Great couple of days on retreat, led my Stuart Murray (post Christendom). We did some work on parables and values all good stuff. Over the retreat I was also reading A Scandalous Prophet The way of Mission after Newbigin. Someone I have great respect for, and whose work over the years I have valued greatly. The first chapter is on Newbigin as a public theologian but I couldn’t help questioning what was written as a very Christendom approach (I am aware he was writing at a time when this was stronger) but it also made question the whole role of debating theologically with structures and power systems, and how do we approach change and dialogue in a more powerless way. How we promote a system that is more about powerless persuasion and journey and not one that promoted as the right and only alternative?

I kind of link it to a stange idea about applying to go on Big Brother, with the idea to see if I could get the whole group to aggree on certain values and questions to promote through the whole programme. Real basic lowest common denominator (LCD) stuff like “where is the love” or “if you don’t know your nieghbour then talk to them” or even just concious raising stuff like “why is the world not like it could be”. Or even develop a symbol that summed up these kind of statements. I thought we could spray cleaning fluid into the grass so every time the camera showed the garden a message would be seen.

Anyway back to the real world, I wonder if LCD is the kind of public theology we need in the post christendom world.

Been thinking a lot about this verse 22 from Mark 1 recently and its links to ethics and truth. Jesus always saw the ethic behind the text or letter of the law which is why he got into trouble so much with those legalists. As we look and search for truth in contemporary society what is the deep ethic (thanks for the phrase Nikki) behind the text that gives shape and inform us so that a) we can set appropriate boundaries and b) speak with authority and authenticity.

Jesus crossed boundaries with an authenticity I would say that stemmed from him knowing the Spirit of the law and interpreting this into action that gave him authority. What was about him that enabled people to see this authority and respond in such a way, just give up stuff and follow him? Was he so immersed in the deep ethic of love that people saw this in his being?

21They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. 22The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law.

The Final Inquiry on dvd