Renew Your Mind

My half term reading is Brian McLaren's book 'Naked Spirituality'. I'm struck by his comments on nakedness, which he suggests as a metaphor for spirituality, compared to clothing which we might see as religion. And he says that one is not better or worse than the other- but that clothing "serves, protects, enhances or expresses the naked life within." A surprisingly, and refreshingly, positive look at religion, avoiding the dualism that is a too-frequent feature of emerging theologians/writers. How might it work out in practice? I am thinking particularly about Holy Communion at the moment, and how to reconcile a liturgical upbringing, including an almost legalistic view of the sacraments, with our current, liturgy-free church who nonetheless celebrate the Lord's Supper together occasionally. How does this religious act protect, enhance or express a naked spiritual reality? Do we need this clothing,or does it get in the way? Does dressing up for this on...

In the mornings I am reading 1 and 2 Samuel, and in the evenings watching episodes of '24'. What strikes me is that despite the thousands of years that stretch between the two, nothing much has changed. Human beings are still a mixture of striving for the best they can be; fighting ( often literally) for justice, for peace, for a piece of land for themselves, their family and their tribe; and crippled by their hunger for power, by lust, and by the mistaken belief that the end justifies the means. What a contrasting picture of what it means to be human is offered by Jesus. No wonder the people around him didn't "get it", when King David was the nearest they had come to a godly model of kingship and leadership. It's still the model of power and leadership that we prefer today, however much we talk about servant leadership. Is it possible for human beings to create a society that does reflect more the values of Jesus than the example of David?

Theology is so often about incarnation, especially around Christmas time. But as we enter a new year, I am thinking about how much of our connecting is done without physical presence. Increasingly in our world we connect with others using the Internet, Skype, Facebook or twitter. If an important element of our Christian faith is relationships, how do these new media affect our faith? There are many who are asking these same questions, and this spring I want to join the conversation.