How should churches relate to the world?

My family enjoyed watching the movie, The Two Popes. It focuses on a speculative history of the personal relationship between the two most recent popes, Benedict and Francis. It highlights their contrasting backgrounds (Germany vs. Argentina, Rich world vs. Majority world), theologies (traditional and conservative vs. less traditional and flexible), lifestyles (ostentatious vs. simple), and leadership styles (aloof vs. personable), ...
In spite of these significant differences, they are able to build a personal relationship built on mutual respect, appreciation, and companionship.


I found the following four things about the movie most striking and valuable.

First, there is a strong message of how personal failure and regret can be redeemed by the grace and mercy of Christ, following the confession of sin.

Second, the Western world is so different from the Majority World. The West is characterised by prosperity, political stability, peace, secularism, and declining churches. In contrast, the Majority World is characterised by poverty, political instability, violence, spirituality, and growing churches. This is powerfully portrayed by flashbacks that Pope Francis has about his past, particularly the violent repression that occurred during the military dictatorship in Argentina in the 1970s. Here I beg to differ with A.O. Scott, the New York Times critic who said

If “The Two Popes” had consisted entirely of two old men talking, it might have been a masterpiece. But the conversation is interrupted by flashbacks that chronicle Bergoglio’s early life, as a young scientist called to the priesthood and as head of the Jesuit order in Argentina during the military dictatorship of the 1970s.

Third, the humanity of both men and their relationship is moving, and even endearing. This occurs in spite of their differences, which begin with harsh words for each other.

Finally, the movie captures many of the tragic failures of the churches through history, both Catholic and Protestant: seduction by wealth, power, and pomp; worship of church leaders by their members, anachronisms (talking in Latin!), sexual abuse of children, covering up scandals, being more concerned about public image than integrity, ....

Highly recommended!

Counting: the sin of metrics, from King David to modern socieity

One of many strange stories in the Bible is the following from 2 Samuel 24.

Again the anger of the Lord burned against Israel, and he incited David against them, saying, ‘Go and take a census of Israel and Judah.’

2 So the king said to Joab and the army commanders with him, ‘Go throughout the tribes of Israel from Dan to Beersheba and enrol the fighting men, so that I may know how many there are.’

3 But Joab replied to the king, ‘May the Lord your God multiply the troops a hundred times over, and may the eyes of my lord the king see it. But why does my lord the king want to do such a thing?’

4 The king’s word, however, overruled Joab and the army commanders; so they left the presence of the king to enrol the fighting men of Israel.

....

8 After they had gone through the entire land, they came back to Jerusalem at the end of nine months and twenty days.

9 Joab reported the number of the fighting men to the king: in Israel there were eight hundred thousand able-bodied men who could handle a sword, and in Judah five hundred thousand.

10 David was conscience-stricken after he had counted the fighting men, and he said to the Lord, ‘I have sinned greatly in what I have done. Now, Lord, I beg you, take away the guilt of your servant. I have done a very foolish thing.’

There are many questions associated with this one. But, a basic one is: why was it sinful to count the fighting men. I presume it is because this reflected David trusting in the strength of his army and not that of the LORD. Such trust goes against what a young David said before he fought Goliath (1 Samuel 17:47)

All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD's,..

Is there something in this passage that is relevant today. Partly with tongue in check, I wonder if it is relevant to the obsession of society today with counting (metrics) to measure performance, particularly in workplaces and sadly often in churches. In this vein, Mike Higton, a theology professor at Durham University, has an article,  The Research Assessment Exercise as sin.

The dangers of unrestrained global corporate power

Here are the closing words of the book, The Anarchy: The East India Company, Corporate Violence, and the Pillage of an Empire by William Dalrymple.

The East India Company remains today history’s most ominous warning about the potential for the abuse of corporate power - and the insidious means by which the interests of shareholders can seemingly become those of the state. For, as recent American adventures in Iraq have shown, our world is far from post-imperial, and quite probably will never be.
Empire is transforming itself into forms of global power that use campaign contributions and commercial lobbying, multinational finance systems and global markets, corporate influence and the predictive data harvesting of the new surveillance -capitalism rather than - or sometimes alongside - overt
military conquest, occupation or economic domination to affect its ends.
Four hundred and twenty years after its founding, the story of the East India Company has never been more current.

Helpful summaries of the books are a New York Times op-ed piece by Dalrymple and an interview in an Indian newspaper.

Who is the Kingdom of God for?

I recently re-read the Gospel of Luke. One striking thing is how much Jesus talks about money, power, humility and self-righteousness. Jesus saves his harshest words for those who claim to be religious. Jesus gives many pictures of what the Kingdom of God is like. Here I just want to look at the parable of the great banquet. Some earlier thoughts on the parable are here.

Luke 14

15 When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, ‘Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.’

16 Jesus replied: ‘A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. 17 At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, “Come, for everything is now ready.”

18 ‘But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, “I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.”

19 ‘Another said, “I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.”

20 ‘Still another said, “I have just got married, so I can’t come.”

21 ‘The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, “Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.”

22 ‘“Sir,” the servant said, “what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.”

23 ‘Then the master told his servant, “Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full. 24 I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.”’

The first three people invited to the banquet are committed to and distracted by the ``good life'' of this world: wealth, possessions, business, career, comfort, romance, security, ... The kingdom of God is not important to them and it is clear they will be excluded.
In contrast, the weak and marginalised (the poor, crippled, blind, lame, ... ) are invited to and come to the banquet. 

All of this is consistent is with many other passages in Luke, such as the parable of Lazarus and the rich man, which suggest that it is very hard for the wealthy, the successful, the self-reliant, and the powerful to enter the Kingdom. In contrast, God seems to have a preference for those on the margins. Church history seems to bear this out. As countries (communities) become more prosperous they are less open to the Kingdom, particularly this bit about engaging with the marginalised. In contrast, communities that are oppressed and desperate, often welcome the good news of Jesus.

This raises questions about priorities for mission. Should upper middle class churches and organisations focus on communities just like them or instead focus much of their substantial resources (human, financial, professional expertise, ... ) to engage with marginalised communities, learn from them, and build mutually beneficial relationships.

War is Hell. 7.

I enjoyed watching the movie, Tolkien. It represents the early life of the famous fantasy writer. The main elements of the story are his difficult childhood as an orphan, the close bonds he formed with a group of high school friends with a common interest in creating literature, the trauma and tragedy of his experience in the trenches of World War I, his romance with his wife-to-be, and how these all shaped his creative imagination.

For me, the over-riding impression was ``war is hell.'' All Tolkien's friends die in the war, except one who is never the same again. Tolkien only survives because he is evacuated due to illness.



Arguably an important part of Tolkien's education and personal formation was that his school provided the opportunity for him to be part of a small group of friends with a common passion and vision. This highlights several overlooked aspects of most educational institutions, particularly in this neoliberal age, where the focus almost exclusively on measurable outcomes such as test scores, graduation rates, and starting salaries of graduates.

Sometimes the most significant part of education is the informal, not the formal aspects.

Real learning happens in the context of relationships, of students with one another, and with a teacher.

Western culture and thinking are individualistic. Consequently, most leading educational institutions claim to create significant individuals. However, perhaps a goal should also be to create significant informal communities or life-long bonds between students. I really like the book, Five Minds for the Future and am currently re-reading it. However, it is striking to me that the total emphasis is on individuals.

Token justice

Every now and then I read just a sentence or two that has a big impact on me. About a year ago I read the following.

The danger of any educational institution rooted in progressive values but dependent on big money is the default to political correctness as a substitute for a broader liberalism — the promotion of economic equity. You cannot rail against an unfair tax system when you rely on those who benefit from it, but you can patrol offensive speech and innuendo in the name of moral compassion; you can reward unease and grievance as rectitude.

This quote is taken from a New York Times article
Someone Went Too Far at Friends Seminary, but Who?
It describes a bizarre controversy at a wealthy prestigious high school in New York City. A quirky Jewish mathematics teacher was fired because as a joke he made a Nazi salute when trying to illustrate obtuse angles.

For context, the school was started by the Quakers (Friends). Annual tuition is US$41K.

Generally, the trajectory seems common with institutions that are founded by Christians with a distinctly Christian vision and ethos. This leads to ``success'' that then attracts the wealthy and powerful who use the institution to advance their own interests.  Even more broadly, this evolution is common in institutions.

Wealth, judgement, and unbelief

I just finished reading through the Gospel of Luke. The part that I found the most confronting was the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus that Jesus told and is recorded in Luke 16. The richness of parable is indicated by the fact that I have already written five different posts that feature the parable.

19 ‘There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

22 ‘The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24 So he called to him, “Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.”

25 ‘But Abraham replied, “Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.”

27 ‘He answered, “Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, 28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.”

29 ‘Abraham replied, “They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.”

30 ‘“No, father Abraham,” he said, “but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.”

31 ‘He said to him, “If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.”’

[The image is from here].

So what is the main point of this parable? Or are there many points? Generally, I don't buy the idea that every parable has one unique interpretation, meaning, and application. Some of the absolute brilliance of the parables of Jesus is that they are so multi-faceted and so confronting.

 Here are some possible options:

A. Divine ``Karma.'' The final judgement corrects for inequalities on earth. Those who live luxurious lives and are insensitive to the poor go to hell. The poor and suffering go to heaven. This shows ``God's preferential option for the poor.''

B. The Gospel is contained in the Old Testament. It provides adequate information for people to repent and be saved.

C. Some people will not repent even if they see or hear the testimony of the risen Christ.

D. People are only saved by faith in Christ alone. There is no salvation by works. Lazarus repented and had faith in Jesus. The rich man did not.

I think all of these have an element of truth, but are oversimplifications, and I feel rob the story of some of its power.

As always, any biblical passage needs to be interpreted in context. For example, what do passages before and after this one say? How does this passage fit into the whole Bible? What is the literary genre?

It is striking to me, just how much this passage is embedded in discussions about how wealth is an obstacle to the entering the Kingdom of God.

The Parable of the Great Banquet (Luke 14:15-24) teaches that the Kingdom of God is for the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. It is not for those who are distracted by business and their possessions.

The Parable of the Lost (Prodigal) Son (Luke 15:11-32) describes how the younger son demanded his inheritance and then ``squandered his wealth on wild living.'' But, he did come to his senses and repent.

The Parable of the Shrewd Manager (Luke 16:1-15). Jesus provocatively commends the dishonesty of the manager. He then says

11 So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? ... 13 ‘No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.’ 14 The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. 

The parable also highlights how ``trivial'' wealth is in God's eyes. This is also shown by

After the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus comes Jesus interaction with the rich young ruler (Luke 18:18-30)

‘You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.’ 23 When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was very wealthy. 24 Jesus looked at him and said, ‘How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! 25 Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.’

Luke 19 describes how Zaccheus, a corrupt tax collector, repents and gives half of his money away to the poor.

So what do Moses and the Prophets warn about wealth and helping the needy?
They have countless warnings to Israel that they need to care for the poor, the widows, orphans, and the oppressed. If they do not they will experience God's judgement.

Psalm 49 is just one example of a clear statement concerning the dangers of wealth.

16 Do not be overawed when others grow rich,
    when the splendour of their houses increases;
17 for they will take nothing with them when they die,
    their splendour will not descend with them.
18 Though while they live they count themselves blessed –
    and people praise you when you prosper –
19 they will join those who have gone before them,
    who will never again see the light of life.

The letter of James has hard-hitting passages about how real faith leads to caring for the poor and needy and not supporting unjust economic structures (Chapter 5). Chapter 2 says:

4 What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? 15 If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,” and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? 17 So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead.

Those of us who are financially in the top 1-10 percent globally should be deeply troubled by this Jesus teaching and not dilute its power by trying to force it into some simple theology of salvation.

Blessed are the peacemakers

For this month's theology reading group we are discussing How Long O Lord? The Challenge of Reconciliation and Peace edited by Athena Gorospe and Charles Ringma [our group leader] and published by Langham Literature.
The book is based on papers that were delivered at a symposium at Asian Theological Seminary in Manila.

The book is a nice mix of perspectives, ranging from the theological to the very practical. Most of the authors are from the Majority World and/or are discussing Majority World contexts, particularly the Philippines. Given the tragic prevalence of war, poverty, ethnic conflict, and sexual violence, discussions of the challenges of practical initiatives to promote peace and reconciliation are to be valued. Some of the chapters that I found most helpful and/or inspiring were the following.

1. “Righteousness and Peace Kiss One Another” (Ps 85:10): Biblical Perspectives on Peace and Reconciliation
Christopher J. H. Wright

2. “What’s Your Name?” Biblical Perspectives on Memory and Reconciliation
Takamitsu Muraoka
The Japanese author describes initiatives he has taken in countries that experienced atrocities by the Japanese in World War II.

7. Telling a Different Story: Rwandans Learn to Forgive After Genocide
John Steward
This discusses why it is important not to ``forgive'' too quickly.

8. Healing the Trauma of War and Internal Displacement: Exploring the Nexus of Trauma Healing and Reconciliation
Annabel M. Manalo

9. Family Reconciliation among Survivors of Incest and Abandonment: A Case Study in Accompaniment
Tricia Mazo
This chapter has a ``yuck'' factor, because of the awful experiences of the young women that are described. On the other hand, it is powerful to see how on their own initiative the women saw the need to confront, forgive, set boundaries, seek repentance and reconciliation, while still seeking justice. The constructive role of counselors in helping each of the women on their difficult journey of healing is highlighted.

13. Missional Engagement for Reconciliation: Local Church Builds Relationships with a Muslim Community
Glicerio M. Manzano, Jr.

Theology books to read in 2020

I am blessed by being in a theology reading group that meets each month. We are about to discuss what books we might read and discuss next year. Here is my rough list of suggestions, roughly in order of preference. An almost common theme is the interaction of theology with the social sciences.

The Gospel in a Pluralist Society
Lesslie Newbigin

The Presence of the Kingdom 
Jacques Ellul

Sociology through the eyes of faith
David A. Fraser and Tony Campolo

Seeking Church: Emerging Witnesses to the Kingdom 
Darren T. Duerksen and William A. Dyrness

Transformative religious experience: a phenomenological understanding of religious conversion
Joshua Iyadurai

The Gospel in Dostoyevsky: Selections from His Works 
Alternatively read one of his novels.
J.I. Packer claimed, ``Dostoyevsky is to me both the greatest novelist, as such, and the greatest Christian storyteller, in particular, of all time.''

Surviving the State, Remaking the Church: A Sociological Portrait of Christians in Mainland China
Li Ma and Jin Li

Absence of Mind:The Dispelling of Inwardness from the Modern Myth of the Self 
Marilynne Robinson
[The famous novelist discusses the relationship between science, religion, and consciousness].
[Based on her Terry lectures at Yale, available online].

Reason, Faith, and Revolution 
Terry Eagleton
The Marxist literary critic responds to the New Atheists.
[Based on his Terry lectures at Yale, available online].

Wouldn't You Love to Know? Trinitarian Epistemology and Pedagogy
Ian W. Payne

Emergence of Sin

Christian Mission in the Modern World
John Stott and Chris Wright

And for something different, listen to a piece of classical church music and discuss.
e.g. Elijah by Mendelson, The Creation by Hadyn, St. John's Passion by J.S. Bach.

Since we all agree...

Too often I find myself in a room with a group of people where it is assumed that since we are all in the same room together we must have the same view on a particular topic. This occurs in the university, in social settings, in churches, ... The topic can be politics, religion, science, ...

``We are all here because we want money ...''
``We have to do whatever we can to keep students happy...''
``Obviously, anyone who votes for candidate A is an idiot...''
``We can clearly see that there is only one possible interpretation of this passage in the Bible...''
``We have no choice but to ...''

I recently learned of the comic strip below in a footnote in the book, The Emergence of Sin.
The Lone Ranger says to his Indian assistant Tonto, ``Indians! Indians! All around us, Tonto. It looks like we are finished.'' Tonto responds, ``What do you mean .... WE?''

The comic originally appeared in MAD magazine in March 1958, as part of "TV Scenes We'd Like to See" , and was drawn by Joe Orlando.

Questions and answers about Mindfulness

For most of my adult life, I have struggled on and off with mental health issues, particularly anxiety and depression. About 15 years ago a psychologist introduced me to a set of mindfulness exercises. They were developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn for the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program that he founded at the University of Massachusetts Hospital in Boston in 1979. Although originally developed for patients with chronic illnesses, such exercises are now used in a much wider range of contexts. I have found these exercises incredibly helpful. They have helped me to learn to control my thoughts, particularly when I cannot ``turn off my brain.’’  Here are some answers to questions about mindfulness I am often asked.

 How would you describe mindfulness? 
I see it as a discipline or set of exercises that enable me to train my brain to slow down and to engage with the present (both in time and space), rather than letting my brain race out of control and fixate on past events or future imagined events.

As a Christian are you not concerned that mindfulness has its origins in Eastern Religions? 
Yes. If mindfulness means emptying your mind, losing your personal identity, merging with the universe, or thinking that life is an illusion. However, there are many versions of mindfulness, both religious and non-religious. I believe in common grace: ``God sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous’’. People of different religions, or none, all have the ability to discover (partial) truths about medicine, write great literature, and change the world for good.

Are there Christian versions of mindfulness exercises?
Yes. See, for example, The Mindful Christian on YouTube.
Here there is a fascinating theological dimension to the focus of Mindfulness on breathing. In Genesis 2 we learn how God ``breathes life’’ into humans. YHWH is the name of God that is revealed to Moses. This is the name that must never be spoken, in many Jewish traditions. There are suggestions that in Hebrew, this name is silently ``breathed.’’ 
Psalm 46:10 says ``Be still and know that I am God.’’

What do you think about the fact that your university has recently been promoting mindfulness?
 Superficially, I am happy that the university is attempting to put mental health on the agenda and making people aware of mindfulness. However, I am concerned that many initiatives seem to be more about marketing gimmicks, rather than serious engagement. This has been described as corporate well-washing. An article in the Financial Times and the Australian Financial Review points out that Mindfulness won't fix bad management. Furthermore, the university is not asking hard questions such as: why are so many students and staff have mental health problems? Is the university culture and policies contributing to these problems? If so, what does the institution need to change?

What mindfulness exercises would you recommend to start out? 
The one that I have found most helpful is the body scan. At a particularly low time 15 years ago I would do most of this every morning. If I wake up in the middle of the night and my mind is racing, I put on my headphones and do this exercise. I can usually go back to sleep.

How is sin emergent?

One of the most exciting books I have encountered recently is
The Emergence of Sin: The Cosmic Tyrant in Romans by Matthew Croasmun.
It is based on the Yale Ph.D. of the author.
[At US$75 the book is rather expensive! Fortunately, I could read an electronic version through the UQ library].
I have a longstanding interest in how the concept of emergence is relevant to the dialogue between science and theology.

My son made me aware of the book, through a podcast from the Bible Project [who make cool videos summarising books of the Bible] with the author.  The podcast is an excellent introduction to the book.

What is sin? How should it be defined? A simple and common definition is something like ``sins are individual acts which involve disobeying God's commandments". Another is that ``sin is part of the human condition: our intrinsic disposition to do what we want rather than what God wants". But, is sin also something even greater, a cosmic force?
Corruption is sin. But, is corruption just the choices of individuals or is it something larger, a social force in some societies that carries people along and is something far greater than just small decisions by individuals? This is the idea of structural sin, that is particularly highlighted in liberation theologies. What does the Bible actually say?

Paul's Epistle to the Romans is one of the great treatises on sin (and redemption through Christ). Croasmun focuses on the puzzles presented by Chapters 6-8,

In Romans 5–8, Sin struts on the stage of the text like a personal being. The “data” are clear on this point. The noun ἁμαρτία (sin) is used as the subject of an active verb no fewer than eleven times in this brief passage. To summarize the familiar language, in these chapters, ἁμαρτία exercises dominion (5:21, 6:12), seizes opportunities to produce covetousness and kill (7:8, 11), revives (7:9), and acts in place of the human agent in whom it dwells (7:17, 20). The noun ἁμαρτία is deployed in personal terms in these chapters. This is not disputed. The question is, rather, whether this constitutes literary “personification,” or whether we have instead what we might describe as “person identification.”

I like the discussion of racism (chapter 3) as an example of the questions explored. There is a famous mathematical model for racial segregation that is relevant. Even a small amount of individual prejudice can lead to segregated communities and amplification of inequitable access to resources (education, medical, security, networking, …) and increase prejudice because people have little day to day contact with the ``other’’. Small individual choices that may not be considered sinful can lead to unjust social structures that facilitate sin.

Contrasting perspectives on biblical theology

This table is taken from Dalit and Tribal Christians of India: Issues and Challenges, by V.V. Thomas.

Who is the greatest?

Recently I talked with some friends about Matthew 18:1-7, where Jesus answers the question, ``Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of God?'' Here are my notes.

A great irony of church history

Jesus is the model servant leader. Even though he knew his power, he gave it up. He washed the feet of his disciples.

 ...the third temptation of Jesus was...  the temptation of power. “I will give you all the kingdoms of the world in their splendor,” the demon said to Jesus. ....

One of the greatest ironies of the history of Christianity is that its leaders constantly gave in to the temptation of power—political power, military power, economic power, or moral and spiritual power—even though they continued to speak in the name of Jesus, who did not cling to his divine power but emptied himself and became as we are [Philippians 2:5-11]. 

The temptation to consider power an apt instrument for the proclamation of the Gospel is the greatest of all. We keep hearing from others, as well as saying to ourselves, that having power—provided it is used in the service of God and your fellow human beings—is a good thing. With this rationalization, crusades took place; inquisitions were organized; Indians were enslaved; positions of great influence were desired; episcopal palaces, splendid cathedrals, and opulent seminaries were built; and much moral manipulation of conscience was engaged in. Every time we see a major crisis in the history of the Church such as the Great Schism of the eleventh century, the Reformation of the sixteenth century, or the immense secularization of the twentieth century, we always see that a major cause of rupture is the power exercised by those who claim to be followers of the poor and powerless Jesus.

         What makes the temptation of power so seemingly irresistible? Maybe it is that power offers an easy substitute for the hard task of love. It seems easier to be God than to love God, easier to control people than to love people, easier to won life than to love life. Jesus asks, “Do you love me?” We ask, “Can we sit at your right hand and your left hand in your Kingdom?” (Matthew 20:21). Ever since the snake said, “The day you eat of this tree your eyes will be open and you will be like gods, knowing good from evil” (Genesis 3:5), we have been tempted to replace love with power. Jesus lived that temptation in the most agonizing way from the desert to the cross. 

The long painful history of the Church is the history of people ever and again tempted to choose power over love, control over the cross, being a leader over being led. Those who resisted this temptation to the end and thereby give us hope are the true saints. One thing is clear to me: the temptation of power is greatest when intimacy is a threat. Much Christian leadership is exercised by people who do not know how to develop healthy, intimate relationships and have opted for power and control instead. Many Christian empire-builders have been people unable to give and receive love. 

Henri Nouwen, In the Name of Jesus, pages 57-60

Jesus and mental health

On Wednesday I am giving a talk, Jesus and Mental Health, for Jesus Week at UQ, organised by several student Christian groups.
Here is the current version of the slides.
I also recommend a related talk by Santa Ono, Vice-Chancellor of the University of British Columbia.
Recommended resources (books, websites, and courses) are here.
Video below.

Competing models of mental illness

Surveying the vast literature on mental illness I have learned that there are many competing viewpoints about the origins of mental illness and proposed cures. In both the academic community and public debate, the relative validity of these perspectives is contested. The different perspectives can be broadly classified in terms of four distinct models: biomedical, psychological, social, and spiritual.

Biomedical
Mental illness arises due to chemical imbalances in the brain. Healing can occur through treatment with appropriate drugs. With the development of new drugs, such as SSRIs, in the last thirty years, this has become widely used by psychiatrists and medical doctors. There is no doubt that many people, including myself, have benefited significantly from these drugs. Unsurprisingly, big pharma strongly pushes this point of view. However, drug treatment is not always successful and it is debated whether such drugs are over-prescribed. Even among psychiatrists, the biomedical model is contested because it ignores thinking patterns and the social interactions of the patient. Recently, the New York Times had op-ed articles by a doctor and a patient contesting this model.

Mental Illness Isn’t All in Your Head 
Lisa Pryor

It’s Not Just a Chemical Imbalance 
Thinking of my mental illness as preordained missed many of the causes of — and solutions to — my emotional suffering.
Kelli María Korducki

Psychological
Mental illness arises due to negative thought patterns.
Healing can occur through psychotherapy.
Freud drew an analogy with grief over the death of a loved one to argue that depression arose due to the patient turning their anger inward about losing an ideal object.
Cognitive behaviour therapy seeks to train the patient to think in more positive ways.
Other approaches focus on past trauma and/or unresolved conflicts, particularly from childhood.
Mindfulness uses meditation exercises to help the patient learn to control their thoughts.
Many people, including myself, have benefited from this approach. However, there are many people for which this approach is ineffective, particularly without medication.

Social
People are social beings. When they are isolated from true community mental illness results. One of the first advocates of the social model was Emile Durkheim, one of the founders of sociology. He found suicide rates varied significantly between different social groups, and argued that this was related to the levels of social integration felt by individuals.
A recent popular advocate of the social model is Johan Harari, in Lost Connections.
The best treatment for patients is to help them establish meaningful relationships in the context of a community.

Marxist
In capitalism, people are defined by their jobs, by their relationship to the "means of production'', the technology that is at the heart of the economy. As a result, they are alienated from one another, from nature, and from meaningful work. The solution is political and economic: revolution leading to a socialist economy where workers own and control the ``means of production.''

Spiritual
The most extreme form of this model is that mental illness arises due to demon possession. Healing can occur through prayer, particularly exorcism. Advocates will point to accounts in the Gospels such as Jesus healing the demoniac. A milder form of this model is that mental illness arises due to the sin or lack of faith of the individual. The solution is repentance and faith. There is no doubt that substance addictions and abuse are bad for mental health. Studies also show that forgiving others is beneficial for mental health.

These competing models raise fundamental questions such as
What really defines a human person?
How do you define human well-being?

Is a human essentially biological (biochemical and genetic), mental, social, political/economic, or spiritual? These models for mental illness tend to each assume an extreme reductionistic view of the essential character of a person.

However, Jesus seems to have had a more integrated view. He said people should love God with all their heart, mind, soul, and strength. He is not presenting a partition of a person, but saying a person is a complex unity of emotions, brain, spirit, and body. Furthermore, the incarnation is about God taking on a human body. Jesus promises his followers will be resurrected with him: not disembodied souls, but rather bodies.

[Figure from Sanctuary Mental Health ministries]

Rather than seeing that one of the models as being mutually exclusive I see that they all have strengths and weaknesses. Individuals are complex and diverse and they live in diverse contexts. Hence, causes and solutions for mental health may vary significantly.

This week I am giving a talk on Jesus and Mental Health for Jesus week at UQ. More to follow.

When theology, culture, and context don't meet

The African theologian John Mbiti once told this parable about an African who spent years studying theology in the West.

He learned German, Greek, French, Latin, Hebrew, in addition to English, church history, systematics, homiletics, exegesis, and pastoralia, as one part of the requirements for his degree. The other part, the dissertation, he wrote on some obscure theologian of the Middle Ages. Finally, he got what he wanted: a Doctorate in Theology. It took him nine and a half years altogether, from the time he left his home untill he passed his orals and set off to return. He was anxious to reach home as soon as possible, so he flew, and he was glad to pay for his excess baggage, which after all, consisted only of the Bible in the various languages he had learned, plus Bultman, Barth, Bonhoeffer, Brunner, Buber, Cone, Küng, Moltman, Niebuhr, Tillich, Christianity Today, Time Magazine… 

At home, relatives, neighbours, old friends, dancers, musicians, drums, dogs, cats, all gather to welcome him back. The fatted calf are killed; meat roasted; girls giggle as they survey him surrounded by his excess baggage; young children have their imagination rewarded-they had only heard about him but now they see him; he, of course, does not know them by name. He must tell about his experiences overseas, for everyone has come to eat, to rejoice, to listen to their hero who has studied so many northern languages, whyo has read so many theological books, who is the hope of their small, but fast growing church, the very incarnation of theological learning. People bear with him patiently as he struggles to speak his own language, as occasionally he seeks the help of an interpreter from English. They are used to sitting down and making time; nobody is in a hurry; speech is not a matter of life and death. Dancing, jubilation, eating, feasting-all these go on as if there were nothing else to do, because the man for whom everybody had waited has finally returned.m 

Suddenly there is a shriek. Someone has fallen to the ground. It is his older sister, now a married women with six children and still going strong. He rushes to her. People make room for him, and watch him. “Let’s take her to the hospital,” he calls urgently. They are stunned. He becomes quiet. They all look at him bending over her. Why doesn’t someone respond to his advice? Finally a schoolboy says, “Sir, the nearest hospital is 50 miles away, and there are few busses that go there.” Someone else says, “She is possessed. Hospitals will not cure her!” The chief says to him, “You have been studying theology overseas for 10 years. Now help your sister. She is troubled by the spirit of her great aunt.” Slowly he goes to get Bultman, looks at the index, finds what he wants, reads again about spirit posession in the New Testament. Of course he gets an answer: Bultman has demythologised it. He insists that his sister is not possessed. The people shout, “Help your sister; she is possessed!” He shouts back, “But Bultman has demythologised demon possession.”

Theological concepts and academic disciplines

At the African Scholars track of the IFES World Assembly, we are discussing Christian perspectives on academic disciplines.

A helpful article is by Elizabeth Hall, Structuring the Scholarly Imagination.
A video of a lecture is here

I will give a shorter of my seminar, Moving towards a Christian perspective on your academic discipline. Slides and a questionnaire are available here.
There is also a French translation of the questionnaire.

It builds around four key theological concepts: creation, fall, redemption, renewal.

IFES seminar on biblical theology and the sciences

I am giving a seminar on this topic at the IFES World Assembly in Johannesburg.
My slides are here.

Here are some of the recommended resources

videos

Science and Genesis, featuring John Polkinghorne, Alister McGrath, N.T. Wright, and others.

introductory books

Let there be science

Exploring Science and Belief by Michael Poole

Why study?

advanced books

Psychology through eyes of faith

Sociology through eyes of faith

Gods that Fail by Vinoth Ramachandra

courses and study guides

Test of Faith

Organisations

Faraday Institute for Science and Religion

Christians in science

BioLogos

Resources in French

IFES seminar on mental health in universities

I am giving a seminar on mental health in universities at the IFES World Assembly in Johannesburg.
My co-presenter is Ibukun Adekoya, a Ph.D. student in Counseling Psychology at McGill University.
Later I will post our slides.
Here are some of the recommended resources

Articles

Why Africa needs to start focusing on the neglected issue of mental health
Article in the conversation, by Crick Lund.

Turning the church's attention to mental health
Lausanne movement

Mental health: a guide for Faith Leaders,
American Psychiatric Association

Introductory books

Troubled Minds, Amy Simpson

Grace for the afflicted, Matthew Stanford

Lost Connections, Johan Hari

Advanced books

Psychology through the eyes of faith,
David Myers and Malcolm Jeeves

Global mental health and the church

Christian counseling: an African Indigenous Perspective.

Organisations

Sanctuary Mental Health Ministries 

Grace alliance

Trauma Healing Institute of the American Bible Society

The core values of medieval universities

In writing my article Towards a Christian vision for the modern secular university, I was helped by a nice paper by Professor David Ford of Cambridge. “Faith and Universities in a Religious and Secular World.”  Ford recounts how Walter Ruegg, the editor of the definitive four-volume A History of the University in Europe noted that the medieval university was defined by seven core values.

1. God is creator of an ordered world that is accessible to human reason;    

 2. human imperfection; this impelled intellectual criticism and collegial cooperation.

 3. humanity is made in the image of God; this laid the foundation for academic freedom.

 4. the appropriateness of public argument and discussion to the absoluteness of scientific truth;  

 5. scientific and scholarly knowledge as a public good transcending any economic advantage it might bring;  

 6. the cumulative and self-correcting process of the growth of knowledge  

7. the equality and solidarity of those committed to the pursuit of knowledge

Three things I find striking. First, how these values are deeply rooted in Christian theology. Second, that these values are the basis for good universities today, even if they are completely secular.
Finally, these values are being steadily eroded in universities today, particularly 5.

When truth, justice, and mercy meet

I really enjoyed the novel, The Day of the Lie, by William Brodrick. The central character is Father Anselm, who is a monk and lawyer. He becomes involved in a case in post-communist Poland, which struggles to find justice and healing after forty years of a police state which was riddled with informers, surveillance, torture, and murder of political prisoners. There are many unexpected twists and turns in the story. Who informed on who? Why? Who was a double agent? But it is really much more than a crime/political thriller. Brodrick is particularly gifted at capturing the nuance of dialogues, inner thoughts, conflicted feelings, and the complexity of relationships. Moreover, the novel wrestles with significant issues of justice, mercy, and redemption, particularly in the context of a society that needs to recover from decades of injustice. These issues are germane to many countries today set in post-conflict, whether Rwanda, South Africa, or Iraq.

Mental health in a fallen creation

The Garden of Eden in Genesis 1-2 represents God's ideal. There is harmony between God and humanity, between male and female, and between humans and nature. There is no struggle for survival. There is no shame. Everything in the creation is good.

Yet this is not the world we live in.
People are alienated from God: they lose identity, purpose, and hope.
Men and women are in conflict.
Work is hard and stressful. It is usually a struggle for survival.
Humanity is alienated from nature.
People are ashamed.
Violence (physical, sexual, and verbal) is prevalent. Violence easily escalates and is passed on to the next generation.
The mind is corrupted. People believe lies, including about themselves.
Disease and death are present.

This is the world introduced in Genesis 3: the fallen creation. Adam and Eve believe a lie: they can be like God: be rulers and know everything. They rebel and experience the consequences: the world described above, a world of alienation.

Mental illness is part of the fallen creation. Depression is characterised by a lack of hope.

The Bible does not present a simplistic or reductionist view of what a human is. The description in terms of ``mind, body, heart, and soul'' is not dualist or even quadralist! Rather the Bible presents a holistic Hebrew perspective that being human and being whole is multi-faceted. Hence, mental health requires an integrated approach. The causes are complex. The solutions are complex. There are spiritual, biochemical, social, and psychological dimensions to be addressed. These dimensions often interact with one another, either constructively or destructively. Healing and prevention may require a blend of prayer, counseling, drugs, exercise, diet, supportive relationships, community building, and lifestyle changes.

The mandate for Christians is to bind up the broken hearted, heal the sick, and set the prisoners free.

What is a university for?

On Saturday I am giving a talk in Sydney on this question at the annual Write conference organised by the Simeon Network of Christian academics. The talk is based on a paper that will appear in June in the journal IFES Word and World.

Two papers that are helpful were written by Professor David Ford of Cambridge.
They are here and  here.

What does Jesus death on the cross achieve?

Tonight at the theology reading group we are discussing ``The Nature and Basis of Salvation,'' chapter 11 of Christian Theology: An Introduction, by Alister McGrath.
The chapter explores different perspectives through history on what the death of Jesus on the cross achieved and what is the meaning and nature of the salvation that is linked to his death and resurrection.

McGrath helpfully points out that it is hard to separate the question of ``What did Jesus achieve?" from the questions of ``Who is Jesus?" and ``What is the nature of humans and what do they need?''



Some view the cross of Christ as only exemplary and subjective, i.e. it provides an example and inspiration for humans to be willing to suffer, particularly for a greater good beyond themselves. In contrast, an objective ontological view is that the cross achieves something objective (makes salvation possible); it actually changes reality.

There are different models and metaphors for the cross and what it achieves including that it is a sacrifice for sin, a victory over sin and evil, a provider of forgiveness, and a demonstration of God's love. Most of the writers McGrath that engages with seem to exclusively favour just one of these over the others. I find this a little strange; why can't they all be true? There are many dimensions to what the cross achieves. They are not necessarily mutually exclusive. This seems to be similar to the view taken by John Stott in his classic book, The Cross of Christ. The challenge, as always in theology, is to find a balance in emphasis between the different dimensions. Furthermore, the cross represents a profound mystery and so any ``model'' will be limited by human language and concepts.

There is also a range of views about what is the nature of the salvation that Jesus offers: reconciliation with God, reconciliation with others, deification (being made divine, particularly favoured in Eastern Orthodox theology), imputed righteousness, personal holiness (Wesley), authentic human existence (Tillich), spiritual freedom, and political liberation (Boff, Gutierrez).
Finally, when it comes to the appropriation of salvation, what is the balance between an extremely Western individualistic conception of personal faith and a communal and institutional conception, as extremely embodied in the Roman Catholic church. Again, the challenge is to find a balance in emphasis between the different perspectives.

One thing in the chapter that was completely new and intriguing for me was the views of Rene Girard, an anthropologist, who claimed that desire, violence, and scapegoats were integral to humanity, to religion, and the sacred. Girard states "Mine is a search for the anthropology of the Cross, which turns out to rehabilitate orthodox theology". For the context and extensive bibliography see here.

It is arguable whether this chapter would be better after chapter 14, which concerns human nature and sin. Most of those who deny the saving power of the cross (particularly Enlightenment writers) do so because they don't think people need to be saved (i.e. they are basically good) and deny that human reason is not corrupted.

This leads to a broader issue that is discussed by McGrath: the influence of historical and cultural context on people's theology. Living in contexts as wide-ranging as Hellenistic philosophical debates, a military dictatorship in Latin America, upper middle-class North America today,  or Catholic Germany at the time of Luther, do have an influence, for better or for worse, on the theological emphases and formulations that they produce.

Most importantly, the chapter would be more helpful if there was a deeper engagement with key Bible passages, particularly those that are hard to reconcile with some of the narrow views advocated by some of the writers reviewed. This is where Stott's book is helpful.

Grunewald, Isenheim Altarpiece. Karl Barth wrote most of his Church Dogmatics, with a reproduction of this in view.