Movement 129

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Ma gazine of the Student Christian Movement
lssue "129 lSummer 2008
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Movementisthe magazine of the
Student Christian Movement,
dedicated to a radical, indusive
exploration of faith.
The Buck Stops With: Wood Ingham
(editor@movement.org.uk)
Cover Image: PixelbraVistockphoto
Next copy date: 25th July 2008
Bditorial group: Owen Griffiths,
Richard Bickle, Martin Thompson,
Andrew Scott, Sarah Armstrong
SCM staff: Co-ordinator Marnn
Thompson; linfts l4orker Rosie Venner,
Administrator Matt Gardner
SCM office: Unit 308F The Big
Peg, 120 Vyse Sbeet, The Jewellery
Quarter, Birmingham B18 6NF
. 0121 200 3355
. scm@movement.org.uk
. !vww.movement.org.uk
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Individual memberchip of SCM
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Direlainet: The views expressed in
Movement arethose
of the particular
author and should
not be taken to be
the policy of the
Student Christian
Movement.
Lrb
IssNo3o6-9gox Movementra
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ZilAgi
@ 2008 scM
member of INK' the
IndependentNms
Colledive, trade
assoaahon of the UK
altemativePress'
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Do you have
ptoll"-"
reading
Movement?
If you find it hard to read the
printed version of Movement,
we can send it to you in
digital form, suitable for
magnification or use with
reading programs. Just contact
editor@movement.org.uk.
The SCM website is also available
in a text-only form at
accessible.movement.org.uk.
'Swing from high m deep/ Ememes of weet and sour/
Hope that God xkts/ I hope, I pray.'
ovement
Contents: lssue 129/ Summer 2008
4 NewsFile
Queer and ChristianWithout Contradiction. Climate Camp. Manchester Day of Prayer.
DisarmUCL. SCM Conference 2008
Movement Links
8 Raising the Red Cockerel
Veteran SCMer Robert Ritter introduces ESG Berlin.
Movement Interview
9 All God's Creatures
Becky Lowe converses with animal rights theologian Andrew Linzey.
Movement Feature: Small World
12 Messages for a Small World
Reflections and thoughts from Akhandadhi das, Anne Primavesi and John Hick.
15 Meeting the Other
Is there any hope we can get along in a small world? Andrew Scott points a way.
15 A World of Difference
Chris Howson on the ups and downs of grass-roots interfaith work.
Movement Comment
18 Bashing the Bishops
The Church of England badly needs to be more press-sawy, says Symon HilL
19 Tied to the Land
How do you restore a cathedral? Sculptor Joseph Carter has first-hand experience.
Movement Columns
21 Dorky Bird
Becky Lowe ponders the importance of a hat with bells on it.
22Ties and Binds
Jim Cotter reaches out and touches the sacred.
23 Ten Propositions on Political Theology
Theologians should keep out of politics, right? Kim Fabricius has something to say about that.
24 Johnny Citizen
It's still the end of the world as we know it. Daniel MiIIer feels fine.
Campaigns
25lhis is Britain's 9/11
David Rhodes of Church Action on Poverty on poverty, and whatyou can do about it.
26Movement Reviews
The Contagion of Jesus , The New Atheists , Happy Sounding Sad Songs . Thirst For Life .
ATurningto God , The Last Days of Jesus . The Touch of Transcendence . EngagingBiblical
Authority
30 The Last Word
Yes, it's an editorial
31. Ephemera
Never apologise, never explain.
Movement
3

NewsFile
Queer and Christidh,
Without Contradiction
SCM Canada launches resource
packfor student groups
In 2006, SCM
Canada launched
four-year
a
campaign to
support and empower
lesbian,
Eay, bisexual,
trans-identified,
two-spirited and
queer/questionitg
(LGBTQ)
youth.
As well as a
wealth
More information: or tesources
and
scmcanada.org/queer hnks on the scM
info@scmcanada.org
:;ltitri:[:
has now made
available a Queer and Christian Without Contradiction
resource pack, which includes a Bible study booklet
and a Que(e)rying Religion Activity Guide, supplying
a wealth of ideas for activities and events suitable for
student groups interested in getting the campaign
running.
Climate Camp Returns
Protest for the Planet
The Camp for Climate Action is back! Last year
it happened at Heathrow, on the line of the
planned third runway, and a year earlier, by
Europe's largest coal-fired power station, Drax,
in Yorkshire. This summer the destination will be
Kingsnorth, neat Rochester in Kent; combining
sustainable living, educational workshops, and
inspiring direct action.
So, why Kingsnorth? Because it's been chosen as the
site for the first new UK coal-fired power station for
30 years, to replace the current, ageing power station
already there. The World Development Movement has
itsowncampaign
MOfe infOfmatiOn:
against the
climatecamp.org.uk if;n"i?filt:fi
links@movement.org.uk
fuels, coal is the
most polluting -
even worse than
burning oil or gas" (see tinyurl.com/24ormw) By
backing the plan, the government is committing us
to more decades of pollution, completely against the
advice of science. If God has given us the responsibility
to care for his creation, this seems an odd way to go
about the task.
The camp will last from Sunday 3'd to Monday 11'h
August, and plans are afoot to create a Christian caf6
within the camp. It'll be a space for all campers to get
drinks and cake and to hang out, as well as somewhere
for Christians to meet each other and join in worship
and prayer every night (hopefully fresh and different
each night). Alongside this the camp has many useful
workshops, from science talks to practical skill shares
and lots of opportunities to help make the camp
function. Risking arrest is entirely optional and
making tea instead will be hugely appreciated!
News from the SCM
network and beyond
Graham Martin
lnternational Day of Prayer
Chaplains and students
celebrate global solidarity in
Manchester
St. Peter's House Chaplaincy in Manchester
celebrated this year's Universal Day of Prayer
with a special prayer service on Wednesday
13th February, 2008. The day marks the 110th
anniversary of the prayer service organized by
students for unity, hope and solidarity. The theme for
this year's Universal Day of. Prayer was 'Students in
the 21st Century.'
Every year, the day is marked by prayer events
organized by SCMs all over the world' This year's
liturgy was prepared by the Inter-Regional Offrce of
the World Student Christian Federation and referred
to this year's theme, which is taken from the prophesy
of Joel: "I shall pour out my spirit on all humanity.
Your sons and daughters shall prophesy...'and your
young people shall see visions."
The prayer service began with drumming and was led
byAnglican Chaplain Clare Dowdingand International
Chaplain John Probhudan. The service included songs
from different parts of the world to signify global
solidarity.
The following Sunday, February 17th, also saw
a morning service at St. Peter's Church with a
special stress on students and prayer. Revd. Martin
Thompson, SCM's National Coordinator, preached
and urged the congregation to support andptay f.or
students, particularly SCM so that the movement can
contextualize and reinvigorate its vision and mission
in the 21"t Century.
JohnProbhudan
4
Movement

"Can I lnterest You ln Any
Missile Com ponents Tod ay?"
Sara Hall turns militant in the fight to get universities to
come clean on military and arms trade investment
University College London (UCL) currently
invests about 9001000 worth of shares in arms
trader Cobham. When this news was revealed by
Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT), I was one
of the many UCL students, who were shocked
that London's global university had sold its
global conscience for profit.
It takes a bare minimum of research to discover
that ethical investment brings equally good returns.
A recent report by the United Nations and Mercer
published in the Financial Times on 12 November
2007 states that investing ethically does not hamper
fi nancial performance, for example.
llA
L
include investing in the international arms trade.
However I'm a campaigner: I don't despair - I put my
black suit on.
A day after UCL's announcement, students from the
Disarm UCL campaign dressed up as arms dealers.
We approached UCL students, staff and prospective
students with the opening line: "Excuse me, can I
interest you in any missile components today ?" and
tried to "sell" them toy guns and missiles. This really
made people stop and talk to us about the continued
arms investments.
The vast majority of students were outraged by the
arms investments and signed our petition. UCL
students are not the only students fed up with their
universities'links to the international arms trade. Six
other universities joined us in protest on the day.
Students at Warwick University also dressed up as
arms dealers. Students at Manchester hung a banner
protesting against their uni's arms shares from a
bridge over one of the busiest roads in the city, and
Lancaster students held an open-air debate on the
arms trade followed by a die-in. This action day could
be the first step towards a national movement against
universities' involvement with arms companies. Let's
all get together and chase the dirty investments off
our campuses!
Students at UCL, Manchester, Warwick and other
universities have set up a Universities Against the
Arms Trade network. We share resources and swap
experiences to campaign more effectively. If you are
concerned about your university's investments and
want to get involved with the network please contact
us at infoodisarmucl.com.
z
ffi
b-
Right: Want to buy
a warhead?
Sara Hall is a
founder member
of the Disarm UCL
group.
For about a year we have been campaigning to get
UCL to ditch its arms shares. We made some progress
last summer when the UCL Council decided to look
into developing an ethical investment policy. We were
overjoyed and assumed that getting rid of the arms
shares would be a natural first step towards ethical
investment at UCL. But, speaking to BBC online, a
UCL spokesperson said that "UCL takes seriously
its ethical responsibilities in investment," but then
added: "the UCL Council has agreed after extensive
debate that the investment policy should not restrict
investment in the defence industry."
Of course, I'm dismayed that the leadership of my
university believes that its ethical responsibilities
Study War
No More
FOR (the Fellowship
of. Reconciliation)
in conjunction with
CAAThaveproduced
a report detailing
military and arms
trade involvement
in British universities.
You can
download the short
Study War No More
@H
Peacemaker Briefing for fuee at for.org.uk/PBo4
and order or download for ftee a copy of the full
report at studywarnonore.org.uk.
Movement
5

An Absence
of T-shirts
I must admit, I came to my first ever SCM
conference feeling rather scared. I have a
large personal library of preiudices regarding
student Christian retreats, and an inbuilt fear
of matching t-ehirts bearing gospel passageg
and enigmatic conference leaders whipping
crowds into frenzies of prayer. At the very least
I expected a ctudent clone of that Delirious?
rochband.
Daisy Black visits her first SCM
conference to find challenges and
surprises
Photography bY Joe Rogers
could require in a lifetime) I left the common room
reading of Winnie the Pooh for bed' Id promised
myself a couple of early nights this weekend. Well,
3am was early compared to some peoplel
6
Happily, I was completely mistaken.
At the SCM SmallWorld conf.erence in February, we
were given pin badges with trees on them instead
of t-shirts. Martin entered the conference through
an invisible door and poured himself a steamy cup
of mime tea before handing the evening's activities
over to the capable hands of Matt and Rosie. It
seemed from the outset that this was going to be a
little bit unusual.
Within a few hours of arriving, we were all deeply
absorbed in the challenge of building a tower out
of marshmallows and dried spaghetti. The theme
of interconnectedness' was portrayed with varying
degrees of success; some buildings being rather more
connected than others. We discussed how we might
organise a church event which could include whole
communities. By the time our group had completed
our plans for an all-day festival complete with
rock bands, Punch and Judy and tea dances it was
clear that it would take more organisation than an
entire government, let alone a single church, could
provide.
Hence the blend of thanksgiving and the recognition
of our need for action in the Welcome Worship. It is
good how praying together about global issues really
makes change seem possible. Alone, it is easy to be
beaten into a state of helpless apathy by the deluge
of depressing facts and figures showing how we
continue to make a mess of our environment. But
God reveals really unifying ways in which to make a
difference, and it depends upon co-operation' After
evening prayers and a night stroll (provoking all the
eerie photographs of trees and ghost stories one
Top: SCMers
ponder
marshmallow
engineering.
Above: The conference
assembled.
Left:Worship.
Movement

Top: Group discussions.
Above: How not to
use giantknitting
needles.
Right: Martin's
introductory mime.
Daisy Black is
a postgraduate
student at the
University of
Manchester.
Joe Rogere is a
member of SCM.
Saturday the 23rd was the first Saturday for many
years that has seen me up at 7am. It is also the only
Saturday that has ever seen me attempt Tai Chi. The
healthy morning glow of this was swiftly replaced with
the more oil-saturated glow of a large fuy up. Luckily,
Anna Primavesi's lecture on climate change and the
Sacred Gaia restored a sense of balance in more ways
than one. This set me up well for my first workshop,
which was in mime. Mime is far harder than it looks;
feeling your way around walls that just won't stay in
the same place of their own accord kept all of us with
highly serious expressions on our faces for a good
couple ofhours.
Lunch followed, and then a walk up the nearest hill.
Holding this conference in the Peak District was an
inspired choice. To debate the importance of the
creation and our impact upon it in a room together is
one thing. To go outside and experience its wonders
first hand can only make the need for change more
obvious. This walk made us muddy and late for the
next speaker, which was a pity because he was a good
smal
I
interconnectedness
in a global community
one. Akhandadhi das' talk certainly opened up a lot
of areas for debate within the room. While I was not
convinced by some of his arguments, his message was
a helpful one. This was followed by a workshop on
'The Good news about Creation'by Chris Sunderland.
Focussing on the joy of portrayals of creation in the
Bible, this provided an upbeat hope of renewal that
was reflected in the rather original psalms written
collaboratively in our groups that evening. Plenty of
smiting, but plenty of healing to make up for it.
One of the most important things I took away from
this weekend was a strong sense of being part of
an active Christian community. The conference
demonstrated to me the fact that you can share
fellowship and support both in highly focussed
discussions of important issues and in a chat over a
game of ping pong. It dispelled the feeling of being
alone in worrying about climate change. It is good to
remember while I am typing here, drinking Fairtrade
tea under the glare of an energy-saving light bulb, all
the inspiring, positive conversations I have shared
with people passionately dedicated to changing this
world for the better. And to discover that you don't
have to wear matching t-shirts to make a difference.
Movement 7

ao
Ralslng
the
Robert Ritter gives a brief
tour of ESG Berlin
Red Cockerel
In the centre of Berlin in the backyard of a big church
building in Borsigstrasse, at a five minute walk from
the Reichstag and to Humboldt University, you'll find
the of6ce of Berlin SCM. We share the building with
the Golgatha parish church and a Christian student
hall. Even if it seems a bit unfriendly from outside,
the SCM venues always remind me very much of
sitting rooms. It's maybe just because of the very
warm atmosphere.
SCM in Germany is called Evangelische Studenten
Gemeinde (ESG), which means more or less Lutheran
Student Fellowship. That also indicates a distinction
from British SCM, because we are linked to the
German Lutheran Church. Of course we welcome
everybody, but maybe we are more attractive for
Lutheran folk. We have a very good relationship with
the Katholische Studenten Gemeinde (CatSoc). We
have one ecumenical meeting a term, we hold term
closing service together and just try to organise
spontaneous events together. Hopefully we'Il have a
common trip to Taiz6 this summer. Finally we have
one member of our committee going to their meetings
and vice versa.
We just had a long discussion about our self
understanding. ESG is for some people like a parish
church that they go to on Sunday. Some just drop in
because they are interested in one of our Thursday
night discussions, like my Buddhist friend Benny.
For others it is something they wholly identify with,
like our speaker Jenny or me. Our place within the
University system is completely different' Whoever
studies in Germany will notice that there is no such
thing as a Students' Union and SCM is not located on
campus. For example, my University (Freie Universitiit
Berlin) is at the margins of Berlin, so people only go
there to study. That makes the ESG more independent,
but it also brings some problems. People don't really
come to socialise, but to see the ESG. That's why our
members tend to be very loyal, but it is much harder
to make new people come.
Our philosophy is similar to SCM's. Our symbol is the
red cockerel. Some interpret this qtmbol in a quite
radical way. During the Peasants War in 1524-25,
the German theologian Thomas Miintzer called the
revolutionaries to enflame the red cockerel on the roofs
of monasteries and churches (that means to burn them
down). Certainly, all ESG people will criticise Martin
Luther for his violent reaction against the peasants;
even if we are member of the Lutheran church we
always try to be critical travelling companions. We try
to speak out against injustice and seek solidarity with
the oppressed. It's a kind of trauma for us that our
church failed so dramatically at the time of the Third
Reich, even if there were some courageous people like
Bonhoeffer. The weather cockerel on church towers
turns against the wind and so we try not to swim with
the main stream. It also reminds us of the cockerel
crowing in the night, when Peter betrayed Jesus.
As you see, our symbol is quite important to hold
different local ESG groups together.
We have a very wise chaplain who always tries to get
students involved. "It is your ESG" is maybe Peter's
most frequent quote. He is very good at inspiring
people to realize their ideas. But he also gives a lot
of input for discussions. His latest project is about
the mission of the ESG. I just remember him saying,
"Every company and every political party has a
mission. But what actually is ours?" Peter is a kind of
anchor of Berlin ESG.
ESG would be happy to improve our contact with
SCM in Britain. It would be great if we could improve
our contact and maybe bring people together more
regularly. We have a national gathering in Hannover
from 25th to 27thApril; maybe somebody would like
to turn up. Take a look at our website: bundes-esg.de
(it is only in German, sorry!)
I hope we can build bridges over the channel in order
to "interconnect in a small world".
Left, Below left:
ESG students get
involved.
Robert Ritter
was until recently
a member of
Manchester SCM.
He is now studying
for an MA at Freie
Universitiit Berlin.
B
Movement

All God's Creatures
Becky Lowe interviews animaltheologian Andrew Linzey
Right: Andrew
Linzey
(image courtesy
Oxford Centre for
Animal Ethics).
The Reverend Professor Andrew Linzey is an
Anglican priest, a theologian, and writer, and
is internationally known as an authority on
Christianity and animals.
Professor Linzey is a member of the Faculty of
Theology in the University of Oxford, and held the
world's first academic post in Ethics, Theology and
Animal Welfare - the Bede Jarret Senior Research
Fellowship at Blackfriars Hall, University of Oxford.
He created the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics,
(oxfordanimalethics.com) opened in November
2006, of which he is director, and has written more
than 180 articles and authored or edited twenty books
on theology and ethics, including Animal Theology
(SCM Press, 1994) and, more recently, Creatures ofthe
Same God (Winchester University Press, 2007).
Movement's Rebecca Lowe spoke to him about his
work as Britain's foremost animal theologian, and
asked him whether Jesus was a vegetarian, whether
slugs have the same rights as fish, and if animals go
to heaven...
I
RL: You are most frequently described as an
"Animal Theologian", but how do you define
"animal theology"?
AL: Like feminist theology and ecological theology,
animal theology is concerned with understanding
animals from a theological standpoint, and explores
fundamental questions such as: what status should
animals have? how should we relate to them? and how
should we treat them?
RL: How did you come to be working in
this field?
AL: I wrote a book called Animal Rights: A Christian
Assessment (published by SCM Press) when I was at
theological college. It came out when I was a curate in
1976, and it caused a lot of controversy. The invitations
to write, speak and broadcast have increased every
year since.
RL: When there are so many other really
important issues for Christians to get involved
in why did you choose to focus on animals?
Because animals are a neglected topic in moral
theology. In terms of pain, suffering and death what
we do to the millions of other species in the world
makes it rank as one of the most important moral
issues.
RL: Does it annoy you that people so
frequently fail to take the issue of
animal ethics seriously?
AL: Sometimes. Butthatis onlyindicative of howlittle
Christians have really cared for creation and for other
creatures specifically. For centuries Christians have
thought that humans were the only valuable beings in
the universe. We have a pretty poor record historically
on animals, but also on women, children and gays.
Mind you, things are changing, at least in universities
- hardly a month goes by without an invitation to
speak or to examine a dissertation.
RL: Can animals be said to have "rights" of
their onm? Wouldn't it be healthier to talk in
terms of welfare?
AL: "Healthier" for whom? Of course it serves human
interests to think that we are the only beings in the
world with rights. In fact, a strong theological defence
of animal rights is possible based on the idea that God
as Creator has rights to have what is created treated
with respect. In my view, all rights ultimately belong
to the Creator, and it is a great mistake to suppose
that God is only interested in human beings.
RL: Do you think it can ever be morally acceptable
for human beings to use and exploit animals,
Movement
9

provided they are treated properly and not
caused to suffer?
AL: Well, our exploitation causes massive suffering.
We hunt, ride, shoot, fish, eat, wear, cage, trap,
exhibit, factory farm and experiment on millions of
animals every year. Most people have no idea of the
extent to which animals suffer. Even areas of possible
moral use we have turned into occasions of abuse'
RL: Humanity has a unique relationship with
God. We're at the top of the evolutionary tree.
What responsibilities does this give us?
AL: Well, according to Genesis 1, we are made in the
image of God and given dominion. But dominion
doesn't mean despotism, rather it means that we have
been given the power to look after creation. That's
why I have said that we should understand ourselves
not so much as the "master species" but the "servant
species". We are given the task of looking after the
world as God would look after it.
RL: Youtre a vegetarian yourself. Is there a
Biblical basis for vegetarianism?
AL: Well, yes. Everyone knows that we have been
given "dominion" over animals, but hardly anyone
appreciates that in the subsequent verse (Gen. 1.
29-30) we are given a vegetarian diet. Herb-eating
dominion is hardly a license for tyranny. That position
only changes after the fall and the flood in Genesis 9'3
- a permission granted to human weakness, as some
exegetes claim. The important thing is that, according
to Genesis, God's original will was for a peaceful
creation.
RL: But Jesus and his disciples ate fish, didn't
they?
AL: If the canonical Gospels are correct, they did.
But that doesn't destroy a Christian argument for
animals. It may have been necessary to eat fish in
order to survive in first century Palestine, but it isn't
necessary now. When I became a vegetarian in my
teenage years, people used to say that it wouldn't be
long before I met my Maker. For generations, we have
supposed that flesh was essential for a healthy diet.
Now we know otherwise.
RL: What about the depiction of Yahweh in
various other places in the Old Testament as
delighting in the odour of animal sacrifices?
AL: Actually, the rationale for sacrifice wasn't entirely
rl
animal-unfriendly. I mean, it was only "pure" animals
(unlike humans) that were thought "worthy". But
what I think is interesting is that Jesus didn't sacrifice
animals and, despite its prevalence, the early church
departed from Judaism in that resPect. Jesus was
thought of as the Lamb that made animal sacrifices
redundant. We might say he was the Lamb who saved
the lambs!
RL: So do you think the language and imagery
of sacrifice (e.g. in the Eucharist) is an
impedirnent for some believers? Is it time we
found new ways ofexpressing ourselves?
AL: No. I'm all in favour of sacrifice, but it has to be
rooted in the incarnation, which is about the sacrifice
of the "higher" for the "lower", not the reverse. In a
time of global warming, it is vital that humans learn
how to sacrifice themselves in order to save creation
itself.
RL: Can there be any form of afterlife for
animals?
AL: That animals will be redeemed is orthodox biblical
theology. Just think of those great
verses about cosmic redemPtion in
Romans, Colossians and Ephesians.
The real theological issue is whether
humans will be saved. I mean,
humans are faithless, sinful and
wicked in a way in which innocent
animals can neverbe. I say, onlyhalfjestingly,
that the place of animals
in heaven is certain; it is human
salvation that is questionable.
RL: What aboutthosewho argue
that animals do not suffer on
the same level as humans do
because, for example, they have
no concept of death?
AL: The rationality of humans may
sometimes make them suffer more,
but so also may (apparent) nonrationality.
Consider: a primate
Dominion
doesn't mean
despotism.
We shouldn't
understand
ourselves as
the "master
species" but as
the "servant
species".
in captivity has no idea of why he is suffering, for
what end or why. When Terry Waite was in captivity,
on the other hand, was able to write novels in his
head. Intellectual comprehension may increase, but
also sometimes soften the experience of suffering.
Incidentally, behavioural evidence indicates that
elephants, for example, exhibit mourning rituals
for other elephants, so they must have a concept of
death.
RL: Do you feel all creatures should be treated
equally (worms, slugs, fish etc.) or would you
make a distinction between lower and higher
forms of life?
AL: I'm pleased you asked that question because
the pro-animal position is sometimes misleadingly
presented as the "sacredness of all life" position.
The animal rights case depends upon sentiency (the
capacity for pleasure and pain). We can reasonably
Left: Prof. Linzey
at the Oxford
Centre for Animal
Ethics.
10 Movement

,l
suppose trhat all mammals and birds are sentient,
and perhaps some fish. But there is no evidence that
insects experience suffering, and the idea that plants
feel pain is illusory. I don't think all claims are equal,
but I do think we must take the daims of all sentient
creatures seriously.
RL: You've been involved in anind ethics for
nore than 3O years now. Do you ttrinh society's
attitudec towards aninals and rnirnal rightc
issues have progressed since then?
AL: Yes and no. Yes in that some cruelties like
hunting (just!) and fur farming are now illegal,
and vegetarianism is now almost fashionable
among students. According to
my calculations based on the
Social Attitudes Survey, there
Thefg afe mgfe
VegetafianS,
are now more vegetarians, demid
em i- ;5"J::ffi*f:;1:*"fi
vegetarians
and vegans
than there
are practising
Roman Catholics
in this country.
RIT E, S
I tilti,ll' .
()l
riirt:i]
ftil$fttll tlti ltl
AXIMAL
G@SPEL
1,.
BedryLowe
studied lheology
at Mansield
College, Offord.
ANIMAL T HEOLOCY
this country. But no in the sense that the commercial
interests behind animal exploitation - for example
the pharmaceutical industry - remain as strong as
ever. Globalisation and free trade have weakened even
minimal welfare measures.
RL: What would you say are the moet
prescing rnirral ethics issues facing people
today? If you could get people to change one
tllng, whatwould itbe?
AL: Change their ideas. We cannot change the world
for animals without .hattging people's ideas about
animals. The Christian tradition has perpetuated
notions like "animds are here for us" or that 'bnly
humans are really important". We have to rethink
old attitudes. Slowly but surely, we are moving from
the idea that animals are things, tools, machines,
commodities, resources for us to the idea that animals
have intrinsic value, dig"iry and rights. It would be
nice if the churches could be on the right side, having
been on the wrong side of most debates about moral
issues,like slavery women, children andgays. Perhaps
the most important idea that theology can offer is
that power or dominion, understood christologically,
means service.
ANDR EV LINZEY
11
Movement

Messa
a Smafl
es for
World
Excerpts from the keYnote
talks given at this Year's SCM
conference, as given bY Anne
Primavesi and Akhandadhi das.
Photos: Joe Rogers
SCM's annual conference this year was held under
the theme Small World: Interconnectedness in a Global
Community (Daisy Black gives a run-down of the
conference on pages 6-7 of. this issue)' The guest
speakers at the conference were Anne Primavesi
(whose talk was entitled Theology in a Time of Climate
Change: Reflections on'sacred Gaia) and Akhandadhi
das (speaking on Theology for a SmaII Planet) .
The following excerpts are from much longer talks,
but we hope they give you a flavour of what was said'
Anne Primavesi
Anne is a systematic theologian focusing on
ecological issues, and a Fellow of the Centre for
the Interdisciplinary Study of Religion, Birkbeck
College, University of London.
Our place in the edifice of creation has been relatively
benign. We have fitted in relatively well, but now
something has changed. We are now almost seven
billion, the largest number of our species ever to
inhabit the planet, and the impact of our living here
is now part of the given-ness of our lives today. What
we are calling climate change is this interaction in this
process, a single process between living beings and
the environment, globally. We have all the science
to hand, and in fact we're being treated as though
this were purely a scientific problem, or instead as if
it were an economic problem. Well, it's an economic
problem because it's a problem for us, and science is
finding some of the answers, but science contributed
some of the problem.
We cannot deal with this with the same kind of
thinking that caused it in the first place. And here's
where religion, the social sciences, the humanities,
the arts are failing. Our relationships - above all, our
relationships - are part of the problem and must be
taken into account, must be examined, until we find
out what kind of input those relationships are making
into what we are calling climate change' And the part
I want to focus on today is summed up very neatly by
an American, Kollmeyer, who says: the inconvenient
truth of the troubling realities of climate change
ought to alert theologians to the inconvenient truth
that certain readings of sacred texts, and traditional
images based on them, have both provided and
sanctionedimages of Godthathave in turn sanctioned
the violence of Christians, violence against what we
call the environment.
The acknowledgement of an unwillingness to
confront this fully is related to fears that doing so
would undermine the authority of scripture and
cause profound challenges to basic traditions. Violent
images of God and violent expectations of history
permeate Christian worship, theology, liturgy and
song, and we deny the fact that the problems of
religion and violence are all too often rooted in the
violent context of the sacred texts themselves. And
these problems emerge not only in relationships
3:ilTi :li'"'fff;TJ1#:#l we deny the
;lJJ.':xT, #"':'H;':l'i,"1:: fact that the
i;*i*,';jffKili1T.;ilf:1
p ro bl em s of
an unchanging, violent,
-1TllT feligiOn and
image of God. And it is not popular . .-
to respond creatively to a world VlQlen(e afe
ll'?n,1'Xil,ll #'i,'.1'ii:"lTl"ii rooted i n th e
ffi::::1;:in:nu:1:ff context of the
sa
i*i"f,X;::iiffi:;l#::
cred texts
.-".g" out of what one could call a thgmSglVes.
reasonable reading of those texts.
12
M ovement

It's the power
that possessions
give that we are
really trying to
acquire.
Movement
The truth is that our theological climate does not
sustain life in the way that the Earth itself offers us,
because we are consumed by the desire to possess.
To possess, to have power over, to hold onto and all
these other aspects that are taken
for granted within our modern
economy. Homo Capitalisticus. It's
the power that possessions give
that we are really trying to acquire.
It's this that we shove on to God and
have done so. So against that we
have this process within Gaia where
death gives life and life gives death
and through those give-aways,
beginning with the Cambrian
explosion of plants, without which
we would not be here today, and so on, somehow we
have to change the view we have of ourselves. And
this is what I mean. It sounds almost inconsequential
to say we are now understanding Earth's history and
our place in it. It isn't that the whole four, five, six
billion years went on so that we could consume more
and more, grow more and more, acquire more and
more possessions, and yet we behave as though that
were the case.
So what can we give thanks for today? Images that
would generate compassion, goodwill, generosity
of mind and spirit. The connection between a nonpossessive,
non-violent creator god and the nakedness
and powerlessness implicit in Paul's image of the
weakness of God in 1 Corinthians 1:25. And central in
the Pauline messages is God's choice of the things that
are not, all those have-nots and are-nots oftoday. And
then he says: isn't it revealed to us that God's choice of
these, that none of these are wanted by the rulers of
the world - on the contrary - but by the spirit, so that
we might understand the gifts bestowed on them by
God? This image of a weak, naked, dispossessed God is
crucial in building a theological climate that will enable
us to deal positively with climate change. It offers us
a choice between the naked powerlessness of God in
Jesus and the firmly entrenched image of imperial
Christianity, that of God cloaked in sovereign power,
and almighty LORD under which every terrestrial
authority is supposedly modelled. But is it not in fact
the other way around? Have we not modelled God on
images of imperial power?
I've chosen one of the sayings of Jesus that we don't
know how to handle. That shows us that the Jesus of
history is really not an imperial, militant, apocallrytic
figure, looking after an elect few, and indeed, these
sayings stand as a record of a conspicuous moral
failure. To handle what we do know Jesus said: "love
your enemies and pray for those persecuting you, so
that you may become children of your father, because
he causes the sun to rise on the bad and the good,
and rains fall on the just and the unjust. If you love
those who love you, why should you be commended
for that? Even the toll-collectors do as much, and if
you greet only your friends, what have you done that
is exceptional? Even the pagans do that. You are to
be as unstinting in your generosity as your heavenly
father's generosity is unstinting."
That is referenced in so many places. But to the extent
that we can recover Jesus' sayings, this is at the heart.
And scholars have ranked this command third-highest
among those sayings that almost certainly originated
with Jesus. The injunction to love enemies cuts against
the social grain and constitutes a paradoxical truth
that those who love their enemie s have no enemies.
Akhandadhi das
Akhandadhi das adopted Vaishnavism in his
youth. He lived as a celibate monk for nine
years, trained as a priest and is now married
with children. He is dedicated to exploring the
Vaishnava tradition as a resource for advancing
and validating human spirituality.
Whatever your role in life, whatever identity you take
on, it will have a responsibility, and it will involve
service to others. And it is good to think of it in that
respect. There's another element that dharma draws
on: your specific talents. Each of you have specific
talents and abilities, some of which are unique to you.
And that's what you draw on when you're fulfilling
your dharma. You're drawing on those talents in order
to serve others. Dharmas can relate to occupation.
Dharmas can relate to relationships. How much
satisfaction and spiritual growth you would get from
following a particular dharma would depend on how
much ethics and values are intrinsic in that service.
For instance, in a caring profession, you might find
that there is a bit more nurturing of your soul within
it. If your dharma makes you a mercenary, a soldier on
pay, yes you have a dharma, but that dharma will not
feed your soul.
The dharma isn't always necessarily uplifting. It
will depend on the circumstances. However, as well
as the dharmas that are linked to occupation or to
relationships, there is the sanatam-dharma. 'Ihis
is the universal, eternal, unchanging dharma. It's
the same for everyone. Is there a sanatam-dharma
for every human being? What we're looking at here
is something that goes beyond serving your own
interests. The sanatam-dharma of every human being
is to serve God. We may have other services we have
to perform in daily life as part of our circumstances,
and we should recognise that there are dharmas in
service, that have to be done with the right qualiry
ideally with the right input of ethics and morality,
but over-reaching everything, the sanatam-dharma
covers us all. It's a nice way of looking at everyone in
the world. We all have that common responsibility: to
serve God.
The way we express our relationship with God - in
general terms at least - is not going to differ that
much. But the revealed way may change. So again I
come back to the point that we're not divided by
concepts, we're not divided really by cool-blooded
iffild 13
iil tercon nected ness
in a global cornnrunit)'

A Global Ethic
As part of the Small World theme this year, SCMers
have been exploring the question "is there a global
ethic that all faiths can agree on"? In 1993, the
Parliament of the World's Religions agreed that we
share a set of core values but that this is 'yet to be
lived in heart and action'. How do we move forward
from this understanding of our common ethic into
an era of committed peace-making, stewardship of
the earth and solidarity with the marginalised?
We asked Prof. John Hick, philosopher and theologian,
for his reflection. He writes:
"AlI of the long-Iived cultures have thus far been
religiously based, and within the world religions, at
the most generallevel, there is the universaliry of what
in Christianity is called the Golden Rule. In either its
positive form, Treat others as you would wish them to
treat you, or its negative form, Do not treat others as
you would not wish them to treat you, it occurs in the
teachings of Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism,
Chri stianity, J udais m, I sI am.
The Golden Rule seems to rest on a basic human moral
sense which is presupposed by all ethical theories' This
is presumably the 'conscience of mankind' referred to
in the preamble to the United Nafions' Declaration of
Ilniversal Human Rights in L948. The moral philosophers
from Kant to MiIl to Rawls to toilay, whether
appealing to duties or to calculation of consequences
or to virtues or to human nature, are all trying to spell
out the logical strucare of an insight or feeling that
is already there and is shared by us all. One cannot
prove such a fundamental principle. It is too basic to be
derived from prior premises, but the whole of our moral
iliscourse hinges upon it.
This is foranatu! - for otherwise humanity would not be
able to live together on one small planet."
RosieVenner
analysis. It's revelation that separates us. And then
I suppose the big question is, is revelation plural?
Is there more than one revealed understanding of
God, more than one revealed way of reaching God,
serving God? Is there revelation at different times and
different places? That becomes the question. And even
if it is plural, does that mean they can all be equated,
one as good as another? I think I would have a hard
tinie asJuming that.
.&
I believe in the plurality of revelation, but that doesn't
mean it's as profound in every circumstance, or it
a far-reaching impact in every circumstance, or
it has a significance for every human being. I believe
that each one of us perceives revelation from God on
a moment-to-moment basis. Sometimes it's powerful'
Sometimes it changes our lives. Sometimes it turns
us around completely. But sometimes it's just a little
thing. Something we're worried about- Something
on our minds. And then we see it in a different way.
There's revelation going on all the time. Sometimes
some of those revelations really are just specific to
individuals, and they're just meant to be digested
ourselves. Sometimes they're worth sharing, and in a
group like this, it would be a real joy to share some of
the little insights and ideas thatyouhave receivedwith
others. Sometimes those revelations are so profound
for a given society that they must be shared broadly'
Sometimes they will then take the form of a religious
conversion. Revelation is continually happening. The
religious prophet that I believe in is one that shares
all of that.
lJdi"'"'lff ;'13":"1":: i":ff T h e re's
one verv articulate
"^1,^,*,.:l revelatiOn gOing
religion religion I read recently was
by burr.r, "Bro*n, the illusionist. On all thg time.
He made this point: Your life's
important - why would you throw away your life for
sorffihing you believe in rather than for something
thaFS a fact? But religion isn't based on belief.
Individuals require to start the process, but
religion itself is not on belief. It's based on
revelation,
Itt been churned,
tested through time
debated, it's been argued.
society for centuries. It
has been enrichedby
IIES been put to
has beenpractised by
the insights of all those millions of people. That is not
based on belief. That is something which has proven
itself through proper time. Religion has revelation
at its heart. It is nurtured and made alive through
continued revelation. Every generation adds to the
revealed understanding of their faith tradition.
14 Movement

eeting the Other
Andrew Scott considers Christianity, lslam and the healing of the world
We need to find
a shared thirst
for justice, truth
and life.
Andrew Scott is
a member of the
Moventent editorial
group.
Nlovement
You wontt have escaped the controversy caused
by the Archbishop of Canterbury's lectures at
The Royal Courts of Justice back in February.
Anyone who has read the lectures will know that
they are tentative, intelligent and informed, whilst
the surrounding controversy was reactionary and
misinformed; its most perceptive criticism only
underlined the grim reality lit-up by the skirmish.
Two things became undeniable for our small world.
First, secular society will not allow of an allegiance
higherthanthestate orlaw. Thisisnoplace forpilgrims.
Second: even moderate Islam is to be cast as the old
enemy; an ominous and unenlightened presence,
threatening to undermine British
values and freedoms. Islam is still
playing the spectre of the other
to the civilized west. It is a tribal,
violent Islam. It denies human
freedom and the rights of women.
It practices repressive justice and
gross punishments, and proclaims
absolute submission to a God the
west announced dead long ago. Against this poorly
represented version of Islam, 'Britishness' is set up as
the safeguard of a modern secular democratic state.
Integration is intended to domesticate any 'cultural
allegiance'. It leaves no room for that higher allegiance
that allows for the radical freedom of the other.
We cannot bear the gaze of the other lest it expose
our own grotesqueness. The proximity of the other
presses on our vulnerability and independence.
We fear negotiation with the other. It might check
our insatiable desire to consume. Yet the other
is inescapable. It is no longer confined to far-ofI
countries. The other has become a sign of hostility and
alienation. What we lack, what we must break down
the barriers of hostility to achieve, is a knowledge
of a shared humanity and a shared future, of our
appreciation and interdependence. We need to find a
shared thirst for justice, truth and life.
But together with America, we have attempted not
only a cultural but a military and economic hegemony.
The war on terror is accompanied by the rhetoric of
democracy and the free market. It is a strategy for the
pacification of the world, by making it reflect America's
own brand of capitalist democracy. Countries lose their
Iives and souls as they are co-opted into the empire
of global capitalism and its markets. The empire
has remade the world geographically, politically and
socially in its own image. It continues to destroy and
fashion peoples and economies in the interests of
profit, and for the security of the rich and powerful.
What it cannot co-opt, it excludes and demonises.
This is why Islamic countries are so threatening.
Recovering from centuries of colonialism, they resist
the possessive gaze of the West. They resist the
manipulation of their history and traditions, and of
their prophetic story of a community seeking to be
at peace with God the creator and judge of all. The
community can bow to no ideology. It cannot worship
material things and consume them. It does not treat
people as something to be possessed or fashioned
by capital. It is conscious of social responsibility and
independence, and the contingency of earthly power.
The Islamic world in fact falls far short of this. It
ferments with violence. Much of it is committed to
literal and uncriticai readings ofits texts and traditions.
It suffers reactionary post-colonial repression, to say
nothing of terrorists. But this is what the Hadith says:
'my mercy is greater than my wrath.'
It is not only useful but of the essence to imagine
the gentiles to whom the gospel was first preached
as Muslims are perceived today. To the first-century
Jew the gentile worid was godless and oppressive, a
blasphemous power threatening to march on and
enslave. That the Messiah Jesus submitted to death at
gentile hands was a scandal that not even the Apostles
could properly admit. Except Paul: in Paul's writings,
Christ became accursed for us; he handed himself
over as a gentile, godless, subject to corruption and
violence so that 'in his flesh he made both groups into
one and broke down the dividingwall, that is the hostility
between us.'
Not only does Christ now live among the gentiles,
drawing them into the covenant, but his was the death
of Jewish exclusivism:'s o that he might cre ate in hims elf
one new humanity in the place of the two, thus making
peace and might reconcile both groups to God in one body,
through the cross, thus putting to death that hostility
through if.' This new humanity cannot be co-opted or
restrained by an earthly power or cultural hegemony,
for it is the loving allegiance to Christ's reconciliation
on the cross. And that defines the way the Christian
community needs to bear witness to the freedom of
all people to grow into fullness as children of God,
free of hostility and alienation. It is our vocation as
Christians to take Christ to the ghettos, if there be
any, to risk rejection or being perceived as traitors.
To take Christ to the Muslim is not to proselytise but
to represent the fuliness of the children of God that
we have learnt through Christ and to encourage what
is of that freedom and adoption in the revelation of
Islam, to share in our stories, and having broken down
the dividing wall to work as brothers and sisters in the
world for the good. It is only when we learn that we
are all children of the one God and open ourselves for
hospitality with the other that this small world shall
be healed.
iffild ls
in t c I co n n ccie d nc ss
iil d glol)rl conrn)unit)

A World of Difference
ln a climate of paranoia, interfaith work faces more challenges than ever. A
personal account by Chris Howson.
Mohammed was visibly shaking in the entrance hall
to his new home. He was crouched down, petrified.
There was smoke everywhere, and the smell of
gunpowder was overwhelming. I sat down beside
him, and promised that I would stay until he was safe.
I then rang the police again, doubtful that anyone
would come to our rescue. Mohammed is a Sunni
Iraqi. But this was not downtown Baghdad, or his
family home in Mosul which he had fled nine months
before. We were in a dingy council flat on the middle
of a predominately white council estate in Bradford.
The build up to the war in Iraq had begun, The Slm and
the MaiI were in fuli flow about Saddam's Weapons
of Mass Destruction, and Mohammed seemed a
legitimate target for the gang of youths standing
outside the house armed with clubs and fireworks. He
was the enemy.
I had met him one month previously, waiting at the
bus stop near the estate church, heading back to his
hostel after visiting the property the council had
offered him. He stood out like a sore thumb on the
estate. I had just started serving my Curacy at the
iocal Church, but was well aware of the difficulties his
skin colour would bring him. I said hello, introduced
myself, and asked if he was OK. We travelled together
on the bus to the city centre, went for a cup of tea, and
then I took him to a place to get cheaper bus tickets for
future journeys. Mohammed was chattyand desperate
to communicate, though it would be months before I
heard the full horrors of his story. Later, he took the
flat offered to him by the housing offi'ce. It had been
flooded, the boiler had been stolen, and there was
graffiti all over the walls. 'Why accept it?' I asked. He
told me that he must accept it, or he would be back
at the bottom of the waiting list for a new flat. He
desperately wanted to improve his English, he said,
and everyone in his hostel spoke Arabic. This was his
chance to improve himself.
A devout Muslim, Mohammed trusted in God for all
the decisions he had made. Back in Iraq, one of his
brothers had been killed during a U.S. bombing raid
on the outskirts of Mosul, on an attack on a shoe
factory where he had worked in all his life. The shoe
factory had been a legitimate military target according
to the U.S. media. His other brother, a member of
an Islamic party, had been rounded up by Saddam's
secret police and disappeared (we later discovered
that Mohammed's brother had been killed in one of
the jails). His family decided that Mohammed had
to escape, or he too might be a victim of the state'
The family home, with its beautiful little orchard,
was sold. Money passed hands and Mohammed was
smuggled across a border. He was taken on a long
journey and finally found himself on a plane with
an escort. When he heard the name of the airport
announced from the cockpit, he had never heard of
'Heathrow', though he recognised he was heading for
England. His escort handled everything. Soon they
were in a park in London, where his 'friend' told him
theywould meet someone who would give him shelter
and a new life. The man then went off to buy a packet
of cigarettes. Mohammed waited for him for two days
on the park bench before realising he was all alone'
He began begging people for help with his few English
words.
I began to wonder if the white
youths I had passed to get into
Mohammed's flat had any ideawhat
this man had been through, and
that if they had, whether it would
make a blind bit of difference. They
saw a Muslim, and Muslims were
scum. He was an lraqi, Iraqis were
scum. They saw someone alone,
vulnerable, and they were in a gang.
I had recognised them. Some had
been at a funeral I had taken for
a joyrider a few weeks before - an
event which probably saved me from having my head
kicked in.
For me, a priest working in the heart of Bradford,
interfaith work starts with the desire to reach out and
to listen to the stories of those who are different from
us. We must strive to engage with those whose lives
are often more difFcult than our own. Interfaith work
is to go to places that feel uncomfortable, and to leave
easy certainties behind. Dealing with asylum seekers
has become a major part of the work many of us face
in Britain's city centres. If we choose this work, it will
mean that we will encounter many who have had to
overcome great hardships to get to where they are.
It has brought me into contact with many beautiful
people, many of whom have a different religion, but
share in the same God of compassion and love' It has
brought me into contact with damaged people, those
damaged at home, and now, perhaps unexpectedly,
damaged in the place that they sought safety.
Grass-roots interfaith work is for me about finding
the areas of common humanity that we share,
about showing solidarity with those oppressed and
stigmatised. It is about showing God's love to all, and
then discovering that it is God who is reaching out
to us through the 'stranger'. If we begin by debating
our theology, then we are doomed, but if we begin
with friendship and hospitality, then many doors are
open.
In Bradford, it is the Catholic Columban Nuns that
Dealing with
asylum seekers
has become a
major part of the
work many of us
face in Britain's
city centres.
t
16 N'l ovement
,

')
\I
l
I
s
o
a
r_
o
q
o
Christian
and Muslim
fundamentalists
hold such similar
beliefs that God
must find it
astonishing.
Chris Howson
is a clergyman,
campaigner,
husband and dad.
Nlov'ement
',{- i- a
- t-
have the gift. They help run an
interfaith pYayer evening once a
month in an Islamic Community
Centre. A short time of prayer,
often on lines of peace found in
the texts of the worlds religions,
interspersed with silence or quiet
music. Then, the most important
bit, beautiful food from all sorts of
traditions, always smelling great
and tasting wonderful. Over the
curries and cakes, friends are made,
stories are told, and God is shared
in hospitality and joy. The prayers are held on the 11'h
every month, as they have been held since the first
anniversary of the destruction of the World Trade
Centre. A group of women had started up this project
to encourage peace and bridge building. This was
primarily as they had sadly witnessed how Bush had
used these terrible events as an excuse for violence,
revenge and corporate greed. While the world was
being divided by a war of terror, these women would
do all that they couid to build in Bradford a community
for peace.
When I look at interfaith activities that are around me,
it is clear that they have come out of a desire to trust
those that the media have told us not to trust. It is
often when we have been prepared to be in solidarity
together that true bonds have been made.
Abdul had sat with me on one of the coaches to the one
and a half million strong demonstration against the
war in February 18, 2003. We had been firm friends
ever since. After the terrorist bombings in London,
and the shooting of Jean Charles De Menezes he told
me how whenever he travelled down to see friends in
the capital, he was too scared to take any luggage, and
would just wear a T-shirt. Most of my Islamic friends
have come from various protests about Palestine,
Afghanistan and Iraq, or else from working with
asylum seekers. Why else should they trust me? I
wear my Palestinian solidarity scarf not as a fashion
accessory, but to remind me of the suffering of both
Muslims and Christians that I witnessed in Hebron and
Bethlehem. Our Church runs a 'friendship evening'
for asylum seekers, where we campaign vigorously
against deportations. It is in these acts of solidarity
with Muslims that interfaith activities flourish.
I was a late convert to interfaith activities. My own
Christian beginnings had been myopic and lacking in
God's mercy to other faiths - my church leaders told
our congregations that scripture leads us to believe
that there is only salvation in Christ, and those who
did not accept him as saviour and the Son of God,
were going to hell. Later, having moved to Bradford
to study social work, finally being exposed to those
of other faiths, my views began to shift. On a visit to
a Mosque, I was hugged by an Imam who smiled and
spoke Arabic. His translator smiled, and told me that I
seemed like a nice lad, and that I must embrace Islam,
quickly, for the Imam feared that otherwise I would
burn in the fires of hell forever.
Fundamentalists on both sides of the divide between
Christianity and Islam hold such similar beliefs that
God must find it astonishing. It might almost be
funny, if it had not led us to so many situations of
hate and mistrust in our communities. It has allowed
the BNP to find supporters in conservative churches,
and fuelled tensions and unease in many a British city.
Fundamentalism does not allow us to see the Face of
God in the other.
However, there are many ways in which we can iearn a
different way to deal with those who are of a different
faith to ourselves. Ways that enrich all of us.
I am a member of the Christian and Muslim forum.
It simply means that once a month I sit down with
six Christians and six Muslims and we talk about life.
We ask questions and listen carefully and respectfully
to each other. We challenge each other and we dare
to be honest with our faith. It has been one of the
best things that I have ever been involved with. If
you are not part of such a group already, I urge you to
investigate how to set one up. It will make the world
of difference.
Our grassroots interfaith work must seek ways
of building trust between communities. Through
genuine and open dialogue, though meals and
inviting neighbours in, though acts of solidarity and
compassion, people of faith must reach out to each
other. The results are beautiful and surprising. Perhaps
as surprising as it might have been to all those who
heard Jesus talk about Interfaith matters. When asked
how to receive eternal life, he gave the example of a
person from another faith, who acted like a neighbour
to a broken stranger. You cannot get a clearer picture
of grass roots interfaith activity than the story of the
Good Samaritan. 'Go and do likewise.'
iffiHd
17
inlerc()ilncr lfdnrr5s
in .t qiobrl t Lrunrtrrtit\

Bashing the Bishops
Why is the church so inept at dealing with the media? Symon Hill investigates.
1B
2008 is turning out to be a big year for bishops.
Or so it would seem from the British media.
In January, Michael Nazir-Ali, the professionally
controversial Bishop of Rochester, provoked a brief
flurty of media reaction by accusing British Muslims
of creating "no-go areas" and attacking multifaith
chaplaincies. In February, the calmer tones of Rowan
Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, triggered a much
bigger media storm when he spoke approvingly of
sharia law.
I'm writing this in early March and wondering if this
state of affairs will continue. Perhaps we can expect
a newsworthy episcopal outrage every four weeks or
so, with the Church of England awarding a ptize f.ot
Controversial Bishop of the Month.
The reality is far less exciting. Nazir-Ali is unusual in
being much more media-conscious than most of his
colleagues. He must be used to the outrage caused
by his frequently prejudiced comments. This time
his remarks attracted an approving front page from
the Daily Express, a paper which appears to regard
paranoia as a form of journalism. There were forceful
objections from Muslim groups and in liberal parts of
the media. Given the harm that Nazir-Ali caused to
the image of British Christians, it might be expected
that other Christian leaders would have leapt up to
express disagreement. But - with a few honourable
exceptions - progressive Christian voices were
largely absent from the media in the days following
his comments.
Why was this? It is unlikely that most Christians
share Nazir-Ali's views, although there is probably
more Islamophobia in Christian circles than we might
like to admit. But it seems clear that progressive
Christians saw no reason to broadcast their opposition
to Nazir-Ali. This bizarre situation stems from
a reluctant attitude towards media engagement that
is deeply embedded in the mindset of British Christianity.
Rowan Williams has given us a perfect case-study of
this attitude in his comments on sharia. There can be
little doubt that Williams was treated appallingly by
the press. The,MaiI on Sunday's Peter Hitchens called
him the 'Ayatollah of Canterbury" while the Sun,
describing Williams as a "wealthy leftie", sent Page 3
girls to lobby him.
This hate-filled reaction was made easy for them by
Rowan Williams himself. By making his comments in
the way that he did, the archbishop didn't so much
give ammunition to hostile journalists, as load the
gun for them and stand in front of it. Any commentator
with a prejudice against Islam, the Church of
England, religion in general or Rowan Williams in
particular had a field day.
Even in the midst of this storm,
Christian leaders seemed oblivious
to the importance of the media.
It took Williams a full day to issue
a press release responding to the
attacks. On the day after the controversy
began, six Church of England
bishops - according t o the Indep endenf's
James Macintyre - failed to
respond to media enquiries.
Christianity will not get good press
if Christians do not take media
engagement seriously. I know from
experience that most Christian
press ofEces are understaffed,
underfunded and hampered by a
culture that places a low value on
media work. Liberal Christians
may say that they do not wish to
impose their faith on others so
have no need to promote it in the
media. Ironically, this apProach
only leaves the field clear for
reactionaries and fundamentalists.
Instead of publicising progressive
forms of Christianity, we may leave
our non-Christian neighbours
Christianity
will not get
good press if
Christians do
not take media
engagement
seriously.
thinking that most Christians are
out to condemn them to hell. The failure of progressive
Christians to respond to Nazir-Ali is a striking
example of this.
If Christianity's relationship with the media is to
change, then Christians must challenge their leaders'
outdated attitudes. Many have supported Rowan
Williams out of disgust with the media's treatment
ofhim. A typical post on a Facebook group set up to
defend the archbishop insisted that "Rowan Williams
doesn't speak in soundbites. He crafts well thoughtout
academic arguments that you have to read or
listen to in their entirety to get the point".
That, of course, is the problem. Politicians are expected
by most of us to to summarise complex policies.
Celebrities and sportspeople are frequently attacked
for single sentences that may encourage inappropriate
attitudes amongst their fans. Should the UKs most
prominent spokesperson for Christianity be expected
to show a lesser understanding of the media than MPs
and footballers?
Our faith is founded on a Messiah whose reported
words amount to no more than a few pages. He got
his points across with brief parables, metaphors
and even visual performances. If we are to take up
his challenge of proclaiming good news to the poor,
I suggest we must change our priorities and make
media engagement central, approaching it with faith,
hope - and clarity.
Symon HilI is
Media Coordinator
for the Campaign
against the Arms
Trade.
Movement

Tied to the Land
Sculptor Joseph Carter on the recreation of Nidaros Cathedral.
I first came to Trondheim, Norway in 2001, a little
while after meeting my Norwegian partner and
the mother of my two children at Wolverhampton
University. Since leaving higher education I've made
several sculptures for both public and private patrons.
Primarily representational sculpture - variations on
the human form have concerned me since childhood.
No one should
have to read
a book on art
th eory i n o rd e r ;U:"*:: il:J.':i"T,l:ilffil;;
to a p preciate a i*':::;::','#:::i:i#f'#:,:
p u b I i c s c u I p t u r e . I""1ff i;
jllll ?fl1',:j;:"H;I..:
Restaureringsarbeider" or The
Restoration Workshops of Nidaros Cathedral, while at
the same time pursuing my own career as a sculptor.
At first there were some cleaning and documentation
jobs. Later, a few of the stones in the cathedral walls
got my mark on them. In 2005 I started in a temporary
Below: Joseph position in the plaster department.
sral[ns dowrt a
, ""' " "' .':' -Ihe lob was (together with the resident plaster-maker)
lorrto,rrrnirrrr. to restore a plaster model of the west-front of the
s(ulDtltre as a aLude
It's important that a sculpture is
readily comprehended. No one
should have to read a book on art
theory in order to appreciate a public
sculpture.
cathedral. This model measures roughly 7 metres by
4 metres and is covered with sculptural details. It was
originally made in the early 1930s as a working model
for the artists who were involved in the cathedral's
reconstruction. When we began to restore the model
there were parts missing and it was broken up into
over 40 pieces. We mounted the repaired model for
permanent display in the new visitors centre by the
Cathedral.
When the contract was over, I was offered a
permanent position in the plaster department. The
main task in the plaster department is to make casts
of damaged sculptural details from the cathedral. The
missing details are then modelled up before the stone
carvers use them as guides from which to carve from.
Traditionally we work out on the cathedral during the
summer months; the winters are cold so most of us
are in the workshops at this time. We are also involved
in the building up of a plaster casts archive. In 1983
the old archive, containing over 5,000 casts and many
archaeological finds, was destroyed by fire. We have
now around 1,000 casts in the store which is kept in
the old U-boat bunker, alongside the town's document
archive.
It is a prerequisite that all of the cathedral's employees
be properly qualified. I am currently going through a
training program in which there are many exciting
J
!p"
19

techniques to be learned and have been on several
study placements with architectural plaster firms in
Oslo. Plaster work is a huge subject' I have now come
to realise how much there is to learn'
The cathedral workshops are government financed'
There are about 50 employees here - stone carvers'
carpenters, glassmakers, caretakers, plaster-makers'
architects, aichaeologists, guides and an administration.
The company is a state designated centre of
competence and the workers enjoy ongoing training
throughout their careers. They are often called in
on other historic building work both in
"s "dis"rs
Norway and abroad.
During the twentieth century Trondheim Cathedral
*", "r,
artistic focal point in Norway' A huge amount
of sculptural decoration was made during this period
andthere was a great creative energy in the workshops'
Many of the land's important sculptors have' at one
time or another, worked at the cathedral - Gustav
Vigeland, Arnold Haukeland and Stinius Fredriksen
(r"ho *"d" the west-front model) are among them'
The cathedral needs to be maintained because it is a
beautiful thing. Without the work we do, it would soon
begin to fall down. For me it represents the will and
faltn of mankind, dynamically realised with immense
labour and skill. I do not believe in one god' especially
as represented by the church' I do respect the faith
of the people who have given their time, thought and
".r.rgy inio this great project that has-spanned nine
."ntiri"r. The calhedral was said to be finished in
2001, but the restoration will never be finished'
Gothic cathedrals were not really designed to be built
so far north. Near the coast here the temperature
goes from plus to minus very often, right-through the
iirr,.r, w iter / ice / w ater / ice / w atet/ice "' It all results
in d.amaged stonework. Nidaros has much in common
with Lirrcoln Cathedral' The cathedral was begun in
1070 in a Romanesque style, but the majority of the
building is Gothic, finished around 1350 just before
a big fir; and the black death' The cathedral has been
thro"ugh several fires and has been built up time after
time, Iometimes after a long periods in disrepair' The
Norwegian Kings have been crowned here since its
buildin!, .rr"., ih. Swedish and Danish Kings when
they ruled the land.
The physicai state of the cathedral has been said to
mirror the condition of the land' I don't know who
said this but it seams to be quite true' It is just too
special to let it fall down, even if its original purpose
one day becorqes obsolete' The cathedral is a living
space in so many ways. It would be such a shame not
to look after it.
It is an exciting environment to work in and I feel
positively challenged in my daily tasks-' The cathedral
is an amazing monument to man's achievement and
his strength of b.huf. I feel lucky to be a part of it' The
work I do h"t" feeds and informs my own sculpture
both theoretically and in a practical sense' It's hard
to predict the future, but there's a pretty good chance
that I'11 be working here for some time yet'
I
,
fr:'
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Top: Joseph at work
on a balustrade.
AboverLeft:
Models of the West
Front of Nidaros
Cathedral.
4
Joseph Carter
lives with his
partner and two
kids in the village
of Trolla. TheY
inhabit a familY
cabin overlooking
a ford where theY
walk,6x things
and eat chocolate.
josephcarter.no
I
I
I
I
20
Movement

l'd rather be a Dorky Bird in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked
-
Holy Fools
Psalm 84:10
Dorky Bird . Becky Lowe
I've been thinking a lot of foolish thoughts
recently. I can't help it; it's what I do. I sit in Church
and I listen intently, and I try my very hardest to
maintain a sort of Holy expression, and then all it
takes is for somebody to mention 'God holding us in
His everlasting arms'and immediately an image of Mr
Tickle pops into my head and I dissolve into fits of
uncontrollable giggles.
It's how I am. Some people worship through beatific
prayers, others through arm-waving and clapping,
others through silence. Me, I worship God through
through gales of suppressed laughter.
And, you know what? Recently, I've been thinking -
is that really such a bad thing? After all, it's not like
I'm the only one. Once a year, on the closest Sunday
F o o I s, I i ke ;:,f ','J1'J"';:ilff :l;'."]:H:
- t. r in Daslton, London, to honour the
pfOpnetSr Can father of present-day funnymen,
demonstrate j;'"J*,,::T|,i fHT,jJ';
o u t I a n d i s h o r ;1r,'."r"'r'?il'llil ii"r"'ji,lu,,'}:
pfOVOCatiVe (make-up and costume), to give
Becky Lowe
is a journalist,
writer, and peace
campaigner. If
she was a Mr Man
character, she
would most likely
be Little Miss
Trouble.
be h avi o u r. ffi['::;li,?l' ]' lL'.lil';"","0
tradition of foolishness in the
Church that traces right back to St Paul. In the First
Epistle to the Corinthians he writes: "Let no man
deceive himself. If any man among you seems to be
wise in this world, let him become a fool, then he may
be wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness
with God (1 Cor 3:18-19), and later: "We are fools for
Christ's sake; we are weak but you are strong; you are
honourable, but we are despised" (1 Cor 4:10).
This meaning of the foo1, as one who is foolish in
the eyes of the world, but wise in God, provided the
biblical basis for the Holy Fool tradition in Eastern
Christianity.
In Russia, in particular (birthpiace, of course, of
Dostoevsky and his famous literary celebration of
'foolishness', The Idiot), the Holy Fool - or 'yurodivi'
- is highly revered. Perhaps the most famous of these
is St Basil the Blessed - otherwise known as St Basil
the Fool, whose cathedral dominates Moscow's Red
Square.
Tradition has it that St Basil was born on the portico
of the local church, in 1468. Originaliy an apprentice
shoemaker in Moscow, he adopted an eccentric
lifestyle of shoplifting and giving to the poor to shame
the miserly and help those in need. He went about
naked, save for a large iron cap, and weighed himself
down with chains. He rebuked lvan the Terrible,
famously presenting him with a slab of meat, telling
him there was no reason not to eat it: "Why abstain
meat when you murder men?" Yet, unlike others, he
escaped the Tsar's wrath because, after all, who would
bother to kill a crazy vagrant?
In Medieval Europe, the Holy Fool was typically a
jester-type figure - sometimes a dwarf, or else an
imbecile (the so-called 'natural') who was kept in
courts largely for the courtiers' entertainment.
Later, this idea would become extended to those who
would willingly 'make themselves fools', dressing
outlandishly and standing outside of polite society
and challenging its attitudes - in much the same way
as St Paul said that God "had chosen the foolish things
of the world to confound the wise".
In some ways, they could be said to resemble Old
Testament prophets, who likewise stood outside of
society and enjoyed the freedom to criticise their
rulers' actions when these were felt to go against
God's bidding.
Fools, like prophets, could demonstrate outlandish or
provocative behaviour. Wearing the mask of insanitn
the Holy Fool invites contempt, humour, or outrage.
In this way, he becomes the object of persecution for
speaking the truth, and is ostracised and rejected,
as Christ himself was. The Holy Fool thus becomes
Christ-1ike.
Christ-like. ..but not Messianic. For ultimately, the role
of the Fool is not to redeem us, but to make us see the
error of our ways, and bring us to our senses. Through
parody, the Fool plays out our folly in public for all to
see, and shows the way to wisdom. Robed in the mask
of insanity, he reveals the insanity of the world.
These days, we seem largely to have lost the image of
the wise fool - our clowns are mostly of the slapstick
variety, though a vestige of the medieval jester lives
on in the English folk-dance tradition,
In Morris dancing, the man who plays the part of
the Fool, and carries the baldrick (a pig's bladder on
a stick), is traditionally the best dancer of all. He is
the one who calls out the moves before they happen,
preventing the dance from turning into one almighty
muddle.
There's a message there: We might think that we know
exactly where we are going and what we are doing but,
in the end, it is the Fool who calls the steps. And, if we
should choose to ignore the Fool and go our own way?
Well, that's our own lookout, but if you should find
yourself looking at your shoes and wondering how
you ended up on the floor, there's usually a simple
explanation.
The Fool, you see, always has the last laugh.
l\'lovement 21

Ties and Binds . Jim Cotter
Touch
Another e-mail has bounced back. It wasn't urgent,
but it dealt with a few details about a trip abroad
later this year. Never mind, I'll phone. I could have
sent a text, but my mobile is very basic, and I find it
the slowest means of communication for anything
but a few words. I slightly envy those with agile
fingers on minute buttons.
I've always lived with the phone; I can even
remember my parents' first number, Stepping Hill
4088, STE and the number, and any call outside a
small area had to go through the operator. But for
the first two-thirds of my life I never phoned anyone
abroad. I can still remember the day, I think it was
in 1981, that I sat for twenty minutes staring at a
line of numbers which I'd written out specially in
case I misdialled my first phone call to New York.
Would this actually work?
In the late nineties I was introduced to websites by
a computer enthusiast who showed me the 'stateof-the-art'
site of Grace Cathedral in San Francisco.
Id been preaching there the previous Sunday and
had been asked if I minded the sermon being
recorded. Naively I thought this meant an audio
tape that could be lent to a housebound member of
the congregation. I was dumbfounded to hear my
own voice coming to me out of the computer after
two or three clicks on a very young 'mouse'. It was
indeed a culture shock. I couldn't think of anything
else for the next couple of days, my head trying
to think through the implications that anyone
with access to a computer anywhere in the world
could, for a few days, hear what I'd been saying in a
cathedral in California.
Well, enough reminiscing, but how very quickly
we have got used to instant global networking by
phone and e-mail. I often now feel equidistant from
any and all of my friends, wherever they are around
the globe. And I enjoy networking with people who
share my concerns and interests. But how much
do we communicate? What is 'for real' and what is
'virtual'?
By e-mail - or by anything typed - I don't need to
write in my own hand. The other person doesn't
hear my voice or see me or touch me. It's a bit more
personal on the phone, my voice is heard, but my
face is not seen - though miniature screens and
computer cameras are fast becoming common,
and I may begin to use them. Not sure though - in
tetchy mood, I'm used to my face saying something
different from myvoice. Maybe it'dbe good training
in honesty... And a letter or postcard that I receive
in somebody's own hand still makes me feel more
connected than anything typed; my emotions are
engaged. I can linger over a letter, prop up a card
on my desk. Some of them even find their way with
photographs into files and albums.
f';""T:'^:1"':#y,' ?.f.ffiffii Matte r ca n be
None of them comes near ttre
fftg Caffief Of
presence and the touch of another.
our cerebral education system meaning, bUt it
teaches us little about the art and . r r .
craft of touch. I've read today lS tne mganlng
of.
.^n experiment. t', ot 1"t'""' that matters.
fear and paln telt durlng an
invasive medical procedure, both
progressively lessened the more the patient's
hand is held by a person she trusts, with lifelong
partner easily the best therapist. Shared meals and
shared bodies nourish our loving more than any
'virtual' communication. Of course a few words
can help: voices and phrases from the past stick in
the memory, reminders of significant moments -
across a table, along a beach, in a bed - when we
were very close to each other.
All these modes of communication can hurt as well
as heal. And we embody the profoundest ones for
good or ill. Traditional communities and lifelong
relationships encourage frequent contact in person,
and not always for good. Instant networking can
build relationships, and undoubtedly sustain them
when we are travelling apart, and that is often for
good. But I'm glad that I don't spend too much
time on my own with my computer - even typing
columns for Movement.
Oh yes, this business of touch and bodies is also
about living in a'sacramental'world, where material
stuff carries much more meaning than the sum of
the electronic pulses that travel at such speed and in
such quantities that we cannot keep up with them,
nor give them in themselves much meaning. The
whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Matter
can be the carrier of meaning, but it is the meaning
that matters. Bodies and touch teach us that lesson.
And Christianity has always held to be of supreme
importance both creation and incarnation: bodies
and touch can reveal to us as much of the divine as
we need to know.
Jim Cotter
nrns Cairns
Publications,
an independent
Christian imprint
publishing
collections of
poems, prayers
and reflections.
cottercairns.co.uk
22 Nl ovement
i

t
I
Ten Propositions. Kim Fabricius
Ten Propositions on Political Theology
One: The doctrine of the ascension is the basis of
all political theology - and why there can be no such
thing as an apolitical theology. The church cannot be
a cukus privatus because Jesus of Nazareth, 'crucified
under Pontius Pilate', reigns and his edict is public
truth. Remove Christ from the forum and it does not
remain empty: nature abhors a vacuum; idols love one
and soon fill it.
Two: God is political. Cut the political bits out of the
Bible - as Jim Wallis and some friends once did - and
you're left with 'a Bible full of holes'. God is political
- and God takes sides. In the Old Testament, Yahweh's
exodus and covenant 'bias / preferential option for the
poor' is now a well-worn phrase - but an undeniable
fact. And the New Testament - Luke in particular -
doesn't drop the ball: the Magnificat and the Jubilee
Manifesto suggest the game plan.
Three: In my view it is legitimate to speak of an
'epistemological privilege' of the excluded and
oppressed. Bonhoeffer, writing in prison, was avantla
lettre of liberation theology: 'We have for once learnt
to see the great events of world history from below,
from the perspective of the outcast, the suspects, the
maltreated, the powerless, the oppressed, the reviled
- in short, from the perspective of those who suffer.'
GOd dOeSn't I i kg Four:withashrugoftheirshoulders,
- - - - - conservatives love to quote the text,
peOple getting 'You alwavs have the foor with vou'
a
r
d
Kim Fabricius
is an expatriate
American and
a minister in
the URC. He is
URC Chaplain
at Swansea
Universiry.
i (V"rt L4:7), as if poverty were an
SCfeweO. orderof creation and there is nothing
we can - or should - do about it. But
Jesus was not being cynical, or even realistic, about
the inevitability of an excluded underclass, rather he
was reminding his disciples where they will be found
if they are faithful - among the poor and oppressed.
Five: The point is not that the poor and oppressed
have a monopoly on virtue, let alone that they are
an elect group, rather it is simply that they are the
ones who get screwed - and God doesn't like people
getting screwed. So God sends his servant Moses, his
spokesmen the prophets, and finally his Son Jesus
to take care of the bullies, though he fights with his
mouth not his fists. Not, of course, that God loves
the oppressor any less than he loves the oppressed;
indeed his rescue mission is to liberate them both, the
latter from their humiliation and suffering, and the
former from their pride and violence.
Six: Nor does any political theologian who is not
a straw man hold the Marxist delusion that utopia
can be built. Karl Barth, responding to an ordinand,
wrote: '...now you manage to put down on paper again
all that nonsense about the kingdom of God that
we must build... In so doing you do not contradict
merely one 'insight' but the whole message of the
whole Bible.' The antidote to political pelagianism is
a critical eschatology. Barth himself, of course, was
no quietist. A silent community,' he said, 'merely
observing the events of its time, would not be a
Christian community.'
Seven: Still, calling governments to account and
repentance, the critical component, and praying and
working for a community of shalom and an economy
of grace are essential elements of the political vocation
of the church. Strategically Christians should work for
a world that asymptotically approaches the kingdom
of God. Tactically Christians should form ad hoc
alliances with all people of good will in pursuit of a
more just society. Indeed, as Bonhoeffer discovered,
we may well find more saints among the pagans than
the pious. Jesus said, 'Whoever is not against us is for
us' (Mark 9:40). We should not fear dirty hands but
bloody hands.
Eight: The flipside of an apolitical church is a
sacralised state. This is 'the Constantinian trap'
(Leslie Newbigin). A sacralised state easily becomes a
demonic state. The cross is draped with the flag, and
discipleship is absorbed into citizenship. The German
Christians are the paradigm nationalist idolaters;
historyrepeats itselfin the farce ofthe Religious Right.
The true love of ecumenism trumps the sentimental
love of patriotism. When political theology is faithful,
expect it to be critical and subversive; when it is
unfaithful, expect it to be ideological and fatal.
Nine: The church's political witness ends in the public
square, but it begins around a table. At worship the
church bows neither to Caesar, nor to Mammon or
Mars, but to the crucified and risen one. At worship
the Spirit begins to straighten our disordered desires,
as we hear an alternative narrative to manifest
destiny, and learn an alternative praxis to realpolitik.
Yet worship can be a bolthole rather than a sign of
reconciliation and resistance. 'Where the body is not
properly discerned, Paul reminds the Corinthians,
consumption of the Eucharist can make you sick or kill
you (1 Cor. 11.30). This might explain the condition
of some of our churches' (William T. Cavanaugh).
Ten: The Apocalypse of John is 'a visionary theoiogical
and poetic representation of the spiritual environment
within which the church perennially finds itself living
and struggling' (Richard B. Hays). It is a samizdat
text ofprotest to the pretensions ofpower, a warning
against complacency, and a call to discernment in
reading the signs of the times. The powerful inevitably
twist it into a self-serving mandate for accumulation
and aggression; only those who long for justice and
peace see that the hermeneutical key is the slaughtered
Lamb who gently roars. Here is the text for a political
theology that begins to re-imagine and re-shape the
world in anticipation of the parousia of Christ.
Movement 23

Johnny Citizen . Daniel Miller
The Antipocalypse 1
o
1
g
H q
s
Man's desire is the desire of the Other. - Jacques
Lacan
Civilization merely hides from itself -- behind a thin static
scrim of rationality -- the truth that only desire creates
values. - Hahim Bey
'At least I'm not trying to throw us right back into
the conditions that got us here in the first place,"
Johnny replied, "Talk about trying to put out a fire
with gasoline."
"Nah. All we'd get is wet ashes. Besides, who said it was
gasoline? I'm just saying we need fire to keep warm'
but without some stones to make a circle, everyone
is standing around scared of burning the forest down
again."
"I think you just obliterated that metaphor. I'm just
saying use a little historical perspective'"
'Are you honestly content with the status quo?
Without some kind of reward-based motivation, there
won't be any progress. And without some system
there to form and capture that reward, we'll end up
killing each other. I don't even know why I'm arguing
thisl It requires no defence. Historical perspective?
It is historically proven. It is going to happen with or
without you."
"Kill each other...you mean more than we already
have or already do? Look, the cycle was the only thing
that was proven--hard times leading to 'progress',"
Johnny made quotes in the air with his fingers, a huge
pet peeve of mine, "leading to consumption, waste,
and various cancers--physical, ecological, social or
otherwise. The Wars led to Boomers led to Slackers
led to Dramas led us here."
Johnny was playing the prevailing blame game played
by our generation. Old enough to have heard what
things were like before, young enough to have never
experienced the technological creature comforts and
social mediations taken for granted by our grandparents
and ripped from the dying arms of our parents.
And still far too much information lying around, crying
out "I told you sol" or "It never really happened!" or -
and this is the one that gets under my skin a littie bit
and to which, it is safe to say, Johnny holds to, however
loosely - "It's better this way." They all have their labels
- the Revelators, the Retros, and who I would call the
Anarchists, but they call themselves the New Realists.
The irony that back in the day "New Realists" were
an actual movement focused on the total embrace of
technology as a medium to the beyond is completely
lost on them.
Me, I'm a cautious combination of Capitalist and
Optimist ideals. I mean, capitalism never really
went away, and what choice do we have but to
march forward? "March" sounds too draconian and
groupthink. I have fantasies about fixing up the old
Explorer, lucking into some gas, and driving east...the
western migration, the space race, the Oregon Trail
and the Apollo Program, these are my precedents.
"But this time we could do it right! I mean, did you
read about that new network they're installing in New
Beijing?"
"Beijing is a fiefdom! And you know those Chilaskans-
-give them one printing press and all they'll produce
is propaganda."
"Or the monetary system in the Nordics?"
"What's next? An arms race? 'Language should be
angelic, instead it is infected with a virus,"' Johnny
was poorly quoting anarchists again, "If we require
another Hermes to carry our messages, he'll eventually
get bored and kill our cows, leaving us hungry
and very pissed off." I assumed
he was referring to the bee hive
AI inhabiting the sweltering,
overgrown technologies of our
ancestors. Many of us suffer from
a raving curiosity about what it is
like down there, the other side of
the barricades, as it were. If I ever
lose the will to live, I might just
make the trip. Most peoPle hoPe,
and I assume, that theY've burned
themselves out. There was a nuclear
It turns out that
if you create a
technological
system that
pollutes, it will
do just that.
station reclaimed late in the game, down in one of the
former 'Stans, but the fallout - literally - was bad' It
turns out that if you create a technological system
that pollutes, it will do exactly that. We were the only
ones saving us from ourselves. "I, for one, am willing
to learn the lessons of his trickery and move on with
my life."
'Ah ha! But we are not God, and without Hermes
we wouldn't even know he exists." I considered my
reversal of his linguistic veil plucky and couldn't help
a silly grin. I was returned a look that communicated
either contempt or abdication. For the time being, I
had just won or lost the argument. Damned if I could
figure out which.
'Anyway, we need to get back to the radio tower."
Johnnystoodup, againlostinthe sincerityof everyday
life. He works with me in one of the last vestiges of
mediation, a hub in the network of analog transmissions
that keep us all connected like ants in a line. We
are human routers on a web of waves. Show him a flier
from a far-off land and he'Il decry the motives of the
paper mill workers, but he's able to change history
with a simple intonation or subconscious slip of the
tongue.
There is no language without deceit. - Italo Calvino
Daniel Millet is a
Dallas-based artist,
writer, musician
and technologist.
johnnycitizen.com
xtgarfilled.cont
danielsjourney.cont
24 Movement

Campaigns . Church Action on Poverty . David Rhodes
This is Britain's 9l'11
CHURCH ACTION
ON POVERTY
As the gap
between rich
and poor gets
wider, one of the
few things that
trickle down is
indifference.
David Rhodes is
an Anglican priest,
author of Sparrow
Story: The Gospel
for Today (SPCK,
2006) and editor
of Church Action
on Poverty's
Just Church
programme.
Remember where you were when you heard about the
attack on the World Trade Centre in New York? When
first one plane and then another crashed into the twin
towers. Nothing was ever the same again. Aimost
3,000 people had been killed.
Last year in Britain almost 5,000 people were killed.
No one even noticed. And things carried on exactly
the same.
outside the House of C

Revlews
o
'/i,.
6)urtutVirtrl
\-- ' ,/
The Contagion ofJesus. The New Atheists. Happy Sounding Sad Songs
. Thirst For Life . A Turning to God . The Last Days of Jesus . The Touch of
Transcendence. Engaging Biblical Authority
Even so, in the closing chapter, Moore poses a
question that I found all too easy to answer: 'Have you
ever admired someone whom you sometimes wanted
to strangle?' My answer - shouted loudly back at the
book -'Yes! You!'
David Masters
.t
i,:
l).,t:r,: 1,,,. j ... ,. ii rr '\l
a-t
lLj
SEI]AS T IAN
MOOI{E
THE l'lEllll ATI|EISTS
T11r Ttllril8llI 0t RtAS0il & Illt liJAR 011 RtilCl0l{
The Contagion of Jesus:
Doing Theology as if it
Mattered
Sebastian Moore; Darton,
Longman & Todd, 814.95.
In this collection of essays, the elderly Catholic monk
and theologian Sebastian Moore reflects upon issues
as wide ranging as sexuality, the Eucharist, feminist
theology, and violence, adding his own insights to the
theology of Rene Girard and James Alison.
Girard and Alison are two of. my favourite theologians,
so I was excited when I realised that Moore
was building upon their perspectives. However, I was
disappointed to find only a few gems of insight amidst
an overly large pile of ballast. I loved Moore's definition
of sin as fear: 'fear of desire, fear of life, fear of
growth and change, fear of process, hunger for the
eternal status quo.' For Moore, 'sin is not, as we have
so often thought, a following of our desire but rather
its frustration.'
Unfortunately, -y delight in Moore's penetrating
insight was hindered by the book's editor, whose
appreciation for Moore's writing spilt over just a little
bit too far into the book. Essays were all too frequently
introduced as 'making much the same point as the
previous essay' or as 'another attempt at the same
topic'. This became increasingly excruciating when I
realised that each themed group of essays could easily
have been edited into a succinct and reader-friendly
single chapter.
The book redeemed itself by introducing me to the
practice of focusing in which you turn to face your
worries and fears head on so that they can no longer
nag you from the sidelines.
TIt'lA BEATTIE
The New Atheists: The
Twilight of Reason and the
War on Religion
Tina Beattie; Darton, Longman &
Todd, f,8.95.
Alistair McGrath wrote of the Twilight of Atheism.
Despite the rise of religious conciousness and the
religious colour of the events and discourse of the
early 21st century what we face is not the Twilight
of Atheism but the Twilight of
Reason as a more militant, more
nihilistic form of atheism has
declared war on religion. Beattie
is neither triumphalistic nor does
she advocate a narrow positivistic
view of God or religion like other
Christian writers in the God debate.
After all European atheism and
Christianity share in an opposition
to cultural idols and hegemony and
hold to the harmony of reason and
virtue. A sharp division between
atheism and theism is false but
those who are committed to truth are marked by their
opposition to violence and exclusion. Sam Harris
cavalierly supports Bush's war and even torture in
the name of destroying religion (Islam) and Dawkins'
Those who are
committed
to truth are
marked by their
opposition to
violence and
exclusion.
26 Movement

arguments can be dismissed as anachronistic and
ignorant. According to Beattie the real challenge is
not merely an intellectual one but the need to adjust
to a future of scientific dystopia, growing religious
fundamentalism and post-modern anarchy. Still
in the shadow of this long night of violence and
conflict activists and critical thinkers may embrace
the opportunity for a new era of plurality, diversity
and freedom. This can be be found where an inclusive
theology underwrites a creative search for significance
and hope alongside the other. Beattie's feminism is a
key contribution to the debate: insightful, informed,
wry, even feisty, an essential read.
Andrew Scott
the album should be called 'Pacifist at the Shooting
Range' (from track 7 -'Sucker for Love') due to the
apparent internal conflict which seeps through this
album. There is so much I could say to commend this
album to you but I won't, give it a listen yourself - it's
available free to stream from reverbnation.com/
iohnnycitizen. If you want an album that works well
as background music but that you can equally engage
deeply with, then this is one to put top of your list.
i l--l ii':?s i- i- ol { I i[ [
TFltr CArOD/'C| lRlSTlANl A'lt)
Sarah Henderson
vA
IOH}.I}.IY IITIZI}.I
4y7,s9,^"f^p S"{ 9^p,
Happy Sounding Sad Songs
Johnny Citizen; 512.97US . On CD
at cd ba by.co m/cd/joh n nycitize n
or iTunes at tinyurl.coml2dborx
What to make of a male singer songwriter from Texas?
I admit I was slightly concerned about what I'd hear as
I pressed play on Hoppy SoundingSad Songs the debut
album of Johnny Citizen (aka Movement columnist
Daniel Miller), but it was with pleasure that I realised
that this was no Bible-bashing David Gray wannabe.
This album is ajourney through the struggles, doubts
and questions of life, with songs
This is no Biblebashing
David
Gray wannabe.
coming from and speaking to the
heart and soul.
Daniel [Johnny?] has produced a
perfect first album; it is consistently
good both musically and
lyrically, quite frequently excelling
itself though still leaving room to grow. Each song
is distinctively by this artist but no song sounds
identical.
My favourite has to be the opener'Don't Tell Me', a
powerful song with questioning lyrics of a struggle
with what the lyricist has been told to accept. Other
highlights include 'I Radio Heaven'a gravelly cover of
an Over fhe Rhine song, and the incredibly striking
'Beautiful and Tragic'.
Whether these are 'sad songs' as the title suggests
I'm unsure. I didn't hear that much sadness, though I
did hear an album which was honest and real. Maybe
Thirst for Life: The CAFOD/
Christian Aid Lent Book
Darton, Longman & Todd ,84.95.
I'm not normally a massive fan of daily Bible reading
notes. Over the years I've tried all sorts - from
Selwyn Hughes' Every Day With Jesus through to the
more didactic kind, aimed at Bible study groups. The
problem, I find, is that there's always the temptation
to skip over the tricky parts of the Bible readings to
get to the 'meat' of the commentary. The net result
is that you end up reading the Gospel according to
Selwyn Hughes rather than actually applying yourself
to the Scriptures. So I approached this book - a series
of Bible readings and commentaries for Lent - with a
sense of trepidation.
I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised. One of
the things that sets this book - published jointly by
Cafod and Christian Aid - apart from the norm is the
fact that it has a very clear aim in mind - to bring the
penitential and prayerful message of Lent to life in a
practical way, and, through doing so "to show us a God
who hungers and thirsts for justice."
The book takes the form of a series of reflections on
common lectionary readings for each day of Lent,
inviting the reader to draw closer to God not only
through prayer and contemplation but through the
renewal of our lives and the transformation of the
world.
Movement 27

The contributors range from a Church of England
Canon to a Catholic retreat leader, an author of books
on liberation theology, and a Ugandan chaplain. This
variety of backgrounds and spiritual experience adds
greatly to the book, giving it an ecumenical feel, and
bringing in a wealth of practical understanding on
which to draw
The readings are arranged by week, each one preceded
by one or more scripture references, with a key passage
highlighted in the text, followed by a short, accessible
commentary.
Overall, I found the commentaries thoughtful and
provocative. I like that fact that, whilst clearly
Christian in outlook, the authors acknowledge and
respect other faiths. Hugo Slim, in his notes for the
Fourth Sunday of Lent, recalls a touching encounter
between himself and a Muslim cleric, concluding:
"God works through many different shepherds and
has many different flocks. If we offer ourselves and
our Christian organisations as shepherds for others
we should not be surprised if we also experience
God's shepherding through people from other faiths
or none. It is not which group or flock we are in that
counts for God but the relationships we are in - with
God, with each other, and with ourselves." Powerful
stuff.
Throughout the book, we get a strong sense of God's
compassion and love for the poor, which is brought
bang up to date for the 21st Century reader. Writing
for the Fifth Week of Lent, Mary Grey re-examines
the story of Jesus's encounter with a woman caught in
adultery (John 8) and the story of Susannah in Daniel
13:1-9 in light of the modern-day abuse of women sex
workers in Delhi and Mumbai.
One of the things I liked best about this book is that,
despite being a Lent book based around the Easter
story, it avoids the'traditional'- and, for many, highly
problematic - penal substitutionary interpretation of
the cross, focusing instead upon its redemptive power
of love and forgiveness.
It's notvery often that readingBible study notes makes
me well up, but Chris Chivers' Good Friday entry had
that effect, concluding as it does with Desmond Tutu's
profoundly moving statement: "Goodness is stronger
than evil; love is stronger than hate; light is stronger
than darkness; life is stronger than death. Victory is
ours through him who loves us."
Overall, I'd say that if you are looking for an enlightening
and moving set of notes that will open your
eyes to the gospel message afresh, and help you
re-examine your faith in a practical way, this is a book
I'd recommend wholeheartedly - not just at Lent but
at any time of the year.
Don't expect deep theological exegesis of the texts -
the Biblical readings are used more as a tripping off
point than anything else - but do expect to have your
faith re-examined, challenged and reaffirmed, and
maybe even your worldview transformed.
Becky Lowe
c TURNING /.o GOD
CRRoIIvRL BASIL HUUT
/a
il
<
h'r
24t!t
,.1". -
s rl w +
A Turning to God
Cardinal Basil Hume, ed. Paula
Ha rdcastle Kelly; Darton,
Longman &Todd,f9.95.
Hume, the Benedictine monk who was made cardinal,
got the telephone call about his appointment during
supper: "I must confess I did not enjoy the rest of the
meal." But "a monk does not choose what he does; he
does what he is told by his authorities" (T ime Magazine
article on his appointment, l-/3/7 6).
It can't have been easy for him to leave the monastery
and get into the messy business of running the
Catholic Church in England and Wales on the eve of
the winter of discontent. What this book makes clear
is that Hume had huge inner resources to draw on.
If like me you tend to start Lent
with grand planet-saving and
spiritual ambitions, this book is
great as it gets to the heart of the
matter and you really could manage
this before getting out the door in
the morning. There is a scripture
reading and a short reflection on
it for every day, spare and bare
and true enough for you to take a
text-message-lengthed thought out of it to feed you
for the next 24 hours and beyond. Kelly has tried to do
the digesting for us by adding a one-line prayer at the
end, but she did not always pick up on what I would
have chosen. And there are so many other good names
for God apart from Lord and Father... but apart from
that, this book is great.
Hume said that trying to pray is a very good form of
prayer in itself, which I found very comforting. His
image of God is of a patient lover waiting for us to
come home, to give roots of love to our action, out of
which will come solidarity, peace and justice for all. As
he says, too few of us really believe in the warmth and
intimacy of God's love for us, and if we did, it would
change the world: "I sometimes think it must sound
,i
*
His image of God
is of a patient
lover waiting
for us to come
home.
28 Movement

naive, and a bit too unworldy, to speak of basing a
social and political system on mutual love. Maybe it is
naive to think of basing it on anything else."
Kate Wilson
The Last Days of Jesus
Frangois Bovon; WJK S24.95US.
Frangois Bovon presents an interesting and unique
view of the events of holy week, through an examination
of the passion narratives and their similarities and
conflicts. The Last Days of Jesus covers the unfolding
An original
perspective
on the passion
stories we are
far too familiar
with.
Ihe La$ DaYs of lesus
of the events in the week leading
up to Jesus' crucifixion, examining
the stories told by not only the
four gospel writers but also other
accounts contemporary with them,
including the Gospel of Peter and
others. The author examines the
extent to which these authors agree
in the stories theyrecount, andhow
much their stories are a reflection
of their own viewpoint, rather than
being an objective account. Bovon
discusses the tendency of early Christians to focus the
blame for Jesus' conviction onto the Jews, and also
of Jewish scholars to attempt to shift blame to Pilate
and the Romans.
The basis of The Last Days of Jesus is an original
perspective on the passion stories we are far too
familiar with; uncovering new ideas, and prompting
the reader to question the 'facts'we often accept as
truth. However, it doesn't do this easily or ltghtly.
Certain sections require a deal of concentration, and
at times maybe a dictionary or two!
The Touch of
Transcendence: a
Postcolonial Theology of
God
Mayra Rivera; WJK S24.95US.
Some theologians are very good at writing accessible
books which clearly explain complex concepts and
alternative ways of looking at things so that they
can easily be understood by a lay person. This book
is perhaps the opposite of that. Not being a theologian
and having only briefly studied postcolonial
theory, this book was heavy going for me as lots of
the references went over my head. This is a pity as
the concept of transcendence is an interesting one
and the influences from postcolonialism, feminism,
liberation theology and radical orthodoxy could all be
very interesting. Not only is the content rather dense
but the book is written in a style that is dif6cult to
follow.
Despite the density of style and content, it is still
possible to get some grasp of the ideas that Rivera
explores. I now better understand different interpretations
of transcendence and, despite the complexity
of the analysis; her vision of a God 'not within human
grasp but always within human touch'is very striking
and quite simple. Perhaps someone with greater
theological knowledge would find the more detailed
material equally stimulating.
Chris Stacey
ff
Sarah Armstrong
Movement
29

The Final Word
All the editorial you're ever likely to get.
30
I'.tttdtir$
i i i/ ,l
ril th( Itil,l( rr s.rilrrrr
Engaging Biblical
Authority: Perspectives on
the Bible and Scripture
ed. William Brown; WJK,
519.95US.
Some people will tell you that there are two ways to
look at the Bible. Either it's the infallible Word of
God, or else you see it as something trivial. It, and
you, are either wrong or right.
If you think that way, this book is for you. Compiled
here are sixteen essays on biblical authority, written
by sixteen very different Christians. The range is
intentionally broad, comprising Catholic, black,
feminist, Baptist, Lutheran and various other scholars,
including two Jews. Each starts from somewhere
different, and arrives at a different explanation for
why and how the Bible should guide our lives.
That's the theory, anryay In practice, there were
no essays written by anyone from a fundamentalist
denomination. Surely it couldn't have been hard
to find someone, since the book was produced in
America? It's also noticeable that all the writers come
from the US itself. Surely, for a truly broad perspective,
a voice at least from the developing world would
have been invaluable?
Faults aside, some of the essays are genuinely helpful,
and I've come away from the book with a fresher
perspective on the Bible's living, breathing authority.
I have my own personal favourite essays, as will
everyone. Admittedly, not all of these are for the
right reasons. The essay that informed me I should
make my "biblical matrix...algorithmic rather than
arithmetic" mdde me chuckle more than anything
else. Other writers do make their work a lot more
accessible and explain their ideas very well, though.
So, would I buy this book? Now I've read it, I'm
certainly glad. Were I to pick it up in the shop today,
it wouldn't be top of my Christian reading list - there
are too manygoodbooks out there and despite its best
efforts, this one still isn't outstanding. If you do come
across it in a shop, though, you should still give it a
good flicking through. Your time won't be wasted.
Greg Melia
Rowan home
Obviously, you might have noticed that there's a fair
amount of comment in this issue about the Archbishop
of Canterbury and what he said about Sharia law. The
most annoying thing for me about the whole thing
was that apparently, editing a magazine for religious
people, I'm supposed to have an opinion.
Like my opinion matters.
Not that this stops most people on that internet they
have there.
So anyway, when the whole thing blew up back in
February, the only thing I could think of was how that
internal headline translator that I have in my head
(you know, like everyone has. They do, don't they?)
was working overtime. So I actually read the Daily
MaiI andExpress's headlines on the following days as:
CHRISTIAN LEADER IN "NOT BIGOT"
OUTRAGE
and
FURY AS PUBLIC FIGURE REFUSES TO
CONDESCEND TO STUPID PEOPLE
That is all.
Actually, if you push me, I think I'm coming round to
Symon's opinion on the subject (page 18), but even so,
you have to love the tabloids.
Crying out into the Audient Void
So once upon a time, Movemenr used to get letters.
Actual missives, on paper, which the editor used
to publish, complaining about how things weren't
as good as they used to be and how the System had
totally compromised SCM because they were scared
to print stuff that would get them arrested and about
how the Revolution was imminent, really.
We don't get so many letters. We d like them. About
anything really. Which is me saying, write us some
letters.
Everybody's Dawkin at me (and lcan't
hear a word they're saying)
Speaking of things I'm supposed to have opinions on.
Andrew Scott's review of that book about Dawkins
and co by Tina Beattie is absolutely the last thing we
are having on that debate in Movement for a while.
Personally, I think it's not half as significant as people
think. You know why? There are too many stupid
people. People who use "Einstein" as an insult. People
who frankly distrust bofftns - and Dawkins uses his
boffinage as his main currency, remember. People
who in general are too busy worrying about who's
on the cover of Heat and who's going to win Strictly
Come Curling. The stupid we will always have with us.
Dawkins may want to drive the religious into actual
persecution, but are the masses going to be arsed?
Probably not. Now write in and tell me I'm wrong.
Wood Ingham
is editor of
Movement,andno,
you can't have his
job.
Movement

THF EVorurlo NoF A
WOR SH I PPFR

T
o
T
o I o
t4
n
n
Come to SCM's Summer
Gathering and AGM!
30 May - 1 June 2008
5t Peter's House University
Chaplai ncy, Manchester
Come and celebrate the end of
term at SCM's Summer Gathering.
There'll be workshops, worship
and possibly a water-fight... plus a
ceilidh evening of music, stories,
singing, dancing and much
more.
We'II be holding our AGM
where we elect a new General
Council. SCM's affiliated links
and members play a vital role in our
decision-making, so come and make
your voice heard.
All are welcome - particularly people
new to SCM who want to find out more.
It's a great opportunity to meet up with
students from all over the country and
get more involved.
Crashpad accommodation and delicious
veggie meals will be provided.
For more information,
contact:
scm@movement.org.uk
It{dert
Qrifial
lffevonent
or book online at :
www.movement.org.uk