Unveiling the French

Today it has been revealed that the French Lower House has voted to ban the Niqab and the Burka in public spaces with a majority of 335/1! You can read the full story here. From what I gather that doesn't mean the law is passed yet but looks like it will be meaning that a woman cought wearing one will be fined £125, and any man cought forcing a woman to wear one will be fined very heavily.

If I'm honest I'm not completely sure what I think about it but my gut reaction is annoyance. The French are well known for thier atheistic society and I wonder whether they are using this as one step closer to ban or highly control religious though. May be I'm just being paranoid.

With that said I have some sympathy for the French. They, as do we, live in a society where we learn a lot about a person through thier face and genuinely see it a rude and uncomfortable not being able to see someones face. It also makes security very difficult; just think about being called to a police line-up with women in a Niqab. Fundamentalist Islam Guess who is a very difficult game!

However, I think it is a shame to say that the French has nothing to learn from wearing the Niqab. Nicole Ameline, a UMP MP, says in the video that she thinks this is a good message to the women of the world that France is clear on its values. I think she is awfully wrong. The message it give is that women must conform to thier ideals, not to thier own. I personally think there is a lot to be said for the concept of the Burka and Niqab. It goes too far I believe but the idea that a woman should be modest and valued for who she is, not what she looks like is to be admired.

I hope that a happy medium can be found; not a ban, nor a open field. I think education must play a part, both for those who wear the veils, but also for the rest of the French that they may understand each others views better. Perhaps a happy medium can be found for security too. Not so sure on what that may be but thats why I'm not in politics.

Till Next Time!

I write this this?!

I write like
William Shakespeare

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

I put my latest sermon into this website and apparently I write like the bard himself! I shall remind my congregation if the ever complain too much. :P

Till Next Time!

Some Pictures of Me!

Last week I went into a local school to give a talk on what I do at church. They drew some pictures of me and here they are. Enjoy!








Till Next Time!

Wadaiko X Black Gospel Fusion

Paul Nethercott over at 'Worship & the Arts' has recently poured his heart out in a post where he writes that the way to be effective at reaching people (in his case the Japanese) for Christ is to follow your God-given passions. He says, 'Now I am making films. Filmmaking is not easy, it is one of the most challenging things I have ever done but it is also a lot of fun and, most importantly, a very effective means of communicating the gospel in Japan.' I think with the video that follows you will be as glad as I that he made that choice. Enjoy.

Wadaiko X Black Gospel Fusion Music Video from Studio Re: on Vimeo.

It made me think again however about how we share the gospel. I was once sent a message with a quote from a book in I think is rather apt:

"We should never have transplanted Christianity to Asia without breaking the pot in which the plant came...a church which has failed to strike roots in Asian soil because no-one dares to break the Greco-Roman pot in which, for centuries, it has been existing like a stunted bonsai."
[Pieris in Bosch, J.B (2009), 'Transforming mission: paradigm shifts in theology of mission', New York: Orbis books.]

I believe this to to particularly true in non-hellenistic societies such as Japan but I wonder for a moment to what extent that is true here too. In the UK we are obviously, by nature, hellenistic and therefore the Greco-Roman pot is in theory quite suited. With that said our culture has, and is changing, and unless we adapt to/with/in the culture can we really be suprised when people see church and Christianity as irrelevant? Not that the gospel is in any way to be changed but rather the way we present it. Being in an Anglican church makes one realise the extremely fine line between keeping and benefiting from traditions and scraping them for fresh expressions. I think the video above is a great example of mixing traditions and cultures, and I hope that they see fruit from what they are doing. Perhaps one day we too, in the UK, will find the balance to the glory of God.

Till Next Time!

Paul Nethercott / CC BY-NC-ND 3.0

Slum Survivor and 15 minutes of Fame

They say that everyone gets 15 minutes of fame, well here is a little more fame for St. Peter's and St. Margaret's youth.....and me of course :)





Thanks to the Surrey Mirror for advertising our clause for free!

Till Next Time!

Jesus: the ultimate in horror genre!

Do you think this is what Benny Hinn meant when he said that Jesus was Trinity by himself? I think that might be a little far, even for him.

Till Next Time!

Delirious? Not me!

So, the news is out today. Delirious? have make it into the UK charts at 4 with History Maker. 'Wait' I hear you say, 'isn't that an old song?' Well indeed it is. Someone had the idea that it would be a good idea to push it. This isn't the first time it's been tried but the most successful attempt. I have two thoughts about this:

1) Couldn't they have picked a better song? It seems to me that in general people seem to think that to become a Christian means forgetting what good music is and putting Delirious? into the charts is not helping matters. I know they are famous and I'm in no way saying that they aren't a blessing to the church but we must be aware that if they were a secular band they wouldn't get very far! So perhaps they could have picked something like Switchfoot or Skillet. Well if that's too hard then perhaps they could have taken a song which expresses their aim better, to get the message of Jesus to people at Easter. Perhaps a Getty hymn such as 'See what a morning'.

2) Couldn't this be used for something better? Literally thousands of people would of had to vote to get it to 4th but what was the point? I hope I'm wrong but I don't see anyone becoming a Christian from it, and honestly I slightly ashamed to be connected to it. Not because I'm ashamed of the Gospel, but rather that the church that is meant to be making a difference in the world is instead being trivial. What if those people all spent time writing to thier MPs instead, or committed to serving their local community? I believe that we would see the world change quicker and more people come to God if people did that. I also find it slightly ironic that the song is called 'History Maker' when instead of getting it into the charts we could have actually been changing history.

May God bless Delirious? and the work that they did. I know they have blessed many people in their faith but come on church! Let's pull our fingers out and actually change history for the better.

Till Next Time!