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23.01.2022 When religious words are exhausted, yet we’re anxious for real hope, how do we share the wonder of our world reborn when centred on Christ? Join us virtually at Christ's Pieces OPEN BOOK this Thursday 25th June, 7pm, for our final dialogue over Charles Ringma's book, "Finding Naasicaa." (Reading Letters 1317 pp. 162202, https://christspieces.files.wordpress.com//ringma2006_find; slides at https://christspieces.files.wordpress.com//20200625_findin) It's a no-holds barred exploration facing doubt head on, and discerning what good news of God's reign remains for a post-Christian generation prone to deconstruct dogmatic jargon, the transcendent, and empty optimism. See https://christspieces.org/open-book/ for more. Join URL: https://zoom.us/j/333262992 (Meeting ID: 333262992; Password = openbook)

21.01.2022 Great summary of and interaction with what seems to me a really important (and short, 112 pages!) book by respected European scholar, Olivier Roy: Is Europe Christian? To what degree do you think this applies to Oceania? Is our latent religiosity more about cultural artifice and resisting diffusion of identity than living faith in Jesus? To what degree has the church swallowed holus bolus the unqualified good of personal ‘freedom’ (read, expressive individualism and autonom...y to define one’s own identity where God is a therapeutic help to my best life now) and naturalised nature to be a morally neutral resource for flourishing in the here and nowno bearer of or pointer towards the transcendent? To the degree this fits us, too, how can we reform the semi-faithful? Must we wait for passionate immigrants from the Christianising majority world, not affected by this rot, to take up residence and witness as a form of reverse evangelisation? Important thinker, and a great access point to his work, mostly based in post-Christian Italy.

14.01.2022 It’s natural that secular aspirations would slant our expectations and expression of faith in this time and place. But this Psalm nails the only proper motive behind the bless me trend from health, wealth and prosperity ‘theology’, where we’re tempted to use God in securing my best life now. It’s *not* about me as an individual feeling happy, finding security, nor succeeding in life. Its *not* about evading the plague while my pagan neighbours fall either side because they...’re missing God’s protectionas though the Father of lights lacks common grace for all his creatures, limiting sunlight and strangling rain clouds above the not-so-holy. Note verses 1-3 below. It *is* about our way of life as followers of Jesuswho uniquely is God in the flesh, embodying what it means to be fully alive: the new humanityrevealing what God is like. Showing the wisdom of this way as a light to the nations so they’ll not stumble. So we can find joy together. This warns those determined to worship themselves. And it directs all praise heavenward, so the way to life and flourishing as an ecological whole may become normal on Earth. (A la verse 6: The earth has yielded its increase; God, our God, shall bless us.) As I seek God’s ‘blessing’ for me today, may it be as a conduit of blessing for you and your family... in the Christ-like way I think, see, speak, listen, desire, write, serve and walk. All for God’s glory, not my own. All in God’s gracious provision and power (ie his ‘blessing’) not by my own steam. Our Father, may your will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven. +++ In the ESV: 1 May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, Selah 2 that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations. 3 Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you! - Psalm 67:1-3

12.01.2022 Excellent article by Alan Noble--the founder of "Christ and Pop Culture" (https://christandpopculture.com/), and author of "Disruptive Witness" (https://www.amazon.com.au/Disruptive-Witness-Speaking-Tr//)--on how to point people to Jesus in a distracted age. Why bother with faith when we're closed in on ourselves, buffered against transcendence, and constantly distracted by technology to follow the next novelty rather than consider the gospel: "Rather than a system, a disru...ptive witness involves creating the conditions under which our neighbors are more likely to clearly hear the truth of the gospel for what it is. And that means we have to evaluate every situation uniquely, asking ourselves practical questions like How can I spend time with my neighbor in a setting that invites them to think slowly and carefully, rather than be distracted? What particular truth does this person need to hear to unsettle their assumptions about Christianity as a lifestyle option? Practically, this may look like inviting a friend over to watch and discuss films you both are interested in that raise difficult questions about life and death. Tragedy, even fictional tragedy, has a way of clarifying the anxieties and fears we repress during our distracted daily lives. For example, when my wife and I watched the film Tree of Life, we felt the need to repent of taking the goodness of being for granted. The film disrupted my comfortable life and forced me to examine the beautiful world around me and the gift of my children, which drew me to give thanks to God. My wife and I talked about the movie for days. It haunted us in a way that we needed to be haunted. It interrogated us. In addition to such personal interactions, the way we communicate our faith in public, the way we run our church services, and the way we practice gratitude can all act as disruptive witnesses to those inside and outside the church. Because the truth is that the church needs to hear the gospel more clearly in our age. The barriers of secularism and technology have not just made bearing witnesses to our faith harder, they have made our own faithfulness harder by flattening belief, turning Christianity into a preference, and keeping us from self-reflection. Every culture and time faces its own burdens. The task for faithful Christians is to identify those claims and carefully work to address them. I believe that secularism and technology of distraction are two profound and yet relatively unaddressed challenges of our time. And how the church in America attends to these forces will determine how well we shall offer an alternative to the worldly gospels that surround us."