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INSIGHT Volume 2 Issue 1
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LST INSIGHT - The Tree of Life issue1
LST INSIGHT - The Tree of Life issue 3
Welcome to the new look INSIGHT.
We’ve worked hard to create an accessible
theological magazine that is packed with
thought provoking articles and reviews, from
across the spectrum of LST faculty and associates.
In this issue we look at, and have taken our theme from,
where contemporary culture meets theology head on
in the stunning ‘Tree of Life’ film. We also explore issues
such as morality, counselling and living out faith in
the world.
INSIGHT is a magazine to be read and reacted to,
reviewing media that can fuel your relationship with
God. We’d love you to get involved – get in touch with
feedback and your ideas for further features or topics
you’d like to see covered.
Where’s the news? For the latest news about LST we’re
developing a regular news sheet. If your copy of INSIGHT
doesn’t have a news sheet in it and you’d like one, just
let us know or you can download it from the website.
Great things are happening at the London School of
Theology. We’re almost 70 years old and excited as
God challenges us to move forward with him in new
ways at the forefront of delivering effective, Bible based,
academically rigorous theological education.
The future is yet to be written – walk with us as we
prepare people to change the world.
Matt Adcock Editor
Special thanks to... Review authors: Sheila Green (retired LST Teacher & current LST student), Graham McFarlane (LST BA Course Leader/Senior Lecturer), Chloe Lynch (Leader of LifeGiving Church and Open Learning (BA) Tutor, LST) Tony Lane (LST Professor of Historical Theology), Sam Hargreaves (LST Lecturer in Music & Worship); as well as a big thanks to YouthWork magazine for use of their content.
Email [email protected] Facebook /LondonSchoolOfTheology
twitter @LSTheologyWeb www.lst.ac.uk
LST INSIGHT - The Tree of Life issue 3
Matt Adcock Insight Editor & Director of Communications
nerv interactive (nerv.co.uk)Designers
Robert WilloughbyNew Testament Lecturer
Mark BeaumontSenior Lecturer in Islam & Mission
William AtkinsonVice-Principal (Academic)
Richard PicklesTheology & Counselling Diploma Level Tutor
Anna RobbinsSenior Lecturerin Theology and Contemporary Culture
Steve Motyer Theology & Counselling Course Leader
Tom WadeReligious Educator
LST INSIGHT - The Tree of Life issue4
he fallout from the bombing of the twin towers
in New York ten years ago has been truly
global. But especially in the UK, the copycat
7/7 attacks in London added to 9/11 a deeper
gloom which today still casts a heavy shadow over society.
Commentators tend to point out that relations between
Muslims in Britain and the rest of society have taken serious
hits from these events, and that confidence still needs to
develop to a level reached before September 2001. Both
devastatingly cruel bombings of civilians were undergirded by
Muslims who claimed to be retaliating against the US and the
UK for their military intervention in Muslim territory.
In the chilling video made by the mastermind of the
London carnage, Sadiq Khan, a twenty something British
Muslim from Yorkshire, proclaimed that British society was
corporately guilty of interference in the internal affairs
of a sovereign Muslim state, and that he was bringing the
retribution of God to bear on his viewers for such a crime.
LST INSIGHT - The Tree of Life issue4
LST INSIGHT - The Tree of Life issue 5
What was very disturbing about the aftermath of 7/7
was the agreement of roughly one in four young British
Muslim men with Khan’s view that British society has
supported ‘illegal’ military intervention in Iraq and
Afghanistan, and that Muslims have the right to resist
such non-Muslim aggression.
The recent three-part life of the Prophet Muhammad
screened by the BBC showed the Khan video in which he
had claimed to be following the example of the Prophet
and then asked whether Muhammad would have
supported the killing of civilians in battle. A series of
scholars appeared on camera to argue that Muhammad
only used military force as a last resort and in self-
defense, and that he explicitly ruled out attacks on
civilians. The fact that a serious historical documentary
gave so much room to a twenty first century suicide
bomber who passionately believed that he was fulfilling
the will of God is eloquent testimony to the impact of
the latter on the public consciousness.
What has Christian theology to say in this context?
First of all, Christians should recognise that some
claiming to defend Christendom have used violence
against innocent Muslims in recent times and not just
during the Crusades. In the year 2000, I was giving some
teaching on Islam for missionaries to Bosnian Muslims
in Mostar, and will never forget being taken to the local
park, which was now completely filled with gravestones.
‘roughly one in four young British Muslim men
(agree) that British society has supported ‘illegal’
military intervention in Iraq & Afghanistan.’
LST INSIGHT - The Tree of Life issue 5
LST INSIGHT - The Tree of Life issue6
‘Christians need to promote and uphold democratic
values that make allowance for personal faith and
practice but prevent coercion of any kind.’
LST INSIGHT - The Tree of Life issue6
LST INSIGHT - The Tree of Life issue 7
I read the dates on a number of them and was struck by
the often young lives of Muslim citizens taken out by
Serbian artillery that had been blessed by church leaders
as a means to preserving Serbian Christian culture.
Second, Christians need to promote and uphold
democratic values that make allowance for personal
faith and practice but prevent coercion of any kind. The
British tradition of tolerance for individual expression of
belief needs to be vigorously argued for and defended.
For example, the recent outlawing of the public
wearing of Muslim female face coverings by the French
parliament should not be followed elsewhere, and
Christians ought to be the first to protect the right of
a Muslim to wear personally chosen clothing in public.
The best British approach is exemplified by a girls
secondary school near where I lived in Birmingham that
has designed headscarves for Muslim pupils in the forest
green colour of the school uniform.
Third, Christians must at the same time use this
freedom of personal expression in our culture to confess
their faith in Christ as the incarnate Word of God in
conversations with Muslims. There is no need for us
to cower in the corner in silence for fear of offending
Muslims who hold only that Jesus is a messenger of
God. Another story from Birmingham might illustrate
this. I was asked by a church leader to visit the home of
a Muslim GP he had befriended to explain the Trinity. I
gave the GP my Bible and suggested he read Colossians
1:15-22, which he did, and then he sat back in the sofa
and breathed out, ‘Now I understand what Christians
think of Jesus’. It was not too difficult to explain Father,
Son and Spirit from that point. Naturally, he was not
necessarily convinced that Colossians was telling the
truth, but I believe that Scripture speaks first before our
own witness to what is said there. After all, that GP
now knows that Christians hold to the incarnation of
the Son of God as a result of the clear teaching of the
Bible, and that this doctrine is not a later development
from the time of the Council of Nicaea in 325 as some
Muslim polemicists have argued. There have been liberal
Christian voices urging conservative Christians to play
down the incarnation in order that Christians might get
along with their Muslim neighbours. But the fact that
this Muslim GP was glad that someone took the time
to explain why the incarnation is so central to Christian
faith demonstrates that we can respect Muslims
without needing to apologise for what we believe God
has revealed in Christ.
Finally, the message of the peacemaking Christ of
Colossians 1:22 should be the very heart of our lifestyle
as Christians in relation to Muslims. Just as he sacrificed
his blood on the cross to bring all things back to God
so we ought to seek to represent him in the same spirit
of sacrifice, encouraging Muslims too to be at peace
with God.
Mark BEauMont
Senior Lecturer in Islam and Mission and a council member of Arab World Ministries UK.
‘The message of the peacemaking Christ of Colossians
1:22 should be the very heart of our lifestyle as
Christians in relation to Muslims.’
LST INSIGHT - The Tree of Life issue8
...we gaily sang, ‘the wise man built his house upon the rock’,
eagerly looking forward to the last line, ‘the foolish man built his
house upon the sand, and the house on the sand FELL FLAT!!’ -
accompanied by all sorts of collapsing sound effects and actions.
It certainly rubbed the point home to us seven-year-olds, as we
picked ourselves up from the floor. Build your life on the Rock that
is Jesus, and you’re secure. Ignore his words and build on the sand,
and you’ll be swept away by the storm.
‘The wise man built his house upon the rock’,
LST INSIGHT - The Tree of Life issue8
LST INSIGHT - The Tree of Life issue 9
his is why I feel passionate about the
‘Theology’ in ‘Theology and Counselling’.
For nine very privileged years I’ve been
the Programme Leader for Theology
and Counselling at LST. During that time there’s been
a remarkable growth in Christian Counselling agencies
and training programmes across the UK – and no
wonder. Christians want to get involved in ministry to
an estranged and hurting society, in all sorts of ways,
and counselling is one of them. Our Theology and
Counselling programme is run in partnership with CWR,
one of the UK’s leading providers of Christian counselling
training. They do a great job. I’m really glad that Selwyn
Hughes (the founder of CWR) saw the vision of a
partnership with LST, because under the umbrella of our
joint venture with CWR we’ve been able to give depth,
and solidity, to the ‘Christian’ in ‘Christian counselling’. I
think that was part of Selwyn’s vision.
Yes – theology is the Rock on which Christian
counselling can be really well built. So what do Christian
counsellors gain, through having studied theology as
well? The gain is priceless, in my view, as I reflect on my
years of working with T&C at LST, and talk to students
and colleagues about it. Everyone has a slightly different
take on the blessings, but blessings they certainly are,
and I think I can summarise them like this:
a solidly founded world-view. God leaves mystery
clouding round the edges, when it comes to the big
questions, but that’s all part of the deal, as we share
with clients their perplexity about the world. Theology
helps us to know how to live with uncertainty, and to
know where the solid ground is. We don’t offer false
hope or reassurance, because we’ve looked closely at
the big issues of creation, humanity, sin, and salvation,
and built biblical foundations for our world-view. And
that means...
a well-rooted spirituality. It’s not easy, finding out
why life is so tough for so many people, and discovering
a spirituality which copes with that. Bringing theology
into counselling training gives plenty of space for this,
so that when the storms hit our lives, we know well
how to distinguish between trite, ill-thought theological
responses and others which go deep into Scripture and
bear nourishing spiritual fruit. And that means...
LST INSIGHT - The Tree of Life issue 9
LST INSIGHT - The Tree of Life issue10
Counselling practice founded in clear self-
knowledge, knowledge of ourselves in Christ.
All good counselling courses aim at fostering self-
awareness in their trainees. This is why trainees are
usually required to undergo their own therapy. If we don’t
know ourselves, we’ll have blind spots that will intrude on
the work with clients. But for Christians there’s a whole
extra realm to self-knowledge – knowing who we are in
Christ. Can we truly take on board the love he has for us?
The shape and depth of his grace? How our bodies relate
to our spiritual life in him? Do we know what spiritual
gifts he has given us, and how to exercise them? Do we
know how to walk in the Spirit, and what that means
for our life on planet Earth? – and how this will impact
our client work? If we’re growing in this, it will mean...
Protection against disastrous legalism. Jesus kept
very bad company, and gave huge offence by welcoming
sinners and partying with them – because he knew (and
shows us) how grace changes lives. Do we know him
well enough to be as radical as he is? Good theology
leads us in his footsteps, and makes us signs of the
Kingdom. Bad theology gives out sets of prescriptions,
rules for living, just based on human church tradition:
and counsellors with bad theology will be inwardly
wanting to shift their clients in the direction of their
particular set of rules. Good theology subjects all this to
biblical critique, and delivers us from legalism. And this
kind of theology also gives...
a capacity for deep personal and theological
reflection. We notice this in our students. They go
deeper. Theology requires it. We can’t do everything on
our course, but we can set our students off on a lifetime
journey of reflection, giving them a taste and a growing
capacity for plumbing personal, biblical, theological,
psychological and spiritual depths, discovering
something of the integration between these areas. It’s
a wonderful journey, an awesome calling. I think that
theology and counselling together create holy ground,
a sacred space where we find the presence of the one
who is the Wonderful Counsellor. And people who are
beginning to experience this also develop...
LST INSIGHT - The Tree of Life issue10
‘we can set our students
off on a lifetime journey
of reflection’
Fluency in talking about spiritual things. Counsellors
with good theology aren’t stuck with fixed, Christian
language in talking about the things of the Spirit. When
you’ve gone into something deeply, you can begin to
find new words that communicate freshly. You’re not
bound to the old formulations (or wineskins), because
you see clearly what it’s really all about. You’ve got the
new wine. And a great side-effect of this study and
growth is that you gain...
reliable insight into the tough questions clients
bring. Clients don’t spare us. They bring their anxious
questions – where was God when I was abused? Why
do good people suffer so much? Have I committed
the unforgivable sin Jesus mentioned? Is it OK to be
homosexual? Can God forgive me, if I can’t forgive the
person who abused my child? It probably won’t be right
to become an ‘expert’ and start answering our clients’
questions – but theology helps us to be comfortable
in our skins while feeling the pain of these questions,
because we know that there are good biblical responses.
What a blessing.
Yes – blessings. Seven of them. Feels like a perfect
recipe. Seven precious minerals glinting in the Rock on
which a well-founded, firmly built Christian counselling
ministry can rest. Wise counsellors will build on it,
because ‘the house on the Rock STOOD FIRM!’
StEvE MotYEr
Theology & Counselling Course Leader and Lecturer in New Testament and Hermeneutics
LST INSIGHT - The Tree of Life issue 11
‘theology helps us to be comfortable in our skins
while feeling the pain of these questions’
LST INSIGHT - The Tree of Life issue12
THEOLOGY AS TEARS IN
ACTION
LST INSIGHT - The Tree of Life issue12
LST INSIGHT - The Tree of Life issue 13
LST INSIGHT - The Tree of Life issue14
cry a lot. I never used to. Tears for me have
always and continue to be mysterious; a
mixture of emotion and experience that
represent an overwhelming of the person. There
was a time where I was known as always detached,
distant, intellectually sensitive, awkward and preferring
discussions around anything abstract rather than
anything personal. Tears then were beyond me. They
represented something mysterious because I could not
allow them or what they represented to be part of my
experience; they were unknown, whilst I stuck within
the lines that I drew my world within. The shift that
occurred and continues to occur within me involved
the constant movement between what is known and
unknown; a constant stepping towards something
other than me in hope that in doing so I would know
something of the mystery of Christ. Tears in a sense
seem to bridge that space between, allowing me to
enter into a newness of being.
To be asked to write an article on how theology engages
with counselling seems to involve discussing the process
of change that I continue to go through between
thought, emotions, knowingness, and the experience of
knowing others in a way that impacts every part of me.
I’ve found that there has been for me a sea change in
how I engage with myself, the world, and the various
overwhelmings of life that come my way. This journey
seems to be rooted in who I am, especially the shadow
side of my being, as I have sought to follow Jesus. It has
been as I have owned the impulses, drives and deeply
illusional ways of who I am that I have found new ways
of relating to others, less bound by
that which I used to disown.
I came to faith whilst at a
residential rehabilitation centre for
drug users for my heroin addiction.
This one experience has shaped me
beyond what I thought possible.
What I gathered from what I had read and experienced
of people whose outworking of their faith captivated
me, was that life as a Christian is one of entering fully
into the pain of others’ existence with the hope of Christ
and an open mind. This was a simple but powerful vision
which has remained core to me. It has impacted my life
whether through my family, my Church life, my own
therapy, in my education, and with working with those
excluded from the norms of societal expectations. I
studied theology and counselling between 2001 – 2003,
which I found allowed me to begin to face myself and
know something of what it is to step into the unknown
of relationships. I found that the same theology that
spoke of the complexities in interpreting scripture, that
allowed me to engage with theologians, psychoanalysts
and psychologists and helped me to enter into the
inherent subjectivity of being me and relating to
existence, also spoke to me of seeking God in the face
of the excluded.
When I left studying I found a job in a needle
exchange working with injecting drug users; it seemed
to fit something of what I knew enough of for me to
feel safe, whilst being a space where I felt my faith
could be explored. The first time one of my clients died
I collapsed. I remember sitting idly in a coffee shop
numb from crying and not knowing or wanting to know
anything anymore. Death had been around in my past
when friends had overdosed, but death, such needless
death in the light of what could have been, seemed
more real now, more deadly even. I didn’t really notice
the tears that day and the experience was anything but
meaningful. Hard and absent reality seemed to crush in
like darkness that tore at me and took my happiness as it
stole my connection to my client. It was overwhelming,
and I raged against everything.
‘IT WAS THEOLOGY, BROKEN, BUT STILL
BELIEVING THAT IN JESUS THE CHARACTER
Of GOD IS TRULY REVEALED’
LST INSIGHT - The Tree of Life issue 15
It was theology, broken, but still believing that in Jesus the
character of God is truly revealed and that in the face of
Jesus there was space for profound loss and tears which
allowed me to cry and try to be present to the friends
and family of my client. Over the years many have died
and many have incredibly found new ways of making
sense of the world without the felt need of destructive
patterns of living. I have found myself during a work
day often sitting alone and crying, texting a friend for
some sense of someone being there in those moments,
unable to communicate as fully as I would want but
needing some sense of connection. The counselling
world involves helpful ways of being open to being open
to others regularly through peer groups, supervision and
personal counselling. A community of people seeking
to engage as deeply as they are able so they have space
for the brokenness they seek to work within. And I
have also found myself praying. They feel half thought
prayers often, almost an unwelcome interruption to the
sorrow, isolation and need for ongoing work on my own
character formation as each person shows me more of
myself. Cries of lament, born out of a place where I find
the cross to be meaningful in a way that books don’t
seem to get to the heart of despite their good attempts.
I find increasingly that poetry allows me to enter into
the edges of my experience of life, reminding me of all
that I miss of the world and of my faith. In the poem
Return Journey, Rowan Williams writes,
Grace yes, but damnation too dissolves
In place, so it is not the future
But the past we know to be incredible,
Eluding the imagination: unmoved mover
Of uncomprehending souls, shaping the mind (2003: 16)
The words strike me of that utter beyondness of that
which Christians refer to as God. The one that casts the
imagination in new light, constantly destabilising any
stable sense of self in the light of an utter beyondness
and intimacy that is present in Christ. The unmoved
mover that Rowan Williams speaks of, to me calls to
mind the creation of space for the connections between
peoples’ broken relationships and within peoples’ broken
selves to reconnect and find fresh meaning in God. And
in this I find ways to begin to make my own connections
with others and myself too; as if in a community formed
by love there is space for profound and destabilised
people who allow the overhwhelming of the passion
of God to enter into their being overwhelmed by the
horrors and complexities of life and themselves.
As the Apostle Paul says, ‘from him, through him, and
in him we have our being’ (Romans 11: 36). And this is
why the place of counselling in the broad sense of the
word in the Church matters to me. It matters because
the Church is a network of broken beings attempting
to reflect Jesus by loving one another with a love that
allows Christ’s love to be seen, and those outside the
Church to experience the very fragrance of God. Tears,
counselling, theology and the very character of God in
the face of Jesus. The metaphor of faith as a journey can
mean many things, but I find that the journey involves
moving paradoxically towards the unknowingness of
God in the face of Jesus. This involves every way that
we live, breathe and have our being being constantly
reflected back to us by our brothers and sisters as we are
gifted by one another, allowing us to re-enter the world
as gift to those around us.
rICHarD PICkLES
Theology and Counselling Diploma Level Tutor and an accredited counsellor with the British Association for Counsellors and Psychotherapists.
(Williams, R. (2003) The poems of Rowan Williams,
Oxford: The Perpetua Press).
‘from him, through him, and in
him we have our being’
LST INSIGHT - The Tree of Life issue16 LST INSIGHT - The Tree of Life issue16
LST INSIGHT - The Tree of Life issue 17
hether expressed or unexpressed,
this sentiment reigns unchallenged
in many Christian hearts. There even
seems to be a certain pride at times, as if,
astonishingly, Christian spirituality could be measured in
terms of one’s avoidance of theology! Bible seminaries
get called ‘Bible cemeteries’ and some dare to suggest,
‘Don’t try to understand it—don’t try to think it through;
just believe it!’
What’s going on here? Well, there may be several
factors at work. Of course, anti-intellectualism plays its
part. We all know what Paul wrote to the Corinthians
(1 Cor. 1:20-21), don’t we?! But when Paul wrote this,
and when Tertullian asked,
‘What has Athens to do
with Jerusalem?’ they were
not being anti-intellectual.
They had other concerns
to pursue. We need, in
contrast, to think through
what Jesus actually meant
when he charged us with the need to love God with our
whole minds (Mark 12:30).
Sometimes the culprit is a pragmatism that sees
theology simply as a means to an end: ‘I need to study
theology so that I can . . .’ But Moltmann has told us,
loud and clear, to avoid that folly. Theology is about
wonder, about worship, as much as it is about practice
(The Trinity and the Kingdom, pp. 5-9).
There is the danger, too, of a pneumatism that
says, ‘We need to learn truth by the Spirit. What place
does the mind hold in that process? Aren’t God’s ways
often profoundly contrary to merely human wisdom?”
However, the Spirit is no enemy to the sanctified mind.
A mind saturated by the truth of God will be open to
the things of the Spirit, and vice versa.
In direct contrast to cries of ‘God, please, but
no theology,’ I want to cry, ‘Give me theology so I
can draw nearer to God!’ It may surprise you to read
that there were moments while I researched for my
PhD in theology that were for me profound worship
experiences. I came closer to God through this research
- I understood something of God’s mysterious ways that
I had not encountered before. And I adored.
I love theology - precisely because I love God. I love
thinking about the one I adore. Theology is not the
study of a topic. It is gazing at a Person. Theologians -
real theologians - love God.
WILLIaM atkInSon
Introducing new faculty member, William Atkinson. William has recently joined LST faculty as Vice-Principal (Academic) and Director of Research. He is also LST’s first Senior Lecturer in Pentecostal and Charismatic Studies. He became a Christian in his teens and has never looked back. Describing himself as ‘someone who simply adores God,’ William is deeply committed to Jesus Christ and his kingdom, and wants this to shape all his values and priorities. Though he started adult life working for the National Health Service as a junior doctor, he soon went to Bible college and prepared for church-based ministry. He now has over twenty years’ experience in church leadership and theological education, serving for many years as a minister at Kensington Temple in London and then as Principal at Regents Theological College.
He arrives at LST with a passion to see God’s kingdom expressed in all that LST stands for and pursues. He has no time for dry intellectualism or empty theories.
LST INSIGHT - The Tree of Life issue 17
‘I love theology - precisely because I love God. I
love thinking about the one I adore. Theology is
not the study of a topic. It is gazing at a Person.’
LST INSIGHT - The Tree of Life issue18
t was on a typical summer’s evening
at a typical Christian youth festival.
Young people of all varieties were
gathered together to hear the
evening preach, some more reluctantly
than others, myself included. We
awkwardly stood around during the
energetic worship and laughed with
each other at the extravagant
dancing that was taking place
in front of the screen where
the words were projected.
We then sat and rolled
our eyes as the
preacher took
to the stage
in an effort to get us all to convert, even though the
previous 3 evenings had tried a similar thing with little
effect. Instead, I started to scan the room to see if there
were any ladies around that I was yet to introduce
myself to. 40 minutes later, however, I was an emotional
wreck. Standing at the front of the room near the stage,
I looked around to see many others, possibly hundreds
doing the same, many of the people I’d previously
been laughing with, looking around with the same sort
of expression my face no doubt conveyed. We’d been
converted. We were in the family. We were Christians.
Or were we? For half an hour we’d sat through the
preacher doing a routine of highly amusing personal
stories, mixed with heart tugging emotional points and
with some biblical application. Interesting stuff, but
nothing too revolutionary. Then with time running out,
the preacher reached his crescendo.
LST INSIGHT - The Tree of Life issue18
LST INSIGHT - The Tree of Life issue 19
‘What happens tonight when you leave here? What
happens if when on your way home you are hit by a
bus? Do you know where you are going? Do you know
that you are saved? Do you know that you’re not going
to hell? It’s not too late to change that. You can stop
yourself going to hell by becoming a Christian right
now!’
Deafening silence, quickly followed by a stampede
towards the stage, an event rarely seen elsewhere other
than a Justin Bieber gig, and within moments I was a
Christian.
My conversion, and I fully realise this now, came from
a complete place of fear. A fear that if I didn’t become
a Christian I faced an eternity of fiery damnation in the
pits of hell while my friends played harps and sat on
clouds mocking me from afar. Now we could spend
a long time debating the ‘turn or burn’ attitude of
preaching, but more interesting is how the idea of hell
has become a prominent idea in Christianity recently. For
many it all started with Rob Bell and his (now infamous)
book, Love Wins. Described by LST’s very own Professor
of Historical Theology, Tony Lane as ‘a mediocre book
that was brilliantly marketed,’ Love Wins asked lots of
questions and got the debate rolling on whether Bell
was perhaps a Universalist, and what actually hell is
in the first place. Perhaps as a direct response to this
we’ve also had Francis Chan and Preston Sprinkle’s
Erasing Hell, where ‘Chan and Sprinkle emphasise the
need to submit to the teaching of Scripture even where
that most offends our modern sensibilities’ (see review
on page 30), meaning that not everyone is saved, and
therefore for some hell does indeed wait.
Popular culture has not been immune to discussing hell
either, and it’s usually the atheists who live best by the
mantra ‘theology is everything’ in their writing. Phillip
Pullman crafted an engaging and unique spin on hell in
his Dark Materials trilogy while more recently; Iain M.
Banks has produced Surface Detail where hell is at the
forefront and driving force behind his novel.
Banks novel is set firmly in a well realised future
where many civilisations are able to record ‘mind-
states’, places to where old minds can find new
bodies and disembodied minds can inhabit virtual
environments. Banks suggests that in the future, some
civilisations would create afterlives. And inevitably,
some civilizations would create hells as well as heavens.
At first this may seem rather shocking, but Bank’s
conclusion is pretty persuasive. The suggestion that
some cultures with enough resources would therefore
create places of torment with which to threaten their
populations as a moral deterrent feels all too possible.
What follows is an explosive all out war over the fate
of these various hells where the needs of individuals
and the needs of the many are in constant conflict. It’s
an excellent read and prompts some really interesting
questions to go away and ponder, and then to discuss
relentlessly.
LST INSIGHT - The Tree of Life issue 19
‘MY CONVERSION CAME fROM A COMPLETE PLACE Of fEAR.
A fEAR THAT If I DIDN’T BECOME A CHRISTIAN I fACED AN
ETERNITY Of fIERY DAMNATION IN THE PITS Of HELL’
LST INSIGHT - The Tree of Life issue20 LST INSIGHT - The Tree of Life issue20
So where do we stand? Where does the debate head to
next? Part of it will lie in what your current understanding
of hell is. Are we simply moral people, and indeed, are we
only moral Christians because of the fear of spending
eternity in hell? There are a number of theories about
what hell actually is and what we have to do to avoid
getting there - or indeed whether hell even exists in
the first place. There are many theories about hell out
there seemingly pointing to the fact that Christians
don’t agree on the subject. Annihilationist theory argues
that God will eventually destroy or annihilate the bad,
leaving others to live on in immortality. Other apologists
argue that hell exists because of free will, and that hell is
a choice we make rather than a punishment inflicted on
us. Apologist Jonathan L. Kvanvig wrote:
‘CS Lewis believes that the doors of hell are locked
from the inside rather than from the outside. Thus,
according to Lewis, if escape from hell never happens, it
is not because God is not willing that it should happen.
Instead, residence in hell is eternal because that is just
what persons in hell have chosen for themselves.’
Responding to the idea that some may never hear the
gospel and therefore have a chance to be a Christian,
apologist Dave Hunt argues:
‘We may rest assured that no one will suffer in hell
who could by any means have been won to Christ in
this life. God leaves no stone unturned to rescue all who
would respond to the convicting and wooing of the
Holy Spirit.’
How does the idea of somebody, lets say someone
who has led a particularly immoral life, converting on
their death bed to Christianity fully and thus avoiding
hell, stand in our understanding of our faith? Is this
fair, and if so, why believe right now? Add into the mix
the idea of universalism, brought to the forefront of
the argument via Bell’s recent book and the idea that
perhaps hell is a construct to keep us acting obediently,
and we are left with a spicy cocktail that many would
struggle to drink.
Perhaps you find yourself agreeing with Blaise Pascal
who, in a theory termed ‘Pascal’s wager,’ offered that it’s
in our best interest to believe in a God for ‘If you gain,
you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing.’ Do we believe
in hell just in case? Is this enough to start building a
faith on, is it an inescapable part of the Christian faith,
or is it time we reconsidered everything?
So where do we go from here? If it’s reading material
you require then you’re in luck as there is plenty out
there. Read Bell and Chan’s new material, engross
yourself in Iain M. Banks, Surface Detail, and get the
conversation started. Theology is everything; our culture
is embedded in it. Plato once quoted Socrates as saying
‘the unexamined life isn’t worth living.’ Perhaps it’s
about time we started examining our faith as part of
the culture we live in - after all, it may just stop us from
going to hell. Happy reading – and debating…
toM WaDE
Tom is a religious educator who is immersed in contemporary culture - he speaks at GreenBelt and writes for several publications including YouthWork Magazine.
LST INSIGHT - The Tree of Life issue 21
ction by action, we build our character.
Whether in public, or in private, what
we do is both a revelation and a
construction of who we are. In a media-
rich world, there seems to be a feeling that we can
hide behind the illusion of anonymity, and be different
people in different places and times. Our actions are
without consequence. Here I’m a ruthless business
tycoon; there I am a gentle lover. Here I hack into your
private information, but there I would never ask you to
tell me something that is none of my business. I can do
some calculating things, but I am a good person at the
end of the day.
The notion of a world free of responsibility, free of
consequences doesn’t square with the best of human
reasoning, let alone with a Christian understanding of
ethics. In one Aesop fable, the birds are warned by the
swallow to eat the hemp seeds before the seeds grow
up into plants that are woven into nets that will be
used to catch them: Destroy the seeds of destruction
or they will destroy you. Oscar Wilde, at the end of
his life, noted his experience of this reality: ‘I forgot
that every little action of the common day makes or
unmakes character, and that therefore what one has
done in the secret chamber one has some day to cry
aloud on the housetops.’ I hope none of those caught up
in the current scandal are genuinely surprised that their
actions have come back to haunt them.
Even business leaders over recent years have been
calling for more ethical teaching in MBA programmes
because graduates were failing not to exhibit appropriate
business skills, but failed to grasp the importance of
honesty and integrity. Yet it takes more than knowledge
of ethics to make an ethical person. It takes the tough
discipline of subjecting every action to a standard that
is higher than yourself. It takes more than a decision,
though certainly not less; it takes the very formation of
a person.
And so we really do reap what we sow. Maybe
that is why the apostle Paul encouraged the Galatians
not to grow weary in doing what is right. Perhaps he
knew how frustrated people might become when they
constantly finish last because the more ruthless players
fix the rules to their own advantage. Perhaps he knew
the temptation to give in, just once or twice, just a little.
But instead, he challenges us to forget about self-
interest, and persist in helping everyone as we have
opportunity. Because in time, perhaps after a long, long
time, and well out of sight, we will reap a good, enduring
harvest. This is the potential of a good character, well
formed. The long term reward comes from doing
the right thing in secret as well as in the open, rather
than using your power and influence for personal or
professional gain: Now that’s a number worth hacking
into. Sadly, the temptations of power are usually too
great. Number by number, call-by-call, character is
corrupted. And everyone loses.
anna roBBInS
Senior Lecturer in Theology and Contemporary Culture.
LST INSIGHT - The Tree of Life issue22
he debate over the loss of salvation is
not simple. It feeds on a variety of deeper
theological interpretations like those
on predestination and free will. Those in
a sturdy ‘predestination camp’ believe that if God has
saved us there is nothing we can do to change that.
Those who lean towards the scriptural emphasis on free
will tend instead to leave room for the possibility of
man ‘letting go’ of the saving hand of God.
Differing views on the role of faith and works also
come into play. Views on the seriousness of sin and the
extent of grace are also important. Those with a larger
vision of sin are more ready to entertain the possibility
of losing salvation than those who see nothing but grace.
We can be clear on a few important points.
First, we must be careful in applying to salvation
biblical narratives that have to do with losing out on
blessing, being discarded for service or being punished.
Second, if there is no fruit, there is no life. Jesus
was very severe with fruitless trees (Mark 11:14) and
warned against building houses on sand (Matthew 7:24-
27). Those who are lax in their lifestyle and live close to
the edge need to beware!
Third, unbalanced gospels of cheap grace, blessing
and prosperity, signs and wonders, or even the ‘simple
sinner’s prayer gospel’, take sin lightly and leave the
door open for backsliders. Where repentance and the
fear of God are included as vital a part of the salvation
process, they are more likely to be seen in the daily walk
as well.
MarvIn oxEnHaM Theology and Education Course Leader and Lecturer in Philosophy, Education and Applied Theology.
Can you lose your salvation? Does a one-time commitment count even when people consciously turn against it
or can people actually lose their salvation?
LST INSIGHT - The Tree of Life issue22
LST INSIGHT - The Tree of Life issue 23
here are plenty of examples in the Bible of
what we would tend to think of broadly
as mental health issues. Jesus’ ministry
clearly provoked incidents of huge psychic
disturbance. Mark alone has four individual accounts of
exorcism (e.g. Mark 1:21-28; 5:1-20; 7:24-30; 9:14-29).
The people concerned manifested a number of different
symptoms ranging from convulsions, foaming at the
mouth, grinding teeth, terror, shouting and screaming,
to inability to speak, multiple personality disorder,
self-abuse and abnormal strength. Sometimes these
symptoms, though not all, look to us like some form of
epilepsy, though the language used in Mark is that of
‘having an unclean spirit’ or being ‘demonised’.
Often the response of Jesus is to drive out the
unclean spirit, often with a word of command, but also
less dramatically and even at a distance. There doesn’t
seem to be a blueprint for how He did it… the picture
is complex both in terms of symptoms and in terms
of Jesus’ actions. It seems, though, that the possibility
of demonic influence is almost always acknowledged.
This is in marked contrast to today when the secular
western worldview doesn’t allow for the demonic and
tends to be largely built upon a closed system of cause
and effect. For Christians the denial of any spiritual
dimension is inadequate. It rules out huge areas of
human spiritual experience which most of the rest of
the world still acknowledge.
What Christian leaders need to do is to study the
art of discernment as to the real cause of the illness
and to ensure an openness to the possibility of demonic
influence whilst not insisting that this is the only
possibility.
roBErt WILLougHBY
Programme leader of the MA course in Transformation and Lecturer in New Testament.
Each month Youthwork magazine endeavours to answer some of the tough theological questions. LST is
often the source of those answers as this page demonstrates. We believe that theology should be put into
practical use. To read the full version of these responses visit: HTTP://YOUTHWORK-MAGAzINE.CO.UK/
cAN MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS BE EXPLAINED AS A RESULT Of DEMONIC INfLUENCE?
LST INSIGHT - The Tree of Life issue 23
LST INSIGHT - The Tree of Life issue24
here were you when I laid the
earth’s foundation? ...while the
morning stars sang together and all
the angels shouted for joy? (Job 38).
GRACE: ‘Grace doesn’t try to please itself. Accepts being slighted, forgotten, disliked.
Accepts insults and injuries.’
NATURE: ‘Nature only wants to please itself. Get others to please it too. Likes to
lord it over them. To have its own way. It finds reasons to be unhappy when all the
world is shining around it. And love is smiling through all things.’
Terrence Malick’s Palme d’Or winner, starring Brad Pitt, Sean Penn and Jessica
Chastain, is his first film in six years, The Tree of Life is a hymn to life, excavating
answers to the most haunting and personal human questions through a kaleidoscope
of the intimate and the cosmic. Certainly the most theologically charged film for a
long time, read on to see the various reactions to this film from the faculty and
students of LST… And your chance to win a copy to watch and consider for yourself.
LST INSIGHT - The Tree of Life issue24
LST INSIGHT - The Tree of Life issue 25
Now here is a film which will bring
joy to the hearts of most Christians.
A genuinely first class director in
Terrence Malick, with some first class
credits to his portfolio (Badlands, Days
of Heaven, The Thin Red Line), decides
to shoot a gorgeous film, winner of this year’s Palme
d’Or at Cannes, which traces the whole biblical narrative
in a more or less modern (1950s Texas) context. And
superbly shot it is. The initial impact, which continues
throughout the film, is the sheer visual beauty of the
filming. Colours seem brighter and sharper, composition
is clearly wonderfully thought through. And so on. It is
visually exquisite.
But the first thing that jars is the dinosaurs. What on
earth is all that about? Frankly it looks absurd, and
even more so when we move seamlessly to the small
domestic drama which dominates the rest of the film.
Is this Jurassic Park with class? Having said that, I must
admit that the succession of family dramas are also
beautifully done, though in the sort of way that you
would expect of a series of chocolate or coffee ads.
The central relationships are between father (Brad
Pitt), mother (Jessica Chastain) and their young son
Jack (wonderfully played by Hunter McCracken).
Father seems to represent the dog-eat-dog world of
Darwinian natural selection, attenuated strangely by
his disappointed failure as a musician. Father attempts
to make a man out of his son i.e. make him tough
enough to beat the others in the race of life. Mother
floats about slightly dislocated from reality and is an
object of boyhood devotion. The son becomes surly and
aggressive (no surprises there). Father fails in the high
stakes business world and an elder son dies at the age
of 19. Towards the end Jack (now played by Sean Penn)
seems to become an architect, stuck in meetings and
walking about the concrete and glass city – all to little
meaningful effect …
The actual narrative hardly pulsates and only if you are
beginning to suspect a grander narrative intention would
you begin to piece together the frankly heavy-handed
allusions to Eden, the Fall and hence the breakdown in
relationships on all levels. What seems to have happened
is that the creative artist begins with those foundational
biblical stories and asks ‘Now how can I illustrate this in
a modern guise?’ rather than starting with a real family
narrative and asking how this is made sense of by the
biblical story and stories.
Perhaps the key moment of the film comes when
we are all (characters and film-goers alike) asking
‘Why is this all happening?’ The answer comes from
Job – ‘Where were you when I laid the foundations of
the earth?’ This, of course, is intended to link with the
shots of dinosaurs mentioned above, and by the strange
and gratuitous outpourings of lava, oceans and shots of
earth from outer space. Get it? Sadly the film lacks the
penetrating and heart-rending chapters which precede
God’s utterance in the biblical account of Job and which
give it heft and depth.
Sadly even the positive first impressions become much
less certain. Floaty colours and shapes become frankly
meaningless. The clarity of the visual imagery is made
to convey a version of heaven where all is redeemed. All
the suffering of the past gives way to the reunion of the
main protagonists on a brightly lit beach. Kitsch.
roBErt WILLougHBY
Programme leader of the MA course in Transformation and Lecturer in New Testament.
‘...lacks the penetrating and heart-rending
chapters which precede god’s utterance in
the biblical account of job’
LST INSIGHT - The Tree of Life issue 25
LST INSIGHT - The Tree of Life issue26
LST students give their reactions...StEvE ParkEr
The Tree of Life is not an easy film to watch, we’re not
sure what’s real and what’s imagined sometimes. We
feel the grief of the loss of a child, the overly assertive
parenting of the father and the son’s search for meaning
within the framework of the universe. I’m glad it was
made. It’s not just visual and audio stimulation, it’s fuel
for the soul.
tauraI BanDaWa
We are nature. Nature is not a separate force that
influences our life; no, we are part of nature, we are a
component that completes the puzzle. Without us
nature would not be nature, for it would be missing a
segment of its identity. Grace is the otherworldly force
that is independent of us. Grace is that which comes
from God. Grace does not contrast nature but rather
grace engages with nature in an attempt to better it.
Nature possesses a scar that only grace can mend.
EvE ConnoLLY
In a time where so many poignant questions are being
raised about who God and where God is in a world
marred with suffering and grief, the producers and
the famous cast of The Tree Of Life had an amazing
opportunity to really engage with these questions.
LST INSIGHT - The Tree of Life issue26
WIN A COPY OF THE TREE OF LIFE ON BLU-RAY!
INSIGHT has 5 copies of The Tree of Life on Blu-ray for readers to win... In order to enter the
competition simply email
your name and address to
[email protected] or call:
01923 456240. The winners
will be drawn at random from
entries (one at the end of
each month) until March ‘12.
LST INSIGHT - The Tree of Life issue 27
DIrk HoFFMan
The movie starts off with a quote from Job 38, God’s
answer to Job’s question for the reason for his suffering.
Instead of a clear answer with several causes, there is
simply a counter-question: ‘Where were you when I laid
the earth’s foundation? ...while the morning stars sang
together and all the angels shouted for joy?’ (Job 38:4,7
NIV). As in the case of Job, there won’t always be answers
to our questions but the way of grace, the knowledge of
someone who is higher than me but still allows me to
live a life which is not permanently consumed by the
struggle of nature.
rEBEkka ZIEMann
I can only think of it as a stunning piece of art, using all
the available resources: from music-rich and dramatic
to simple and monotone, silence, light-effects. All that
film, drama, music and art have to offer.
StEvE CrEaMEr
The film’s brilliance is found not in complex plot
developments or detailed dialogue but in the raw
expression of life’s journey and the profound questions
that arise from our realities.
SaraH PILLoW
The Tree of Life will no doubt divide its audience. The
big questions addressed throughout of ‘where are you
God?’ and ‘why God?’, amidst the pains and struggles
of life (with reference to the biblical story of Job), are
ones that most Christians can relate to, and is indeed a
biblical theme.
ANDY KENCH
This is a brave, exciting and mind-boggling film of epic
proportions with the big questions of life all addressed
through narrative, poetry, Christian doctrine and some
very conspicuous scenes taking us through the depths
of time and space.
rEaD MorE onLInE at:
http://www.lst.ac.uk/hot-topics/the-tree-of-life
LST INSIGHT - The Tree of Life issue28
Will all be saved? If not, who is
saved? Is there an opportunity to
accept salvation after death - either
for those who have had no previous
opportunity or perhaps also for those
who have previously rejected it? If
some are lost, what is the nature of
hell? Does it involve endless conscious
suffering? These are some of the
questions asked by Rob Bell in his, by
now infamous, Love Wins - a mediocre
book that was brilliantly marketed.
Half of the Evangelical world in the
USA and elsewhere were debating it
before it was even published and the
secular media devoted significant
attention to it.
Just as Steve Chalke’s comments
on the atonement provoked a flood
of responses, so also to a lesser
extent has Love Wins. One of these
is this present book, for which most
of the research Preston Sprinkle did,
while the actual writing was done
by Francis Chan. They set out their
views in a positive way, while also
engaging along the way with Rob Bell.
They quote extensively from Bell and
seek to represent him fairly, though
I think they portray him as more
unequivocally universalist than he is.
The problem is that ‘Love Wins’ asks
lots of questions (350 according to
one reviewer!) and presents a variety
of views, but Bell is sometimes coy
about what he actually believes.
What is the positive view that
Chan and Sprinkle present? What
are answers to the questions listed
above?
1) Not all will be saved.
2) It is those who put their trust in
Christ who are saved.
3) There is no further opportunity
after death. So what about those who
have never heard the Gospel? This
issue is covered briefly in an Appendix
of FAQs. The answer is that, ‘there’s
nothing in Scripture that says that
anyone will be saved apart from faith
in Jesus’ (p159); though there is the
concession that God may
occasionally reveal himself through
dreams, visions, etc. The trouble with
the quoted statement is that it would
imply that all those living BC are
lost, as are all dying in infancy. This
is an issue that needs more careful
attention.
4) What is the nature of Hell? Here
they offer a more nuanced view.
They incline towards the view that
Hell involves unending conscious
suffering, though they acknowledge
Erasing Hell: What God said about eternity, and the things we’ve made upFrancis Chan & Preston SprinkleDavid C Cook 2011, £8.99 ISBN 978-0-7814-0725-0
LST INSIGHT - The Tree of Life issue28
LST INSIGHT - The Tree of Life issue 29
that the teaching of Jesus and Paul
can also, with integrity, be read
as teaching that the ultimate fate
of the lost is annihilation. As they
illustrate, both views were current
in Judaism at that time. It is in the
Book of Revelation that they see the
strongest indication that hell is not
annihilation.
At what level is the book written?
The main text is written in a fairly
accessible way, which should not
cause problems for anyone with a
reasonable education. At the same
time, the authors have made good
use of up-to-date scholarship. The
endnotes draw attention to this,
where appropriate, as does the
Bibliography.
So, how does Erasing Hell compare
with Love Wins? As an exercise in
marketing, the latter wins hands down.
I doubt if Time Magazine will pursue
Francis Chan for an interview. Again,
as an exercise in communication, Rob
Bell has skills that are hard to beat,
reminding one of Dan Brown.
Perhaps we should call him Dan
Bell or … In terms of approach, Rob
Bell asks lots of questions, snipes at
established orthodoxies and suggests
answers without always pinning
himself down. Chan and Sprinkle, by
contrast, state very clearly what they
believe and why.
No one could reasonably mistake
what they are saying, while Bell’s
elusive style invites uncertainty, with
as much controversy over what he
says as whether he is right. Erasing
Hell is a restatement of orthodoxy
(with a recognition of the ambiguity
of the New Testament on the issue
of annihilation); Love Wins sets out
to challenge orthodoxies. Rob Bell’s
concern is to speak to post-modern
doubters while Chan and Sprinkle
emphasise the need to submit to the
teaching of Scripture, even where that
most offends our modern sensibilities.
For a passionate restatement of
the traditional orthodox view, this
book has much to commend it.
Reviewed by Tony Lane,Professor of Historical Theology.
A pastor, international speaker and church planter, Francis Chan is the author of Crazy Love and Forgotten god. Preston Sprinkle is a professor and writer.
What happens to people after they
leave LST/LBC? Perhaps it’s especially
appropriate for us as church to
abandon the ‘great lives’ approach to
history writing and embrace a
narrative relating more to ‘real
people’. A history of the school which
focused on the lives of real people
would throw up an incredibly rich
tapestry of experience lived before
God and in the face of the joys and
challenges with which he confronts us.
Judy Hopkins was at LST/LBC
between 1983 and 1985, at which
time she was Judy Huckle, and
current students might like to locate
her among her contemporaries in an
earlier incarnation on the photographs
which adorn the faculty corridor.
Judy’s book is a well-written
account of finding direction, a
life-partner, a much-loved family,
bereavement and subsequent hope
- not a complete life but quite a
saga nonetheless. It’s worth reading
especially for the immensely real
and deeply felt engagement in the
realities of life’s challenges which any
one of us can appreciate and identify
with.
Reviewed by Robert Willoughby, Programme leader of the MA course in Transformation and Lecturer in New Testament.
Lucy’s Rainbow:A Journey of Hope. Judy Hopkins (with Helen Porter) Milton Keynes: Authentic, 2011
LST INSIGHT - The Tree of Life issue30
To be asked to review this book in the
aftermath of the recent riots - the
cause of much suffering for innocent
people - whilst also experiencing
personal tragedy within my own
family, felt somewhat opportune.
Suffering has played a big part in
my life through multiple loss and
emotional trauma, so I have often
puzzled over this big question of,
‘Why is there suffering if there is a
God of love?’ Also, the presence of
suffering in the world seems to have
increased in frequency and intensity.
Yet again I am hearing the sirens of
emergency vehicles in the streets
close by and through the immediacy
of the media, our lives are constantly
impacted with tragedy and suffering,
for which we can feel impotent.
Michael Baughen’s book helps us
to understand the whole issue of
suffering. It seems to me to be very
much a ‘now book’.
This One Big Question of a God of
love in a world of suffering has been
around for as long as I can remember
(and that’s a long time!) and it is often
used as an excuse to not believe in
God. Baughen’s biblical understanding
and pastoral experience enable him to
approach the subject in an accessible
and masterly combination of theory,
and practice. Baughen skilfully uses
Scripture by way of explanation,
combined with examples of personal
stories of suffering.
The book has two parts. The
first part tackles the big ‘Why?’
question by considering other ‘why?’
questions about suffering, such as,
‘Why doesn’t God stop such things
as wars, crimes, injustice, ‘natural’
disasters and illness? After all, He is
omnipotent, isn’t He? Oh, and ‘What
have I done to deserve this?’ Basically,
there are no easy answers, but there
are ways to handle suffering and
the second part of the book looks at
these, through the ‘How?’ question.
Essentially this concerns learning
from the life of Jesus about the love
of God. The Cross, which silences all
questions about suffering, is central.
I was particularly struck by an
anonymous quote, ’Suffering is not
a question that demands an answer;
it is not a problem that demands
a solution; it is a mystery which
demands a presence’ (p.19). This for
me sums up the book, in that although
there may not be answers to satisfy
us - at least this side of heaven - there
is something about suffering that
demands a presence and Baughen has
effectively demonstrated through his
book that it is through knowing God
that it is possible to handle suffering.
Coincidentally, I read through
this review again on the anniversary
of 9/11: a tragic reminder of the
mystery surrounding suffering and
made all the more poignant for me
hearing the powerful testimony of
Cheryl McGuinness, on Radio 2’s,
Good Morning Sunday programme.
Her husband was one of the pilots
made to fly into one of the Twin
Towers. Cheryl spoke of knowing the
presence of God with her through her
suffering.
Interestingly, she said that on
going to Ground Zero for the first
time after eight months had elapsed,
demonstrating the depth of grief
which kept her away, the sight of the
fallen metal frames in the shape of
a cross was a very powerful, healing
image for her.
The intention of Baughen’s
book is to provoke thought in those
switched off from God and to equip
believers to be more informed
about this important issue. I highly
recommend this very readable book
as an excellent resource for anyone
perplexed by suffering that they
might be comforted, be a comfort
to others and that in so doing, their
relationship with God might be
deepened.
Reviewed by Sheila Green (LBC 1972-74; LST 2007-2011) Retired teacher; BA(Hons) Theology & Counselling and currently student of MA in Integrative Psychotherapy.
Bishop Michael Baughen (LST 1953-1955) although retired remains active as an assistant Bishop, author and speaker.
The One Big Question: The God Of Love In A World Of SufferingMichael BaughenCWR 2010, £7.99 ISBN 978-1-85345-572-8
LST INSIGHT - The Tree of Life issue30
LST INSIGHT - The Tree of Life issue 31
In As Good As It Gets, Stephen Clark
invites his reader to journey with him
through the Song of Songs, a book
which he considers best read as ‘a
collage of pictures’ of love, life and
relationships (xiv). His focus is not,
however, confined to the marriage
relationship as might be assumed
based on the main content of the Song:
Clark emphasises the significance of
the friends/community in the Song
and draws implications not only for
marriages but also for friendships, family
and wider community life today, as well
as an individual’s relationship with God.
He presents his reflections on the
Biblical text in the form of fifty daily
devotionals which are well-written
and engaging. Each daily portion is
usually somewhere between three
and eight pages of text in length and
follows the same pattern: after a
quotation of several verses from the
Song, some devotional commentary
is offered; sections entitled ‘reflection’,
‘meditation’ then follow, before the
daily reading closes with a written
prayer for the reader’s use.
The author’s tone is perfect and the
level of depth ideal for the believer who
wants a little more content than might
usually be offered by a daily devotional.
But this book must also come with a
small health warning: these devotionals
contain some academic footnoting and
thus many of us may not consider it
suitable for consumption before 8 a.m.!
Whenever you may choose to
read it, however, you will find within
the pages of this book an interesting
mix of the academic thinker and the
experienced pastor. Clark engages with
a panoply of scholarly commentaries
and other works throughout the
devotionals, tackling the Song verse
by verse and chapter by chapter. He
even includes two appendices on
the absence of God’s name from the
Song and on identifying redemption’s
presence in the text. His thinking is
rigorous and yet this rigour does not
translate into heavy prose. Rather, his
writing sparkles as he reflects upon and
applies the insights derived from the
Song, illustrating them from pastoral
experience.
Yet Clark does not do all of the
reflective work for the reader. The
meditation sections, which appear in
every daily portion, consist of several
Scripture passages quoted in full
with references but without further
comment.
My thoughts on these sections were
initially mixed. In part, this ambivalence
was due to the absence of commentary
regarding why these other verses had
been selected. Some brief explanation
would have been helpful, as it was not
always apparent how Clark felt that his
selection of passages was connected
with the discussion which had preceded
them.
And yet, as I continued my
readings, it was this element of Clark’s
format which came to resonate with
me the most. For it was these verses
which seemed to return to my mind
some hours and days later, drawing me
back to the subject of Clark’s focus in
that day’s devotional and encouraging
me to ‘chew’ over God’s Word.
It seems to me that it is Clark’s
skill in combining the academic with
praxis, causing his reader to wrestle
not only with Scripture but also with
its pastoral application, which makes
As Good As It Gets stand out. Despite
its academic rigour, it is not, per se, an
expository commentary and I would
not choose to use it as a foundational
study resource for preparing a
preaching series. But then that is not
how the author intends this book to
be received. Rather, he expresses a
desire to contribute to the recovery of
Scripture’s central place in the life and
worship of God’s people. Accessible to
a wide range of readers and brimming
with passion for the application of solid
Biblical scholarship to pastoral praxis,
As Good As It Gets goes some way
indeed towards its author’s goal.
Definitely one to read for your own
benefit, whether you are pastor,
academic theologian or minister in the
workplace or home!
Reviewed by Chloe Lynch, (LST 2007-Present) Part-time research student at LST, Leader of LifeGiving Church and Open Learning (BA) Tutor.
Stephen M. Clark (LST 1969-1972) is Senior Pastor of Old Cutler Presbyterian Church in Miami, Florida.
As Good As It Gets:Love, Life and Relationships: Fifty Days in the Song of Songs
Stephen M. ClarkEugene: Wipf & Stock 2011, £23.50,ISBN 13: 978-1-60899-623-0
LST INSIGHT - The Tree of Life issue32
This is an intelligent book on the
story and meaning of Jesus. It is the
kind of book you would want to give
to someone not only searching for
the truth of the Christian faith but
who can also carry a good read. It
is the overflow of the author’s PhD
thesis but it is not an academic tome.
Rather, it embodies what the late
John Stott demonstrated in his own
teaching ministry - deep thinking in
order to produce simple teaching.
As the author reminds us, his desire
is not to produce abstract and
propositional thinking but a narrative,
a story, about the life, death and
resurrection of Jesus. It is located in
the here and now - of 21st century
discrimination baked in the furnace
of human selfishness and self-interest
- and the need for a solution. That
solution is Jesus, the one sent by
the Father and empowered by the
Spirit. As such, then, the story of
Jesus is inextricably connected with
the identity of the Father who sent
him and the Spirit who enabled him.
What is so refreshing about this book
is that the missional imperative of the
gospel is brought back into its proper
setting - not surprising given that So
is Research Tutor at the Oxford Centre
for Mission Studies.
The book falls into four clear
sections. Three centre on Jesus with
a final look at the Trinity and human
society. We are firstly introduced to
Jesus the Teacher. Here, So unpacks a
series of antitheses concerning human
life, sexuality, marriage, truth and
peace. With these he demonstrates
the radical and uncompromising
nature of Jesus’ teaching. What I
liked specially about this section was
the fact that So ties the content of
Jesus’ teaching with the question
of authority: Jesus can teach with
authority because he is sent from,
and by, the Father. However, and very
helpfully, So takes the reader further
- to Jesus the Practitioner. Here the
reader is exposed to several aspects
of the practical dimension of Jesus’
teaching, whether in healing, the kind
of people he mixed with, his view
of Sabbath, how he related to the
outsiders and children. Again, So does
not pull any punches about the radical
nature of Jesus’ praxis – put bluntly, it
offends the religious, and especially
those in religious leadership. Little has
changed.
Next, So develops the character
of Jesus. He is the Humble Servant.
Here the reader is taken through the
inner motivation and character of
Jesus. First, we look at Jesus and his
temptations and his identification
with a needy humanity around him.
Then we move into a very clear and
helpful presentation of the story of
Jesus’ death and resurrection. Again,
what makes So a good read is the
fact that he makes all this meaningful
and direct. Anyone looking for a good
resource for a series of group studies
would be hard pushed to find a better
place to look - think ahead - Lent
groups! This book will be a great help.
Finally, the book ends on an
exploration of the identity of the
God whom Jesus reveals. What I
particularly appreciated about this
section is the way in which Damon
sets the story of God, the Trinity, in
the human need he unpacks in his
introduction. It is a humanity that
needs to be freed - freed from its own
moral referencing, its insatiable self-
interest, its disregard for the poor, and
its constant conflicts. This is the mess
in which the gospel takes root and
shape. This is the context of mission.
This is what church is all about. And
this book is a timely and helpful push
for those concerned enough to read it
that there is indeed a Jesus who has
been forgotten in today’s pluralistic
and relativistic world and a Trinity
that has definitely never been known
by many.
Reviewed by Graham McFarlane, BA Course Leader / Senior Lecturer in Systematic Theology.
Damon W. K. So (LST 1993) is Research Tutor in theology at Oxford Centre for Mission Studies.
Visit www.jesus-trinity.co.uk where you can read extracts from the book for free and purchase it at a discount.
The Forgotten Jesus And The Trinity You Never KnewDamon W. K. SoWIPF & STOCK Publishers 2010,£20.00 - ISBN 978-1-60899-631-5
LST INSIGHT - The Tree of Life issue 33
I was away during the summer (and
frankly, even if I’m in the country I’m
usually behind on the hip new songs),
so I put out a message on the usual
social networks - ‘What songs have
been popular at this year’s festivals?’
The overwhelming response surprised
me - ‘Matt Redman’s latest album.‘
Matt has continued to resource the
church with some fantastic material
over the last few years - Never Let
Go on 2006’s Beautiful News, You
Alone Can Rescue in 2009 on We Shall
Not Be Shaken - but his presence at
UK festivals and events has been
minimal. It was a good few years ago
that a teenager told me he thought
Matt was getting ‘a bit old’ (how
uncool did I feel!), but this year he
has been back leading at the Soul
Survivor summer camps, and his
brand of thoughtful, engaging and
God-focused guitar-led worship is
back on the radar of our teens.
If your church is anything like
mine, your youth group has probably
emerged back from their summer
bursting to play some of these songs.
The problem is, often what works in a
tent with thousands of young people,
a fantastic band and a PA that could
shake a tower block doesn’t quite
have the same impact in your local
church with Gladys on the piano. And
after a while all of those summer-
anthem albums begin to sound the
same, with predictable guitar riffs,
lyrics and dynamics.
So I was intrigued to put on Matt’s
new album and see what translated
to an ‘average’ local church context.
The first track lays its ‘festival’ cards
on the table, with the congregation
at this live recording joining in the
seemingly ubiquitous ‘Whoa, ho,
whoa-a’ intro - it’s going to sound
great in Shepton Mallet, but perhaps
not so hot with Gladys. The song
continues in a familiar anthemic rock
direction, with some fairly confident
lyrics that ‘Our passion will not die’
(can we really be sure in promising
God that?).
The next track, Here for you takes
us on a more interesting and usable
path. It is a slow-growing call-to-
worship song, with an atmospheric
opening leading into a majestic
climax, and lyrics committing the
time of worship to God. I could see
this being used as a service opener.
The only variation from the
anthemic-rock sound comes in the
title track, which has a more celtic
feel and some strong lyrics as we
sing, ‘Bless the Lord O my soul’. This
became something of an anthem for
our LST Worship Connect summer
school. One health warning - if you
plan to sing it in church, drop the key
from G to E if you want to avoid a
top F#! This song and Never Once
acknowledge the difficulties of life
‘Kneeling on this battleground... Scars
and struggles on the way’, which
is good to hear in contemporary
worship. Meanwhile Magnificent
and Holy are powerful declarations
of God’s hugeness - ‘Your glory God
revealed from distant galaxies/to
here beneath our skin.’
Overall, it is a fine album within
the familiar contemporary worship
genre, and many will continue to
worship along to it when the festivals
have packed up. I was looking for
some more innovation in themes
and music, and didn’t find them here.
It would be interesting to hear Matt
lead some songs in a more stripped
down setting, pushing in to some
of the gap areas that contemporary
worship usually avoids.
Reviewed by Sam Hargreaves, Lecturer in Music & Worship. A published songwriter, Sam co-leads RESOUNDworship.org, a new expression of contemporary worship song-writing and, with his wife Sara, co-leads the ministry engageworship.org.
Matt Redman is a Christian worship leader, songwriter and author. He was one of the main worship leaders associated with the Soul Survivor youth organisation. Matt has authored and edited multiple books on Christian worship, including the unquenchable Worshipper and the book Facedown, which accompanied the album of the same name. His latest book Mirror Ball relays his thoughts and experiences of ‘living boldly and shining brightly for the glory of God’.
10,000 Reasons Matt RedmanPublished & Copyright 2011 Sparrow Records Marketed & Distributed in the UK by Kingsway; £12.99 - 5099996-785324
LST INSIGHT - The Tree of Life issue 33
LST INSIGHT - The Tree of Life issue34
If you’re looking for something to
re-enchant you with the possibilities
of mainstream Christian music, you
need to listen to Ghosts Upon the
Earth. Michael Gungor began his
journey as a worship leader, planing
a church called Bloom in Denver and
travelling with his band. This has
morphed into what they call ‘liturgical
post-rock’(!), a happy collision of
eclectic music styles with some deep
theology and a healthy refusal to
conform to industry conventions.
Gungor trade in a different
currency to most Christian-
based music: wide varieties of
instrumentation, time signatures,
and harmonic textures paint a broad
canvas of God, life and worship.
Influences are fairly obviously rooted
in Icelandic post-rockers Sigur Ros
and US Episcopalian lo-fi folky Sufjan
Stevens, but you’ll find plenty of
originality in their use of nylon-strung
guitar, choirs, banjo, orchestra, and
some great fuzzy synth on Wake Up
Sleeper!
Lyrically they mix familiar Biblical
phrases and themes with some
unexpected, challenging yet helpful
insights: ‘Breath and sex and sight/all
things made for good/in love divine’
in You Are The Beauty, or ‘Let children
sing/even if they don’t know why/
why drown their joy/just because
you’ve lost yours?’ in Church Bells.
The first few tracks of the album lead
you on an evocative journey through
the chaos of pre-creation, through
God’s speech-act ‘Let there be light’,
and on into celebrations of our place
in the created order. This shifts into
a darker tone with The Fall, Wake Up
Sleeper and Ezekiel, before picking up
into some resurrection themes as the
album closes.
Michael Gungor has said
this material was written for
congregational worship. I’d love to
see him lead it, because I think I’d
struggle! Perhaps our models are too
narrow, our notions of participation
too restricting, our dreams too small.
These songs are certainly not going
to fly next week in your local church
without some serious preparation, but
I’d recommend this album to anyone
who wants to be inspired, challenged
and touched by God in a fresh way.
It is an album that grabs you on first
listen but really rewards repeated
plays, and challenges other Christian
musicians to consider pushing their
boundaries to even a fraction of
where this band has gone.
Reviewed by Sam Hargreaves, Lecturer in Music & Worship. A published songwriter, Sam co-leads RESOUNDworship.org, a new expression of contemporary worship song-writing and, with his wife Sara, co-leads the ministry engageworship.org.
Michael Gungor is a singer/song writer living in Denver, Colorado United States. He leads the musical collective called Gungor that tours around the world performing and leading worship experiences in both mainstream and religious venues. Gungor grew up in Wisconsin as the son of Pastor Ed Gungor. He has been playing music since he was a child. He began leading the music in his children’s church, and grew up with his music and his spirituality hand in hand. Gungor studied jazz at both Western Michigan University and the University of North Texas, while working as a worship leader in local churches.
Ghosts Upon the EarthGungorLabel - Brash Music , £12.99 ASIN: B005DZMQA4
LST INSIGHT - The Tree of Life issue 35
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