Beauty, art, and mission

 Last night my wife and I watched Many Beautiful Things, a documentary about the extraordinary life of Lillias Trotter. It captures the beauty of her life and art and how she followed Jesus. The striking cinemaphotography gave a glimpse of the amazing ways that Trotter could see beauty in nature and then capture it in watercolours. Daily she wrote diary entries about her life and spiritual journey including ornate pictures of scenes and people she engaged with. She was independently wealthy and of frail health. She had artistic talent that could have led to her being the greatest English painter of her time, according to the judgement of John Ruskin (the leading English art critic of the 19th century). Yet, her desire to follow Jesus led her to care for destitute women in London and eventually women and children in Algeria. This choice was a great disappointment to Ruskin.

You can watch it for free on Youtube (with endless ads) or on RedeemTV without ads. I thank Tanglaw Roman for bringing it to my attention.

A theoretical physicist talks about his life journey

This is a wonderful video: funny, moving, and serious.

Shook: Dr. Ard Louis - Oxford University from Biblica on Vimeo.

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

What is "double listening"?

This phrase was coined by John Stott in a book, The Contemporary Christian: An urgent plea for double listening, published in 1992.

Double listening concerns Christians listening to what the Bible says while also listening to what the world says. The world is interpreted, affirmed, and critiqued in terms of what the Bible says, while the Bible is interpreted in light of what learns from the world. Everyone does this, whether or not they acknowledge it. However, the challenge is to do it consciously, intentionally, humbly, diligently, creatively, consistently, and constructively.

The idea is helpfully reviewed by Alister McGrath in this lecture.



Here is some of the key text from the Contemporary Christian (p. 27-9).

How, then, can we be both conservative and radical simultaneously, conservative in guarding God’s revelation and radical in our thoroughgoing application of it? How can we develop a Christian mind, which is both shaped by the truths of historic, biblical Christianity, and acquainted with the realities of the contemporary world? How can we relate the Word to the world, understanding the world in the light of the Word, and even understanding the Word in the light of the world? We have to begin with a double refusal. We refuse to become either so absorbed in the Word, that we escape into it and fail to let it confront the world, or so absorbed in the world, that we conform to it and fail to subject it to the judgement of the Word. Escapism and conformity are opposite mistakes, but neither is a Christian option. 

In place of this double refusal we are called to double listening, listening both to the Word and to the world. It is a truism to say that we have to listen to the Word of God, except perhaps that we need to listen to him more expectantly and humbly, ready for him to confront us with a disturbing, uninvited word. It is less welcome to be told that we must also listen to the world. For the voices of our contemporaries may take the form of shrill and strident protest. They are now querulous, now appealing, now aggressive in tone. There are also the anguished cries of those who are suffering, and the pain, doubt, anger, alienation and even despair of those who are estranged from God. I am not suggesting that we should listen to God and to our fellow human beings in the same way or with the same degree of deference. We listen to the Word with humble reverence, anxious to understand it, and resolved to believe and obey what we come to understand. We listen to the world with critical alertness, anxious to understand it too, and resolved not necessarily to believe and obey it, but to sympathise with it and to seek grace to discover how the gospel relates to it. . . . 

‘Double listening’, however, contains no element of self-contradiction. It is the faculty of listening to two voices at the same time, the voice of God through Scripture and the voices of men and women around us. These voices will often contradict one another, but our purpose in listening to them both is to discover how they relate to each other. Double listening is indispensable to Christian discipleship and Christian mission. 

Two other books by John Stott that McGrath mentions are Issues Facing Christians Today and Christian Mission in the Modern World.

An excellent book on Christian apologetics

Apologetics concerns discussing intellectual questions or objections that people, both non-Christian and Christian, have about Christianity. The field has a long history, and there are a plethora of books, particularly from the USA on the subject. From my perspective, the books vary significantly in quality and some have quite narrow perspectives or offer simplistic answers and strategies.

The introductory book that I highly recommend is Mere Apologetics by Alister McGrath. He presents quite a balanced approach with regard to different apologetic methods. He also has an emphasis on the audience and tailoring approaches, methods, and arguments to them, particularly when the audience is postmodern. Following C.S. Lewis, McGrath highlights the value of appealing to the imagination and emotions, not just the intellect. Because of this audience sensitivity, the book is relevant and useful in non-Western contexts, unlike many Western books. This is the view of some of my non-Western friends who also say it is particularly accessible and clear as an introductory book.

I quite like this lecture McGrath gave where he discusses the importance of C.S. Lewis for apologetics.

Science and theology resources in French

Next weekend I am part of an IFES meeting in Francophone Africa where Christian academics will be discussing the relationship between science and theology. I have been tracking down useful resources in French. Here are some of them.

Science et Foi (is like a French version of Biologos, covering similar topics, includes videos and blog articles.

Réseau des scientifiques évangéliques (like a French version of Christians in Science in the UK)

Faraday Papers have been been translated into French.

Test of Faith video (dubbed in French)

Benno van den Toren and Klaas Borm recently completed a relevant research project.
Two of the papers they have produced are
 A Contribution to the debate on science and faith by Christian students from Abidjan

On the Value of Action and Participatory Research for Intercultural Theology: Reflections in the Light of a Research Project on “Science and Religion in French-Speaking Africa

Here are the slides (in French) for two talks I have given previously in France.
Un scientifique porte un regard sur la Bible

La science nous libère-t-elle de la religion?
[This one may be of less interest to people outside of France as it engages with The Pantheon, Victor Hugo, and Les Miserables].

I welcome other recommendations.

Who is a criminal?

I got addicted to watching the Spanish TV Series, The Money Heist, on Netflix. It concerns a group who enter the Spanish mint, blockade it, and print money for themselves.
My favourite scene is the below.

A colleague recently introduced me to the idea of legalised corruption. This is where people working in institutions do not explicitly break any laws but use their position to "rob" it. For example, bankers or university presidents who pay themselves ridiculous salaries. It is nicely captured here.

Helpful synopsis of individual books of the Bible

One of the many amazing things about the books of the Bible is how each one is crafted to tell a coherent, fascinating and powerful story with a clear theological message.  However, when one first reads many of them, particularly in the Old Testament, that Big Picture is easily lost or not seen. One can get lost in geneologies and obscure place names...

In light of this, I have found the short videos produced by The Bible Project very helpful. Now whenever I start to study a new book, whether individually or in a small group, I first watch the relevant video. They are quite dense and so I often find it helpful to watch one more than once.

A balanced perspective on science and Christianity

The Australian TV show Compass recently had a good episode, Can a scientist believe?.
It was refreshingly balanced, featuring interviews with scientists who are atheists and scientists who are Christian. It also included some content from the COSAC conference that I was recently involved in.

Talk on Genesis 1-3

This morning I gave a talk on the first three chapters of Genesis to a women's group from my church. My wife introduced me! Here are the slides.

For background, I recommend comparing and contrasting Genesis with the Babylonian creation myth the Enuma Elish, which is nicely summarised in this short video.

Another helpful short video is Science and Genesis, featuring John Polkinghorne, Alister McGrath, N.T. Wright, and others.

I have found helpful the book How to Read Genesis  by Tremper Longman.
An excellent introductory book that puts my talk in context is Exploring Science and Belief by Michael Poole.

Is the slope really that slippery?

I am skeptical about "slippery slope" arguments, whether in theology or politics.

``If we allow/believe X then we will end up with Y, something that is really bad.''

First, this an argument from fear, not from faith and love.
Second, this video makes a point I had not thought of before. Usually, these arguments are against some view/action that is considered "liberal". However, one should be just as concerned about being too "conservative". For example, in theology, trying to avoid liberalism can lead to legalism, division, or authoritarianism.
In politics it can lead to totalitarianism.

War is hell. 6.

I watched the premiere of the first episode of the new ten-part documentary The Vietnam War on PBS. I thank my mother-in-law for suggesting it.

This long interview with the directors is worth watching. The series took ten years to produce!
They claim understanding this war is key to understanding much of the division that persists in the USA today.

US readers can view the first episode here.

The New York Times review of the series is helpful and insightful.

I learnt a lot of history from the first episode, which covered the period from French colonisation to the French withdrawal, and the beginning of USA escalation. One "trivia" was how the OSS (predecessor of the CIA) originally supported Ho Chi Minh.

Several things are highlighted included the mis-calculations of the French and US, their complete underestimation of the passion and commitment of Vietnamese nationalism, mistakenly imposing a Cold war conflict perspective on a civil war and postcolonial struggle, and the lies that both sides told their people for domestic political purposes.
The metric madness of McNamara played a significant role in the self- and public- deception of US military and political leaders.

Humans have an incredible capacity to hate, to inflict brutalities on one another, to deceive, to believe what they want to believe, and to cling to power.

The most important (and painful) messages are War is Hell, there are no real winners, and people don't learn from history.

Why do I like Downton Abbey?

My wife and I recently watched all six seasons of Downton Abbey. For some reason, I am a little embarrassed to admit that I enjoyed it so much. Perhaps, this is because there is an element of soap opera and "wealth porn" to the show. However, what I think I actually enjoyed and valued was the history, social commentary, characters, and dialogue.

I had not appreciated before how the first world world war brought about great social change in England, particularly in the decline of the aristocracy. I was aware that the second world war also brought about a lot of change, but not the first.

The series begins about one hundred years ago, but seems a world away from today. I was particularly struck by the attitudes and prejudices about social class, unwed mothers, birth control, homosexuality, women's roles, royalty, dress, war, rape victims, the death penalty, Catholics, .....
On the one hand ninety years is a long time, but on the other hand that is the era that my parents were born in. Now (unfortunately, belatedly) I have a better appreciation of some of their values, habits, and aspirations that seemed strange or debatable to me growing up.

I felt that some of the characters were very "real" and human, reflecting a desire to often do good, yet struggling to do so and sometimes making a mess of things, as we do.

I don't envy the wealth, opulent lifestyle, and leisure of the Family. But, I do envy some of the characters witty lines, ability to guide conversations, frequent desire to be gracious, and to part on good terms with others, even those who have hurt them.

On the lighter side here are some classic lines from Cousin Violet, Dowager Countess of Grantham, who I came to appreciate more as a peace maker, as the series went on.

Sermon on Genesis 1-2

At our church,  a new sermon series is starting on Genesis. I was asked to give the first talk. Here is the current version of the slides.

For background, I recommend comparing and contrasting Genesis with the Babylonian creation myth the Enuma Elish, which is nicely summarised in this short video.

Another helpful short video is Science and Genesis, featuring John Polkinghorne, Alister McGrath, N.T. Wright, and others.

I have found helpful the book How to Read Genesis  by Tremper Longman.
An excellent introductory book that puts my talk in context is Exploring Science and Belief by Michael Poole.

A nuanced atheist view of Jesus and Christian theology

Previously, I have written several posts featuring Terry Eagleton. He is a prominent literary theorist, a Marxist, an atheist, and a critic of both religion and the New Atheists.

Yesterday, I watched the first of his 2008 Terry Lectures at Yale University, which were later published as Reason, Faith, and Revolution: Reflections on the God Debate.
It presents a fascinating, nuanced, challenging, and provocative view of Jesus and Christian theology. Some of it I do not agree with but it is worth engaging with.



I am looking forward to watching the other lectures.

The narrative of Genesis

The first few chapters of Genesis can be a source of endless controversy and confusion. This need not be if one reads them in the context of the whole book. This video nicely introduces the narrative of the whole book.

Is this racist or just funny?

In Australia a new sit-com Here Come the Habibs just started on commercial television. It chronicles the interactions between a Lebanese immigrant family and their caucasian neighbours in a wealthy Sydney suburb. Some claim it is racist, others think it is built on stereotypes, and others think it is  just funny. It is bit in the genre of Upper Middle Bogan.
I actually really like it. I think it is quite funny and does a good job of making fun of the snobbery and latent racism of some Australians.

Environmental conservation and poverty alleviation are intertwined

 I found this video quite inspiring. I thank Ross van Vuuren for bringing it to my attention.



Wildlife conservation benefiting Kenya’s coastal poor from A Rocha International on Vimeo.

Low-income communities are dependent on a healthy environment for their most basic needs such as clean water, food, fuel and medicine. This video shows how families in one of the poorest communities in Kenya, who were over-exploiting their natural resources, are changing their practices and caring for their forests. Why? Because of ASSETS, an eco-bursary scheme which has enabled over 500 students to attend secondary school and involves them and their parents in environmental education. Colin Jackson, Conservation and Science Director of A Rocha Kenya, explains the origins and aims of ASSETS and its significance for some of the most wildlife-rich sites in all Africa.

Learning from past church history

Why do Christians believe what they do today? Where did current practices and institutions come from? How can we not repeat the mistakes of the past?

I am in a study group starting a short course on Early church history (up to about 600 AD), using a Moore College Correspondence course.

I thought this video was a nice introduction to the subject, both why the subject is important, and a few major events of the first century.



The second video in the series is here.

Biblical justice, reconciliation, and Majority world debt

My wife and I watched this excellent and challenging video. N.T. Wright first reviews the themes of justice in the Psalms and Jesus teaching on the Kingdom of God. Then he considers the case of Philemon and slavery. Finally, he makes a particularly insightful and poignant analysis of the problem of financial debt of the Majority world.