foam testimonies

Andy's babysitting and I'm let out of the house for the first time in 8 months. My outing of choice? To see you guys again. Aw.

So I'll be 'doing' this week's arty thing. We're going to chop up fun foam and make images that say something about how we first met God. Then, if folk are up for it, we'll share with each other what happened and what the pictures represent. (But don't let that stop you from coming if you're not happy doing it!)

Can't wait.

p.s May have to turf everyone out by about 10pm, as Kitty gets me up at 5am in the morning... groan!

SofaChurch at Wistaston Green

Work is proceeding really well at the first SofaChurch offshoot at St Mark's church, Wistaston Green. We will be holding our meeting there on November 20th to share ideas for a vision for the new room, thinking of ways in which it can be used to be good news to the surrounding area. We'll also hear some or all of the feedback from the Cafe Church training day that several of us recently attended. It should be an exciting evening.

You can find out how to get to it here.

Communion

Tonight's SofaChurch will be a communion led by Rev. Jenny Henshall. It will hopefully be a very creative and reflective evening.

Do all paths lead to God?

This Thursday (November 16th) we're looking at the age old issue - Do all paths lead to God?.

If so, why did Christ have to die, suffer and rise again?

If not does Christianity end up being a 'Christo-facist' faith where all other beliefs are 'false religions'?

If so, what happens to the imperative to get out there and share the Good News?

If so, does that mean that evil dictators get in to heaven as easily as Mother Teresa?

Lots of complicated issues and wrangling - but so important to think about.

If you aren't confident on these issues, do still please come along for the exploration; I am quite confident about a friendly and vigorous exchange of opinions while thinking these things through - who knows - we may even get some new insights!

Are Aliens a threat to Christianity?

Would the confirmation of the existence of alien life on other worlds be the end of Christianity as we know it? What of messages purported to be from God sent via aliens? Does the Bible mention flying saucers or even refer to sex with aliens? What of UFOs, abduction and the likes? Was Jesus an Alien?

A film here (a bit creepy if you're not used to it, so probably best no minors around) gives the increasingly standard Christian response on the matter.

I present a different opinion in my honours thesis which I did for my theology degree, receiving an A grade and resulted in quite a few speaking invites and even attending a phone in on UCB Radio. You can read www.christianity-aliens-and-ufos.org.uk and have a skim through the issues involved.

We'll bat some of the issues around for stimulating discussion in mid May. So get thinking and ready to ask questions where none have asked before...

October 14th-16th: A significant alien event should be happening in the next few days according to some...

Film Nights...

Had an idea for a film night, but can't remember by the time you're at the next SofaChurch? Then leave a comment here... currently suggested (by me, to be honest! So let's have some others...) :

• The Hitchhiker's Guide to The Galaxy
• The Wicker Man
• Monty Python (various!)
• Keeping Mum
• The Matrix
• V for Vendetta
• I, Robot
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
  
• A series on superheroes
• Seasonal films like "Muppet Christmas Carol"...
  

2001: a space odyssey

9th October - Stanley Kubrick's classic film.

Beautiful visuals and music, very sparse and atmospheric. Plenty of spiritual meaning. Plus my mum's old boss made the stewardess hats. Do you need any more of an incentive to watch this film?

Biblical authority

Hi everyone - I came across this list a while ago, and Tim's comments have prompted me to ask you all this question. Which of these seven models best reflects your own personal understanding of scripture? I hover somewhere between 6 and 7 myself (bang goes my speaking career in evangelical churches). I don't want to have an official SofaChurch 'doctrine' on this, and I would hope that we could accommodate all of these views.

1. The Bible is the Word of God and is, therefore inerrant (free of all error and entirely trustworthy in everything which it records) and has complete authority in all matters of theology and behaviour. It is 'God-breathed' and its human authors were channels of the divine Word. The Christian's task is to discern accurately what the Bible teaches and then to believe and obey it. Reason, experience and tradition should be judged in the light of the Bible, not the other way round.

This view is concerned to safeguard the conviction that the Bible has its origin in God. It works from the premise that God cannot be the author of error, and therefore the Bible cannot contain error. To give undue status to any other source of authority is to exalt fallible human insight over the infallible Word of God.

2. The Bible's teaching about God, salvation and Christian living is entirely trustworthy. It cannot be expected, however, to provide entirely accurate scientific or historical information since this is not its purpose. Nevertheless, it provides the supreme rule for faith and conduct, to which other ways of 'knowing', while important, should be subordinate.

This view also stresses the divine origin of Scripture, its supreme authority for Christian belief and practice, and its priority over other sources of authority. But it holds that reliable information on, for example, historical or scientific matters may not fall within God's purpose in giving the Bible.

3. The Bible is the essential foundation on which Christian faith and life are built. However, its teachings were formed in particular historical and cultural contexts, and must therefore be read in that light. The way to apply biblical teaching in today's very different context is not always obvious or straightforward. Reason is an important (God-given) gift which must be used to the full in this process of interpretation.

This view emphasises that the Word of God contained in a collection of books written in times and places very different from our own cannot simply be read as a message for our own situation. We must work out by the use of reason how far and in what way the ancient text can appropriately be applied to the modem situation.

4. The Bible's teaching, while foundational and authoritative for Christians, needs to be interpreted by the Church. In practice it is the interpretation and guidance offered by Church leaders and preachers which provides authoritative teaching. Church tradition is therefore of high importance as a practical source of authority.

This view is concerned to stress that the people of God, the Church, existed before the Bible and that the Bible therefore does not exist independently of the Church. Interpretation of the Bible is essentially a matter for the Church community, and especially its appointed leaders, rather than for private individuals.

5. The Bible is one of the main ways in which God speaks to the believer. However, the movement of God's Spirit is free and unpredictable, and it is what the Spirit is doing today that is of the greatest importance. The Bible helps to interpret experience, but much stress is placed on spiritual experience itself, which conveys its own compelling authority.

On this view, to give too high a status to the Bible may prevent us from hearing what God is saying to us today. We should be guided principally by the convictions which emerge from our own Christian experience as individuals and as a church community, which on occasion will go against the main thrust of the Bible's teaching.

6. The Bible witnesses to God's revelation of himself through history and supremely through Jesus Christ. However, the Bible is not itself that revelation, but only the witness to it. Christians must therefore discern where and to what extent they perceive the true gospel witness in the various voices of the Bible. Reason, tradition and experience are as important as the biblical witnesses.

This view emphasises that the Bible mediates the Word of God but is not identical with the Word of God. We can discover which parts of the Bible are God's Word for us only if we make use of all the resources of reason, church tradition and experience.

7. The Bible comprises a diverse and often contradictory collection of documents which represent the experiences of various people in various times and places. The Christian's task is to follow, in some way, the example of Christ. And to the extent that the Bible records evidence of his character and teaching it offers a useful resource. However, in the late 20th century it is simply not possible to obey all its teachings since these stem from very human authors and often represent the ideology of particular groups or classes in an ancient and foreign culture. Reason and experience provide much more important tools for faith and practice.

This view also stresses that the Bible was written by people addressing particular times and situations. But, guided by the insights of, for example, feniinist and liberation theologies, it further argues that before we can discover in it God's Word for us we must strip away from it those elements which betray the vested interests of particular groups, for instance, the interests of male dominance or of political and economic power-blocks.

Change at Crewe

Further to Susie's Trifle on My Dungarees blog, this is a website / image blog I've been working on as a hub for my personal and business interests. Images primarily focussing on Crewe, but with links to my main online activities. Hopefully you'll find some nice pictures, interesting links perhaps, and insights into my rather strange world.

A little more tweaking will happen to the site very soon, especially on the talks, and I intend putting on regular image updates largely from around the Crewe area. I purchased the domain name perhaps over a year ago I think, and reckon it's one people will remember more easily.

If interested, please visit www.changeatcrewe.com

The Bottom Line

No, not talking VPL or whale tails here, but what is the bottom line as far as Christian faith content and practice is concerned for SofaChurch?

I ask 1) for communal clarity and 2) because of arriving at a place of personal honesty which may or may not dictate the acceptability of my faith in certain contexts. This is a bit rambling, disparate perhaps, but has been bubbling away under my surface for some time.

By means of disclaimer, this text is entirely my own opinion and neither reflects endorsement nor accepted doctrine by individuals and denominations associated with SofaChurch.

Now the main reason for these musings is this. For the first time since my early teens, any sense of vocation to church ministry has gone. I don't know if it's revoked, dead, or gone on holiday, but in the three months I've suddenly found myself with no mental picture of myself involved ministry. Ever. Strange, but it's given me a lot of confidence and determination to get on and do that which I have already found within myself to do.

The spiritually castrative effects of some theologies which I have been observing is also really rattling my cage and further convinces me that, as far as I am concerned, conventional Christianity is a dead vehicle in terms of relating to people and to God. I meet enough people who also feel that. The church needs nothing short of a new reformation.

I continue to feel drawn to more engaging spiritualities for my outlook- Quakerism, or even pushing further towards Druidry. As my Facebook belief description says "Work in Progress".

I retain a strong belief in Christ as The Logos (John 1:1) - the undergirding principle of The Universe in Whom all things hold together, and was incarnated a full, vulnerable human being, died, and resurrected. For me that's about as far as my Christian faith goes if I'm totally honest with myself. I don't believe in the efficacy of prayer; I see it primarily as a psychosomatic benefit for the cognizant pray-er and pray-ee. God knows (and I know he does) when I last sat down to read the Bible and actually get anything from it either.

I can talk the talk, and I can get evangelistically aroused and gush forth 'the right theology', but it's not me.

I am a pantheist - God in everything and everything in God loosely speaking (I might even go so far as animist of sorts), a universalist - all paths leading to God - and while I believe coming to an articulated faith in Christ can help, the pantomime of Church life tends to cancel out the Good News Christ is supposed to bring.

Is SofaChurch able to accommodate a heretic, yeah, maybe even apostate in some eyes such as me? I keep trying to accept the way things are commonly held to be, but it just doesn't add up for me. I feel a huge fraud, with people thinking I am ABC, when in fact I'm XYZ.

Also hanging over my thoughts of recent months are these three musings, the latter two being more relevant to the bottom line thing:

1) As far as our time and culture are concerned, Church and Christianity are just not able to cater for men between late 20s to early 50s unless you fit a particular model. Children, OAPs, and women of any age find a communal niche. Any male friendships, if there are enough of them, are those forced into 5 to 10 mins of tea / coffee time after the important service has subdued all sense of community once a week. Church really is not the Good News it ought to be. Even more so if you're a man in the middle bit of life.

2) I'm still trying to work out where SofaChurch sits regarding Scriptual authority, in view of general acceptance that there are parts of Scripture which are less reliable or contradictory on non essential matters.

3) I would reckon the group is welcoming and open to homosexuals, though I wonder how it would fare if we had an active homosexual couple join us?

SofaChurch:girls - and we're off!

We had our first SofaChurch:girls meeting last Tuesday and it was just fab: a real treat to get together, talk a bit about what we're hoping to get out of our get-togethers and start to get to know each other on a deeper level. I can see it's going to be a valuable chance to be more honest about where we're at, ask for help when we need it or offer others a helping hand when things are fine with us. 

Meetings (they're not really formal enough to be called that) are open to all females of SofaChurch age (20's to 50's+) whether you attend SofaChurch or not. They're every Tuesday at 10am at the Fishes' house (email if you need directions).

p.s: Sorry to use a picture of myself; I realise this looks a bit vain, but I didn't want to resort to the usual hot chocolate/sunflower/hugging women cliches... ;o)