1 – Where can I find the most spiritual place in the city.
2 – What is the taste of the city and where can I get some?
3 – What’s the best place in town that visitors never go to?
4 – Where would you go to get the definitive photograph of the city?
5 – What is the best beach/green place round here?
6 – What makes people laugh here?
7- Where is the prettiest place to go for a walk?
8 – Where is the place that most makes you happy?
9 – What makes people come and live here and why?
10 – Why did they build it right here?
10 responses to “The end of the World”
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Mildly serious question that has never occurred to me before. Why does she still get called the Virgin Mary when Jesus had brothers she presumably had in the normal way?
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Well, there are those who try to make the case that she remained “ever” Virgin and that the reference to Jesus’s brothers is an oblique and more general reference to the men of the extended family – cousins, uncles and so on. I think that’s rather silly myself.
The Blessed Virgin Mary is simply one of the titles afforded her because of the persistent story of Christ’s birth. For myself, I think there is more interesting theological ground to be ploughed by thinking of her as exemplifying a virgin world waiting in longing and expectation for God to come. That kind of thing seems to me to be considerably more potent than birth-story tittle-tattle.
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When I was young I was sure the birth story was ‘just a myth’ – but then as I got deeper into history I got more experienced at evaluating stories. Not, you understand, ‘form-critical’ experienced, but historical experienced. What now strikes me with force is that two very different writers tell very different stories about the birth of Jesus with very different genealogies. However, despite the two birth stories coming from markedly different traditions, both bill Mary as a virgin. In any other context, I would find that more than convincing. So here, too, I let myself be convinced. As a sober historian, and cynic, I find it the most probably explanation. Not the only historically possible one, just the most generally convincing.
Generally, I find historical thought more satisfying than the more circular arguments of form criticism. I am fairly sure I could use form criticism to disprove the fact that David Cameron is currently the PM.
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Thanks – I have no problem with the virgin birth, its been humanly possible for decades now so I reckon God could have arranged it easily enough a couple of thousand years ago.
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Well, actually it is NOT humanly possible – even with IVF. You cannot get a boy baby, humanly speaking, without a father. But then, humanly speaking, bodies do not resurrect, and walk and talk and eat…
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Rosemary, I think you are being a bit technical. Where I come from a virgin is someone who hasn’t had sex.
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The problem is that it is not the ‘having sex’ but the chromosomes in the baby. Or to put it another way – how did Jesus get his X? It is easy enough to get pregnant without ‘having sex’ but harder without ‘having sperm’. Despite that, the evidence is that two unrelated stories believe it was done. And two unrelated stories believe the babe was born in Bethlehem. Very interesting.
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From God?
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Sperm from God? Not I think, stories ‘from God’ except in the general sense that all understanding is divine. No. Stories from history. And the biology? Truly beyond current understanding. But, here you have it – if one understands it ceases to be amazing and people say : ‘Now we understand, that is not a miracle and Jesus is not form God.’ And if we do not understand, people say: ‘We do not understand and so it cannot have happened, and Jesus is not from God.’
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If I didn’t believe God could knock out a few sperm as and when required I would have Sunday mornings free.
Previous Posts
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High Mass
We have a special day today at St Saviour’s. Richard Holloway is coming to preach and the choir are singing a special mass setting at a service at lunchtime which is sponsored by Affirming Catholicism. I’m not actually a member of Affirming Catholicism though I am broadly in sympathy with what they are doing. I…
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Blogging at the Democrat Convention
The story is this – the Democrats in the US have given a very select group of bloggers space at their convention to cover the event online on their blogs for the rest of the world. So far so dull. Or so I thought until I realised that one of the 15 or so bloggers…
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Jet Lag
Only just coming to terms with the time change from being away on holiday. It does not usually affect me so, especially as it is not that great between here and Greece. However I've been waking at 0530 the last couple of mornings.Got unexpectedly distracted yesterday by a monk. one of my old college friends…
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I'm Back
Just to note that I am back from 2 weeks holiday in Crete. The blog posts below were posted in advance. Normal service is now resumed. Crete was hot and good. Monasteries and moussaka.
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