Skip to main content

Wearing and Bearing

I tend not to comment negatively on the public pronouncements of other church leaders here (trying my best to abide by the Methodist mantra of "friends of all, enemies of none" and all that jazz, but reports of Cardinal Keith O'Brien's Easter message, which got an early airing in news briefings on Saturday, didn't sit easily with me... For those who missed it, he was arguing that Christians should proudly wear the cross as a symbol of their commitment to Christ and his gospel, and that refusal to allow such expressions of faith are an erosion of the place of Christianity in the public square.
Now, I do think that there is a concerted effort to marginalise the church in modern Britain, though I don't think it is as organised as some of the bleating would have you believe, and to be honest, I'm one of those who believe that the church is closer to the faith of the Christ of the cross when it is speaking from the margins, than when it is making pronouncements from a position of power and influence at the heart of so-called Christendom... Jesus was crucified outside the city of Jerusalem by the combined forces of imperial power, civic religion and purveyors of personal piety. Also, I wonder whether those who argue for people to be allowed to wear crosses in every walk of life would always be tolerant of those who wear the symbols of other religions? And why should non-essential symbols of religion be given any preference over any other badge or piece of jewellery? Should everyone be allowed to wear their Socialist Workers or Tufty Club badges on their airport or nurses uniforms? 
Of course there should be balance in all of this, and where such badge wearing is not taken to extremes then it should be permitted. Questions should be asked of those who "object" to the wearing of crosses... And I have to say that the civil rights group Liberty and their spokesperson Shami Chakrabarti have taken a line on all of this which is perhaps more balanced than Cardinal O'Brien, the Daily Mail or any of their fellow-travellers would give them credit for (and certainly more balanced than some secularists would want)... but when church leaders and Christians start to protest about their own rights, in a world where so few people have the freedoms that we enjoy, I'm not sure that they are speaking in the spirit of Christ, or even in the spirit of Paul, who was wary even of claiming his rights as an apostle. Our concern should always be, primarily the needs of the powerless and the voiceless, rather than our own rights and position in society.
But as I was pondering these things Richard Hall over on Connexions reposted this blog from my favourite Christian curmudgeon, Kim Fabricius, who, as ever, puts the point so much better than I could in his Good Friday sermon... 
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Living under the Empire... (2) Where is Babylon?

We were driving back from school last week, talking about books that we had been reading and my younger son, Ciaran, asked me "Where is Babylon?" I have to confess that my history is better than my geography, and I said that it no longer exists as an inhabited city, but its ruins were to the north west of the current capital of Iraq, Baghdad. When I checked however, I discovered that it is actually about 50 miles south of Baghdad and the modern town is the administrative centre of the province of Babil... But just as the modern city is but a shadow of the historic capital of 2 ancient empires, first under Hammurabi in the 18th century BCE and then the "Neo-Babylonian" empire (under Nebuchadnezzar etc) in the 6th century BCE, so the earthly Babylonian empire/s was/were fleeting in comparison to the enduring metaphorical idea of Babylon. The original Empire under Hammurabi was probably the ultimate origin of some of the early Biblical stories, including the ...
2 comments
Read more

Psalm for Harvest Sunday

A short responsive psalm for us as a call to worship on Harvest Thanksgiving Sunday, and given that it was pouring with rain as I headed into church this morning the first line is an important remembrance that the rain we moan about is an important component of the fruitfulness of the land we live in: You tend the land and water it And the earth produces its abundance. You crown each year with your bounty, and our storehouses overflow with your goodness. The mountain meadows are covered with flocks and the valleys are filled with corn; Your people celebrate your boundless grace They shout for joy and sing. from Psalm 65
3 comments
Read more

A Woman of no Distinction

Don't often post other people's stuff here... But I found this so powerful that I thought I should. It's a performance poem based on John 4: 4-30, and I have attached the original YouTube video below. A word for women, and men, everywhere... "to be known is to be loved, and to be loved is to be known." I am a woman of no distinction of little importance. I am a women of no reputation save that which is bad. You whisper as I pass by and cast judgmental glances, Though you don’t really take the time to look at me, Or even get to know me. For to be known is to be loved, And to be loved is to be known. Otherwise what’s the point in doing either one of them in the first place? I WANT TO BE KNOWN. I want someone to look at my face And not just see two eyes, a nose, a mouth and two ears; But to see all that I am, and could be all my hopes, loves and fears. But that’s too much to hope for, to wish for, or pray for So I don’t, not anymore. Now I keep to myself And by that ...
2 comments
Read more