• Predictions for 2020

    1. Scotland will not vote for Independence in 2020
    2. No progress for those hoping for Equal Marriage in the Church of England.
    3. Narrow Democrat victory in American election – country as divided as ever – widespread belief that the election was rigged.
    4. Scottish government proposals on reforming the Gender Recognition Act go through largely as proposed in consultation document.
    5. Limited agreements at COP talks but derided as too little too late.
    6. UK leaves the EU and is subsequently unable to agree a substantial deal.
    7. No trade deal with the USA
    8. Yvette Cooper will become the leader of the Labour Party.
    9. Stock market lower at the end of the year than it is today.  (FTSE 7,542.44)
    10. Increasing visible support for LGBT Roman Catholics from within the Roman Catholic Church.

7 responses to “The Antisemitism Notice”

  1. Gordon Avatar
    Gordon

    Helpful, thank you

    What is the concern with the reproaches? I’m not familiar with them

    1. Kelvin Avatar

      They can be interpreted as being directed at us the listeners. But they can also be interpreted as speaking to Jewish people as all the imagery is from the Hebrew Scriptures and doesn’t reference the experience of those who actually were around Jesus during his life on earth.

      For example:
      “I led you out of Egypt, having drowned Pharaoh in the Red Sea:
      and you have delivered me to the chief priests.”

      Who is being addressed here?

      1. Nick Drew Avatar
        Nick Drew

        That’s interesting, because whenever I have sung the Reproaches I have always felt them as being expressions of personal repentance rather than accusations thrown at the listener.

  2. Rosemary Hannah Avatar
    Rosemary Hannah

    I must admit I had always read the Reproaches as directed to the listener. That the Egypt from which we are delivered is the Egypt of the modern world, the slavery of ghastly jobs (I’ve had a few, in fact a lot) and the oppression of terrible political systems. But I come from a totally different thought world to that of most people today, and I absolutely see they wouldn’t commonly be read that way.
    But I think it would benefit everyone to find a way of expressing BOTH what faith can offer in terms of freedom AND the mess we do make of the world, and sitting with that tension.
    And I think the church as a whole urgently needs to find a compelling and deep reaching way of doing both.

    1. Kelvin Avatar

      You might be interested that we’re looking at Isaiah 59 as a helpful text for this year, given the current ways of the world.

    2. Christine McIntosh Avatar
      Christine McIntosh

      I’m of much the same mind. (A mind that is still blown away when I hear them sung)

  3. Dan Floyd Avatar
    Dan Floyd

    Thank you

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Previous Posts

  • How twitter and facebook can save your blog rather than kill it

    One of the things that anyone keeping a blog must be aware of at the moment is that things are not the same as they were. At one time you simply had to put up something even vaguely interesting and people all over the world would read and comment. Blogging was like the Wild West…

  • Dinner at the Trades House

      Out last night to a lovely dinner with the Trades House of Glasgow. Glasgow is one of those cities where the Medieval Guilds of the city still exist. The various trades in the city formed themselves in to Incorportated Crafts which were ways of regulating (and monopolising) trade as the city grew. Nowadays they…

  • The Special Synod on Family Life

    Something significant is going on in the Vatican this week. A series of conversations has started about how the Roman Catholic Church deals with issues that arise in family life. It is hugely significant because such conversations simply don’t happen very often. Another interesting thing is that it started off with a questionnaire that was…

  • Why outing [some] bishops must remain an option

    Last weekend, an extraordinary letter was published in the Sunday Telegraph. It came from 300 Christians, mostly Anglicans who were offering support to their bishops should any of them decide to come out. It was described by some as a love letter to gay bishops. I had the chance to sign the letter and, though…