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[themoderateanglican]

Peter Greave wrote a memoir of his life with leprosy, a disease he contracted while stationed in India. He returned to England, half-blind, and partially paralysed, to live on a compound run by a group of Anglican sisters. Unable to work, an outcast from society, he turned bitter. He thought of suicide. He made elaborate plans to escape the compound but always backed out because he had nowhere to go. One morning uncharacteristically, he got up very early and strolled the grounds. Hearing a buzzing noise he followed it to the chapel, where the sisters were praying for the patients whose names were written on its walls. Among those names, he found his own. Somehow that experience of connection, of linking, changed the course of his life. He felt wanted. He felt graced. Religious faith - for all its problems, despite its maddening tendency to replicate ungrace - lives on because we sense the numinous beauty of a gift undeserved that comes at unexpected moments from outside. Refusing to believe that our lives of guilt and shame lead to nothing but annihilation, we hope against hope for another place run by rules. We grow up hungry for love, and in ways so deep as to remain unexpressed we long for our Maker to love us."

Philip Yancey, ‘What’s so Amazing About Grace’ p.40-41. 

[themoderateanglican]

The received wisdom of the world is that you make 'your' mark. This book is about 'our' mark. The world says, 'Don't state the obvious.' But I rekon that articulating the vision and reminding people of what is fundamental are the first requirements of leadership. The world says, 'Don't reinvent the wheel.' But other people's wheels don't always fit. The world says, 'Don't count your chickens before they hatch.' But we need a big vision to counter the prevalent and all-consuming cynicism that is eating up our culture  - Stephen Cottrell - Hit the Ground Kneeling

[themoderateanglican]

“I dun’ got fat.”

[themoderateanglican]

[themoderateanglican]

As a progressive liberal in the Anglican faith, what is your view on Eucharistic theology and Eucharistic adoration? What do you think about the Mass and the connection to the sacrifice at Calvary? Thanks! PS. Do you live in Canada or the UK? I saw you mentioned Tories and Conservatives in one post and got excited--I'm Canadian (and also Catholic and looking to possibly join the Anglican Communion:))

Hello, I’m sorry It’s taken me so long to get back to you.

Firstly I would say that there is far too much Dualism in the world, and I don’t think there is a right or a wrong answer to your questions, I can only state what I think. There are a wide range of expressions within the Church of England (I’m afraid I can’t comment on Canada as I live in the UK). There are some people in the C of E who believe in transubstantiation and some who don’t It’s a broad church. That’s the thing I like about Anglicanism is that it is incredibly broad, and if you look there is bound to be a church that suits your spirituality. 

I think that The Eucharist is a sacrament, not just a memorial. That when we partake of the Bread and Wine, a grace is given to us from God. That grace links us all together as the body of Christ in a very mystical way. It’s just a feeling, I can’t really explain it. 

That grace always leads me back to Calvary, I’m not a big fan of Penal Substitutionary Atonement as it in my view, reduces God to an angry child with a magnifying glass. God died on the cross to show us his true nature and for his own glory, not to prove some kind of point that he needed a blood sacrifice to stop being angry. 

Through Christ, we see the nature of God, God loved us so much that he was willing to die for us on the cross, so that we could see what he is really like. We are redeemed through the graciousness of God dying for us. This moves me because it shows that our God, knows what it feels like to die in pain, knows what it feels to be abandoned, and lived a life just like ours. 

I hope this answers some of what you asked, I’m sorry it took so long! 

[themoderateanglican]

I still miss buttons on phones, texting used to be so easy. 

[themoderateanglican]

PET PEEVE: BORED PRESIDERS.

Doing the elevation like

[themoderateanglican]

WHEN I HEAR THE WORD "ESCHATOLOGY" IN A COFFEE SHOP

[themoderateanglican]

Good blog, we need more anglicans on tumblr!

Thank you, I'm glad you've enjoyed reading my ramblings!

[themoderateanglican]

Pay Your Damn Taxes

I'm angry, really quite angry. As I see in the media there are many people particularly from the Conservative Party avoiding paying tax. There was one Tory peer who dismissed his tax avoidance as the "vanilla light" of tax avoidance, only a little bit of tax avoidance... honest.  No.  No that is not good enough. It is NEVER morally right to not pay tax in a democracy, particularly if you are rich. If you are wealthy everything in society is geared towards your benefit. The least you can do with all that money is to do your bit, so that people worse off than you can eat, have hospital care and have a pension when they're too old to work. The rich use the things that we pay our taxes for just as much as anyone else.  What is even more galling is that these people have loads and loads and loads of money, but those who actually pay their taxes have much less, and end up paying more proportionally according to their incomes than they do. It reminds me of a Bible passage;  "(Jesus)He looked up and saw rich people putting their gifts into the treasury;  he also saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. 3 He said, ‘Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them; 4 for all of them have contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on." (Luke 21.1-4)

This is a model by which Jesus is showing us what real giving is. This old woman gave less but it costs her MORE. She is an example to all good people. It is not the amount that you give that matters but what It costs you. The least the rich can do is contribute from their abundance, but they can do more than that, they can care about the society in which they live, and their fellow human beings and pay more than what is required. Give more than is required, love more than is required. 

I hope that those who avoid paying what they rightfully should can see their own abundance and that after paying tax, they still have a lot more than the majority of people on this planet. Oxfam estimates that soon 140 people will have the same amount of wealth as three billion. Let's address this balance. Let's be fair, and let's be morally decent. 

We must all pay our taxes. 

God Bless. 

[themoderateanglican]

When She’s Not Drawing The Simpsons, Liz Climo Makes Funny Animal Comics

Artist on Tumblr

When Liz Climo isn’t busy drawing characters and storyboards for The Simpsons, she’s working on her own hilarious series of animal comics which you can find on her wildly popular Tumblr blog.

After studying art at San Jose State University, Liz applied to the school of Animation but was rejected. However, two weeks later she unexpectedly got a job on The Simpsons and has never looked back.

The accomplished artist has gone on to have much success, publishing a book of her comics entitled, The Little World of Liz. She’s also releasing a picture book in 2015 entitled, Rory the Dinosaur: Me and My Dad. You can order both books online here.

Via: twistedsifter

[themoderateanglican]

Our God is a Great Big God!

Our God is a great big God, Our God is a great big God, Our God is a Great big God and he holds us in his hands!

Although this is a children’s song, it talks simply and profoundly of the way God holds us, nurtures us and loves us.

God loves us, and abided with us in human form. He came to know us as intimately as is possible, God loves us individually for who we are, exactly who we are. For me this is central to what being a Christian means. Love is the answer.

One example of God’s love is the parable of the prodigal son. This parable explains so meaningfully what God’s love is like. The father runs out to his son and embraces him regardless of the good, the bad and the ugly he’s done. Even though he was rude, selfish, hedonistic. God loves him so much that he opens his arms wide, just as he did on the cross, and ran, ran as fast as he could to meet him. God runs for us, God runs to us. Love is the answer.

To be a Christian is a challenge. We are compelled to live this running love to all we meet. It’s not easy or straightforward and we often fall very, very short of that. But God is part of each one of us, God is in all of us as we are made in God’s image. God dwells in our humanity, the good, the bad and the ugly. When we gaze into the eyes of an enemy, or a friend, of a lover, of the drug dealer, of the homeless person, God is staring back at us. All humans deserve thus respect, this recognition. We have a shared humanity, a shared universe. Love is the answer. 

God has made a promise that he will not forget us, any of us. That when we leave this life, we return to dust but we live on forever. That this narrow plane of existence is not the end, that the pain and our separation will all be rewarded and it will have been worth it. With God there is no end, only a new hope and a new beginning.

Love is the answer, God is love. 

God Bless. 

[themoderateanglican]

Whoever corrects a scoffer wins abuse; Whoever rebukes the wicked gets hurt. A scoffer who is rebuked will only hate you; the wise, when rebuked, will love you.

Proverbs 9.7-8. NRSV Bible 

[themoderateanglican]

Why Christians Should Rejoice At Gay Marriage

A black man and a white woman want to get married. However because the couple are not the same race, they aren’t allowed. That was once how the law stood on marriage, those from different ethnic backgrounds couldn’t get married. This idea today seems abhorrent to every mainstream Christian church. The black man, being discriminated against because of his skin colour, something that he can never change and was born with, is quite clearly wrong. It’s not his fault that he fell in love with a white woman, it isn’t his fault that he was born the way he was born and he has no control over who he loves.

So we’ve established that discriminating against people because of the way they were born and something they have no control over is wrong, morally, ethically, spiritually.

My point is that exactly the same argument is true for Homosexuality. A man falls in love with another man, they have no control over this and were born that way, as countless scientific studies have shown. But instead of embracing their love, like we have inter-racial couples, we shun them. How exactly is it any different or any less prejudiced, than the previous argument?

If there’s anything that Jesus Christ taught us it’s that the kingdom of God is created through love and forgiveness, not hatred and division. How exactly does division and intolerance create a better world? That was not what Jesus stood for, that is not what Christianity stands for. Our aim as Christians is to be Christ-like in our actions, Christ bore no hatred to anyone, he loved the sinners and ate with them.

The arguments against Homosexuality often come from the books of the Old Testament, mostly from the books of Jewish Civil Law. Just because a law applied to the tribes of Israel thousands of years ago, does not necessarily mean it applies to 21st  Century Christians. Exactly how many burnt offerings have you offered unto the Lord this year? Have you chased anyone out of church who has a skin disorder shouting unclean? Unclean?

No, because on these subjects Christian moral ethics have advanced and changed. As a Christian I rejoice in the fact that Homosexuals are allowed to marry, that they have the same rights as everyone else. This love is Kingdom building. It is as pure as Heterosexual love. The joy and end of suffering it will bring will be immense. As Christians can we really stand against love and goodness?

  God Bless

[themoderateanglican]

God doesn't fear those who you fear...

Religion is a tricky thing, and often the truest thing I’ve heard is that Religion and Faith are two different things. Religion is the human side, all the stuff that we humans put in and assume, where the nastiness comes from. Faith is the personal deep feeling that you have within yourself which exudes God’s love to others as well as to yourself. Faith is what bridges the gap between us and the Lord. Faith is the good thing.

I saw the news this morning about Gay marriage being discussed by the courts in the USA. There I saw something which made me deeply angry so called ‘Christians’ with plaques with such things as “homosexuality is an abomination” and “God hates Sinners” etc. Essentially the message on these plaques was that by allowing Gay people to have the same rights as heterosexual people would be condoning evil.

I think these people have never heard the message of Christ at all... Let me use a couple of examples;

“ As Jesus went, the people pressed around him. And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and though she had spent all her living on physicians, she could not be healed by anyone. She came up behind him and touched the fringe of his garment and immediately he discharge of blood ceases. And Jesus said “Who was it that touched me?” When all denied it, Peter said, “Master, the crowds surround you and are pressing in on you!” But Jesus said “Someone touched me, for I perceive that power has gone out from me.” And when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed. And he said to her, “Daughter your faith has made you well; go in peace.”

(Luke 8: 42-48)

Jesus was a Jew, he was also a Rabbi. At this time Judaism had very strict rules about disease and people who were ritually ‘unclean’. Because of this woman’s condition, her haemorrhages made her so. In Jewish society this meant complete isolation from the Synogogue and the rest of the Jewish community. This woman would have been a complete outcast and unable to worship with the rest of her community. For a woman who was ritually ‘unclean’ to go near to a Rabbi, let alone touch him was a grave crime in Jewish law.

Does Jesus turn to this woman and say “YOU ARE UNCLEAN, YOU DIRTY WOMAN! YOU TOUCHED ME YOU SHALL BE KILLED!” No he doesn’t, he says that because she has faith in him and in God, she is saved, redeemed, forgiven regardless of the way she is.

 “And a leper came to him, imploring him and kneeling said to him, “If you will, you can make me clean.” Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, “I will; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. And Jesus sternly charged him and sent him away at once, and said to him, “See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, for a proof to them.”

Mark 1: 40-44

Leprosy was a particularly feared and dreaded disease under the rules of Israel. In fact any kind of skin disease was considered ‘ritually unclean’. This was another group of people who were shunned by Jewish society and banished from the Synogogue and their community. They suffered anguish and abuse everyday because of something they couldn’t help. Jesus touches the leper which is absolutely unthinkable for a Rabbi to do. It is totally revolutionary that he actually talked to him, as this was not the kind of person a Rabbi would associate himself with.

The Theology behind banishment of those who are ill comes from the ancient Jewish belief that God punishes those who are sinful to “the third and fourth generation”. This idea that Sin was actually infectious was accepted at the time, but Jesus refutes this idea by accepting and healing those who are ill. Instead of the sin infecting him, his love encompasses those who need to be healed, in my opinion this is the way our God is, a God of love, compassion and mercy who hates nothing that he has made.

What has this got to do with Gay Marriage?

Many Christians discriminate against Gay people. Being Gay has been scientifically proven to be a genetic trait, one which people have no control over. It is not a mental illness and has been proven not to harm adults who engage in it. Jesus spent time amongst the people of his day who were discriminated against, who were DIFFERENT and welcomed them with open arms into his flock. Women, the disabled, the weak, the blind, those with medical problems, skin disorders and especially the poor were all welcomed into his flock. Jesus never said anything against homosexuality and he said the most important commandment was to “Love your neighbour” he didn’t say “love your neighbour unless he’s gay, unless he’s black, unless he’s bisexual” he said Loving everybody equally is the fundament to a life lived in God’s grace.

The idea that God condemns homosexuals based on Jesus Christ’s loving actions is completely ludicrous. The idea that allowing two committed people to consummate their love for each other, to make a commitment for the rest of their lives somehow harms God is totally stupid. How can we ever harm God? 

The bible passages above are just a few examples of Jesus striving against the bigoted, divisive actions of humanity of the time. I’m sure if he was among us now, he would shake his head at the actions of these people. True Love is never a sin. I wonder how many people there were divorced? Something Jesus was actually against strongly.

I leave you with this;

“And he called the people to him again and said to them, “Hear me, all of you, and understand: There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him. And when he had entered the house and left the people, his disciples asked him about the parable. And he said to them, “Then you are also without understanding? Do you not see that whatever goes into a person from outside cannot defile him, since it enters not his heart but his stomach and is expelled? And he said, “What comes out of a person is what defiles him. For from within, out of the heart of a man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coverting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

What you say and do is what defiles, I think those who are prejudiced and are horrible to others are far less favourable in the eyes of the Lord, than a man who loves another man, or a woman who loves another woman.

  God Bless.   

[themoderateanglican]

Women Bishops, What a Disaster!

Like many other members of the Church of England, I was astounded this week to hear the incredibly retrogressive decision of the General Synod of not allowing women to become bishops.

I have always been proud to call myself an Anglican, and I am also proud of the progressiveness that that our church has shown within the last two decades. I have also always considered myself progressive. When I heard the verdict I nearly wept through frustration. The majority of Anglicans believe this to be a non issue and the majority again are happy for women to be bishops. What disappoints me more than anything is the fact that this came from the house of laity, not the house of bishops or clergy. This means that it is the actual people of the church elected by the votes of the congregation who have turned this measure down. For me this is so disturbing that our congregations still have this small mindset, and old fashioned view, but also the representatives have been allowed to go against the mindset of the majority.

What is even more disturbing is that the media will now latch onto this, and will use it as a weapon that makes us look out of touch with modern life and incompatible with sense and equality. It tarnishes all of us with the same brush of idiocy and bigotry. This makes me sad, as the church does make a genuine difference in communities and is one of the few things that is actually working to make society better. It will add another negative in the long list of common thought that religion is a bad thing and should disappear from British life altogether.

It is even more stupid as a move as in a time when church attendance is dropping and people see less value in religious ideals, is it really wise to alienate half of the country’s population because you’re to infantile to see women in a position of authority?

I want to set a few things straight regardless of what the media says;

1.      Most Anglicans are reasonable people who care deeply about women.

2.      Most believe that this is a non issue and support women bishops.

3.      The Church of England will inevitably have women bishops, whether it takes another five or ten years.

4.      The clergy of the Church of England are very progressive and the most open minded Christians you will meet for the most part. They are determined that women bishops will happen.

5.      The more accepting we are, the more Christ like we become.

I really hope that the people of England can overlook this stupid decision, and I hope the church itself can overcome the in-fighting and become more unified. I wish the house of laity would remember who we really serve, Christ.

But above all I am sorry to everyone, all women and ashamed of my church for the first time in my life. I am ashamed of this measure and I hope the women of this country can forgive us.

God Bless.

[themoderateanglican]

We Will Remember Them...

I stood on the cold morning of the 11 of November at the war memorial outside Norwich City Hall, in absolutely blazing sunlight it was a beautiful morning. I could see the market, the castle in the background and the throng of people that had gathered to stand together for Remembrance Day. Many people, of all different backgrounds had come for the same reason, to remember those that have fallen so that we have the rights and privileges that we take for granted today.  

The Salvation Army Band began playing softly as various organisations laid wreaths in remembrance at the memorial, each in turn bowed or saluted at the memorial. I stood there, behind the veterans and I found myself in awe of these men and women and felt very emotional at the thought of all those men who died in the First and Second World War. Sacrificing themselves for the greater good and defending our island home till the last.

As the time approached eleven, through the crisp morning air a solitary trumpet rang out ‘the last post’, the sound ricocheting off the buildings in the quiet emptiness. I realised how empty existence is without God. How empty the deaths of these young men are without the promise of resurrection and eternal life. Their deaths were not in vain, for the cause they fought for was great. The idea that these men are just gone from the universe does not bode well with me.

One of the reasons why faith is so important is at times like Armistice Day. The idea that these men are with God now and are cared for by him consoles me and many others greatly. Without the religious element of the services it would be as empty and hollow as the sound of that trumpet. But with the promise of eternal life, it becomes a rich remembrance of thanksgiving and love from those who are still present in this life. Even if you’re not religious, I’m sure many can respect the importance of the church being there, as it always has been.

This Armistice day, take a moment to think of those important in your life, and those who have died in the service of the armed forces, for without thought for them their sacrifice means nothing.

God Bess