Addiction isn’t only about hard core drugs, cigarettes and drink, it can find its way into “civilised” society as well! For the lady above not answering the phone and concentrating on her rather bored children, or the road perhaps, might make more sense. I’m a fan of technology myself but when the conduit to relationships becomes more important than the actual face to face encounter, the world is warped. Sometimes we all have to let go of technology and do a bit of face to face interaction. That way we won’t have to send emoticons but instead see someone actually smile!

I’m leading some training on the bible this Saturday for a dozen people becoming local preachers. I’ve decided to go intellectual at the start with this video from VeggieTales creator Phil Vischer. Alternatively I could have used The Bible In A Minute to introduce matters.

Its impossible to hone down the knowledge of the bible into a mornings work, or a video that lasts a minute! The bible has been interpreted by humans since the day it was written and unfortunately there is as much untruth as well as wisdom that comes from that process. I’ve been studying the bible now for 25 years, three of which were in-depth study at theological college. That has given me a respect for the word and a strong desire not to take any verse or chapter out of the overall context. You can practically “prove” anything you like from its pages if you so wish. The skill that I have to instill on Saturday is an understanding of an overview for the bible, and secondly the tools necessary to unpack its truth. Amongst other tools I will be teaching a basic technique for any bible study which is called the 3C’s. I hope it’s of help to someone.

Context – How does any passage fit with its neighbours and the rest of the bible.

Content – What did it say to the original recipients (a commentary is needed for this)

Consequences – What does that mean for people today (living out that truth)

For those that didn’t see an early blog entry about the bible then click on the link below.

Bible Energy

The image is one of 40 date slices that I made yesterday, by chance one for each day of Lent. That is if you take the feast day of Sunday out of the equation (although I might just share them with the family).The recipe if you want to make your own can be found at Date Crumble Slice.

Following on from yesterday’s blog Lent isn’t about reduction as such, but is about the right priorities in your life. Even those that fast through Lent feast on the Sunday. The right priorities are difficulties to come by when society is polarised into the “haves” and the “have nots”. Not unlike France in the past it might be that “the peasants will be revolting” in this country due to the economic extremes we have experienced over recent years. Lent becomes a symbol of society at large. In order to function correctly individuals and communities need a good balance of the essentials and the treats, bread and cake. Too much wealth will lead to rotten teeth and society, too little will lead to disillusionment. So I say even in Lent, “Let them eat cake”.

If you want to know what to take up in Lent then read my previous post. Also if you want to explore poverty and riches then I’ve included a link to a past blog entry

Rich Or Poor

Lent doesn’t have to be devoid of chocolate or any other pleasure, but for some people making a sacrifice focuses the mind. Alternatively why not have a chunk of chocolate whilst reading Mark’s gospel every day, sorted!

BigRead12 - Focusing on Marl’s gospel

40acts - Doing Lent generously

Consumer Detox - Group resources, daily blog and online talks

The Lenten Carbon Fast - An environmental impact

Christian Aid Lent Resources - Links to a variety of material

In the book Ronson gets to interview some interesting characters, and you are drawn in to deciding whether they are mad or not. Ronson does this himself using the psychopath test devised by Bob Hare. The book ends with no conclusion and you don’t leave with a warm glow. What it does confirm again for me though is that we all have a bit of madness and goodness within us. No one is totally a saint or a sinner. Equally what the madness industry sometimes prescribes drugs for, is nothing close to madness but simply eccentric  attributes that stand out from the norm. I would conclude by saying, “bring on the eccentrics!”

You might want to read Church is Full Of Weirdos.

Our life is dominated by light. It is of course very helpful illuminating our path. Yet it can also be intrusive, a pollutant. If only we could mask the light and focus on the shadows instead, there is much to learn. Darkness is mystery and uncertainty, the deep waters, or the shadowy corner is foreboding. Yet I don’t want to live in a false fluorescent world with no light and shade. Darkness is pregnant with potential. The trick is to stop and allow our eyes or mind to adjust to what is already there, but blinded by light.

It was Job that sank into the depths of darkness to discover true wisdom. Prior to that people believed that wealth and a long life were signs that God was with you. Job and Wisdom literature in general made people realise that God can be in the darkness, in the mystery, in the uncertainty.

So the trick is to pause in the darkness.

Tomorrows bible reading is the Transfiguration, the context of which is up a mountain. The disciples were given a different perspective on life as a result of their climb. Shame they couldn’t slide down the mountain in snow like us. I’m going to be using the following  Marjorie Dobson poem tomorrow that alludes to the transfigurations we can have in life. I know the view from Snowdon that day didn’t give me a panorama, but it did give me a different perspective, as did the holiday overall.

Normal blogging service will now resume, it’s good to be back.

For those that read yesterday’s blog entry on Rich Or Poor there was a question from one reader on whether I was talking about Britain or the world in relation to my wealth. The surprising stat. was that I’m in the top 20% of Britain. If you want to know your standing in the world then click on the link to Global Rich List.

I leave you with an adapted John Birch prayer, back with you soon.

Rich or poor, or just middle of the road? I was told yesterday that I am in the top 20% of the population for affluence, as I’m part of the clergy. That was a shocking stat. as I always assumed I was somewhere below the middle of average! My “affluence” means that I will live longer, be far less likely to be on anti-depressants, and I have choice in relation to my home, schools and health. My children will be born into this affluence and are more likely to achieve at school and join the higher ranks of society with regards to income. This information isn’t guess work but born out of evidence gleaned from government statistics.

I am concerned that my privileged position will stifle the policy decisions of the church in fighting poverty and injustice, a church that has the social gospel message within its DNA. I know that affluence doesn’t stop good policy decisions, yet ignorance of the situation can impede it. Only 2% of people know they are in the top 20% of wealth. I need to sit with this news for a few days but I think it has the ability to re-orientate my position and action in relation to fairness.