Living Wittily

To soften rocks, or bend a knotted oak

Music is a powerful, persuasive, subversive force in human culture, having a capacity 'to soften rocks, or bend a knotted oak.' Decided recently to have a summer of rediscovered favourite music and newly discovered shouldn't have missed it first time music. So I've added a sidebar called Music Redivivus - the albums there list the music I'm now making time to listen to. My usual stuff includes Baroque, Beethoven, assorted Country - mainly female vocalists, Joan Baez and bits and pieces of other stuff. So I've asked several folk to give me the name of a CD they think would help me recover from my self imposed philistinism and restore a sense of cultural connectedness!! Over the next couple of months I'll occasionally update on my progress on a musical refresher course, curriculum dictated by other people's tastes.

But first, a singer I am revisiting. Several years ago I discovered Carrie Newcomer. Her work was profiled in Sojourners, never a recommendation I'd ignore. I discovered a singer and writer whose major key is hopefulness, who combines faith with justice, and laughter with serious critique of all that makes laughter hard. She tells stories of the hopes and dreams, the struggles and courage of immigrants, single mothers, refugees and others whose place in the world is threatened and whose life chances are made fragile by 'the way it is'. Her songs vibrate with a sense of life's mystery, how frustration mixes with fulfilment, sadness with joyfulness, loss with new possibility. She is a wonderful apologist for music as a deeply formative shaper of moral response and a hopeful worldview. Here's one of her songs from the CD My True Name.

When one door closes another door opens wide
It's hard to believe all of the locked doors I've tried
And you can't pray for what you want or what you'd have instead
You can only offer up your heart and ask that you be led

Life's gonna take you, where you never thought you'd go
When you finally think you've got it down, It isn't so
There are windows and doors, you're not finished with yet
It's not always getting what you want, but wanting what you get
Chorus

It's not gettin' easier, so I'm not going to pretend
That I know this story from it's beginning to it's end
Oh believe me when I tell you, believe me if you can

If I could turn down the noise of my own will and choice
I could hear the truth of my life in a clear voice
I will bow down my head to the wisdom of my heart
Cool my heels and hold on to the best parts

Muffins and Sandy the Poet; Pizza, IRN BRU and Wembley

Thursday morning went in to College hoping to find my glasses - the expensive ones. Asked at the Cybercafe - no luck. Over to the library and asked on floor three if any glasses had been handed in. Librarian misheard me, looked at me as if I was daft, and said,

'We don't lend glasses. Anyway, the only ones I've got are my own and they would look weird on you.'

After explanations - she's embarrassed and I still don't have my glasses. Eventually I found them - on the floor of my study (I don't have an office - I have a study, HMMPHH!) - under the chair, undamaged either by the wheels of the chair or the cleaner's hoover the night before!

Friday morning did lots of phone / email / marking then went for a coffee with Graeme. Met Alexander Hutchison the Scottish poet - not to name-drop but Sandy has been a friend since my early days here at the University - he gave me one of his poems, signed, as a gift to mark my Doctorate. Well a long blether about illumination in the poetry of Theodore Roethke, the dialectic between immanence and transcendence, the inordinately long sentence (Sandy thinks the longest one extant!) that comes at the end of Michael Polyani's 1951-2 Gifford lectures, Personal Knowledge, and our usual swipe at the suffocating algae of contemporary academic administration that reduces the oxygen and light of scholarship.By the way, did I mention the curling stone sized blueberry muffins that Graeme and I ate???

Friday afternoon did another 10k run - still quite hard going but slowly improving. Not today though - end of Semester fatigue took the edge off. But the wind, a couple of light showers and quite a lot of sunshine provided a pleasant climate in which to risk expiring. Running past a bus stop in Crookston Road, obviously looking mildly distressed, young ned says, devoid of sensitivity,  ' Ach ye'll be too auld onywye by 2012.'

Obviously I no longer cut it as an Olympic prospect. But I did shift most of that mountainous muffin though!

This afternoon is fitba' and pizza - Andrew and I are hoping for a scoring draw, extra time and then a penalty shoot-out at the new Wembley which today doubles as the OK Corral between Mourinho and Ferguson. If one is the goodie and one is the baddie, which is Ike Clanton and which is Wyatt Eearp? 

Doesn't matter we're neutral observers of the beautiful game, skilled practitioners of sofa fitba, the high energy spectator sport sustained by Pizza and, in true Blythean spirit, - IRN BRU. Anyway the BIG game is tomorrow - Aberdeen need to beat Rangers to qualify for Europe - or Hearts need to lose at Kilmarnock - which makes me a two day fervent Killie fan.

A good conversation with Sean and Stuart the other day about why we blog, should we blog, is blogging addictive, why spend time blogging when you can do real writing, what are we avoiding / escaping from when we blog????

(By the way, the pictures on this post are some of the ones I have enjoyed using - they serve to reinforce the human, moral and spiritual dimensions of what I think makes blogging 'worth it' for me.)

Well, right up front, some of it must be vanity - the assumption someone other than me is sometimes interested in some of what I sometimes say. So a bit of self-indulgence - but it's the other reasons that I hope are the main energy sources.

Some of it is creativity - I love words, I enjoy writing, the 'create a new post' button gets pressed I see the empty whiteness and get thinking and tapping - not just for the sake of it, but because articulation and communication of thought is a significant defining activity of the human person - and of the Christian following after the One who was "the Word made flesh", the articulate communication of who God is.

Some of it is curiosity - wondering if others think as I do, care about what matters to me, laugh at the same things, but also it helps me learn if and how others see life differently and more interestingly than me. Communal reflection and conversation isn't about me being re-assured by others reinforcing my view of the world - but a shared exploration of its ambiguity, frustration, loss, wonder, joy and whatever else happens. A creative communal curiosity about the best ways to share life on this planet might break a few vicious cirles.

Some of it is cathartic - when something gets to me, -  perceived injustice, culpable stupidity, inexcusable arrogance, unnecessary rudeness, blatant greed and needless waste, human hurt and humans causing hurt - that and much else - it helps to name it. So naming injustice, resisting cruelty, saying prayer, giving voice both to moral outrage and to moral admiration - now and again, here and there, this and that happens, and the odd piece of prophetic blogging names it and brings it into the light, so that we can see if its deeds are evil, or if it can be clearly seen that it is the work of God.

And some is celebration - living wittily is still an underlying worldview I try to live. Witty as in wise; witty as in funny; witty as in curious, cathartic, creative, celebratory engagement with the life God gives. Not that I manage anywhere near all of that ; or even some of it most of the time. But to enjoy life and people, to be the occasional gladness maker, to resist the suppressive forces of consumer self interest by generously living its opposite - to laugh, encourage, support, affirm, praise, appreciate, all those whose lives impinge on, and enrich, our own living - that's a worldview compatible with the Kingdom!

Those who missed my induction to blogdom can read what I take living wittily  to mean here. Sean paid me the embarrassingly welcome comment of saying what he thought of that post - he obviously liked it! Living wittily means living attentively (to others), seeing (others) wisely, listening (to others) with critical care, acting supportively and curatively (for others), speaking constructively (to others), and gratefully receiving the grace that comes (from others).

held together by covenant and trustful of the Spirit

Two short italicised extracts from Sean's Whitley Lecture give a good indication of what he is proposing as a Baptist Covenantal approach to interpreting the Bible:

Biblical interpretation in covenantal perspective should be understood as the church's active, diverse and ongoing engagement with the biblical texts.

A Baptist, covenantal hermeneutic will permit interpretive diversity and disagreement as a hallmark of the church's life and not insist on particular interpretive decisions as the necessary hallmark of being 'biblical'.

Embedded in a magisterial, though still developing lecture, these proposals offer important and liberating principles that could enable Baptists both to take the Bible seriously, and accept that differences of biblical interpretation can be seen as both enriching corrective and shared responsiveness in our task of living under the rule of Christ. The underlying assumption is that if we are met together in covenanted fellowship in Christ, then that foundational covenant agreement should be strong enough to support significant difference, enable us to agree to differ and respect our differences, and continue talking towards, and walking towards, a shared understanding in seeking to discern the mind of Christ.

Listening to Sean eloquently and persuasively arguing for such interpretive diversity within a covenanted unity raised the thought:

the maturity of a Baptist community could well be measured by its capacity to allow, encourage and practice the interpretation of Scripture, believing that differences in interpretations of Scripture are to be subsumed under the greater responsibility to live out our covenanted relationship with each other in Christ, within the diversity of the community Christ Himself has called together.

In other words, as we explore, discuss, disagree, try to agree on the meaning of the biblical texts, we presuppose as a prior principle, our shared relationship with the living Christ, and our sincere goal of hearing and obeying His call. That call to obedient living is often mediated through the faithful questioning of a community engaged in listening...to Christ through Scripture, and to Scripture interpreted by a community held together by covenant and trustful of the Spirit, who bears witness to Christ amongst us and within us.

Those of us who heard Sean's lecture, now look forward to the intended expansion of his reflections into a full monograph. As Baptist Christians too often tempted to claim 'biblical' for our point of view, and to represent any other view as 'unbiblical', we sorely need such wise, generous and capable guidance. Thank you Sean for a good evening of thinking and rethinking about an area of our life together that is both crucially important and culpably neglected.

Strawberry tarts, IRN BRU and related educational experiences!

Yesterday Glasgow was basking in Spring sunshine, which made for a good day with our visiting friends from Manchester. After an unintended circular tour of Paisley our visitors arrived at the College in time for coffee and strawberry tarts (illustrated).

Stuart then introduced us to Scottish culture and the underlying implications for understanding the context of mission in contemporary Scotland, - and did so by using the blue and orange cuckoo Irn Bru advert. This was quality exposition of a foundational contemporary text in Scottish cultural expression - nae kiddin, it wiz so!

Lunch - then we reflected together on the prayers, politics and pacifism of George Macleod of Iona, which took us into a wider discussion of the importance yet difficulty of building deep levels of personal and spiritual formation into an educational process that is modular, intense and inhospitable to slow organic growth of spirit.

Then off to Kelvingrove where we were all free to follow our artistic, historic, gastric preferences either in the art galleries, the historic galleries or the very fine cafe. A walk around Kelvingrove Park, then to our Italian Restaurant (Sarti's in Bath Street which we are happy to recommend), where we met up with Isabella (SBC events manager and all round fixer), and where our guests made us their guests - in a Gospel reversal of hospitality.

In recognition of significant calorie acquisition, we then strolled into the centre to George's Square and inadvertently gate-crashed the ad hoc parties of the Spanish football supporters here for the Uefa Cup final tonight at Hampden. Drawn as if by some not alttogether inexplicable magnet we drifted to Borders (Books and Coffee), before strolling back, saying goodbye and heading for home and bed.

What a good, full, satisfying day - laughter and seriousness, food and friendship, conversation and culture, time to pay adequate attention to the importance of what we do with our lives but also time to remember not to take ourselves too seriously. This was partnership in the Gospel and friendship for the sake of it - and something to be repeated. An invitation to Manchester is already tabled.....where's my diary??

Dr Sean Winter, NT Tutor and member of the Manchester staff at Northern College, will stay over until tonight, Wednesday 16th. At our invitation Sean will be at the Central Baptist Church in Paisley - 7.30 p.m. when he will deliver the 2007 Whitley Lecture: 'More Light and Truth? Biblical Interpretation in Covenantal Perspective.'

Everybody welcome - some serious and important theological thinking going on here, so feel free to come and enjoy a celebration and affirmation of theology done well as a service to the Kingdom.

A hundred Thousand Welcomes

We are sharing today with friends and colleagues from Luther King House, the home of Northern Baptist College, Manchester. Our friends are on staff retreat and are staying at Gartmore House up in Stirlingshire, but they will spend today with us in Paisley and Glasgow to get a feel for what we are trying to do about theological education and ministry formation in Scotland.

Stuart and I will share some of our thinking about doing and teaching theology in the Scottish cultural context; Stuart through a brilliant (I don't use superlatives as redundant flattery!) paper on post-modern cultural features as they impinge on theological and social awareness; I will use the prayers of George Macleod to open up discussion about the formation and development of prayer in ministry, its rootedness in the doctrines of Trinitarian love, creation and redemption, and its expression as a form of ministry that engages with political and social realities.

  Then lunch - after which we take a trip to the most popular visitor attraction in Scotland, the magnificent Kelvingrove Art Gallery and we will spend time enjoying the creative genius, varied beauty, emotional intensity, of great art.

Because it can't be done in a quick jaunt, we will explore the delights of the Gallery cafe before continuing the enjoyment of Glasgow's finest cultural centre - and it's free. The day will finish with a shared meal (Italian) and good conversation amongst friends and fellow theological journeyers. 

To all who are coming to be with us, a hundred thousand welcomes -

and may you each know the blessing of God expressed in our Scottish weather:

If it's wet - then may you know the blessing that softly and persistently falls on the righteous and the unrighteous.

If it's cold - then may you feel the fresh bracing air of God's galvanising Spirit, even if it causes goosepimples.

If, by any chance, the sun is shining - may you bask in the radiant extravagance of God's love, and know the spiritual equivalent of photosynthesis

If it is cold, and with showers and sunny intervals - may you know the threefold blessing of the Triune God and be blessed, galvanised and radiated by the love of God, and give thanks for the predictably unpredictable weather of Scotland, which one way or another, speaks the welcome of God.

Speaking light out of darkness...

In the beginning was the Word…..

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth,

and the earth was without form, and void,

and darkness was upon the face of the deep,.....

and God said….Let there be light’.

Speech, Holy Word,

the articulation of divine intention and purpose,

‘Let there be…’

Made in the image of God, we too speak,

and what we say vibrates with possibility.

Words call into existence,

make possible,

shape relationships,

communicate meaning,

become freighted with significance

because once we speak, words are let loose.

They cannot be recovered, unsaid,

and their healing or hurt may have a long afterlife.

Made in the image of God,

we are wise if we listen not only to what God says,

but to how God speaks;

and wiser still if we pay attention to why God speaks.

When James tackles the fundamental spiritual disciplines he says little of contemplation, mystical joy rides, charismatic gifts – he speaks of wisdom, words, and therefore wise speaking and even wiser listening. James 3.1-12

Prayer

Lord we all make many mistakes in our conversation.

The way we choose words and construct sentences,

which temper and tamper with truth

The tone of voice, the pace of diction, the volume of our speaking,

communicating impatience and self-importance.

Lord forgive us when we use words as weapons to hurt others,

or as shields to hide behind when we are criticised:

Lord forgive us, when our words are arrogant and self serving,

when we would rather speak than listen

and rather be seen and heard than seen and serving

Lord, whose words called worlds into being,

Make our words creative and life-giving;

Lord whose words wrestled order out of chaos,

and still speak light out of darkness

Put words in our mouth that call chaos to account;

That challenge injustice and defend the vulnerable,

So may we speak light out of darkness,

Through Jesus Christ, the Word, and Light of the world, Amen

O Lord of every shining constellation...

The universe that is steadily being disclosed to our various sciences is found to be characterised throughout time and space by an ascending gradient of meaning in richer and higher forms of order. Instead of levels of existence and reality being explained reductionally from below in materialistic and mechanistic terms, the lower levels are found to be explained in terms of higher, invisible, intangible levels of reality. in this perspective the splits become healed, constructive syntheses emerge, being and doing become conjoined, and integration of form takes place in the sciences and arts, the material and the spiritual dimenisions overlap, while knowledge of God and of his creation go hand in hand and bear constructively on one another.

T. F. Torrance, Reality and Scientific Theology, xi.

This piece of abstract but highly assertive theology reminds me of one of my favourite hymns:

...

O Lord of every shining constellation

   that wheels in splendour through the midnight sky;

Grant us your Spirit’s true illumination

   to read the secrets of your work on high.

.

You, Lord, have made the atom’s hidden forces,

   your laws its mighty energies fulfil;

Teach us, to whom you give such rich resources,

   in all we use, to serve your holy will.

.

O Life, awaking life in cell and tissue,

   from flower to bird, from beast to brain of man;

Help us to trace, from birth to final issue,

   the sure unfolding of your age-long plan.

.

You, Lord, have stamped your image on your creatures,

   and, though they mar that image, love them still;

Lift up our eyes to Christ, that in His features

   we may discern the beauty of your will.

.

Great Lord of nature, shaping and renewing,

   you made us more than nature’s heirs to be;

You help us trace, with grace our souls enduing,

   the road to life and immortality.

A F Bayly

T F Torrance's intellectual debts - in Haiku!

Hard to argue with the dominant presence of Tom Torrance on the Scottish theological landscape for over 60 years. He is a mountainous presence, admired worldwide for his contribution to the study of Barth and Calvin, the relations of Christian faith to scientific ways of knowing, the development of a viable theological rapprochement on the Trinity between the East and the West, and all these informed by deep long reading in patristic, reformed and ecumentical theology.

But he doesn't only gather, reconstruct and recycle the theological products of others, he is also a creative and cosntructive theologian in his own right. It is that combination of creative assimilation and constructive initiative that makes this book on the Christian doctrine of God such rich, hard, rewarding reading.

In a more playful mood last night I drafted some Haiku in celebration of Torrance and his theological heroes. As always, I use the 5x7x5 haiku structure, the trinitarian structure indicating what Jonathan Edwards might have called 'the shadow of divine things'!

Torrance Haiku

...

Athanasius,
Lucid apologist for
‘The Incarnation’

...

Homoousios,
One substance with the Father,
Torrance-structured truth.

...

Calvin’s Institutes,
Reformed fons et origo,
Torrance’s benchmark.

...

Barth’s Church Dogmatics,
Everest meets Niagaran
Grammar of The Word.

...

Scottish Dogmatics
Displaying Reformed barcodes,
Geneva and Basle.

Torrance and devotion to the Trinity

Tom Torrance's theological debts are well known. Athanasius, Calvin, Barth, H R Mackintosh are primary influences on his understanding of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, his lifelong exploration of the unsearchable riches of Christ, the incarnate, crucified and risen redeemer as these are revealed, bestowed and appropriated, in communion with the triune God of grace. I argued yesterday that every believer is a theologian, and promised a sample of Torrance. In fact three extracts from early in the book, The Christian Doctrine of God - the third is from H R Mackintosh, Torrance's teacher.

The specifically Christian doctrine of God is thus inescapably and essentially Christicentric.....this does not mean that all our knowledge of God can be reduced to Christology, but that as there is only one mediator between God and man, who is himself both God and Man, and only one revelation of God in which he himself is its actual content, all authentic knowledge of God is derived and understood in accordance with the incarnate reality of God's self-revelation in Jesus Christ, and is formulated in doctrinal coherence with Christology.

[Jesus Chrts] is not some created intermediary between God and the world but the very Word and Son of God who eternally inheres in the Being of God so that for us to know him as the God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, is really to know God as he is in himself in his eternal Being as God and in the transcendent Love that God is. He is in himself not other than what he is toward us in his loving revealing and saving presence in Christ.

The contrast between Torrance's careful if convoluted sentences and Mackintosh's sharp lucidity is obvious - but the theological vision is equally Christ centred, and definitive of the Christian apprehension of God.

The words of Jesus are the voice of God. The tears of Jesus are the pity of God. The wrath of Jesus is the judgement of God. All believers confess, with adoring praise, that in their most sacred hours, God and Christ merge in each other with morally indistinguishable identity. When in secret we look into God's face, still it is the face of Christ that rises up before us.

You can learn more about God, and more about the meaning of devotion and the God we adore, by reading the few pages from which these quotations come, than from a whole supermarket trolley of devotional pot-noodles !