Nazis - A warning from history

It's interesting what you pickup on daytime TV. I caught a little of a program called "Nazis - a warning from history" a BAFTA award winning series by Laurence Rees which is being shown on the Yesterday channel.

When Hitler invaded Poland he created three regions and appointed rulers from his regime to run them as they saw fit. The most notorious was SS Obergruppenfuhrer Arthur Greiser who was appointed to administer Warthegau and did so by systematically enslaving or exterminating those who were non-German including Jews and native Poles. This approach was a decision entirely made by Greiser as other leaders of the annexed states simply re-classified residents as Germans. Griesers tactics shocked some in the Nazi military who had felt that they were in Poland to liberate Germans who had been excluded from their native land following World War I. They complained to Hitler who dismissed their concerns as a sign of weakness with the words "if you want to win a war you cannot fight like the Salvation Army"!

While doing a bit of searching on the internet I discovered more. During the pre-war appeasement attempts by the UK Government, the UK embassador, Sir Eric Phipps raised concerns about the nature of SS (Elite Guard) and SA (Storm Troopers) in 1939. Hitler assured him that they were like these troops were like the Salvation Army! (Story is here).

It would be too trivial to say "make your mind up" but I think Salvationists are not immune to have a confused approach to armed conflict. How do we square our attitudes to our own military with the words of Catherine Baird?

"We shall not lose the fight of faith,
For Jesus is our Lord,
We lay all carnal weapons down
To take his shining sword."

Can you see what it is yet?

I had a great day a recently visiting an exhibition of the work of Stanley Spencer at York Art Gallery with my friend, the Artist. Spencer was a British artist of the 20th century who often portrayed aspects of his Christian faith in the context the village of Cookham in Berkshire where he lived.

The exhibition was a great collection showing a range of his work including these self portraits, giving visitors a real insight into the man himself. I particularly liked his honesty, brutally shown at times, and the natural way in which he saw the spiritual as part of every day life.

The Artist taught me a lot. He pointed out aspects of composition, structure and development of the artists skill which I would never have seen. I was really intrigued as he pointed out the scrapes of paint on the canvas as Spencer struggled with bits of some paintings, which told of inner struggles and of "making it work". I was able to add some background to the biblical stories and theology of Spencer's paintings but found myself fascinated by how he committed it to canvas in a way in which the viewer is intrigued and made to think.

But the picture which really captivated both of us was this one, entitled Mending Cowls in Cookham. The thing is, Spencer desribed this picture as his most spritual painting. But why? Unlike other pictures, there is no bible story, depiction of Christ, religious motifs or anything which is immediately obviously Christian!

So what makes it spiritual? Can you see what it is yet?


Thanks to Big H for a great day.

Happy 16th Birthday Bob!

Good Friday is perhaps not the best day to have a birthday, a 16th at that, but it happened to Robbie our son yesterday. Just want to say what a great boy he is - the best any parents could have. We love you Bob. Now get on with your revision.

God Friday

It amazes me time and again that God ministers to people despite our efforts to get in the way.

Our Good Friday meditation was a series of prayers based on the words of Jesus from the cross, the final one being "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit" . The prayer was read by Anne, who struggled with these words:

Lord Jesus, we let you go.

You cannot cling to life for ever, nor can we cling to a dying frame, nor do we grudge you that peace which passes understanding which you have promised us.

So go to heaven, where you will welcome those who die in your faith, whose death, with your death, we remember. Tell them that we love them, that we miss them, that they are not forgotten.

She stood in front of us all, her tears stopping the words flowing. But she battled through and completed her part. After she told me that her mother had died on one Good Friday a few years ago. They had not had an easy relationship and this had been the first time she had shed tears for her mother. Now that you know that, read the quote above again.

Our God is an amazing God. I only wish I could get out of the way more often.

The Story of an Artist, a Scientist and a Clergyman

An Artist, a Scientist and a Clergyman began bumping into each other regularly, although these meetings were never arranged.

The Clergyman met the Artist first and they became friends, talking about politics, war, religion, society and, particularly, art. The Clergyman then met a Scientist and they talked about religion faith and, particularly, science.

The Artist and the Clergyman shared their own expertise with each other, shedding light on the others' passions. The Artist explaining about the great artists and their styles, the Clergyman explaining the scenes of religious paintings.

At thier first encounter the Scientist challenged the Clergyman about beliefs in God in the face of suffering. The Clergyman admitted to also being challenged by such thoughts but said that faith is not always about knowing everything. This surprised the Scientist whose profession was to know everything about everything but who noticed that there were some things which could not be fully explained. The Scientist and the Clergyman talked more and discovered a shared interest in the origins of the Universe. The Scientist was surprised to hear that the faith of Clergyman did not depend on Six days of Creation. Eventually the Scientist and the Clergyman talked about a Big Bloke in the Sky.

One day the Scientist had mentioned to the Clergyman that he had heard of an abbot who suggested to his novices that they have three books on the go at once: one a spiritual book, one a book on a hobby and the other a novel. The Clergyman agreed that this would be a great idea and accepted the Scientists offer of a book called "Physics of the Impossible" by physicist Michio Kaku. The Clergyman offered "The Secret Message of Jesus" by Brian McLaren. A matter of weeks later the Scientist and Clergyman bumped into each other and both declared they were enjoying the books that they had swapped. "Who knows", said the Scientist as they left each other "I may become born again!". The Clergyman laughed out loud.

Some weeks later another book swap occurred while the Clergyman happened to be talking to the Artist. The Clergyman gave the Scientist a novel, "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini, which was reciprocated by a copy of a book showing how Art has influenced Science and vice versa, Cosmic Imagery by John Barrow. The Artist was naturally very interested in the latter and, for the first time, the three had an open conversation about spirituality. The Clergyman also gave the Artist the book on Jesus.

The following week the Scientist gave the Artist a book about Christian meditation with the Clergyman nowhere in sight!

Where will this story end? Who is pulling all these things together?
No idea how this story will end, but isn't it interesting how far a converation will take you.

A read a quote that 14% of atheists believe in God. And we think we're confused!

Humbling

Last night I had a chance to speak at the Churches Together in Selby Lent meetings under the topic Kingdom and Culture. In summary, I talked about the fact that being Christian had been disconnected with being Christ-like. I tried to define the problem with reference to what is generally seen to be "standing up for" Christianity, such as boycotting films like Harry Potter, Life of Brian and the Last Temptation of Christ (for which you might check this story out). My point was that we should be the ones turning the other cheek, going the extra mile, forgiving 70 times 7, etc.

In all honesty I had been worried about this talk as I had perceived the prevalent view among the audience to be "We need to make our country Christian once again...". I had noted one particular person who expressed this view by waving his bible in the air and saying "we must come back to follow this!".

I ended the evening with the act of worship which I have posted earlier today on Philippians 2, Christ had the full power of God but humbled himself as a slave. Despite my reservations, the talk was well received and this same man came to me and could not stop crying. "Thank you so much for what you have said. I have waited years to hear this, to be taken back to the Word. You made me realise just how judgemental I had become when Jesus had become so humble".

I was humbled too, that this man would recognise such an aspect in his character and be willing to put it right. I was chastened too, that I had misjudged so many - perhaps we underestimate the sheep still look for shepherding.

The Kingdom of God wins again.

Shalom Dog Millionaire