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Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Morisy, A. (2009). Bothered and bewildered enacting hope in troubled times. London: Continuum. 

Morisy, A. (2009). Bothered and bewildered enacting hope in troubled times. London: Continuum. 

Religious reassurance of eternal safety that protects the faithful from earthly struggle is a heresy. But it is a very tempting heresy. pp4

what is clear is that any talk of hope by christians is likely to be unconvincing and to sound cheap in the context of so much dismay. However, as Christians we cannot and must not give up on hope. In a dystopian world, hope, if it is to believable , has to be enacted. pp16


A commitment to discipleship means we  cannot allow ourselves assurance without translating this into a distinctive, day to day perforamance .... Christians are called  not just to have hope but to perform or enact hope, here and now. 18

HOwever to make hope consequential on th eend if the world, and therefore reduce discipleship to waiting and even longing for such an event, falls prey to two critiques. The first comes from Jesus, who warned about the wastefulness of living life waiting for the thief who might come in the night. 19


To promote commtement to the bothered and belwidrered, the process of teh church needs:
greater commitment to reflective practice abd less emphasis on formulaic expressions of faith.
greater attention to the micro-actions that demonstrate the viability of earthed or enacted hope and less reliance on aserted or proclaimed hope;
greater collaboration between the mission task abd teh practice of pastoral care in order that this resource of action and reflection can be promoted effectively. 26

Robert Jay Lifton observes

The group develops a jargon unique to itself, often non-understandable to outsiders. This jargon consists of numerous words and phrases which the members undersatnd(or think they understand), but which really act to dull one's ability to engage in critical thinking. It is actually made up of thought terminating cliches. The most far-reaching and complex of human problems are easily memorised adb easily expressed. Thought provoking complexities are bypassed and ultimate truth is expressed in a single phrase or even a word. 29

Gwend Griffith-Dickson
High levels of emotion tend to knock out a persons especially a young persons critical faculties. With high levels of emotional arousal it becomes difficult for people to 'process', ie to hear without reacting, information that counters their perception. 47

Healthy religion foes not indoctrinate, but teaches people to think for themselves.
Healthy religion invites us to be humble about what we believe and what we know.
Healthy religion does not invest in negativity; it does not major on what it is against but rather on what it is for.
Healthy beliefs stay in tune with reality, never filling in gaps for what we do not know. 48

Healthy religion will
Enlarge the imagination
It will teach and encourage the practice of wisdom and holiness
It will open us to the new
It will deepen our sympathies. 49

Jesus in urging us to embrace the self-emptying practice of kenosis, is dealing with a threshold concept. It is 'troublesome knowledge' because it conflicts with common sense, and it remains troublesome even when fully understood and embraced, because it requires sustained confidence in the power of generosity. 64

Mary C grey uses the term 'the graced actions of ordinary people' to suggest that such actions 'embody the hope of the coming kingdom' 66

The commitment to follow Jesus in the way he lived his life is a major contributor to empowerment which enables a sense of purpose to flourish. 95

Three things that impact well-being
Circumstances
Our set point
Intentional activity93

The pastoral cycle aims at a continuous process of engagement with and reflection upon the world and the word of god, in order that a course of action can be discerned and acted upon with a view to bringing thongs closer to god's desire for his world. 104

Nine aptitudes that people need to develop in order to enact hope in dismal times.
Be a non anxious presence in stressful times.
Practises systemic thinking in order to resist the temptation to blame otters when things go wrong.
Practise gratitude
Engage in courageous micro actions that counter the inclination towards neo tribalism and fragmentation rather than social cohesion.
Imagine ways of breaking out of the constraints of circumstances and have the motivation and discipline to persist with intentional behaviour.
To gain confidence unbend viability of the economy of abundance and generosity that Jesus inducts us into
To practice sitting more lightly on the globe in recognition of our thoughtless abuse of the creation.
To practises compassion, conviviality and harness the imagination to ward off the dangers of Gnosticism
To draw on the enriching memories of eras past in order to affirm the human capacity to 'correct it's own errors' 106

The church for the bothered and bewildered cannot allow itself to get caught up in the games of success and competition. There is an alternative , and it is to focus on the goal of being a contribution. 110




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