Reflecting on disaster

The three most recent posts on Jason Goroncy's blog relate to the devastating second Christchurch earthquake.

One offers two poems/reflections by Walter Brueggemann, the second is called, Christchurch: a pastoral reflection, and the third is reprint of a theological reflection by Frank Rees on his own experience of disaster called God of the Tsunami.

Rees is Principal and Professor of Systematic Theology at Whitley College in Melbourne, and this paper was first presented at a conference in South Korea.

The values of getting older

Many of us see the second half of life as a process of heading downhill from the 'heights' of our (long) youth - 0-40, roughly.

However, Richard Rohr believes we should look at this differently, and has recently produced a book called, Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life. It's published byJossey-Bass.

The publishers' blurb says: “In Falling Upward , Fr. Richard Rohr seeks to help readers understand the tasks of the two halves of life and to show them that those who have fallen, failed, or "gone down" are the only ones who understand "up." Most of us tend to think of the second half of life as largely about getting old, dealing with health issues, and letting go of life, but the whole thesis of this book is exactly the opposite. What looks like falling down can largely be experienced as "falling upward." In fact, it is not a loss but somehow actually a gain, as we have all seen with elders who have come to their fullness.

Some of the chapter headings sound intriguing:

1. The Two Halves of Life.
2. The Hero and Heroine's Journey.
3. The First Half of Life.
4. The Tragic Sense of Life.
5. Stumbling over the Stumbling Stone.
6. Necessary Suffering.
7. Home and Homesickness.
8. Amnesia and the Big Picture.
9. A Second Simplicity.
10. A Bright Sadness.
11. The Shadowlands.
12. New Problems and New Directions.
13. Falling Upward.

To get a short appreciation of Rohr's viewpoint, you can read an article entitled: The Two Halves of Life: how did we get them so mixed up?

[Thanks for Paul Fromont for alerting us to this book.]

On the Cost and Grace of Parish ministry - Jason Goroncy

As of today, Jason Goroncy from Knox Centre for Ministry and Leadership has just posted the 14th episode in an ongoing series called, On the Cost and Grace of Parish Ministry.

I've been keeping up with these since they began, but wasn't sure how many were to come, so haven't notified the readers of this blog until now. This is a superb series of articles on all manner of things related to the series title: today's focuses on suffering, and in spite of its length (it ran out to 14 pages as a word document, including the pictures) is worth sitting down and reading carefully.

At the bottom of the latest post are links to all the other posts. Take an hour or so out of your time and read these.

Bullying: church, schools

Bullying is a topic that's coming increasingly to our attention within the church. This blog post about pastors being physically threatened and their families verbally abused by members of their own congregation, brought a bunch of comments in which the stories are horrendous.

Yesterday I caught up with a short video from Sweden - it has an English soundtrack - in which a young boy is seen being bullied (somewhat mildly at this stage) by some older boys.



What is interesting about the turnaround in the video is that the other older boy does something that has a ring of the Gospel about it. Sharing in the pain the victim is suffering, but in the process, turning the evil away. It would make a good starting point for a Gospel sermon, even though that isn't what the makers intended.

For a different look at the problem of bullying - in a Japanese school context - check out this video report. It runs for about 21 minutes.

The rocks cry out

There is a pervasive sense that things are not right in the world, and the gentle suggestion that maybe they don't have to stay this way.... But most Christian artists and preachers have remained strangely distant from human suffering, offering the world eternal assurance over prophetic imagination. Perhaps it should not surprise us that Jesus says that if the Christians remain silent, then the rocks will cry out ... or the rock stars, I guess.

Shane Claiborne
The Irresistible Revolution

Interesting statement, but is it entirely true?

Blogalogue: N T Wright and Bart Ehrman

I've just been alerted to an ongoing conversation/blogalogue between N T Wright and Bart Ehrman, on the subject of why God allows suffering. I don't think the conversation is finished yet; at least I hope it isn't, as neither seems to have come to the end of what they have to say.
When reading it, make sure you start at the bottom of the page, and work upwards. The first post is quite some way down.
Here's the intro from BeliefNet.
Is our pain God’s problem? If God is good and all-powerful, why does he allow so much suffering? These kinds of questions—sometimes called the problem of theodicy—have long bothered believers and nonbelievers alike. These questions are especially pressing now as we face the AIDS pandemic, widespread hunger, and environmental degradation—not to mention the grief that humans can cause one another. Our two guests for this new Beliefnet Blogalogue have devoted part of their lives to addressing these issues. Bart Ehrman is James A. Gray Distinguished Professor of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and the author of God's Problem and Misquoting Jesus, among many other titles. N.T. Wright is the Bishop of Durham for the Church of England and has taught at McGill, Oxford, and Cambridge. His books include Surprised By Hope, Evil and the Justice of God, and several other titles.