On Liberty and dissenting voices

John Stuart Mill’s timeless essay On Liberty contains the following stirring sentence: “If all mankind minus one were of one opinion, and only one person were of the contrary opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person, than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind.” This was the basis of Mill’s argument about the importance of liberty or freedom.

While I do not believe that freedom is a right or should be our ultimate goal, I do believe that it is this view of liberty – and especially of freedom of speech – that has done much to bring about a generally better world.

Less often cited from Mill is another passage: “However unwillingly a person who has a strong opinion may be to admit the possibility that his opinion may be false, he ought to be moved by the consideration that, however true it may be, if it is not fully, frequently and fearlessly discussed, it will be held as a dead dogma, not a living truth.”

One of the major problems of evangelicalism these days is that most evangelical leaders believe that they have arrived at a set of truths that are without error. There is an important distinction that they fail to make. Our faith is based on a set of truths that are without error (God’s Word and God’s Himself). But to claim that our understanding and knowledge of God (and His Word) is faultless is clearly wrong (and contrary to Scripture itself, as it happens). If, therefore, we know that our understanding of God is flawed, we MUST open ourselves to the type of “freedom of speech” that Mill was encouraging.

Yet so many evangelicals shut this type of discussion down, and shout down anyone who doesn’t believe what they believe. Such a shame, really, since what they end up with is exactly as Mill envisaged: a dead dogma.

Presenting in Johannesburg, 6 and 7 May

I will be in South Africa next, doing a number of different client and public events. You can see my itinerary here.

Two events might be of particular interest to anyone living in Johannesburg. Firstly, on Thursday morning, 6 May 2010, in Woodmead, you can come to a business workshop focusing on the new world of work. It is being run by the TomorrowToday team, and promises to be hugely insightful. Details can be found here. I will be speaking about the disruptive forces that will shape the new world of work in the next decade.

Then, on Friday early morning, 7 May 2010, at the DiData Campus in Bryanston, I am speaking at a fund raiser for Rosebank Union Church’s XChange youth programme. Find details and sign up for the event here. I will be speaking about “The Millennial Kids” at this breakfast.

Out of interest, I will also be presenting “Mind the Gap” at Waterstone College in Kibler Park on the evening of 6 May. This is open to parents and prospective parents of the school.

A Conference Parody: Our Gospel is Bigger than Yours

A Parody of The Perfect Conference from Tall Skinny Kiwi. Andrew Jones is one the most established commentators on the emerging church, and a fresh voice in the blogosphere. I was sent an email attributed to him, but can’t find the piece anywhere on his blog – so who knows where it comes from. It certainly could be his. But, whatever its source, I laughed out loud at this parody advert for a Christian leaders conference…

Our Gospel is Bigger than Yours

Cost $599.99

Location: Nashville with telecasts in Louisville, Dallas, Seattle, LA and Orlando

Speakers are 10 White Men, 5 of which wear suits and 5 of which cuss and wear Ed Hardy shirts.

Music will be led by a good natured bearded folk singer with “edgy” lyrics about sovereignty and reworkings of really old hymns of proper theological content all with never ending crescendos … and his pregnant wife.

Each sermon will be 45-50 minutes long, unless more time is desired. Topics will include:

• The Primacy of Sovereignty in Theology,
  
• The Primacy of the Word Primacy in Preaching, The Primacy of Men in Relationships,
  
• The Primacy of Church Discipline,
  
• The Primacy of the Pastor’s will being done as an indication of His role as God’s Appointed,
  
• The Primacy of the Heresy of Emerging Christianity,
  
• A Discussion of the Heresy of Brian McLaren by the 10 speaker in which no one is allowed to dissent from the norm,
  
• Why Our Bible is better than yours,
  
• Why the Atonement is Not a Rose, but is a Tulip and
  
• Why We believe in Depravity of Man and the Sovereignty of God but Are Still Right about Everything.

MBTI and spiritual development (Part 2 of 2)

Here is part 2 of the “who you are is how you grow in God” list of spiritual paths for different personality types, based on the Meyers Briggs Temperament Indicator. See intro on previous entry.

Now, for the last 8 types:

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MBTI and spiritual development (Part 1 of 2)

I am a great advocate of self awareness. On the path to self awareness, I believe that personality profiles are great aids – they may create small boxes of personality types, but they provide windows of understanding into oneself and others.

I prefer to use the Enneagram as a profiling tool. I also like DISC and Meyers Briggs (MBTI). On a recent weekend youth camp, I tried to help the young people work out their MBTI type. Use this website to do an online test. You can see an overview of the MBTI profile here or here.

I then talked about spiritual disciplines – see a great website on this here.

Finally, I helped them to link their MBTI types to the type of spiritual disciplines and activities that would help them take their next steps with God.

For more info on your MBTI type, go to this website, and click on the icons at the top to look at careers, relationships and more.

Here is a summary of what I told them. You are free to use this as you wish – please just reference back to myself and this website:
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Updated list of mortal sins

Originally posted on 20 March 2008, updated in April 2010

NEW COMMENT (April 2010): With the Catholic church, and the Pope personally currently mired in a controversy about child sex abuse, it is interesting to be considering what the church does or does not consider to be truly grave sins. Here is something from two years ago…

This past week, the Pope has released an updated list of mortal sins. Well, actually it was announced by Gianfranco Girotti, the head of the Apostolic Penitentiary (basically, the Vatican’s department of sin, confessions and absolution). While I am not a huge fan of the continued use of guilt that underlies the application of Roman Catholic Christianity (as it does in Jewish thought, too), I am thrilled with the mindset behind this list.

The new additions to the “seven deadly sins” are:

• drug dealing
• causing social injustice
• causing poverty
• polluting
• becoming obscenely wealthy

The list was published in L’Osservatore Romano, the Vatican newspaper, and was accompanied by the Pope’s concerns for a “decreasing sense of sin” in today’s “securalised world” and the falling numbers of Roman Catholics going to confession.

In addition to the new sins listed, the Vatican took the opportunity to reiterate its concern about abortion and paedophilia.

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Generations @ Church

Originally posted on 19 February 2005

Based on a chapter in my 2004 book, ‘Mind the Gap’, here are some insights into the generation gap in church.

The era in which you were born shaped your value system more than you probably realise. Your value system is that part of you which helps you decide what is right or wrong, good or bad, normal or weird. Your value system is largely cemented in place by the time you turn ten years old, and the events and forces that shape you in those first ten years are critical in shaping your value system.

Over the past century, global events have become more and more influential on people across the planet. With increased communication, telephones, television and now the Internet, its possible for single events to influence billions of people at the same time. ‘Where were you when” type questions become increasingly familiar. Where were you when the planes crashed into the twin towers on 9/11? When Mandela was released in 1990? When the Berlin wall came down in 1989? When Neil Armstrong stood on the moon, or when JFK was shot?

Global events like these can shape the value systems of all the young people of a particular era. That means that people about your age may have a similar worldview to you. And you probably differ dramatically in outlook to those people older and younger than yourself.

Generations @ Church
There are few areas in our lives where the generation gap is greater than it is in the church. The church throughout the world is in crisis as an increasingly greying clergy is not attracting youthful priests and pastors. Youngsters don’t relate to people a generation or two older than them as role models, and the older generations boycott ‘youth services’. And so we see a vicious cycle of falling figures, both in church attendance and people prepared to don clerical robes.

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Christians, homosexuals and B&Bs

A few weeks ago, a member of the Conservative Party election team in the UK was overheard expressing an opinion about a Christian bed and breakfast establishment that had refused to allow a gay couple to share a bed. He said that what they had done was fine – they had the right to their beliefs and to enforce those in their own home. Matthew Parris is a gay columnist with The Times and The Spectator, and was an obvious person to contact when the media went into a frenzy.

The only problem is that he just couldn’t work himself up into any form of outrage. In fact, his thoughts are quite interesting as he reflects on why he didn’t feel outrage. The resultant column ran in The Spectator on 10 April 2010 – read it here, or an extract below. It’s worth the read as we consider how we should approach morality in a community and country that has chosen to cut itself loose from its historical moral compass.

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Green Religion

The Economist, one of my favourite global magazines, did a small insert on religion and conservation in their latest edition. When business and political magazines notice the trends, it’s an indication that the trend is significant. Hopefully, one day, all churches will have joined this revolution. Click here to read the article, or see below for extracts.

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One African Postcolonial Theology: The Imperative to Differ

Dr Kenzo Mabiala gave a brilliant talk at the first Amahoro conference in Uganda in May 2007. I recorded this on a handheld recorder – it’s worth persevering through the low quality because this lecture is sheer genius. Kenzo says that theological work done in Africa has the imperative to differ from theology from the West, and must have the courage to denouce Western theology – which “came of age during the rise of colonialism” – as being used to seeing itself as the centre around which other theologies must orient themselves (in other words: theological arrogance which claims that Western theology is the only correct theology, and all other theologies need to understand themselves in relation to Western theology).

amahoro01_Mabiala_Kenzo.mp3 (size 12 MB’s).

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Why Men Can’t Lead – and faulty logic about women in leadership

Originally posted on 30 May 2007

I was sent this by a friend – its meant to be a joke and quite funny. It is. But there is a shred of sad truth in these ten reasons why men can’t lead… the sad truth is that this is the same type of logic many churches still use to exclude women from leadership.

TEN REASONS – ACCORDING TO THE NATURAL ORDER OF THE WORLD, SOCIAL CUSTOM, AND THEOLOGY – WHY MEN SHOULD NOT BE ORDAINED

1. The male physical build indicates that men are more suited to tasks such as picking turnips or de-horning cattle. It would be “unnatural” for them to do other forms of work. How can we argue with nature?

2. For men who have children, their duties as ministers might detract from their responsibilities as parents. Instead of teaching their children important life skills like how to make a wiener-roasting stick, they would be off at some committee meeting or preparing a sermon. Thus these unfortunate children of ordained men would almost certainly receive less attention from their male parent.

3. According to the Genesis account, men were created before women, presumably as a prototype. It is thus obvious that men represent an experiment, rather than the crowning achievement of creation.

4. Men are overly prone to violence. They are responsible for the vast majority of crime in our country, especially violent crime. Thus they would be poor role models, as well as being dangerously unstable in positions of leadership.

5. In the New Testament account, the person who betrayed Jesus was a man. His lack of faith and ensuing punishment stands as a symbol of the subordinate position that all men should take. It is expected that even ordained men would be unable to withstand the natural male tendency to buckle under pressure.

6. Jesus didn’t ordain men. He didn’t ordain any women either, but two wrongs don’t make a right.

7. Men are simply too emotional to be ordained. Their conduct at football matches, in the army, at political conventions and especially at Promise Keepers Rallies amply demonstrates this tendency.

8. Many men are simply too handsome to lead public worship. They could prove to be a distraction to the women in the congregation!

9. To be an ordained pastor is to nurture and strengthen a whole congregation. But these are not traditional male roles. Throughout the history of Christianity, women have been considered to be not only more skilled than men at nurturing, but also more fervently attracted to it. If men try to fit into this nurturing role, our young people might grow up with severe gender role confusion.

10. If the Church is the Bride of Christ, then it goes without saying that all ordained leaders should be female. It just makes theological sense!

Should I donate to “Gift of the Givers”

This was originally posted on 6 August 2006

The situation on the Lebanese-Israeli border over the past fortnight is horrific. It is not my intention to discuss the various merits of each side’s (by this I refer to Israel and Hizbullah) claims, although I believe both sides have a point and both have over reacted and need to be held to account for their actions.

The point of this post, however, is to ask for your input on a question this conflict has raised for me.

There is an organisation in South Africa called ‘The Gift of the Givers’. They collect essential supplies and provide services and medicines to people impacted by natural disasters and warfare. They have an impeccable reputation and are wonderfully transparent, highly accountable in their reporting and super media savvy. And they collect literally millions and millions of rands of supplies, and get it to disaster zones faster than anyone else seems able to.

And they are Muslim.

As I have considered how to contribute to some relief for those caught up in the current crisis in the Middle East, it struck me that the most appropriate and effective use of my donation would be to give it via The Gift of the Givers.

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Developing Kingdom Vision (by Reg Codrington)

This was originally posted on 19 April 2006

I have enjoyed interacting with my father over the past few years.  For most of my life, he has been many miles ahead of me on the spiritual journey we’re all on.  But, in the past few years, we’ve found ourselves journeying together on a new path. 

He recently sent me some thoughts he had put together after reading a book I think I have him for Christmas last year.  He calls these writings his “Wooden Spoons” (for stirring).

Here is what he sent me.

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How to talk when we don’t agree – an object lesson from President Obama

Originally published on 20 May 2009

Last week, President Obama spoke at the graduation ceremony of Notre Dame university. This was made controversial by the 24 hour media, as they pointed out that Obama is “pro choice” and Notre Dame is Catholic, opposing abortion. I don’t want to deal with that particular issue in this blog. But I do want to say that I think the President hit exactly the right note in HOW he dealt with the issue.

He did not sweep it under the carpet. He did not step down from his own position. But he did show how we can still talk, even when we don’t agree. He showed that there is a way to engage in which we honour all viewpoints, and work towards outcomes that make sense for everyone.

You can read a transcript here. And you can watch it on YouTube, starting here.

In Part 1 on YouTube, notice how he deals with the hecklers (and notice how none of the students heckled!!). The best bit about faith and love is in Part 3.

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An amazing reflection on the death of a loved one

Originally posted on 20 August 2009

It has taken me five years to realise the gap left by my father’s death will never be filled
by Matthew Parris, in the 12 August 2009, Spectator magazine

It is five years since my father died. I thought I would get over it, but I haven’t. This is not a plea for sympathy — I’m fine, all’s well — but simply an observation, a report. Unusually for a man of 54 I had never, before Dad’s death, lost anyone close; and I had no idea what to expect.

I guessed, though, that the experience would not differ from other violent emotional traumas: first the shock, then a blank aftershock; then busy-ness — displacement activity; then perhaps a relapsing into grief. And after that and over many years a slow but steady process of what sensitive people might call ‘healing’ and the rest of us would call getting over it.

The shock, it turned out, though expected, was the phone-call. At the bedside of a dying man I expected no theatre, and found none. Just as I’d supposed the immediate feeling was only bleak, banal — no trumpets or violins, no wailing or floods of tears, but a kind of bleakness, a grey hour in a grey dawn. And so it proved: the rain coming down softly (I remember) outside in Catalonia. Blank.

Then (I thought) might follow a few weeks’ false-normality: still numb, but with arrangements of a practical nature to busy myself with. One would have too much to do to mope.

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