In the last few days there have been terrorist attacks in Maiduguri, Ankara, Istanbul, Brussels.
People from all around the world and all traditions stand in solidarity with those places under attack.
Eternal God
hear the cries of your people
as we stand in solidarity
with those under attack.
Protect the innocent,
comfort the needy,
confound the wicked.
Give strength to the rescuers,
determination to peacemakers,
courage to law-enforcers,
strength to the weary.
Amen.
Fred and Leanne’s comments, way off the mark when it comes to St Mary’s but true to a large extent about other churches, make me realise that a vital element of the new militant atheism/ secularism (not to be confused with multiculturalism as it is totally intolerant of difference) is its online presence. Everyone likes being smug and to be a smug theist you have to spend a considerable amount of time in a good library but to be a smug atheist you need about 3 minutes online watching a video clip of someone untrained in ontology or ethics (but, say, a professor of biology) expound on Being and preach amorality. Bingo! An easy rant to borrow down the pub. It’s the Tractarian approach to evangelisation. Give it to em in byte sized chunks.
“totally intolerant of difference”? You mean the Mainline Protestant churches and semi-Churches (Unitarians and Quakers) of North America, who’ve been preaching “Celebrate Diversity” for over 40 years while still remaining over 95% White and middle/upper middle class? “We hope to represent the future of religion”; odd, you’ve somehow managed to have a median age of 57+. Barely 9% of any Mainline Protestant body is under 31 years old.
The Tea Party and Republican National Convention are more “diverse” than these groups.
About as vibrant and colorful as skim milk.
Again, why bother? You either have the worst programs to “represent our neighborhoods in our churches” or you just don’t mean it.
I think it is very clear, Fred that Alan is not talking about mainline protestant churches in North America.
It was very obvious to me that the issues over race and ethnicity there are very far removed from what we experience at St Mary’s and I think in the UK generally.
That isn’t to say all is perfect but it is to say that things are very different here.
St Mary’s is very ethnically diverse, and a heck of a lot less than 95% white and does not draw its members from one income-bracket either … nor is our median age in its fifties, I would think. Nor have I ever heard any of us suggest that one has to be religious to be moral. It would of course be wrong to be smug about these things, but then – we are all a little wrong from time to time, aren’t we?
HM the Q was at Lambeth Palace visiting the AB of C the other day and had quite a lot to say about the church. I must admit that I found some of it quite surprising and not perhaps terribly well advised. Here at Lambeth Palace we should remind ourselves of the significant position of…
I do like the fact that we have an angel with rainbow wings perched above the High Altar in St Mary’s. Just saying.
My interlocutor from yesterday has asked me another very good question on twitter. As I discussed your blog with other Christians its led me to another big question Do you believe god has a unique plan for us all? The first thing to note is that Mark is very good at asking questions. I came…
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