Inaugurated eschatology – the kingdom is here but not yet

So sometimes people will say that it is not the place of Christians to fight for justice, to fight against structural injustice in governments or trade systems, or to be green warriors crusading for the environment. Our task is for the higher purpose of tending to people’s souls. I’ve long had problems with this, and yes I am caricaturing a little but to be honest very little. The problem with taking such an approach is that it is verging on dualism, on even gnosticism. It implies that all that matters is the ’spiritual’, the physical world is bad and will be burned up so lets concentrate on the spiritual. It sounds reasonable in some ways. But stop and think about it for a moment. Why did Jesus rise bodily from the dead? If the physical is not important surely he would simply have risen as a spirit? Why did he go to such lengths like eating, and having people touch him to show that he was a real physical person? Is it not because in the resurrection we see that God desires to restore the physical creation?

Take another perspective. We all recognise that we will never be completely holy until Jesus returns. Does this mean we give up on pursuing holiness? The same in terms of care of creation and justice. Yes we will not restore them completely, that will only happen when Jesus returns, but that doesn’t mean that there is little we can do so we don’t bother. Jesus announced that God’s kingdom had come. Jesus came to demonstrate what life in God’s kingdom – as God would have it – was like. He calls us to do the same. He asks us to pray ‘your kingdom come, your will be done, on earht as it is in heaven’, so of course we are to pursue the care of creation and justice, because when in those small moments when we see justice, or people are stewarding God’s good creation as He called us to, there are glimpses of God’s kingdom as it will be. It inspires us with the hope of what is to come. It shows people what God is like, and his plan for redemption and restoration covers every part of life. We are not disembodied souls being whisked off to the clouds, we are real flesh and blood, feeling people, living in a physical environment. Everything is God’s. He is restoring everything. and obviously humans are the pinnacle of that restoration. Just because I believe God calls us to pursue justice and care for creation doesn’t mean I am not passionate about god restoring and reconciling people to himelf as part of that.
when we talk and think about these things, let’s make sure our thinking is joined up and not fragmented. Lets not slip into simply reacting against someone else and going to the extremes. Let’s have a big view of a huge God that is holistic.

(Can you tell what I am currently reading?)

A Just Life

JustLife is an initiative set up by a group of us  based around a Tearfund  event last Saturday called ‘Invest for Life’.  JustLife is a space dedicated to exploring the connections between faith, money, justice and lifestyle.

‘Invest for Life’ was about  money – the theology and practice of giving, budgeting, investing and using our money for the good of ourselves and the world around us.

JustLife is designed to help us go deeper on some of the issues that are raised at the event. Every Wednesday until the 25 March, a group of us involved in Invest for Life will be posting short pieces discussing topics like fair-trade, ethical banking, giving and sustainable living. We hope you’ll feel free to join in the conversation.

I’ve just posted my contribution on giving…

Finally some Justice as kerb-crawlers have to pay more than just cash

It shocked me a couple of years ago to discover that women (or men) could be prosecuted for prostitution but yet those who paid for their services had no censure.
It seems crazy in this scenario that one of the two parties is doing something illegal and the other isn’t, that there is such a disparity. Either they are both ok, or both deserve censure.
But then I guess for too long its been the men that make the laws, and men who use and abuse prostitutes, men who keep women in the vicious circle that prostitution becomes. So obviously they didn’t want to make kerb crawling illegal.

Its not too dissimilar from that story in John 8 (the dubious part of John). Reading it and using it for some stuff with students it really struck me how one of the things Jesus seems to be doing is challenging the injustice of the situation. This woman was dragged in to be stoned having been caught in the act (of adultery). Now if she was caught in the act it would seem to be normal that the guy was also caught in the act but what happened him? Why wasn’t he dragged out to be stoned? Because it was the woman’s fault? The innate sexism in the society of the time maybe isn’t too different from today in many ways. As Jesus challenges whichever of the religious leaders who was without fault to throw the first stone, I wonder if in that he was challenging the injustice of women being punished for the same thing that the guy managed to get off Scot free with.

It seems to have taken 2000 years for the same sense of injustice to hit the UK with Home Secretary Jacqui smith announcing a range of new laws to deal with those paying for sex, and especially with trafficed sex workers. Still not a crime to be a pimp and pimp out women though. It seems we still have a way to go…

For another perspective from someone who spends time with many of the women ‘working’ on the streets of Belfast check out a Velvet Bridge.

The credit crunch – a prophet speaks…

Ann Pettifor has always impressed me from her time heading up Jubilee 2000, which became the Jubliee Debt Campiagn, and she had lots of interesting things to say at Greenbelt, but this article in the Guardian on Saturday is incredible…

‘And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves,

“And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves.” – Matthew 21:12-13.

Let us make no bones about it. This financial crisis is a major spiritual crisis. It is the crisis of a society that worships at the temples of consumption, and that has isolated and often abandoned millions of consumers now trapped on a treadmill of debt. It is the crisis of a society that values the capital gains of the rentier more highly than the rights of people to a home, or an education or health. It is the crisis of a society that idolises money above love, community, wellbeing and the sustainability of our planet. And it is a crisis, in my view, for faith organisations that have effectively colluded in this idolatry, by tolerating the sin of usury.

I define usury as the exalting of money values over human and environmental values; of creating money at no cost and lending at rates of interest intended to accumulate reserves of unearned income. Of reaping that which one did not sow.

Christians began to dilute the sin of usury as far back as the 1500s. John Eck, supported by the Fugger banking family, in his book Tractates contractu quinque de centum (1515), defended 5% as an acceptable rate of interest as long as the borrower and lender mutually agreed to the loan. Martin Luther took exception to this laxity, and raged that “heathen were able, by the light of reason, to conclude that a usurer is a double-dyed thief and murderer. We Christians, however, hold them in such honour that we fairly worship them for the sake of their money … Meanwhile, we hang the small thieves … Little thieves are put in the stocks, great thieves go flaunting in gold and silk.”

Luther’s views were regarded as fanatical and were to be firmly displaced by the teachings of John Calvin (1509-1564) whose writings altered the status of the usurer in society. Instead of arguing in effect that loans should be “natural” or sustainable, Calvin argued that interest is lawful, provided that it does not exceed an official maximum.

Calvin said that when Christ said “lend hoping for nothing in return”, that meant we should help the poor freely. He dissected two Hebrew words for usury – neshek meant “to bite”, tarbit meant “to take legitimate increase” – and argued that only “biting” loans were forbidden. Thus one could lend at interest to business people who would make a profit using the money.

In what was to be an epic shift, the Christian goalposts had been moved; by Eck and then Calvin. Whereas Islam remained opposed to interest and usury, elites in Christian societies were given permission to decide on a rate of interest.

Today, unscrupulous moneychangers like the head of Lehman Brothers stand condemned by millions – robbed of their money, their pensions, their homes and their futures. Too late, the moneychangers have taken their gains and fled, leaving bankruptcy, losses and a systemic global financial crisis behind.

“Faced by failure of credit they have proposed only the lending of more money,” Roosevelt said of other unscrupulous moneychangers in 1933. “Stripped of the lure of profit by which to induce our people to follow their false leadership, they have resorted to exhortations, pleading tearfully for restored confidence. They know only the rules of a generation of self-seekers. They have no vision, and when there is no vision the people perish. The moneychangers have fled from their high seats in the temple of our civilisation. We may now restore that temple to the ancient truths. The measure of the restoration lies in the extent to which we apply social values more noble than mere monetary profit.”

As a first step to applying those social values, we may bring back the ancient truth that usury is a sin.

We need more modern day prophets, more like Walter Rauschenbusch…

biofuels and the real credit crisis

The ‘global credit crunch’ is dominating our news stories, economy, spending and even making it into church sermons. People are worried about the drop in value of the property market – which well certainly in parts of East Belfast was artificially inflated by greedy property investors. Economic growth is slowing, the exchange rate with the euro is not good (for my cross border forays, good for those coming to the pound-zone). In this worry and obsession with the good times slowing, I am grateful for papers like the Independant who can remind us of the real crisis in the global economy. I’ve been reading snippets of this over the last months, but few news outlets are prepared to make it front page news. Maybe partly because it puts our issues in perspective and gives the Daily Mail less to be alarmist about – although I’m sure they’ll find a way to blame immigrants.

It seems we have got ourselves (globally) in trouble with environmental alternatives. Biofuels the great answer to rising fossil fuel transportation costs are causing a real crisis among the poorest countries in the world. Crops that are used for biofuels are also used by milions for food. So when the increasing demand for fuel drives prices up, that means the cost of basic staple foods rises too, and who does it affect the most? The poorest. Those with no voice. This isn’t a little problem. There have been protests in Haiti, the Philippines, Burkina Faso, Tortilla Riots in Mexico and protests in Italy. Western farmers are enjoying the bumper profits but at what cost? Newspapers have been reporting this and warning that we may be sleepwalking towards a food crisis. Ordinary punters like us can change the minds of the powerful, but with this one its so huge – where do we start – any suggestions?

[I'm off to suggest to Tearfund this may be a badger - who to badger is the question though..]

Beginning Advent – a World AIDS Day Challenge

As we begin advent – waiting to celebrate the coming of Jesus – the one who came to bring life and hope, we begin on a sombre note. Today is World AIDS Day. We begin reminding ourselves of a disease that is ravaging entire communities, that is leaving a generation of orphans in Africa, among other places. What are we to do? Often we feel helpless. Well as in advent we celebrate the gift of the Christ-child, how about celebrating advent and marking World AIDS Day by giving – perhaps matching what you spend today or on a typical Saturday night out with a gift to help in the fight against HIV/AIDS? One example is Tearfund’s Bring childhood back to life HIV/AIDS campaign. Or maybe giving some time to find out more or to campaign.

Suing the poor – vulture funds and is God a capitalist?

This article – Vultures leave the developing world hungry (a response to ‘How top London law firms help vulture funds devour their prey‘) made me sit bolt upright when reading my Saturday Guardian this morning. My non-economist understanding seems to be that these ‘vulture’ funds buy debt of Heavily Indebted Poor countries (HIPC’s), countries like Zambia, Congo and Tanzania which are receiving debt relief. These companies or funds then sue the governments of those countries for more than what they paid for the debt. It seems crazy, morally repungent and many other phrases that this should be allowed to happen. Talk about stealing from the poor to make money! Is this the logical conclusion of a capitalist system that is all about profit – the poor always get oppressed? The growing global rich-poor divide seems to be damning evidence. Given Gordon Brown’s commitments to the fight against global poverty I for one will be dropping him a line about this horrific state of affairs of companies making money at the expense of those who have little enough choices and hope as it is.

It reminds me of several conversations about faith and economics and remembering a comment from someone from the States who said “well, i think god would be a capitalist”. I remember the shock and horror that arose – did he just say that? Especially after an articulate explanation from a theology professor on economics and the bible. We cannot and should not equate Christian faith with one economic system but it is undeniable that a capitalist system with its exploitation of the poor is certainly less aligned with the teaching of the bible than a Christian socialist model that wants a more even distribution of wealth. Of course there are lots of caveats there. Believing that the capitalist model of free markets etc is the best way to lift people out of poverty is different that simply believing in capitalism. It worries me that the church seems to have imbibed so much of capitalism and ignored so much of the Bible, of the God who is concerned about poverty, who asks his people to look out for the poor, to live generously, who designed an economic system that would have avoided long term poverty. The example of the early church who shared everything, who gave sacrificially (as God has asked – to give/lend until the person is no longer in need, not just give a bit to ease our conscience) is one to remember. Certainly what stood out to me in Peru this summer was the thankfulness and generosity of people who were less concerned with what they had and more with how others were. Maybe on some of this the church in Europe and the States has become too ‘of the world’ as opposed to ‘in it’., we have much to learn from our brothers and sisters in the southern church.
soapbox – confusing himself with economics but the red light on his injustice-ometer is flashing brightly

Halfway musings

Well my system is well and thoroughly detoxed and i may even be a little slimmer thus allowing my brain to begin musing on some of what we´ve been experiencing here in Peru. One thing that´s been very noticeable in churches is how often people say ´gracias´ when praying. After listening to a Tim Keller sermon on the bus on the way home today (that´s the sort of christian geek i am) i was pondering is the thankfulness and generosity shown by christians here as compared to how we live at home related to how much we actually believe the gospel. In wealthy countries we have everything we need and do we really acknowledge how much we need God or do we just do religion – good stuff? More to follow….

Its been interesting how easy it has been to go without things, like the two days without our luggage, and even for a coffee snob like myself who has 3 cups a day, i’ve only had 3 my whole time here. Peru produces some really good coffee – the cafedirect beans from macchu picchu are pretty good yet people here don’t seem to get to enjpy some of the really good stuff they produce because its all exported. One of the women in Caraballyo, when asked if she uses vegetables (given there are fields of vegetables around the community) replied tellingly ‘no, the good ones all go to you’ meaning overseas. The world is so small and connected, frightening to think our demand for vegetables and coffee actually deprives the people in the countries that produce them from enjoying the good fruits of their land…

After some more painting the last couple of days we’re off for an English camp this week and we are actually camping. A few English lessons and some Irish culture are being hastily prepared. For those of you who have been to Slovakia – sound familiar?

We return on Sunday night and get a 6am flight to Cusco for our team holiday – a few days at one of the new 7 wonders of the world – Macchu Picchu which should be stunning – as long as no-one gets altitude sickness. We’ve done pretty well on the sickness front and hope it stays that way…

Thoughts from a lonely prophet part two

A belated return to Walter Rauschenbusch.

“Christian morality finds its highest dignity and its constant corrective in making the aims of the kingdom of God the supreme aim to which all minor aims must contribute and from which they gain their moral quality. The church substituted itself for the kingdom of god and thereby put the advancement of a tangible and very human organisation in the place of the moral uplifting of humanity.”

“churchly correctness took precedence over Christlike goodness.”

His comments on church and kingdom and the subsequent discussions we had in class provoked some musing on my part, coupled with some stuff I was listening to from Tim Keller and Mark Driscoll. Those words resonate today as often the church/churches seem more interested in building their little empires and running their programmes than building the kingdom. Thinking in terms of kingdom is challenging as it broadens our horizons. For me in a Christian student organisation it raises lots of questions. How does the extension of the kingdom sit/clash/merge with our values and partnering with others seeking to build the kingdom but who have different approaches?

God’s plan in history is to build his kingdom, and the church is the means to do that – not the end in itself it seems if you read Revelation 22 which sees the leaves of the tree of life being for the healing of the nations. It makes you wonder if CS Lewis in the Last Battle is getting this when it comes to some ‘outside Christianity’ – without getting all universalist of course.

Something else in this smogashboard of things floating around my head is a frustration with people who equate the life of following Jesus being about going to heaven. Reading the biblical texts doesn’t necessarily suggest this – God is establishing his kingdom, creating/recreating a new heavens and new earth and the bible ends with the ‘new Jerusalem’ descending, reiterating that the physical earth is a crucial part of God reconciling to himself all things. Its also interesting as we look at the big picture flow of the bible that it starts in a garden and ends in a city of people from every nationality and people group. For God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven, and for his kingdom to come surely means that we need to work hard at building inclusive church communities of all nationalities, young, old, rich and poor – youth congregations or monocultural congregations may be easier in the short term but are they really expressions of God’s kingdom if there isn’t longer term integration?

Some muddled musings grasping at the wonder of the most incredible reconstruction project in history, especially given the fragility of the raw materials…

No dumping!

As a student we had one of those ‘no dumping’ signs in our toilet which amused us no end. However it seems in Japan going for your daily constitutional could be hazardous, with a toilet manufacturer offering free repairs after some of their products have caught fire. Brings a whole new meaning to ‘a burning sensation while unrinating’… Not only is there a ‘World Toilet Summit’ every year – must create havoc in the sewer systems – but there is a World Toilet Day – so make sure you remember that next November 19!
Continuing the toilet theme this japanese toilet training cartoon is good for a laugh

I spent the weekend in the alien surroundings of Greenmount Agricultural College. Not often city boys like myself make it to farming school. I must admit it was pretty beautiful. I’m off to Peru for a month this summer with a bunch of students, going to work with my IFES counterparts in Lima and to build a community centre in one of the poor areas. Greenmount was the site of our orientation from the amazing folk at LatinLink. I was stunned to hear that there are 8 million people in Lima, living under a perpetual blanket of smog. Its one of those cities constantly growing as more people come from the countryside looking for work. I spent a month in Bolivia a couple of years ago, at an amazing place called IBSJ in Sucre. Bolivia is a stunningly beautiful country. We visited the mines in Potosi where miners still work in the conditions they worked hundreds of years ago. Bolivia, more famous for its President Evo Morales (and his jumpers) recently, is the poorest country in South America. It wasn’t always that way. Potosi used to be one of the richest cities in the world, and supplied two thirds of the Spanish Empire’s silver. It was one of those moments that I felt incredibly guilty for being European, as I realised just how much Europeans had raped and exploited what are now some of the poorest countries in the world.

You’ll be glad to hear the great fundraising drive begins soon, so expect to hear from me looking some sponsorship for running a leg in the Belfast Marathon Relay. Which reminds me I should get out pounding the streets again…

On an entirely different note i’m off to hear one of Zoomtard’s heroes this weekend and looking forward to having my brain exercised (by Zoomtard and his wife-unit as well as the venerable McGrath on faith and science). I’m sure you’re aware of the hoo-hah around Richard Dawkins book – the God Delusion. I’ve just started McGrath’s response – the Dawkins delusion, although feel slightly lacking in integrity as I haven’t read Dawkins original. As a God-follower you’d expect me to not be the biggest fan of Dawkins, although i’m not alone as various atheists, Guardian columists and even the magazine that voted Dawkins one of the worlds 3 leading intellectuals have reservations about the God Delusion. McGrath is someone who you should take notice of – especially if you’re appalled by some of the shocking science from some of the louder Christian voices currently opening museums. Maynooth – the place to be this weekend.