The Unspeakable Privilege of Preaching

I am tired - really tired. My limbs ache, and my voice is shot to pieces, but yet I have a huge sense of gratitude and joy, because this is all due to preaching - that is to say Bible-teaching. Over the last week or so I have spoken more intensively than ever before (eight messages in eight days!), but it hasn't just been a challenge - it has been the most wonderful thing to have been able to do! Last night, as I drove back down the A9 after a trip to visit good friends in Fort William I was stirred in my spirit with a sense not just of gratitude to God for the opportunity to lead two services, preach twice and do a children's message - but also with a profound sense of the sheer privilege it is to stand in front of a congregation and open the Bible and to preach it.

That is not to say that all of these messages were any good! In fact they were a bit of a mixed bag - some went well, some not so well. What's more, it's really important that they didn't all go well - otherwise it would be all too easy to fall into the awful trap of egotism; after all - I have spent hours being listened to! What's more, when people appreciate what you have said they tell you; but when its not been so good they don't - and so how painfully easy it is to overestimate your own significance.

But yet - what a privilege it remains to have time to wrestle with a text, to pore over a commentary or two and gather a wealth of material until that wonderful moment when a coherent structure begins to emerge from all the notes. It remains an immense challenge to pray until able to please God, and not seek primarily to impress people - something I perhaps rarely achieve. What a deeply significant and wonderful thing it then is, when you can sense God moving as His word is delivered, when His strength comes and there is a sense of freedom in the delivery; when people say they have learned new truths from the word; or have been moved again by truths they have known for many years.

It's a really wonderful thing to be able to take part in! I just sometimes can't quite believe that God wants me to be involved!

A Harmony of the Events of Holy Week

If anyone is interested in reading through the events of Holy Week as they unfold in the four gospels, there are a few harmonies of the accounts online. This one is especially helpful I think, and you can click on the links to explore the texts too.

http://www.esvstudybible.org/sb/objects/chart-40-04.html

The Parable of the Two Angels

I was invited to a lunch for retired people yesterday at one of the churches in Perth. Little 'Doris' came with me, and behaved beautifully - although in typical fashion found the attention of people she didn't know too scary and hid behind her colouring book for most of the time! The highlight of the occasion though was a story that one of the older men told me after we had eaten - it was called The Parable of the Two Angels; it's simplicity contains a truth that is easier said than truly grasped.

One one occasion God saw that some work needed to be done on earth and decided to dispatch two angels to complete the tasks. Both angels He selected for the jobs were middle-ranking angels who had been close friends if not for ever, then at least since before the beginning. Both angels were thrilled to be given an assignment by God, packed for the trip and collected the envelopes containing their instructions. The first angel arrived on earth, and with a glad heart opened his envelope. He was surprised to discover that he was going to preach that day to two-thousand people, with remarkable results. He went and got on with the work - delighted to have a chance to serve. The second angel arrived on earth shortly after him, and with a glad heart opened the envelope containing his instructions. He was surprised to discover that he was to sweep the streets of the town and collect all the litter. He went and got on with the work - delighted to have a chance to serve. When the work was completed they met together and travelled back to heaven, eager to see God again. On the journey home, they talked about their day and what they had encountered. The second angel fought back slight feelings of disappointment that his friend had been entrusted with so much responsibility while his tasks had been somewhat mundane. The first angel fought back the feelings of smug superiority he sensed in himself as they spoke together. The greatest surprise of the day occurred however when they came before God to offer Him the worship of their completed service. "Well done, my good and faithful servants!" declared God to the old friends as they bowed before Him. And he handed them both an identical reward. The second angel looked stunned and was about to query why his friend hadn't received more than him, given the relative importance of the tasks they had performed - when he stopped himself, realising that there's never really an appropriate moment to query God's judgement. "I know what you are thinking" though said God, "why should I reward you both equally for what you consider to be unequal tasks? The fact is you both worked with equal love for me, in obedience to my will. I could have given either task to either of you and equipped you for it, but you both served me with equal love and faithfulness. The value of a work to be done, is not found in the applause it gains from people, but in the love it demonstrates for the one who instructed it."

The View from The Knock

An enjoyable day out today with friends from Tayside Christian Fellowship, including a trip to Crieff, a wander up The Knock, and ice creams at Crieff Hydro!

Sawing, splitting, stacking

Setting-Up

Looks like a "Marriage Course" night!

Winter Perth

Mortality and Microwaves

The photo is of our broken microwave oven waiting by the front door, ready to be taken to the dump to be unceremoniously er,... dumped. This is the only microwave we've ever owned, and was given to us as a wedding present almost fourteen years ago. I'm actually slightly shocked just writing that down, fourteen years!

That microwave worked faithfully in our first little flat in Dundee, heating our dodgy student-food in a tiny kitchen high above the Lochee Road. It survived the move to Perth to a run-down (but scandalously-cheap) flat owned by my wife's then employer. It came with us, when we upgraded to a two-bedroomed flat (same owner, same condition) after 'Boris' was born in 1999. It moved with us on again to the first little house we bought - and then with far too many children in tow, to the place we are now in. It has warmed hundreds of bottles of baby formula, heated a thousand plates before meals, grilled many a slice of cheese-on-toast, warmed the milk for countless cups of coffee - and generally been with us as long as we have been, 'us'. In fact, I would only be exaggerating slightly if I were to say that I can't imagine our kitchen without it - and had always unthinkingly sort of assumed that it would always be there.

If the strange passing of our microwave oven (with grill) is provoking a ludicrously sentimental response - the real reason behind it, actually lies in none of the above. The microwave that conked out this week was actually a wedding present from my late-grandparents. Much as the microwave has been a fixed and unchanging fixture in our kitchen, so my little Grandma had been a fixed and unchanging point of reference throughout the first three-and-a-half decades of my life. It's still odd not having a microwave - and I sometimes forget that its not there and go to use it. Absence is unusual, odd, peculiar, awkward and not right.

I had recently mused upon the irony that the Sharp "950W Microwave Oven and Quartz dual-Grill" they bought in 1996 lasted so much longer than they did. Yet, also thought how nice it was to still have a functioning reminder of them in daily use. The death of the oven was then an odd but nevertheless stark reminder of mortality; as not only have they gone, but the footprints they left in this world have already begun to be kicked over. A philosopher many thousands of years ago, known only to us as Quoheleth mourned that the final tragedy of death is that no-one remembers them.(1) Indeed, it won't be long until no-one here does: them or me, or us, or you.

In reality of course, two things temper my morbid mood as I take this redundant tool to its final resting place. The first is that it is only a part of the physical world that Jesus warned his followers, would always be subject to rot, rust, decay or theft.(2) The second (and more important) factor though is that, the people who I miss were not people who had dedicated their lives to the temporary, passing and material concerns of life; but were people with faith in Christ who had spent a lifetime accumulating treasure in heaven(3). A time will come when no-one living remembers my Grandparents - nor anything about their lives. Yet nothing, not one detail, escapes the infinite capacity of the mind of God (4). The assurance though is that they are not merely remembered by God distantly, but treasured by Him in His immediate presence. (5)

This is the crunch: things need to be replaced, but people need to be resurrected! Resurrection for us is possible because of the resurrection of Christ, his conquest of sin and death, and our reconciliation with God. What Christ achieved in the tomb on the first Easter Sunday, smashes through the categories of life and death, mortality and immortality; creating a doorway into everlasting communion with God; which we can enter by faith in him.

Memory and association can tie the most important things to the most mundane of objects.

1. Ecclesiastes 9:5

2. Matthew 6:19

3. Matthew 6:20

4. Luke 12:7

5. 1 Cor 13:12

The Marriage Preparation Course

Mrs H. & I really wish that we had done some form of 'Marriage Preparation' before we got hitched in 1996. In our case it wasn't so much that we were deluded love-birds who couldn't imagine ever needing to actually work on our relationship; nor was it the simple arrogance of youth which doesn't look to gain wisdom from those who have walked the road before. With us it was more to do with the fact that we came from different parts of the UK, were studying in Scotland, were getting married in Ireland, and she spent the summer running up to our marriage in a remote corner of Africa! As such we ended up being well-prepared for a wedding, but not so well prepared for marriage -this made the learning curve steeper and harder.

Interestingly the things we were least prepared for were the practicalities of sharing, space, time and well, everything really! We didn't disagree about the nature of marriage, the theology of marriage, the purpose or permanence of it; but the practical merging together of two different lives required some thought.

Happily, since we got married in 1996 a very practical Marriage Preparation Course, has been growing around the UK. Usually hosted by churches, but run in all manner of venues including registry offices; the Marriage Preparation Course helps couples to think and talk through the issues which affect most marriages as they develop over the years. I know some folks who have done it in London, and have said that it was really useful for them.

As it's now February - the 2010 summer marriage season will soon be upon us! If you are reading this and you are one of those thousands of engaged couples counting the days until your wedding, now is a good time to investigate the course. For more details about the Marriage Preparation Course click here, and to find out where the nearest course to you is, type your postcode into the box after clicking here.

A truly loathsome T-shirt: and I the proud owner!

Being married to a Dr. means that I am frequently subjected to that profession's notoriously dark biological sense of humour which inappropriately finds amusement in all things bodily. If the subject be digestive, reproductive, malodorous, embarrassing or just plain appalling - then so much the better.

A while ago I blogged about finding a copy of the delightful "Bristol Stool Form Scale" on the printer at home (click here to view this charming diagnostic aid). Imagine my joy and delight therefore when my wife appeared home tonight from a medical conference with a weird look on her face and the words, "I have a present for you" upon her lips...

What should come out of her bag, but a lovely T-shirt, with nothing less than the legendary Bristol Stool Form Scale itself printed across the back, and the name of a well-known laxative emblazoned on the front! Truly this is most loathsome T-shirt ever to have been printed.

I am, naturally proud to be the owner of such an ultimately lamentable garment, but am trying to imagine a context in which I might wear it. Once every couple of years I have a trip to the hospital to see the Consultant who is treating me for a mild bowel disorder. Next time I am at Perth Royal Infirmary I think that the T-shirt might well have to be worn. But when else? It's not really the sort of thing for trips to Tesco's - I got weird enough looks there last time I wore my "Interpretive Dance" T-shirt; what would happen with this one I can't begin to imagine.

But for those of you who missed it the first time, here's the infamous chart; coming soon to a T-shirt near you!

Gran Torino

Clint Eastwood both stars and directs Gran Torino, and in the process all but resurrects his long-gone Dirty Harry character - albeit in retirement and with a different name.

Warning - the following review contains several spoilers!

The story concerns newly widowed retiree Walt Kowalaski, a bitter, angry cynical racist Korean War veteran, who spends his days brooding with resentment against all the changes that modern life has brought to his neighbourhood. His own kids have long since joined the white-flight to the suburbs, their children appear to Walt to be vain and vacuous; while they have been replaced with immigrants from South-East Asia whose language, culture and customs irritate him. To add to his irritations he is pursued by an eager, naive young Catholic priest who had made a promise to his late wife to pastor him after her death. Worst of all though, the neighbourhood - once peaceful - is ruled by ruthless and violent gangs.

The main thrust of the movie concerns the way in which Kowalski ends up as a community hero for standing up to the gangs, often violently, as they try to recruit their kids to their ranks. In turn, Kowalski himself softens in his attitude to his Hmong neighbours as he gradually begins to see them as fellow victims of the forces of destruction in the neighbourhood. Such a story might seem quite naive, and the idea of a an inner-city collaboration between new immigrants and old racists against criminals somewhat far-fetched. This isn't the case however. I remember meeting an old civil rights campaigner in Philadelphia, who fought against racist city Mayor Frank Rizzo (initially elected by the white minorities to defend their interests against the Black communities). He told me how he subsequently joined Rizzo's campaign team for his re-election, because this potentially violent, right-wing Mayor with a thuggish reputation was the only one of the candidates who he thought would actually wage war on the drug-gangs who were by then a far greater threat to the communities of North Philadelphia than the city government! In Kowalski's turnaround - there is one pivotal scene, when he suddenly realises that he has 'more in common with these gooks than with [his] own family'.

The film, moves towards an inevitable show-down between Kowalski and the gangs, especially after the brutal rape of a his young next-door-neighbour, who has forged a bond with him as they have together resisted gang-power. The fact that he was unable to protect his young friend, pushes Kowalski towards a definitive final response - and we see him polishing his gun before going to confront them. The final scene though comes as a complete surprise. (spoiler warning!) unarmed, Kowalski allows himself to be gunned down in front of witnesses. As a result of his self sacrifice justice is achieved as the gang are imprisoned, and his friends are saved as the threat to the neighbourhood is removed. Kowalski's body absorbing bullet after bullet as he seems to soak up all the evil in a breathtaking act of self-sacrifice is loaded with strongly redemptive imagery - which Eastwood seems to re-enforce as the body is pictured lying with his arms outstretched in a cruciform shape!

The film has caused a lot of discussion, with both rave reviewers and detractors being very strong in their responses. It certainly has one or two flaws, but Eastwood himself, snarling and growling his way to the gritty conclusion is on top-form, and the much criticised story-premise, is, I think, with some precedents in recent American history. The film gains its 15 certificate because of the language and violence it contains, so its not for the easily offended and is a film for adults to consider. In its defence, the language is realistic for its context, (rather than just used for its shock value, as in say The Big Lebowski) and the violence while essential to the plot is not gratuitous or voyeuristic.

Films in this genre walk the curious line between social-commentary, serious issues and entertainment, and on the whole Gran Torino manages that very well. There are several funny moments, some brilliant dialogue, a couple of pieces of hilarious subtitling when Kowalski and the aged Hmong grandmother are insulting each other with no language in common. However this doesn't detract from the presentation of the sadness of the all too real problems of gang violence and abuse; nor from the dark, but inevitable progress of the film towards its climactic and stunning conclusion.

Playing Hard-Ball

After several seasons playing "Kwik Cricket" (the softball introductory form of the game), number one son (aka 'Boris') yesterday graduated to playing hardball, at the club's first winter nets. He was naturally a little nervous before going as he's watched the older lads playing such 'proper cricket' across the ground many times. I've seen him watching some pretty quick bowlers getting the lethal leather to climb alarmingly from just short of a length - whizz past batsmen's noses and thud into the nets, with a mixture of admiration and apprehension.

He started off with a bit of bowling, which was great because this is probably his strength. He's bowled at me several times with a hard ball, so the only novel bit was bowling to other lads. Last time he bowled at me he caused a tasty bruise on my shin too. Spotting the ball drifting onto leg stump, I tried to effortlessly flick him through mid-wicket with all the elegance of David Gower - but ended up hopping about clutching my shin with all the panache of Barry Chuckle. I had to admit that he was at least a yard quicker than I'd anticipated; but noticed that he was more interested in whether the ball would have gone on to strike leg-stump, than about whether his poor father would ever walk again. In the nets last night, he got his line right pretty quickly, getting in a good groove in and around off-stump during the time I was there. The adjustment for him was with length - a move up the age-group means a longer wicket, and although not at a full 22-yards yet, he did take a few balls to find a reasonable length.

I wasn't there when he was batting - but the coaches seemed to be happy enough, saying that he was developing a sound defensive technique, which is the essential foundation on which to build an armoury of more attacking shots. The big change here is with equipment. Kwik Cricketers play dressed in shorts and T-shirts, whereas hard-ball cricketers go out to bat these days dressed like medieval knights in armour. I'm old enough to remember a handful of test cricketers who didn't use batting helmets, but now even kids routinely hide under their plastic lid. This might seem a little over the top to some - but it's probably a good thing. If the bounce was very low in the indoor net last night and the helmet superfluous, a time will come when they will face some aspiring Michael Holding and being used to wearing the helmet when the time comes will be an advantage. Viv Richards, famously never used one - claiming that "if you need one, you shouldn't be out there". In retirement however he admitted that this was all bluster and that the real reason was that having learnt to bat without one, he was never comfortable with it on.

The step-up to 'real cricket' was a challenge, but Boris absolutely relished it. It's "SO" much better than kwik cricket, he says!

All Around the World

I was pointed to this on YouTube today. Sad, poignant, moving - and worth sharing.

Lent

Us sola scriptura types have traditionally not placed a great deal of emphasis on the church calendar. In debates now long forgotten by everyone else, the disciplines of Lent such as fasting were thought to have the stench of self-righteousness and works-justification about them; while the church calendar hinted at tilting us towards the authority of tradition and so away from the Bible. All of these were no doubt real and present dangers in 1530...

In 2010, I am not convinced that we need to be so reactive, but can pro-actively use ancient church traditions for our good! Endlessly Restless, in his blog has suggested a helpful and positive way to use the Lent period running up to Easter. His emphasis there is not on giving something up for its own sake, but on adopting a good habit instead. He's invited us to join him in a 47-day reading through John's gospel, stopping to pray and reflect during the day. To see the reading plan and the suggestions he makes click here:

The first challenge he sets out is to mark a phrase or verse in the text that you have not noticed before! Today's section (John 1:1-18), is so packed full of awe-inspiring theology, of Incarnation, ripe with Trinitarian implications that I have usually glossed over the following phrase which is part of John the Baptist's description of Jesus:

¹⁶From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.

The 'fullness of his grace' is a wonderful phrase, which focuses our thoughts not just on our overwhelming need of God's grace, but on Christ himself, where that grace is to be found. In him that grace is not in short supply either, but we are supplied from his fullness!

"We have received one blessing after another!" John's previous sentence has usually overshadowed this one, when he mentions Jesus' eternal pre-existence. This sentence dramatically earths that insight, as Jesus incarnation from unlimited time, bring to us within time, unlimited blessings, one after another! This phrase reminded me of Paul's joyously convoluted sentence: He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? The picture is of a millionaire who we have committed a crime against: instead of pursuing us in the courts, gives us his Rolls, his mansion, his fortune, and his friendship, why then would he quibble over sharing a mars-bar with us!? The suggestion is ludicrous in its proportions! So if God has gives us Himself in Christ, we can trust that He will not withhold any good thing from us, in this life or the next; because in Him is 'one blessing after another.'

(I have no intention of blogging all the way through John - but posted this to kick-start the process!)

Aonach Mor

Not hillwalking - hill cheating on the Gondola. The views just aren't the same if you haven't dragged your reluctant limbs all the way up yourself!

Red, White and Blues - A Film by Mike Figgis

The flourishing of American Blues music in the UK in the 1960s was so comprehensive and so surprising that it acquired a title: "The British Blues Boom". The fact that the Blues, especially in its electric form, in which the sounds of Africa processed via slavery, the Mississippi Delta and urban Chicago, and typified by players such as Muddy Waters, took root here in alien soil is well known. What is a less frequently told story is the process by which The Blues found its way into the British consciousness. Mike Figgis' film, "Red, White and Blues" traces the roots of this movement, from Jazz and Dance Bands, through skiffle and on into fully fledged Blues. Once Brits were playing blues, Figgis examines their extensive collaborations with African-American bluesmen, both in the USA and on the many package tours of American bluesmen which came to the UK in that era to satisfy the burgeoning demand here.

Figgis tells the story with great affection and through the voices of an array of stars associated with the time, Eric Clapton, Peter Green, John Mayall, Steve Winwood, Van Morrison, Georgie Fame, Chris Barber, The Beatles, The Stones, Jeff Beck and even Tom Jones and Lulu! Along with archive footage, and interviews Figgis gets a number of these musicians to indulge in some playing, singing and jamming through some classic blues numbers at Abbey Road. Of all the performances in the contemporary stuff, the revelation is Lulu singing (the 2nd best ever version of) Drowning in My Own Tears. On the importance of the British Blues movement to the history of Blues, BB King states that it kept the Blues alive, while Clapton recalls arriving in the USA full of excitement that they were going to meet Muddy Waters - only to discover that no-one there knew who he was talking about!

In the process of transmission of the Blues, according to Figgis' history, there was one song which had a hugely significant influence in bringing the format from exclusive jazz circles, and to the attention of the men who would popularise it. That song was Humphrey Littleton's Bad Penny Blues - credited with inspiring The Beatles Lady Madonna directly, and countless others songs less plagiaristically. It's a great DVD - one which blues aficionados will watch many times over.

Down Glen Etive

While to the right, The Buachaille grabs all the immediate attention, the view down Glen Etive is inviting and beckoning in a delightful, but infinitely more subtle way.

Deceivers All

Inside every child there is a window,
It gazes out upon a world,
Full of promises of things that are to come.
-And in the man, another window:
it's closed and shuttered on a world
Full of promises still left undone.

(Lyrics from "Deceivers All" by Woolly Wolstenholme" from the album "Songs from the Black Box"

Marriage Course Conundrum

It's been a strange week for those of us involved in running The Marriage Course in Perth. I can't think of a week that has been more encouraging and discouraging, all at the same time.

On the encouraging side, over the last few days we have heard from three couples, who did the course with us - and the hugely positive difference it has made to their lives. On Saturday we met with loads of other folks around Scotland involved with Marriage Courses, in Edinburgh. One of the people speaking about setting up the course in his own church, was doing so because of the effect it had on his marriage. The privacy that couples are given on the course is so well enforced that we had no idea that they were struggling with difficult issues - or that they had learnt to manage them successfully using the tools taught on the course. We've recently been made aware of - or directly told of, a whole group of really great stories of couples who have been so helped by doing the marriage course. The stories are wonderful - but not available for public broadcast! We are however newly aware that there are loads of people who have needed (like us) to learn practical stuff about communication, time management, conflict resolution etc. and newly aware of how effective the marriage course format has been in helping them that we are really keen to offer the course again.

Why then the discouragement? Simply this - it's proving very difficult to encourage more couples to come and join us for a course, especially within our own church. Most of our advertising has been within the fellowship, yet increasingly the only people who will come do so from outside, where word of mouth has been a better advert.

I am unsure as to the reasons for the reluctance of so many people. I could speculate that the reasons include a 'marriage counselling' stigma wrongly attached to the course, suggesting failure rather than initiating investment in marriage. I also think that the absence of some of the cool opinion formers and associated ill-informed commentary has done damage. Most serious though I think have been our failures in promotion, making the course understood, accessible and welcoming; and perhaps most significantly our failure to build a team to own and run the thing with us.

Either way - this week is a tangled and curious mixture of encouragement and discouragement, when we have been made aware perhaps more than ever of the good that's been done; yet disappointed at the lack of response to our invitations. It makes for a strange week!

Feel Like Going Home - Martin Scorcese's Exploration of the roots of the Blues

In the DVD box-set "The Blues: A Musical Journey" which Martin Scorcese put together in collaboration with a whole series of producers and writers, Scorcese himself contributed one film. All kinds of aspects of the blues are covered in the series, such as Clint Eastwood's superlative Piano Blues film, and Scorcese set himself the task of examining the roots of the blues.

Any exploration of American Blues would have to have examine the African roots of the music, as well as the distinctive forms the music took in Texas, The Delta or Chicago. The USA is probably the most racially-hyphenated nation on earth, in that vast swathes of the population describe themselves as 'Italian-American', 'Irish-American', 'Polish-American' or 'African-American' etc - each group bringing different things into the whole. Scottish folk music, for instance, has a huge following in the USA, where the descendants of Scots have carefully treasured, preserved and developed elements of the culture that were carried across the Atlantic in the wake of the clearances.

The preservation of Africa in the 20th Century culture of African-Americans is, within this mix, a unique and amazing story of human resilience. Obviously the migration of this population was uniquely inhumane, involuntary and grotesque; but in addition to that the slaves were subjected to a systematic programme of de-culturalisation. The film points out that in the ante-bellum period merely owning a drum was a capital offence for an African American.

Scorcese's film seeks to establish if the much-vaunted African-roots of the blues are a reality or merely a sentimentalised culturally galvanising tool to assist in forging a resurgent Black identity in the wake of the civil rights era. In the company of Corey Harris (American Bluesman, and African musician), archive recordings from the Lomax's, interviews with musicians past and present, from Mississippi to Mali the common threads linking this musical heritage are established - alongside the distinctive forms which the music has taken in different locations.

As well as featuring great performances from Corey Harris, Keb' Mo', Taj Mahul and various lesser known African musicians, as well as archive treats from John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters and Son House; this is a thoroughly entertaining piece of social/cultural history.

Bare Branches

Outlines on the Tay

A short walk today over Kinnoull Hill - unusually without the children in tow. I had always thought that Kinnoull Hill was somewhat devoid of wildlife; actually it turns out that there's plenty, just that the kids scare it all away before we get anywhere near it! Hundreds of birds are up there, some seen, many more heard, then pausing by the pond I saw deer, and saw two red squirrels chasing each other round and round a tree-trunk. The Tay looked fantastic from the cliffs on the southern side of the hill, the tree-line on the near bank curiously parallel to the reflection of the tree-line on the far bank.

There is A God

Anthony Flew made his name as an academic philosopher - one of the leading voices of atheism in the latter decades of the twentieth century. There Is No A God the fascinating story of the reasons that Flew changed his mind and now is firmly convinced that the evidence points clearly towards existence being the result of the planning of a divine mind.

Flew is clear that he has not accepted any specific religion - and has not accepted any claim to historical or personal revelation from a divinity - rather that the force of evidence and argument makes a Theist conclusion inevitable to the open mind.

The book covers autobiography, charting both Flew's academic sucesses as well as the development of his ideas. It also maps out quite usefully, the ways in which his views have changed as a result of his acceptance of the divine - how he once saw the evidence, and how he views it now.

Flew's engagement with science is fascinating, arguing strongly for the "fine-tuning" of a universe that was "expecting us". In so doing he engages with the problems of origins, consciousness, physical laws and order, personhood and time. He is generally cordial in his tone - but is especially savage when it comes to dealing with the mathematics of evolutionary theory as a total-theory of origins. In short he argues that physics has showed that the earth is not remotely old enough to contain enough possibilities for random variation to produce unaided the life, order and complexity we now observe - and which biological theory demands. He points out that the speculations towards a "multiverse" might tilt the numbers game back into the realms of the possible, but that not one single jot or shred of a hint of any evidence for a multiverse exists and it is entirely a step of faith to accept such an idea. Furthermore, if a Multiverse were demonstrable, the question of it's origins would still be unanswerable.

The book is aimed at the general reader - not the philosopher, but I found on one or two chapters, that he strayed into some areas of technical philosophical language with which I was not familiar. The book is somewhat uneven in this regard, being neither comprehensive enough to satisfy the academic philosopher, not accessible enough for the average reader - and so maybe unsatisfactory for both! Having said that there is a wealth of accessible material here which is guaranteed to make the theist nod appreciatively, the atheist get very cross (oh - and they have!), and the undecided to think very carefully.

The surprise move comes at the end of the book when N.T. Wright is invited to submit a chapter on the possibility of divine revelation, and to this he contributes a summary of his views on the historical reliability of the orthodox Christian view of Jesus Christ. Flew stops well short of accepting Wright's view, so the book argues powerfully for a rational concept of the existence of God, but the question of His involvement in His creation is but dangled tantalizing before the reader.

A fascinating read..

Meat

Some hae meat and canna eat,

and some wad eat that want it,

but we hae meat and we can eat,

and sae the Lord be thankit.

Mother and Daughter

A case of "mini-me" going on here...

1 Kings Resources

This blog has been a bit quiet over the last few weeks while I have been absorbed (all consumed?) in leading a short Bible-teaching series on the book of 1 Kings for a local church. Although I was only asked to cover the first few chapters, which feature the comparatively good reigns of David and Solomon; these chapters have still thrown up several difficult issues of interpretation.

In response to an enquiry, here's four recommendations of resources that I have found particularly useful in understanding and applying the text.

Donald J. Wiseman's Tyndale OT Commentary on 1& II Kings is exceptionally good. It has three particular strengths to highlight: (i) The introductory essay which alongside the standard author/date stuff, contains a fabulous section on the 'theology of the book', with a very helpful overview and illustration of main themes. I'd recommend that anyone teaching from Kings at any level get hold of this introduction. (ii) On the details of the text, The Tyndale commentaries are thorough but not so excessively technical that they become impenetrable, saving for instance foray's into the subtleties of language and translation for occasions where some serious point of interpretation is actually at stake. Wiseman's textual commentary is hugely helpful with countless little points of reference which add depth to the narratives. (iii) The book is also enormously useful for its biblical cross-referencing, pointing out (for instance) where the author is drawing on older biblical stories; and where later writers would develop the points.

Dale Ralph Davis' "1 Kings: The Wisdom and the Folly" is a different sort of work to Wiseman. While the Tyndale series examines each sentence of the text - this 'Focus on the Bible' commentary takes chunks of text, and focuses on application for Christians in a New-Covenant context. Davis writes warmly, with anecdotes, touches of humour and with a strong applicatory emphasis - as such he makes a good contrast to Wiseman.

Tim Keller of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York, has a number of sermons on 1 Kings available from redeemer.com. Keller's ability to relate the individual Old Testament narratives to the Bible's central narrative of God's reconciling grace to sinners is inspiring. What is equally impressive is his use of ancient narrative to search the hearts of contemporaries. In his hands these texts are not points of antiquarian disputation, but mirrors by which we expose the condition of our own souls before God. These are worth hearing, not because they can be emulated (if only!), but in order to embrace the real challenge of Bible teaching and to see how high the bar must be set!

One final resource to mention is the IVP reference collection, a treasure trove of background to the Bible-books and dictionary resources to give clarity to the concepts under discussion. For instance, Solomon (famously) was wise enough to ask God to give him wisdom above all else. The reference collection has a brilliant essay on what the Old Testament concept of 'wisdom' is, and why that includes everything from philosophy to common sense to musical skill or science and engineering!

Marriage Course - Perth

Plans are afoot to run the marriage course again in Perth starting in mid-Feb. Hopefully there'll be a handful of couples who will want to spend seven evenings with us, watching the DVDs and then discussing the issues raised in private discussion times.

To see a 2 minute introductory video to the Marriage Course click here:

The course is fun to do, stimulating, thought-provoking and sometimes quite challenging. It is not a theology of marriage, but focuses on intensely practical matters such as communication.

It will be the first time that we host the course with the new updated materials, so Mrs Hideous and I plan to complete the course ourselves again - not only to review the stuff for our own good; but also to see what the new resources are like. Past experience ourselves plus the response from other couples who have completed the course has amply demonstrated the value and benefit of it. We've had amazing feedback from all kinds of couples, from those married less than a year through to some who have been married for almost forty years!

If you are in Perth and are interested in finding out more, either e-mail me from my "blogger profile" page, see the Perth Baptist Church website here, or the official Marriage Course website here. If you are not in Perth, to find a Marriage Course near you, click here.

Enrolment #3

After spending half the morning filling in forms, checking with friends that it was OK to list them as emergency contacts, looking for phone numbers, and searching for a birth certificate, child benefit letter and council tax document; I took little Doris to enrol for primary school.

Every August, on the first day of the school year, we have taken a photo of the kids as they start school - or move up to their next class. It is still a slightly surprising thought, that this year there will be all three of them in school uniforms ready to walk down the road!

Opinion in the family is divided about the significance of 'Doris', joining her older siblings, 'Boris and Norris' at school, however. Mrs Hideous is already bemoaning the loss of her babies, and lingers under some delusion that a vacancy is thereby created. No doubt, little Doris actually going to the school, in a uniform, will be an occasion on which she is one of the watery-eyed Mums at the school gate! Personally I think its great that she's going to school soon - not that I won't miss her cheerful, bossy and hilarious presence in the day. I reckon she's ready for school and needs the next challenge and will soon begin to outgrow nursery. Our local primary school is a ten-minute walk from the house, and is generally a very good school too.

Little Doris herself seems in two minds. If I ask her how she feels about the prospect of education and she says that she thinks it will be good - but she was clearly very daunted when going into the place today, and wouldn't speak to the teachers but clung to my leg and wouldn't look out from under the hood of her coat - preferring instead to inspect her shoes intently! This is a far-cry from the eagerness with which she runs into the familiar nursery environment four mornings a week. No doubt she will gain similar confidence once school starts, as she was equally suspicious of the nursery on her initial visit there too.

Life rushes past at a constant pace. Our perception of time though is uneven - and there are times; milestones such as these, at which its' rapidity is suddenly breathtaking.

Heartbreak Radio

More often than not, when the "afternoon play" comes on Radio 4, I switch off a few minutes into the show. I have always appreciated R4, but have had an aversion to their plays since I was a child. A recent exception was the profoundly disturbing Afternoon Play yesterday. This slot is billed as presenting plays that will "delight and surprise" - but this did neither, rather it was unsettling, infuriating and appalling - for all the right reasons.

The Jonestown Letters told the true story of two sisters who ended their lives in the People Temple mass suicide of 1978, through letters sent between the sisters and their parents (who were not cult members and harboured some suspicions about Jim Jones and his organisation). The story of how two normal, happy, well-intentioned young people became recruited and devotees of the cult is shocking; their absolute unquestioning devotion to Jones deeply frightening - and the horrible end to the story is deeply, deeply sad.

The editing and reading of these letters (as well as real interviews with the 3rd sister who did not get involved) was done very well indeed; the complexity and humanity of the girls shone through, even as the plot descended into ever more impenetrable darkness. The final scene, which uses the infamous audio recording of Jones' from the suicide itself was chilling.

While obvious lessons about the need for questioning, the danger of self-promoters and personality cults, mind-control, and cults with weird doctrines are there -this play wasn't primarily about such judgements. Rather, it lamented the bereaved, the lost, the suffering, and the tragedy of the whole affair. Quite compelling radio, on the BBC iPlayer for six more days.

Piano Blues: A Film by Clint Eastwood

Clint Eastwood's film, "Piano Blues" is a feature-length documentary about the history, players and styles of the blues piano. As is well known, Eastwood himself is a pianist, what is less well known is his lifelong affection for the rolling piano-blues, barrel-house, boogie-woogie, stride, bluesy-jazz and and black-gospel, that filled the air of the African-American communities for much of the twentieth century. For him - making this film was clearly a labour of love.

Clint Eastwood tells the story of the music with both archive footage of great exponents of the art (Meade Lux Lewis, Albert Ammons, Oscar Peterson, Art Tatum, Professor Longhair, Fats Domino etc), but in the company of several legends who were still alive at the time of filming, such as Ray Charles, Dr John, Dave Brubeck, Pinetop Perkins and Jay McShann. As such it is a wonderfully evocative exploration of the music, in all its forms.

I will never forget the first time I heard the blues. When I was a teenager, a programme in honour of Fats Domino was screened by Channel 4. Fats himself was engagingly entertaining, Jerry Lee Lewis faintly absurd, Paul Shafer not bad at all - but what took my breath away was Ray Charles short set at the end of the show. Charles in his later career had somewhat swamped himself with orchestras and choirs, and overly indulged his penchant for ballads. That night however he let loose an explosive piano-blues performance with just himself and a small band. It sent a shiver down my spine which still affects me when I hear that music played that way.

After that I began to explore Blues music, beginning - as with so many other people with Paul Jones weekly radio show, as well as Egham's great 2nd hand record shop - the now lost and lamented 'Musicwise'. For me then, it was all piano blues. Many blues fans talked about their guitar heroes - Stevie Ray Vaughan, Elmore James, the three Kings, but I began with the same stuff that Eastwood explores in his tribute -like early Ray Charles, Nat King Cole, Champion Jack Dupree, as well Memphis Slim, Specked Red, and many others.

Sociologists, and record-sleeve writers often ask the question of the British Blues Boom of the 1960s - why did white British suburban kids feel such a deep affinity with the Black music of the Delta; when their life experience had so few points of contact with the bluesmen? I'm not sure that the question has ever adequately been answered- either in respect of the thousands of people who flocked to the American Folk-Blues festival UK tours in the 60s - or for strange teenagers like myself playing Albert Ammons LPs in my bedroom in the mid 1980s.

Whatever the explanation, the blues remain an intense, powerful, gritty, affecting genre that has spawned great creativity and inspired incredible loyalty. Moreover when the blues has got inside you - it never lets go; and always retains its power to move you - the piano blues in a unique and special way. Eastwood's film is a fitting tribute to this great genre, and the players who shaped it.

Not from the film - but a nice example of some of the sounds that filled my teenage years.

The Spot from which I blog

Endlessly Restless recently responded to a challenge posted by Lucy, which I'm going to do as well! The idea is to post snapshots of the place from which you blog, without tidying or re-arranging anything - just presenting it as it actually is!

The contrast with Endlessly Restless' meticulously ordered space and my cluttered existence is quite marked!

Definitely time to tidy up!

Icicle!

The Hanging Gardens of, er Perth!

The Tay Glacier!

Freezing Tay Gallery 2

Click on thumbnails to enlarge