Coffee Theology

I don't think I've ever met a Christian who is satisfied that they pray enough (or read the Bible enough). I distinctly remember once sitting in a group gathered for conversation and prayer, wondering if I had the courage to admit that I don't pray enough; then almost everyone in the group said the same thing - I need to pray more.   Sometimes I wonder if part of the problem is the widespread teaching that a daily "quiet time" of Bible reading and prayer is the proper pattern for Christian spirituality.  It is usually recommended that this be first thing in the morning, so that we "start the day with God".  I have two main problems with this - 'morning' and 'quiet'.  I do not do mornings, and I get very fidgety when I'm supposed to be quiet.  At college we had whole 'quiet days', which I dreaded with a fierce passion, spending the whole of the time we were allowed to talk reminding everyone that I am an extrovert and that they...

I discovered this poem a few years ago and it really spoke to me.  See what you make of it: Abou Ben Adhem by Leigh Hunt Abou Ben Adhem (may his tribe increase!) Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace, And saw, within the moonlight in his room, Making it rich, and like a lily in bloom, An angel writing in a book of gold -  Exceeding peace had made Ben Adhem bold, And to the Presence in the room he said "What writest thou?" - The vision raised its head, And with a look made of all sweet accord, Answered: "The names of those who love the Lord." "And is mine one?" said Abou.  "Nay, not so," Replied the angel.  Ben Adhem spoke more low, But cheerly still, and said " I pray thee, then, Write me as one who loves his fellow men." The angel wrote, and vanished.  The next night It came again with a great wakening light, And showed the names whom love of God had blest, And lo!  Ben Adhem's name led all the rest.

This morning I was rereading the chapter in the final Harry Potter book where Harry gives himself up.  He goes to Voldemort unarmed and allows his enemy to kill him... Only Harry doesn't die.  His sacrifice does, however, destroy the part of Voldemort's soul which is lodged within himself.  Voldemort could not have been defeated without this selfless act.  Apologies to those of you who don't spend your lives rereading Harry Potter and who might be a tad confused at this point. This part of the series reminds me of the death of Aslan in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.  The White Witch gleefully kills Aslan, who has willingly given himself up to die, believing that Narnia will be hers.  What she doesn't know about, but Aslan does, is the deep magic from before the dawn of time.  When an innocent victim gives himself up in place of another, death itself is reversed.  Aslan dies, but he comes back, and defeats the witch.  This is widely und...

Lots of great stuff on Rev this week.  The Baptist Union face very similar issues to the Church of England around gay marriage, it's just that the Baptist church isn't as big or high profile as the Church of England, so our debates aren't so public.  I enjoyed Adam's attempts to 'pray for' but definitely not 'marry' his two gay friends in a church festooned with flowers and confetti, in front of all their friends... As an evangelist I also particularly enjoyed the church growth seminar Adam attends, based around the acronym I.E.D. - Invade, Evangelise, Deliver.  The seminar promises to 'blow the legs off failure; launch your ministry into the air and scatter it over a wide area'.  Invade your community - push your way into people's lives and let them know how indispensable you are!  Evangelism isn't a dirty word; if you like a book or a boutique hotel, you tell people about it!  Deliver as a priest!  Deliver weddings and funerals, deliver...

I got home this evening, tired, at 7pm, the earliest I had got home all week, to find a bunch of pink roses on our doorstep with this message:  Dear Emma, A gift for you.  With love and with God's blessings. No name, an anonymous gift.  From someone who probably didn't know that roses are my favourite flowers, and that we had pink roses at our wedding.  I love surprises.

Harry Potter has a lot of enemies.  He is the 'chosen one', the mortal enemy of Lord Voldemort, and all Voldemort's supporters hate him.  He survives attempts to capture, injure or kill him dozens of times, and yet Harry always shows his enemies mercy.   When Petter Pettigrew is exposed as a traitor and murderer, Harry won't allow him to be killed, but insists on taking him to the authorities.  When Harry is competing with Cedric Diggory in the Triwizard Tournament (and in his love life), he still insists on giving Cedric the inside information he has learned about the first task, and later agrees to tie for first place when he could have won outright.  When Draco Malfoy, who has taunted Harry for seven years and is a fully fledged Death Eater, is trapped by a fire in the Room of Requirement, Harry insists on risking his own life to save Malfoy and his friends. There are dozens of examples, but perhaps the most interesting is that Harry always seeks to disarm ra...

Still reflecting on Bishop Nikolai's prayer.  Why do we love our enemies? I used to take the train to school in London, and a group of girls from another school took the same train.  For some reason one day they decided to start picking on me, and I went through a period of perhaps a couple of weeks when I felt quite uncomfortable as I travelled home, trying to ignore their taunting.  I guess I was about 13 or 14 at the time.  I asked my mum for advice, and she suggested that I treat them really nicely - the next time you see them, she said, give them a big smile.  So that's what I did: as the ringleader and I got off the train at the same stop, I turned to her and grinned.  She was utterly confused.  I remember she even said something like "What?  What are you doing?".  I never had any trouble from them after that.  It wasn't that I had shamed them through being kind; I had freaked them out by smiling, and they couldn't understand what ...