Am I a mistake?

 An anonymous reader asks:- There are some people who will claim 'God does not make mistakes'. Given that you are what you are how do you address this type of abuse? 

Well this is quite a simple question, but inevitably the answer isn't quite so straight forward. First off I would say that this isn't necessarily abuse as much as misunderstanding, misunderstanding theology as much as it is misunderstanding what it means to be trans. As a Christian there are certain tenants of faith that I share with all other Christians, indeed a while back I wrote quite a lot about  those shared beliefs here. One of those shared beliefs is about the nature of God, what I might call "the three omnis". God is Omnipotent, Omniscient, and Omnipresent; all powerful, all knowing, and everywhere all the time. Therefore God can create us however they choose, they know what they have done and how we are made, and they are with us all the time, sharing our experience, our pains and our pleasures. Or to put it more simply God doesn't make mistakes ~ I think that is something that every person of faith would agree on, certainly among the Abrahamic faiths.

So, as the question asks how do I respond to this as a transgender Christian? Well, this leads me in two directions; lets start with the theological concept of original sin, that sin causing a fallen world where stuff just happens! The World we live in is not the World God originally intended for us, Genesis tells us of creation, the Garden of Eden, of how Adam was placed in the Garden to care for it (hence my claim to being a member of the oldest profession!) and gave Eve to be his companion. It also tells of how Adam and Eve disobeyed God and in consequence were excluded from the Garden and sin entered the World ~ since then bad things have happened because of our sin. This is an explanation of why we have wars, why people are born with disabilities, why there is disease, natural disasters and nasty people!

The Temptation of Eve by Elbert Weinberg,
a re-interpretation of the biblical story
 in which a serpent tempts Eve to
 eat the fruit from the tree of knowledge.
In this work, Weinberg re-imagines
 the snake as a hybrid form
with the body of a tree and a human
 face. Eve gives herself away
 to the temptation as she leans
 on the snake figure, almost melting into its form. 

The normal explanation is simplified into "We live in a fallen World" ~ fallen from grace and therefore outside of God's plan, I have never come across a Christian asking somebody with a congenital disability why they think God made a mistake? they simply accept that we live in a fallen World, I could use the same explanation for the existence of Transgender people. The misunderstanding is that being transgender is a choice rather than a congenital condition. We are not a mistake, but a consequence of sin, not our sin but the existence of sin which has marred creation and taken us out of God's plan. For me there are two problems with this idea, the theological one that it rather denies God's active intervention in our lives, that if God is omnipotent then They choose to allow pain, war, flood and famine etc. yet we also believe that God is good, that God is love so how can we reconcile these? I haven't been able to fully accept the idea of original sin ~ I generally just go with the "Shit Happens" school of thought.

However, having said all that, it's not actually my answer, the question is often phrased as "why do you think God made a mistake?" to that question my answer is "Why do you assume I think that?" I don't think God made a mistake, and I don't think that I am a mistake. I don't know why I am transgender, either medically or theologically, I simply know that I am. I also firmly believe that my transition is an answer to prayer, my own and other people's. It's a good few years ago now, but I remember coming home from church one Sunday, after I had suffered further rejection, going out into the garden, sitting down with a glass of wine, to be honest I was trying to decide just exactly how I was going to kill myself when the words of the old rhyme came to mind 

Nobody loves me
Everybody hates me
I'm going down the garden to eat worms

Urgh

At that point I heard God clearly say to me "I LOVE YOU" I instantly knew that I had to transition and that God was going to be walking at my side and supporting me throughout this journey. Do I think God made a mistake? No.

I don't know if God made me trans, or if it just happened, I don't know whether it's part of a master plan, or whether we're just playing the hand we've been dealt. I do know that God has been with me, and I do know that God has made positive use of me as a Transgender woman ~ I know that God loves me and does not think I am a mistake.

I have just reread the page here headed Christianity and Cross Dressing, I have changed in many ways since I wrote it in 2011, but in light of what I have just written here on the whole I think it still works.

It's all getting Better

 

Quite a few years ago now my Vicar asked a group of us "What does Christmas mean to you" once we got through all the usual rather trite answers around things like "it's all about the children" or simply a good party, we started to think about our answers a little more thoroughly. Of course from a religious view point Christmas is when we celebrate the transcendent made manifest - or if you prefer, when Christ was born. 

Nobody knows exactly when Jesus was born, but we may be reasonably sure that the 25th December is not the birthdate of Jesus, of course it may be, but the chances aren't good! Indeed until the Fourth Century there was no such festival as Christmas! (follow the link to an interesting article on the origins of the festival). I think it is fare to say that the celebrations of  Christ's birth became attached to other older festivals. Gradually aspects of those festivals became incorporated into how we celebrate, the feasting and present giving from Roman Saturnalia, the Christmas Tree and holly from Germanic Yule and Mistletoe from the Scandinavian God Baldr. 

All of his is very interesting (well I think it is!) but is not really to the point, for me the point is that what Christmas really means to me is not the meal, the party or the time with my family; it is not the carol singing the Christmas Concerts or the Church Services; indeed it most definitely does not mean the decorations, the presents, and the over indulgence. These are all ways we celebrate not the cause, not the true meaning. In many ways I am celebrating the birth of Christ ~ but, just like the Early Church Easter is the much greater cause to celebrate, Easter was the conclusion, Christmas is not even the beginning! I could argue that Christ's ministry is more of a beginning than Christmas, we should be celebrating His Baptism, the moment when He an others started to understand the import of what He was or what He was to do. Or we could argue that what we call the "Old Testament" all signals towards Christ and His sacrifice, so maybe the beginning is even further back in history. We could even argue that as God is outside time, and is omniscient then His whole plan has been from before the beginning and after the end of time itself.

But the question was a personal one, what does Christmas mean to me?

For me Christmas is the point when everything starts to get better, from the birth of Christ we have hope, we don't know what He is going to achieve for us, and we will not understand it all for a long a time, but we do know it gets better! Historically and theologically the intertestamental period was a bad one for God's people, it was with Christ's birth that things started to get better. My personal journey of faith also started at Christmas! It was my wife's drive to host the "perfect family Christmas" that drove me back to church, and through that to find faith, so for me it was definitely the point when things started to get better!

As I said earlier Christmas became attached to older festivals, the thing all these festivals have in common is that they are at the coldest, darkest most miserable time of the year, mostly on or around the shortest day. Of course after the shortest days come longer days, after mid winter comes spring, these are all about hope. As the days become longer and warmer we are reassured that spring will come, and will be followed by summer and autumn. We will again have plenty, we will have harvest, we will have warmth and comfort. In our less agrarian world we have become detached from all of this, so it's good to remember that even not that long ago a family would have to store most of their winter supplies for months. This would be the time in mid winter when they would break out a few extras and celebrate that they were half way through, the days would start to lengthen, the end was in sight ~ it was all going to get better.

I'm hoping that the same can be said for the World this year, certainly my Country has hit a big low right now, but I'm hoping, and praying, that this is the low point ~ our shortest day and longest night, that from this point things will start to get better. We now know that vaccines for this virus are coming on stream, we are learning more about the virus itself ~ and knowledge is power! For me I know that I have a couple of tough months ahead, but I also know that by March my work will be picking up again, I hope that with our increased knowledge and the spread of the vaccines my bands and orchestras will start meeting again. I know that as things get warmer and safer I will be able to see my family and my friends again.

This Christmas maybe we can't celebrate how we want to, or how we are used to, but maybe this year more than ever we have reason to celebrate, not because things are good, but because we know we have reached the point from when they are going to get better

Advent Calendar XXIV

We have reached Christmas Eve and it suddenly feels as though it has come upon me all too quickly even though by doing this Advent calendar I should be prepared. We have yet to decide whether to attend midnight Mass locally or watch it on the BBC from Croydon Minster, one of my own local Churches.

Malta is a primarily Roman Catholic country, and of course that is reflected in the churches, some of them do have regular services in English, but apparently not midnight Mass. We may choose to go to an English service in the morning and watch from the apartment tonight.

Yesterday I showed photos of the nativity scene from Valletta, after visiting there we went to Lija, where the tradition of living cribs started with their Presepju Haj.

A representation of a whole village is constructed, and then peopled with local volunteer actors as tradespeople, blacksmiths, millers, carpenters etc. Some livestock adds even more colour and reality. At the center, or culmination of your visit you come across the Holy.
Family.

I felt that this was rather moving, and got across the nativity situation so much better than most of our model, rather glamourised crib scenes.

I didn't take any photos myself as it felt intrusive and as they are all volunteers I'm not sure the actors would have wanted me to, so these are stock photos. 

Advent Calendar XXIII

Here in Malta Christmas is still very much a Christian festival, of course as I showed yesterday there are all the lights and decorations. Even in the middle of the Mediterranean we have lots of stalls selling mulled wine and ginger bread, but we are also offered more traditional Maltese celebratory dishes, timpana, imqarets etc.

There is also a reminder of what we are celebrating, it us not just the churches that display a crib scene but all of the towns and villages, and most homes will have a crib next to their Christmas tree. These photos are of the main on in the capital city Valletta. It is in the main square near the prime ministers residence, the Opera House, and the Foreign Office. 

Fresh Starts

It's been a busy old weekend, already and it's only just lunch time on Sunday!  Yesterday afternoon I went up to town for a meeting held at Bloomsbury Baptist Church by Two:23 ~ A Christian LGBT+ Network, it was quite inspiring and very informative. This is a group who as well as ministering to LGBT+ Christians, is working to make the wider Church more inclusive and bridge the divide that sometimes appears between the Church and some peoples identities.

One of the notices was about Christian at Pride they will be walking at Pride in London again this year, I rather hope that I will be able to persuade at least a few of them to join us at our own Croydon Pride Fest I really want us to represent the fullest diversity of our community.

I am inspired by the work this group does, even as I long for it not to be needed, but one of the best bits was meeting a friend from my Orchestra there, he was on his first visit and was glad of a friendly face. It is quite intimidating to go to any group for the first time, I know, I have been doing that quite a lot in my own search for a Church.

I'm hoping that search may now be over, I'm not sure I'm quite ready to make that level of commitment yet and join, but this morning I visited West Croydon Baptist Church again.   If anything I felt even more welcomed and included than I did last week. As a life long Anglican (even if for a large part of that life I had no real faith) it feels very strange to be going to a Baptist Church, but that may be where God is taking me now, He has often forced me out of my comfort zone, indeed that is when He has worked most in my life!

I feel a new chapter in my Christian walk, and therefore my life, is just beginning, I don't know what that will bring, but I do know it won't be boring!

Still looking

After what feels like a very busy week, but in fact only included three full days of work, last night I slept for about twelve hours. I would love to say that this morning I have woken up feeling refreshed and reinvigorated, I would like to!

A local landmark

Last Sunday I visited my local Methodist Church, they are a very friendly community, with a strong Bible centered faith, and exuberant worship. I did not feel entirely comfortable with some of the worship and I didn't feel that the church communality truly reflected the diversity of the local population ~ still it was nice to be in a different minority for once! More to the point I did not get that feeling that this was the faith community I should be joining. Maybe I am asking too much, but the last two Churches I joined and for the Church my Mother joined in Cardiff I did have that feeling of coming home, that I (or my Mother) were in the place God wanted us to be.

Today I intend to join with West Croydon Baptist Church for their morning worship. This should be an interesting experience as they occupy something of a landmark building, which I have known as long as I can remember as "Spurgeon's Tabernacle". I had always assumed that like Spurgeon's College (where I used to deliver the newspapers) the eponymous Charity and the South London Metropolitan Tabernacle this Church was founded by the famous local preacher Charles Spurgeon, however the other day it was suggested to me that this particular Church was founded by one of his sons.

While all very interesting ,much more interesting will be to see what sort of a Church it is and what sort of people make it up. I have looked at their website and am quite hopeful. I really do feel that I should be able to worship in the community in which I am placed, and that means being able to walk to Church in the morning.

Interestingly for the many people who I come across who will question how I reconcile being trans and a Christian, who wonder how any Church will accept me, my gender identity has not been an issue at any of the Churches I have visited so far. I do not flatter myself that this is because I totally pass I believe it is because the vast majority of Christians are accepting, even those who cannot bring themselves to be affirming.

Happy Easter

After spending yesterday being visible today I will be celebrating Easter, this is not just another holiday, a chance to get drunk as there's no work tomorrow, this is something really worth celebrating for Christians today is the day when we particularly remember and celebrate the resurrection of Jesus.  Although it was through the death of Jesus on Good Friday that we are forgiven it is through His resurrection of Easter Sunday that we know the sentence is served, it is through His resurrection that we are reconciled to God, that we are allowed into His presence, that we know we are adopted heirs, that we can call Him "Father"

I will be starting my celebrations at West Croydon Methodist Church, after far too long I am still to settle in any one local Church, this is one I have not visited since moving, maybe this will be the one, I pray that God will guide me to the congregation that he wants me to serve, and be served by.

It will be after church that I will be breaking my fast with a friend.

I Believe; week six

The resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting

When we say we believe in the resurrection of the body, are we thinking of our own body, the body of Jesus resurrected after the crucifixion, or maybe the body of the church?

"The resurrection of the flesh", the literal wording of the Apostles' Creed, means that besides our immortal soul, our "mortal body" will also return to life.

The resurrection of the dead has always been a central Christian belief. "If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. But, in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep" (1 Cor 15:12-14).

In Jesus' time, the Pharisees believed in the resurrection of the dead. At the same time, Jesus castigated the Sadducees who did not believe in the resurrection. "You are wrong. You know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God, for God is the ‘God of the living'" (Mk 12:24-27).

Even more important, Jesus joined the resurrection of the dead to his own person. "I am the Resurrection and the life" (Jn 11:25). He promised resurrection to those who eat his flesh and drink his blood (Jn 6:53-59). He raised people from the dead as a sign of his future Resurrection (even though his was of another order). He proclaimed the "sign of Jonah," that he would be raised after three days in the tomb (Mt 12:39). The apostles became "witnesses to the Resurrection" because "they ate and drank with Jesus after he rose form the dead" (Acts 10:41).

Faith in the Resurrection of the body has always met opposition. "On no point does the Christian faith encounter more opposition than on the Resurrection of the body" (St. Augustine).

At death, the human body decays. The soul goes to meet God while awaiting reunion with the body. God will definitely grant incorruptible life to our bodies by reuniting them with our souls. All will rise: "Those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment" (Jn 5:29).

This gift comes from Christ who "will change our lowly body to be like his glorious body" (Phil 3:21). "The dead will be raised imperishable, for this mortal nature must put on immortality" (1 Cor 15:35-37). 

So maybe it will not be the actual physical bodies we live in here on earth, but a perfected body, like Adam’s before sin entered the world, a perfected new body to dwell in the perfected new Jerusalem.

 “With these final clauses of the Apostle's Creed, Christian commitment to life from the moment of conception is under-girded and Christian hope in the face of death, even death by violence, is affirmed.

On the one hand, the Creed implies that life in this body is of everlasting significance and therefore must be tended, guarded and nurtured. It braces us with the reality that no human being is discardable or neglectable. On the other hand, the Creed comforts us with the hope that life goes on beyond the bounds of this world.

Though we may fail to protect life here, that failure is not eternal. There is more life to come. The forgiveness we seek is grounded in the sacrifice of Christ once for all in the past and also in the future he has established where the consequences of even our worst actions will be resolved.

The resurrection of the body
Our belief in the resurrection of the body is very different from the idea that what makes us essentially human is our immortal souls, which continue after the body is discarded. Our gospel shocked the culture of Greek thought that prevailed during the years in which the New Testament was written. The body was understood to be a prison for the soul. The goal of spirituality was to slip the bonds of corrupt, weak flesh through developing the mind or enacting mystic rituals. So, the gospel seemed foolishness to educated Greeks. What kind of God would actually take up residence in a stinking human body? The resurrection of Jesus in his body seemed contrary to everything they believed about spirituality. Even granting that God had come to the world in a body, why would he ever keep that body after death?

In that culture, bodies were often burned after death. There was no need to honour or preserve what had been only a hindrance to true life. By contrast, Jews and Christians tenderly cared for the bodies of those who had died. This was not done with some naïve idea that only an intact, preserved corpse could be resurrected. Rather, it was a matter of honouring the body because we have our lives in an embodied existence. Though these bodies will be healed, vivified and transformed into something more splendid than we can imagine, they will yet be our bodies. We will not be airy spirits floating on clouds with harps. We will be more real, more substantial, than we have ever known.

In a passage that has been crucial to the theology of the resurrection of the body, Paul declared: "But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it, we await a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself" (Phil. 3:20-21). We are going to be like Jesus. Jesus was raised and ascended in the same body in which he was crucified. Yes, he has been glorified and outfitted for heaven. But he has not forsaken his body. Because we are going to be like Jesus, we know that our bodies will likewise be transformed and decked out for life in glory.

With his usual clarity, C. S. Lewis writes:

"He goes "to prepare a place for us." This presumably means that He is about to create that whole new Nature which will provide the environment or conditions for His glorified humanity and, in Him, for ours.… It is the picture of a new human nature, and a new Nature in general, being brought into existence. We must, indeed, believe the risen body to be extremely different from the mortal body: but the existence, in that new state, of anything that could in any sense be described as "body" at all involves some sort of spatial relations and in the long run a whole new universe. That is the picture – not of unmaking but of remaking. The old field of space, time, matter, and the senses is to be weeded, dug and sown for a new crop. We may be tired of that old field: God is not”

Gerrit Scott Dawson ,

·        If our bodies are cremated they are totally destroyed, does that mean our bodies cannot be resurrected?

·        Should this effect our attitude to organ donation.?

·        Will I still be deaf in heaven?

I Believe; week five

This was of course written for general Church consumption, but this can be a difficult area for many LGBT+ people as we so often find ourselves rejected and ostracised by churches. I hope I make the point that this is not about any individual Church, definitely not about a particular denomination, but about the body of believers

5     I believe in the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins.

A lot of protestants over the years have struggled with this bit, thinking that this was a reference to the Catholic Church, the Roman Catholic Church and the veneration of Saints, I have very carefully not used capital letters to emphasise that this is the all-inclusive body of believers referred to in Revelations.   So often John’s symbolism shows us that salvation is inclusive, that it is available to everyone who accepts Jesus as Saviour, we should consider ourselves all part of the same family of God, His church.

The church is portrayed as the wife of Christ, to be united in perfect harmony with him at the second coming, that is Christ will bring all believers (the Saints) to himself, in a closer and more intimate way than we can imagine.

Some people believe that Saints are special super spiritual Christians, those who have been used by God for remarkable acts of faith, and through whom He has worked miracles.   It is out of this belief that some Christians will venerate Saints, seeking an intermediary between themselves and God.    The Saints are in communion with God as they are already in Heaven.

Yet when Jesus was crucified the Temple curtain was split down the middle signifying that God (through Jesus’ sacrifice to serve the sentence for our sin), had now made himself accessible to all who acknowledge Jesus, further John refers often to believers as Saints in Revelation, the saints are the individual believers who collectively make up the church, the saints are in communion with each other through their shared faith, and in communion with the father and the Son through the Holy Spirit.

When his disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray one thing he encouraged them to ask to be forgiven, and for help in forgiving “Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us”  Not only should we accept the gift of forgiveness won by Jesus on the cross but in turn we need to practise forgiveness.   The whole point of Jesus self-sacrifice was that he should pay the price for our sin, therefore allowing us to be forgiven paying the penalty.   Once we have been forgiven for God it is as though we had never sinned.

God is without sin and totally Holy, so much so that we cannot approach Him in our sinful state, therefore it was essential if we are to be in continuous relationship with God that a solution be found to the problem of sin.   God knew that there was nothing we could do so He had to act.   The price for sin is death, that is not death in this world but eternal death, separation from God for eternity.   If we were to be reconciled to God that price had to be paid and God choose to pay the price through Jesus.   It is only through Jesus sacrifice that we are forgiven our sins and reconciled with God.   It is through His forgiveness that we can approach the throne, that our prayers can be heard, and that we can receive the Holy Spirit.

There's always one!

This is shaping up to be a very busy few days, giving that I was not expecting to be rehearsing with the WOW Orchestra today, or playing tomorrow, I was quite happy to commit myself to stuff yesterday and Monday, Now that doesn't look quite so wise.

Yesterday afternoon was a friend's funeral, these things are never fun, but as a Christian for me they tend to be more of a celebration of a life rather than morning the loss.    My friend had a strong faith and I know he was ready, so although we will all miss him, we morn for our loss, not for his death. ~ Anyway that is not what I want to write about here and now, the thing that made it "interesting" is that it was at the Church I used to attend, led by the Minister who excludes me from activities there.   I try not to go there, there are so many memories, and so much hurt.  So I haven't been in that building for roughly a year, indeed not since this friend's wife's funeral last March.

Of course I met a lot of old friends, many people I have more or less lost contact with who were once a big part of my life, others who have made the effort to stay in touch, and offer me help, support and love through my transition.  My old vicar was there, I think I may have slightly confused him, but we had a good chat, I talked him through where I am and what's going on, after that we parted again on very good terms, knowing we had each others blessing.   The current Vicar, who has been less than inclusive, made a point of being friendly, indeed it was day when my friend and god should be the centers of attention not me, a day for remembering and sharing love. I had intended leaving straight after the ceremony, but as I was engaged in conversation I did stay fro a cup of tea and a sandwich.

Almost at the last moment one person, one I had deliberately not engaged with, made the point of coming over to me more or less forcing himself upon the conversation I was part of, thrusting his hand at me to shake, and dead named me.   Now for many there it is still new to them, they are not used to using my current name and may from time to time slip, that I understand, but this! this was a deliberate insult. Intentional undermining, sending a message that he did not value my personal integrity or my ability to understand myself or agree that I should have the right to make the choices I have made. This is the man who has whispered poison in the ears of friends, indeed the only man who has made a policy of attacking my transition.   He did all of this in a Church dedicated to spreading love, at an event remembering a friend who believed in the universal love of our God, and lived that love.

This morning I am trying to think of all the friends who have accepted and supported me, of all those wonderful Christians who may not understand, but have chosen to show love and compassion ~ not the one who has set himself the task of undermining all of that.

I believe, Week Four

I believe in the Holy Spirit

Although only getting one line within the creed this statement is a fundamental of Christian Faith.   It is through the Holy Spirit that God is active in the world.   It is the Holy Spirit who heals, who enables true worship, who teaches, who explains scripture.

To believe in the Holy Spirit is also to believe in the activity of the Holy Spirit.   The Holy Spirit is the bringer of gifts ~ the charismata ~

 

1 Corinthians 12:4-11

⁴ There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. ⁵ There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. ⁶ There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.

⁷ Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. ⁸ To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, ⁹ to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, ¹⁰ to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. ¹¹ All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.

Romans 12

⁶ We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; ⁷ if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; ⁸ if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.   But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness and self-control. Galatians 5:22-23

These gifts are given to us for the benefit of others.   “Gifts of the Spirit do not depend on natural talents and aptitudes or developed skills, though God gave you those, too. A gift of the Spirit is something that God gives for the purpose of building up others in a life of faith. It is the experience of Christians over the years that the spirit usually harnesses one's talents in the service of the purpose for which the gifts were given. Yet sometimes, the spiritual gifts seem to work against a person's natural endowment. This is, after all, the same God who led his people out of Egypt using a stammerer named Moses, made a shepherd boy/musician named David into a renowned warrior and king, and turned rural fishermen into leaders who left a mark on the course of history. There are examples everywhere of people who don't have training, aren't highly skilled, have no particular knack, but when the time comes for them to benefit others, the gift is there. The Spirit takes pleasure in surprises and on turning the tables on the expected. It's wise to leave ourselves open for such action. You can develop a talent, but the Spirit gives the gift it's meant to go with.” Robert Longman Jnr

The spirit also brings us fruit, the nine visible attributes of a true Christian life.  Throughout the Bible, righteous men are likened to trees, and Paul in Galatians 5 explains what fruit a righteous tree bears. Accordingly, these fruit are grown by those who have truly repented, or are truly followers of Jesus.   In John's account of the Gospel Jesus said, "These things I command you, that you love one another" John15:17 referred to as the New Commandment or the second greatest commandment. Paul illustrates with these attributes the kind of love that marks a true Christian life.

·        We pray to the Father and to the Son, the Holy Spirit is fully God should we pray to the Holy Spirit?

·        If we do not speak in tongues are we proper Christians?

·        As Christians should we still expect the Holy Spirit to be active, and bestowing his gifts today?

·        Are Paul’s lists of gifts exhaustive, or are there other gifts we might receive from the Holy Spirit?

·        How can we recognize these gifts in ourselves and in others?

·        Should we expect all Christians to show evidence of all the fruits of the Spirit?

~

It is also this statement that that emphasises the Trinity, later Creeds make a lot more of this as various heresies grew up denying the Christ as fully human, or as fully God, suggesting that the Holy Spirit was subservient, or indeed created by the Father.   This is how the fourth-century apologist and theologian Anathasius explained the Trinity, his teaching played an important role in defining and defending the orthodox doctrines of the Trinity and the person of Christ.

“Now this is the true Christian faith: We worship one God in three persons and three persons in one God, without mixing the persons or dividing the divine being. For each person -- the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit -- is distinct, but the deity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is one, equal in glory and coeternal in majesty. What the Father is, so is the Son, and so is the Holy Spirit.

The Father is uncreated, the Son uncreated, and the Holy Spirit uncreated; The Father is eternal, the Son eternal, and the Holy Spirit eternal. And yet they are not three who are eternal, but there is one who is eternal, just as they are not three who are uncreated, nor three who are infinite, but there is one who is uncreated and one who is infinite.

In the same way the Father is almighty, the Son is almighty, and the Holy Spirit is almighty. And yet they are not three who are almighty, but there is one who is almighty. So the Father is God, the Son is God, the Holy Spirit is God. And yet they are not three Gods, but one God. So the Father is Lord, the Son is Lord, the Holy Spirit is Lord; yet they are not three Lords, but one Lord.

For just as Christian truth compels us to confess each person individually to be God and Lord, so the true Christian faith forbids us to speak of three Gods or three Lords. The Father is neither made not created, nor begotten of anyone. The Son is neither made nor created, but is begotten of the Father alone. The Holy Spirit is neither made nor created nor begotten, but proceeds from the Father and the Son. So there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; one Holy Spirit, not three Holy Spirits.

And within this Trinity none comes before or after; none is greater or inferior, but all three persons are coequal and coeternal, so that in every way, as stated before, all three persons are to be worshiped as one God and one God worshiped as three persons. Whoever wishes to be saved must have this conviction of the Trinity.”

 

I Believe; week three

I have not felt much like posting this week ~ for many reasons which I will not be going into just now.  But I will continue with my Lent series, this was originally designed as a discussion course, feel free to use it as you will.

And in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried; He descended into hell. The third day he rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From there he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

These are the fundamental statements of who Jesus is and what he did for us.   The first and most important thing is that Jesus is the Christ, that he is the Son of God, equal with the Father in eternity, majesty and power.   John tells us that “In the beginning was the Word” in a clear reference to Jesus, as the instrument of creation, a creation he then entered in order to save it.

·        Born to the virgin Mary – this is an important statement of believe, believe that Jesus is the Messiah as prophesied in the old testament.   

·        Conceived through the Holy Spirit – because Mary was a virgin, but also emphasising that Jesus is fully God and fully Man, born of woman but miraculously conceived by the Holy Spirit. 

·        Suffered under Pontius Pilot, why did a minor Governor of a minor state of the eastern empire get his name into the creed? This is not an exercise in placing blame but a way of placing the events securely in their historical setting.   The Romans were pretty good at keeping records and we know a lot about the Governorship of Pilot and his relationship with the peoples of Palestine.

·        Was Crucified, dead and buried ~ Jesus was really dead, He was not in a coma, he was not just body injured He was dead.   The Roman’s knew what they were doing when it came to killing, they were very good at it, and to make sure that the victims of this crucifixion were dead before the beginning of the Sabbath, the others had their legs broken ( in the situation of crucifixion this would have caused almost instant death through bone marrow entering the blood system, along with forcing all the weight to be supported through the extended arms)   Jesus was stabbed in the side, through several organs to ensure that He really was dead.   His blood was poured out in sacrifice, just like the sacrificial lambs on the alters of the Temple

·        He descended into hell ~ there has been a lot of conjecture over this did Satan have dominion over Christ between his death and resurrection? Did Christ minister to the dead, did He preach the good news in hell?   The words originally used are those common in classical language for the afterlife, rather than anything as specific as the Christian concept of a place of punishment.   This is further affirmation that Jesus was completely dead, experienced death the same way anyone fully human will, the difference is that as God he choose to die.

·        On the third day he rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, ~ Since Jesus was fully dead it was through the Fathers authority and will that Jesus was resurrected.   This was not the spirit of Jesus returning, but his body brought back to life, after being three days dead, his spirit had left the body and had been with the dead but the Father brought them back together and gave the body fresh life.   There were several occasion when Jesus was seen by individuals or groups, he spoke with them he ate with them, taught them, then he returned to heaven and joined the Father.   

·        He ascended into heaven, whether this is symbolic or he literally rose up into the sky he returned to heaven without dyeing again.   I was Jesus’ living body that rose into heaven until it was obscured from the sight of the disciples, this means that Jesus human body has now been incorporated into the Godhead.   It is in this body that Jesus will return, at a time unknown but in a way that we will all recognize.

·        and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From there he shall come to judge the quick and the dead. ~ The right hand is the place of honour, given by the host to the most important person present, the Father chooses to honour the son, above all else.   The Father has also given Jesus all authority, he and he alone shall sit in judgement, he and he alone has been found worthy to judge all of humanity

"You are worthy to take the scroll

And to open it’s seals

Because you were slain,

And with your blood you purchased

Men for God” rev.5:9

Jesus will Judge all, all those who have already died and those who are still alive at the time the Father has appointed.

When we say we believe in Jesus Christ are we fully relying on him

I Believe; Week two.

2 . I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth

This is the fundamental statement from which all others lead, without this basic belief in the Creator God, the Father of all things, Almighty powerful beyond our imagining all the rest are just stories.   This needs to come at the beginning of any statement of faith, just as the whole Bible starts with the basic statement “In the Beginning God created the heavens and the earth”   

This shows the essential truth that God is independent of creation, existing before any physical matter, before the beginning of time or the universe, God was.   The existence of God the Father is the foundation of all that is created, He made it out of nothing, it is through His will all the things in the heavens and on earth are, they exist through His creative act, and they have no power over, or against Him.   He is almighty.

The creator God revealed in Genesis is very different to the pagan gods, those gods would struggle with creation, attempting to shape it, contending for control over chaos.   The God if the Bible is different, through His sovereignty He creates matter and without struggle or difficulty shapes it to His will.

1.  Do we have to be creationists to believe in the creator God?

2.  Why do we call Him the Father?

3.  We seek to be in relationship with the Creator God, what does this mean for the relationship we have with his creation?

As I have said before this was designed as a discussion course, to ask questions rather than provide answers, for me that first question was a Biggy! When I first became a Christian I could not reconcile my basic scientific understanding with a literal reading of the beginning of Genesis. I think I have now understood what God is telling us through those verses, but that would make a very long post, maybe something I could come back to another day.   For me the answer is no, but I do know people for whom it is an essential to believe that every word of the Bible is not only true, but (quite different) accurate.

Fast Action

So two days into my Lenten fast and I'm already getting innovative, last night I had failed to plan what I was going to eat, and of course I know that failing to plan equals planning to fail; but I had laid in a decent stock of supplies appropriate for my new meat free diet.

I have some frozen vegetable lasagnes, cauliflower cheese grills (I really like these!) mushrooms leeks onions and of course a good stock of rice, pasta, couscous and all sorts.   I had also bought myself some oats to make some flapjacks when I get a chance.   Having had a late lunch it was a bit late when I realised that I needed to get myself something and I had little inclination to spend much time. I looked at what I had and started wondering ~~~~~ wondering about mushroom porridge!

The oats were left on the work surface next to the mushrooms and sort of thought, if Heston can do snail porridge why not mushroom porridge!   At first I thought I was going mad but the more I thought about it the better I thought the idea, a little research and I came up with this recipe from The Food Medic

SAVOURY LEEK AND MUSHROOM PORRIDGE

Serves: 1 Prep Time: 5 minutes Cooking Time: 5 minutes

Ingredients

·         40g of porridge oats

·         175-200ml of water or milk*

·         1 free range egg

·         handful of kale, washed

·         handful of mushrooms, sliced

·         1/2 leek, sliced

·         30g of feta (optional)

·         ½ teaspoon dried thyme

·         Pinch of salt and pepper

·         Splash of olive oil or 1/2 TBSP of butter

Instructions

1.      Fry the mushrooms and the leek in olive oil or butter in a small frying pan over medium heat for 5 minutes until soft. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

2.     Place the oats and the milk or water in a pan over a medium heat. Add a tiny pinch of salt and stir with a wooden spoon. Bring to a steady simmer for 3-5 minutes, stirring every so often to prevent it from cooking too quickly.

3.     Reduce the heat and crack the egg into the oats, stirring until combined. Add the kale, mushrooms, leek, and thyme, and continue to cook for 2-3 minutes.  If you like your porridge runnier, simply add a splash more milk or water until you’ve got the consistency you like.

4.     Spoon the mixture into a bowl and crumble feta on top if using. Serve immediately.

Well I actually used half and half milk and water, cheddar instead of feta and I didn't have any Kale or anything to use instead, I still went ahead and gave it a whirl.

I'm not at all sure that it was a total success, indeed I don't think I will be repeating the exercise I felt it lacked piquancy and could have benefited from more contrast in texture, but I'm glad I tried.   I will be looking forward to a mushroom pasta tonight and leek risotto tomorrow. Maybe I'm missing some of the point and shouldn't really be enjoying my fast ~ after all it is meant to be sacrificial.