 90
#
5 monsters we need to ride down if are to cast less shadow and cast more light
Insecurity about indentity and worth - identity becomes dependant on performing some external role.... identity only found in that we are Children of God.
Belief that the univese is a battleground - fear of losing a fight... universe is working together for good
Functional atheism - belief that ultimate resonsibility for everything rests with us.... we are asked only to do what we are able and we should trust the rest to others.
Fear of natural chaos of life. Become devoted to eliminating all remnants of chaos....chaos is teh precondition to creativity.
Denial of Death - projects and programmes that should have been unplugged long ago are kept on life support to acomodate the insecurities of a leader ho does not want anthing to die on their watch
86- 90
Monday, September 15, 2008
Galloway, K. (2008). Sharing the Blessing. London: Spck Publishing.
Prophetic voices are those which read the signs of the times in the light of the justice and love of God, and speak out against all which distorts or diminishes the image of God in human beings. Vii
Luke 11.40 Our spirituality is our profoundest motivation, those instincts, intuitions, longings and desires that move us, animate us, inspire us. Pp1
People living in poverty were asked to describe their experience.
Powerlwss
Isolated
Degraded
Angry – it’s totally fixable’
It’s a desired condition, nopt an accident; it’s in someone’s interest that people are poor’
Lack of control
You’re a scapegoat when there’s no war or external enemy’
Hopeless and helpless
Not just about money
Survival
Not able to live as human beings
People take over your life
In poverty, people are not needed
Strain on family life pp9-10
How can we say that we believe that Jesus Christ is the Lord of life, and not stand against all that denies the promise of fullness of life to the world? Or is our faith one of Christianity for dead people? Is it a matter of adhering to a series of rules and propositions, an insurance policy for the hereafter? Is it about embracing a feel-good, lifestyle spirituality that allows us to live accommodated to our death-dealing world order, which lets us sing hymns in our upstairs chapel in the fortress deaf to the cries from the salve dungeons below? Do we think the gospel call to mission is answered by signing people up to the Jesus club while leaving the door of the dungeons firmly locked, by telling them that what’s really important is what happens to them once they’re dead? Well, it certainly lets us off the hook of any kind of responsibility for their lives! 34
We cannot love our neighbours unless we are open to being loved by our neighbours. We cannot extend hospitality to strangers unless we accept hospitality from strangers. The gospel upholds this two-way traffic. One way traffic breeds self-righteousness (kousuke koyama 1998)
They confronted us with a Jesus who refused the military option and chose instead the way of loving non-violence and self-offering, who stood beside those who were oppressed, humiliated and excluded, who loved justice and gave hope. A Jesus who said that the day of the Lord was not a thousand years ion the future, not in some pie in the sky when you die – a theological premise whose jacket is on a very shaky nail, and which mostly serves the interests of those who much prefer it if the poor and wretched of the earth can be persuaded to post-pone salvation until they’re dead – the day of the Lord is now, here, today. A Jesus who turned from racism, and lived welcoming to all. A Jesus who was angry with those who fleeced the poor, especially when they did it in the name of religion. But a Jesus who also said we must love our enemies and over come evil with good. 85
Our Temptations
Harking back to captivity
Letting our fears and illusions run away with us
Making rules that are not appropriate to our context wanting to bypass the work
Wanting to live with certainty and have answers
Needing to see the outcomes
Thinking we have to fix things
And that we know how to save everyone 90
#
Luke 11.40 Our spirituality is our profoundest motivation, those instincts, intuitions, longings and desires that move us, animate us, inspire us. Pp1
People living in poverty were asked to describe their experience.
Powerlwss
Isolated
Degraded
Angry – it’s totally fixable’
It’s a desired condition, nopt an accident; it’s in someone’s interest that people are poor’
Lack of control
You’re a scapegoat when there’s no war or external enemy’
Hopeless and helpless
Not just about money
Survival
Not able to live as human beings
People take over your life
In poverty, people are not needed
Strain on family life pp9-10
How can we say that we believe that Jesus Christ is the Lord of life, and not stand against all that denies the promise of fullness of life to the world? Or is our faith one of Christianity for dead people? Is it a matter of adhering to a series of rules and propositions, an insurance policy for the hereafter? Is it about embracing a feel-good, lifestyle spirituality that allows us to live accommodated to our death-dealing world order, which lets us sing hymns in our upstairs chapel in the fortress deaf to the cries from the salve dungeons below? Do we think the gospel call to mission is answered by signing people up to the Jesus club while leaving the door of the dungeons firmly locked, by telling them that what’s really important is what happens to them once they’re dead? Well, it certainly lets us off the hook of any kind of responsibility for their lives! 34
We cannot love our neighbours unless we are open to being loved by our neighbours. We cannot extend hospitality to strangers unless we accept hospitality from strangers. The gospel upholds this two-way traffic. One way traffic breeds self-righteousness (kousuke koyama 1998)
They confronted us with a Jesus who refused the military option and chose instead the way of loving non-violence and self-offering, who stood beside those who were oppressed, humiliated and excluded, who loved justice and gave hope. A Jesus who said that the day of the Lord was not a thousand years ion the future, not in some pie in the sky when you die – a theological premise whose jacket is on a very shaky nail, and which mostly serves the interests of those who much prefer it if the poor and wretched of the earth can be persuaded to post-pone salvation until they’re dead – the day of the Lord is now, here, today. A Jesus who turned from racism, and lived welcoming to all. A Jesus who was angry with those who fleeced the poor, especially when they did it in the name of religion. But a Jesus who also said we must love our enemies and over come evil with good. 85
Our Temptations
Harking back to captivity
Letting our fears and illusions run away with us
Making rules that are not appropriate to our context wanting to bypass the work
Wanting to live with certainty and have answers
Needing to see the outcomes
Thinking we have to fix things
And that we know how to save everyone 90
