What is in Kelvin's Head?

  • Inspirational Conversations: How to change the world

    Last week I had some inspirational conversations on Sunday with David Kenvyn, who is the verger at St Mary’s and one of the servers.

    David was talking about his involvement in the anti-apartheid movement.

    Now, lots of people in the UK can rightly think of themselves as part of that struggle, but David has been stuck right into it all his life. Indeed, he had first hand memories of Nelson Mandela and Trevor Huddleston.

    I found the whole conversation hugely inspiring and made me think a lot about the amazing gifts that people have to offer around the altar in St Mary’s.

    If you want a bit of inspiration, take a look at the videos.

    Forum conversation with David Kenvyn, talking about his involvement with the Anti-Apartheid Movement in South Africa.

    Forum conversation with David Kenvyn, discussing setting up libraries and sending books to South Africa.

    , ,

5 responses to “St Strumpet?”

  1. Mary Brown Avatar
    Mary Brown

    How about the wife of Jesus, airbrushed out of the story by later misogynist Christians? See Starbird, M “The Woman with the Alabaster Jar” and other books by her. She is an ex-Catholic who set out to refute the Holy Blood, Holy Grail story and ended by being convinced that Jesus and Mary were a married pair (and an archetype of the male/female balance principle). There’s a wonderful window in Kilmore Church, Mull. Check it out – whoever created it intended it to represent J and M as husband and wife, and M is clearly pregnant. Of course, there is no unchallengeable evidence that Jesus was married, but what I would like to ask the sceptics is why, given that He was the word made flesh and dwelt among us, is it unacceptable for Him to have been a sexual being? Why have later Christians considered sexuality, even in a loving relationship, to be something disgusting? Because they have, we are now stuck with the nasty views of the NotW brigade that sex is either an acceptable leisure activity or something gross. As Margaret Starbird points out, if we restored Mary as Jesus’ beloved consort we would be creating a much more wholesome myth!

    Reply
    1. kelvin Avatar
      kelvin

      It is a little like the arguments that might be made of the relationship between Jesus and the beloved disciple though, isn’t it? All very attractive and neat if you come from a particular point of view but not really backed up with enough evidence apart from modern presumption, presupposition and desire.

      Reply
  2. ryan Avatar
    ryan

    I think the arguments on Jesus being married are very far from being liberationary. Rather, they’re the natural end-point of the Evangelical mindset that homophobically (and unbiblically) divides the world into Normal Heterosexual Married types and the demonised Other. “It is better to marry than burn” might have some mysognistic readings conducive to the fundamentalist world-view, but it hardly most naturally supports the idolatarisation of particular heterosexual relationships.

    If I had a pound for every time a nominal Sola Scriptura type had told me that St.Paul had to have been married (presumably because Our Lord’s asceticism and disinterest in heterosexual marriage is bad enough) then I would be a very rich man indeed 😉

    Interesting post Kelvin! Had no idea that St.Mary M even had red hair Perhaps she could be reclaimed as the Patron Saint of Gingers and Other Persecuted Minorities? 🙂

    Reply
    1. kelvin Avatar
      kelvin

      Oh, her hair was red, Ryan. Flaming Red I believe.

      Reply
  3. ryan Avatar
    ryan

    How reginal! 😉

    Reply

Leave a Reply

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

Previous Posts

  • Motion 2 is proposed

    Synod is asked to accept the Annual Report of Accounts. David Palmer thanks the Boards and Committees for continuing to work within very constrained budgets. Standing Committee will be focusing on Whole Church Mission and Ministry policy (presumably, if we agree it).

  • General Synod of the Scottish Episcopal Church 2011

    The synod was inaugurated with a splendid Eucharist for St Columba’s Day. Fabulous music. The Primus spoke of Iona as being at both the edges and the margins as offering a model for the SEC. He also said, rather interestingly that as the SEC begins to consider the Anglican Covenant he could see that there…

  • Speaking Gay-lick

    One of my many adventures of the last couple of weeks was travelling from Paris to the South of France by sleeper train. I rather like travelling by sleeper, but this was the first time I’d done it in France. French sleepers are a little different to the UK ones, not least in that there…

  • Places to Eat?

    Steven McQuitty who is a regular reader and occassional commenter on this blog has asked for suggestions of places to eat when he’s in Glasgow sometime soon. He’s staying at the CitizenM hotel, which I think is that new one with all the rather striking lampshades that is just down from the Theatre Royal where…