Bishop Geoffrey Rowell reminded me of one of my favourite English novelists, Anthony Powell:

“The image of Time brought thoughts of mortality of human beings, facing outward like the Seasons, moving hand in hand in intricate measure, stepping slowly, methodically sometimes a trifle awkwardly, in evolutions that take recognisable shape: or breaking into seemingly meaningless gyrations, while partners disappear only to reappear again, once more giving pattern to the spectacle: unable to control the melody, unable, perhaps, to control the steps of the dance.”

In his series of 12 novels that comprise “A Dance to the Music of Time”, Powell expounds on the buffoonery of power in a 20^th century version of Ecclesiastes, albeit without the benefit of a metaphysical solution.

One of the central characters is Kenneth Widmerpool who, according to the Anthony Powell society is:

“variously pompous; self-obsessed and self-important; obsequious to those in authority and a bully to those below him. He is ambitious and pushy; ruthless; humourless; blind to the feelings of others; and has a complete lack of self-knowledge.”

I would add to this that he is the embodiment of power’s excesses, sinking eventually to the occult to further his ends while remaining an oddly incomplete or unfinished human specimen, universally disliked and, in his youth, the butt of cruel schoolboy pranks. He is a comic figure, the comedy proceeding from the vanity of his attempts to grasp the unobtainable. Widmerpool is the consummate buffoon.

The Anthony Powell society has a Widmerpool Award for the most deserving public figure.

Deciding on which prominent Anglican should receive the award is not easy, since the combination of anti-qualities is not readily met even amongst Anglican Bishops. Hence a shared award:

Archbishop Rowan Williams, for his innate buffoonery, his clinging obstinately to power while being unable to exercise any and for turning to Druid occultism for inspiration.

Archbishop Fred Hiltz for taking himself so seriously, his unmatched humourlessness and for general obsequiousness to Rowan the Druid.

Bishop Michael Bird for being self-important, self-obsessed, a bully, ruthless; and for a lack of self-knowledge – when asked what he believes at a local church event, he didn’t seem to know. And for the shortness which seems to inspire his Napoleonic ambition.

First we had Bishop David Jenkins:

DAVID JENKINS, the former Bishop of Durham who survived a storm in the 1980s when he questioned the literal truth of the resurrection, has been banned from preaching in two of his local churches for swearing in the pulpit.

Jenkins, 81, was barred after using the words “bloody” and “damn” in a sermon. The ban came after complaints from members of the congregation.

Obviously he is a bloody idiot; and where did he get that damn name?

And now we have Tom Wright floundering in a bog of incoherence:

“The last four months, have done, in economics, what September 11 2001 did in the world of power: provide a moment when the abstract analysis offered by postmodernity suddenly became concrete.”

Perhaps it is something in the Durham air that befuddles the mind.

From the Times

A funny thing happened on the way to the cathedral. A woman in the street asked me if I were saved.
When you think about it, it’s an odd question to ask. Even odder is the answer you would give.

The regulation short replies — yes, no or don’t know — seem not to be quite in the spirit of the thing. But then, I must say, the question seemed to be fairly light on genuine concern for the state of my spiritual health. It was more like a threat. I picked that up from the tone of voice. I am intuitive like that. And the poster. You could get a clue the way things were going by the poster she was holding. It said “If your (sic) not saved, your (sic) damned.”

My salvation coach raised an interesting question. Salvation is a central theme of the Christian faith. Salvific themes of the Old Testament include escape from captivity, freedom from oppression and hope for a transformed and reconciled world.

At least three things stand out. The first is that this salvation is experienced corporately, not individually. The Old Testament writers speak in terms of a community in which the presence of God could be experienced within a fellowship bound together by devotion to God. For the writers of the New Testament, Jesus was never to be thought of as a personal saviour, as though He were our personal toothbrush.

We are not saved individually, as though by some private act of divine indulgence. It is within the community that we can find forgiveness for the past, and hope for a way of beginning again.
Second, there is no evidence to suggest that what is required for salvation is an intellectual assent, a signing-off, which would effect a once-for-all change in us, whereby salvation is instantaneous, and we are passive recipients of its benefits.

Can we really imagine the God of all creation, the Lord of Heaven and Earth, being fussed by the status of everyone’s individual belief? Salvation is concerned with the transformation of life. All life. Barriers to the flourishing of all human beings are to be overcome, whatever stage people are at in the awareness of this life-giving dynamic. What matters is that we have all been freed to be all there is in us to be. Otherwise Christ has died in vain.

Are we saved? This is a poor question to ask. A better question is “Are we committed to the process of human flourishing?” If yes, then we are saved.

The Very Rev Dr John Shepherd is Dean of Perth, Australia

Now there are a number of interesting conclusions one can draw from this:

First, it is hard to miss the elitist condescension dripping from the end of the Very Reverend’s nose as he peers down it at the ignorant fundamentalist holding the sign containing bad grammar. Pass the smelling salts.

Second, the astute young lady, on spotting the dog-collar and instinctively realising the imminent peril of its wearer, asked the obvious question.

Third, the Very Rev’s predictable pseudo-erudite deflection from the particular to the general does not disappoint: after all John 3:16 does say, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whatever corporate entity is committed to the process of human flourishing in him will be freed to be all there is in us to be”. Or something like that.

Fourth, if he can’t “imagine the God of all creation, the Lord of Heaven and Earth, being fussed by the status of everyone’s individual belief”, then perhaps the Very Rev. needs to exercise his God given imagination a little more since it is currently a sorry and withered thing.

Fifth, the Very Rev Dr John Shepherd is a regrettable name. He is one bad shepherd.

So John, are you saved?

The Church of England: archetypal wimp.

Anglicans give Christmas a multicultural makeover.
The Church of England has backed plans to turn Christmas into a more multicultural event.

It may have become traditional for angels, three wise men and the baby Jesus to play a starring role in the festive season.

But now Hindu snowmen, a Chinese dragon and a Jewish temple are also to be included in an attempt to make the celebrations more inclusive of Britain’s diverse communities.

Westminster Abbey will unveil life-size snowmen that Anglican clergy hope will help to improve relations and dialogue between other faiths.

Dressed in turbans, with bindi dots on their foreheads, they are intended to demonstrate that Christmas should not be exclusively for Christians.

The Rev Jane Hedges, a canon at the abbey, said that it was important to encourage people from other faiths to join in the celebrations.

“We’ve done this as it creates a good opportunity for Christians to meet and hear about the stories of people of other faiths,” she said.

“Christmas is an opportunity for everyone to stop and think and is a great opportunity for the different faiths to talk to one another.

“Wherever you’re coming from there should be something to celebrate at Christmas.”

She pointed out that for Muslims they can appreciate the story of Christ’s birth because it is included in the Koran, adding that the Hindu snowmen were not an attempt to dumb down.

“Strictly speaking, the message of Christmas is about the birth of Christ, but it has a much broader message of peace and goodwill.”

It finally took the Anglican church to see that God became incarnate, died on the cross and was resurrected, not to redeem sinners, but to provide a means for his followers to discover the virtues of other faiths and be “more inclusive of diverse communities”. This is so obvious, I can’t think how we’ve missed it for the last 2 millennia. Next year I fully expect the Anglican church to drop Christmas in favour of a Winter Celebration – in the name of inclusion.

Just what we needed: another deranged Anglican vicar

Vicar bans Christmas carol O Little Town of Bethlehem

The Rev Stephen Coulter told parishioners not to sing the carol after he visited the West Bank.

He told them the words ‘How still we see thee lie’ were too far removed from life in Bethlehem.

He said where shepherds once used to watch over flocks by night now security guards watched over the people living there.

As a result the carol has been banned from all festive services in his Dorset parish of Blandford Forum.

Mr Coulter told the congregation at North Dorset District Council’s civic carol service that he had visited the city in a recent pilgrimage to Israel and Palestine and was shocked by the devastation he witnessed.

He said the Arab-Israeli conflict had destroyed its population and tourism and that he would not join in the singing of the carol.

So I imagine this is out too if it’s not snowing in Bethlehem. Of course, it will still be snowing in Rev. Coulter’s head.

In the bleak mid-winter, frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow,
In the bleak mid-winter, long ago.

And this:

See amid the winter’s snow, born for us on earth below,
See the tender lamb appears, promised from eternal years.

And if it’s cloudy, this:

They looked up and saw a star,
shining in the east, beyond them far;
and to the earth it gave great light,
and so it continued both day and night.