Faith: 'Not as clear cut as you might think!'

had a most interesting conversation this morning, the pinnacle of which was the statement: 'Christianity is not as clear cut as you might think!' which provided me with plenty of food for thought. After all, I've always known that, as has any thinking and open Christian, so why the surprise? Probably because the issue under discussion was one that actually I considered to be pretty clear cut!

The conversation centred along the lines that the defining Bible passage for everything was the 'golden rule' - that we treat others as you'd we'd to be treated and this was the basis upon which every attitude and act was judged. That we just loved our neighbour as ourselves and
made real the words of Matthew Chapter seven's account of the sermon on the mount as we refrained from judging and accepted whatever others did, approving and affirming rather than rebuking or denying.

Apparently the key to removing what some consider to be 'sin' is to remove the label sin from it. What we need to do is accept that people are different and the 'one size fits all' approach of Christianity is flawed and doomed to fail from the start. Better to accept that we're all different and concentrate on the things we can agree on and agree to accept the things (perhaps ignore is a better term) we can't.

The Church is an evolving body of people and they are realising that what we believed in centuries past is no longer relevant or valid. People are apparently realising that these days 'we are not called to live and act' as they did before and 'happiness' is the universal indicator of the rectitude of such thinking.

Having heard what they had to say, I have to be honest and say that I thought their views to be flawed and not merely self-indulgent and approving but actually, if Christian is what we are as a breed, a terminal disease!

There are many good things to be found in this world and many that are obviously bad - or are they? After all, I hear more and more people proposing that we should act illegally to deal with people who act wrongly - so the old statement 'two wrongs don't make a right' has now obviously itself become wrong.

One of the joys of being Christian is that we have, or at least should have, doors, arms and hearts that are open to everybody - for Church is an 'inclusive' entity. The problem for many comes with the reality that it is not a 'permissive' entity.

So this morning, whilst I heard what was said I really couldn't agree with it because what was being demanded was that I put aside my views in favour of theirs in the name of some misplaced understanding of love. I was being told that the only way to be loving was to ignore those things I considered wrong in the name of unity and 'being kind'.

The stumbling block for me came with the parting shot in that the other party considered that what they were asking for was exactly what Jesus would have done.

Obviously not only a different theology on display here but a different Jesus too!

Middle Ground - A Guest writes:

I have passed the pen over to a guest writer regarding her document on 'Middle ground'. Everything from here on is her work and you are invited to comment as you wish once you have read the various elements (to assist, all mM words are in italics):

With respect to LGBT inclusion, a number of folks on the blogosphere seem to report sightings of the Middle Ground (non-affirming but non-condemning) so if this is not a mythical country, it may be closer than we think. What would it cost us to pay a visit, pitch a tent there, buy a semi?

Also, given that many of us are not seeking to challenge church teaching on sexuality, but are questioning church practice on inclusion, how might the discussion evolve to enable us all to make some progress on this?

The document 'The Middle Ground' (which you will find below) no doubt raises more questions than it provides answers but it does make an attempt at addressing some of the concerns people may have about making a move. Also, it's good to talk. And think. And pray. And let's just keep asking the questions....

Welcome to the Middle Ground
While the current debate on the place of same-sex relationships in our churches is ongoing, the Middle Ground (non-affirming but non-condemning) should seek to offer safe space and a welcoming environment to all people:
• straight, gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered
• celibate, single, in a relationship, civil partnered, married
• church leadership, lay membership, fringe members, non-church affiliated
We welcome any feedback on the following guidelines:

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Our prime objective is to serve God’s kingdom purposes, to see people come to faith, be impacted by his Spirit, be transformed into the likeness of his Son, and for each individual to find God’s plans and purposes for his/her own life.
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In our church community, as far as possible, we will endeavour:
To seek love, justice, mercy, unity, opportunities to extend grace and reconciliation, God’s invitation to faith and a personal relationship, offered to all.
To shun condemnation, criticism, false pride, attempts to evoke in others guilt, shame, fear, diminished self-esteem or alienation from God.
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We acknowledge that we are all a work in progress and that the transformative power of the Holy Spirit is ongoing in each of us. We all have areas of difficulty, some quite personal, painful and private. We respect each other’s feelings, bear with each other’s failings and take seriously issues of mutual accountability and confidentiality.
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With respect to Bible study and interpretation:
We will seek to widen our reading (looking at a range of theological writers rather than only those who support our current viewpoint) and we will seek to deepen our understanding, prayerfully seeking God’s revelation through our study.
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We will seek unity in our fellowships and make every effort to keep the bond of peace. We pray for the Holy Spirit to highlight areas of weakness, criticism and self-sabotage and we will deal with these promptly, prayerfully and with humility.
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We seek to be a community that models a non-ageist, non-sexist, non-racist environment in order that all our members may grow and flourish regardless of age, gender or race. We also take pains to eradicate a homophobic atmosphere, challenging prejudice and discrimination where they arise.
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We acknowledge that for many of us, living in the Middle Ground is not stress-free. We will implement strategies to deal with this stress in exactly the same manner and with similar resources that we would use to manage heightened levels of stress created by our family lives, workplaces and neighbourhoods.
Where necessary we will seek help from others within the church or from other organisations to manage our personal levels of stress in order to avoid resorting to a fight-or-flight response, making a scapegoat of other church members, or undermining and being critical of church leadership.
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Where differences of opinion (on issues of sexuality but also on any other issue) lead to relationship difficulties we will seek appropriate conflict resolution strategies (allowing some breathing space, open dialogue, and mutual listening). Where necessary, an impartial facilitator may be helpful in resolving conflict and working towards reconciliation.
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We honour our commitment to our church communities, understanding that it is often through times of challenge that we may see the most growth in our own and in our church’s journeys of faith. We will commit to those churches that we believe God has called us to, ‘for better or for worse’, seeking God’s leading through particularly testing times.
We are thankful for the positive and supportive relationships we develop in our churches and we seek to be part of that network of support and encouragement.
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We anticipate that our children (aged 4-11) will, at times, have questions regarding same-sex relationships and transgender issues. We will pre-empt our children’s questions as far as possible, having given consideration to age-appropriate explanations.
We will have entered into consultation with parents of children in this age group and arrived at some consensus on these responses, so that the children in our church may receive a consistent message from all its members.
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We will be open to the process of change and development in our own church and seek to learn and grow from new experiences. We will be open to the possibility of sharing and learning from the experiences of other churches throughout our denomination and in our local area.
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Where individuals still maintain a traditional viewpoint on homosexuality, it is to be hoped that they will nonetheless see the Middle Ground ethos as a Biblical response to our changing cultural situation.
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We anticipate that our young people (aged 12-17) will, at times, have questions regarding same-sex relationships and transgender issues and will already be developing their own opinions. For some of our young people these will be quite personal issues.
We will seek to be supportive and non-directive and to that end, will be willing to reflect upon and discuss the multiplicity of approaches and responses currently operating within our churches.
Where appropriate, we will advise on further exploration of these issues via specific internet websites and other materials. Where requested, we will offer prayer support, counselling or mentoring.
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We will speak of other church denominations with respect, avoiding the temptation to hold them in contempt for either (in our view) progressing too far or not progressing fast enough. Other church denominations are still ‘part of the body’, containing members who are our brothers and sisters in Christ, and who are similarly making sense of the tension in this unchartered territory.
We acknowledge the unusual circumstances that we currently find ourselves living through and we will ‘cut each other some slack’ as we make our ongoing journey.
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Our hope is that many of us will view the Middle Ground as an adventure in faith, an ongoing opportunity to deepen spiritual maturity, to develop Christ-likeness and to partner with God in furthering his plans and purposes. We acknowledge that without God’s help, we will undoubtedly struggle, but with his help we will be encouraged, enriched and empowered to live out the Gospel message to all people in our community.
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I was hoping to discuss each of these and put forward my own views but I have realised that there are some who make this impossible and so merely leave you with Jane's document above. If you wish to comment on any of them I am sure she will be happy to read them - just post them on the comments page.

Thanks

All Sins can be forgiven . .

We just can't deal with the mental health issues!

Outside the 'unforgivable sin' and grieving the Holy Spirit, I have always been taught that regardless of the sin, there was always healing, forgiveness and renewal available to the sinner, should they repent. The problem is that in the United Kingdom, one in every six people is affected by a mental health issue, one in every four has been (or will be, mentally ill at some time - varying degrees, but identifiably mentally ill) (ONS 2007 UK Census - 23%).

Following the 2007 census, the then Health Secretary, Alan Johnson, spoke about the situation:

"At any one time, one in six people will be living with a mental health problem. One in four will experience an episode of mental illness at some point in their lifetime. If this statistic were applied to some of this country’s most venerable institutions, it would mean that at least one presenter of the Today programme, one of the Strictly Come Dancing judges and around six players in the current England football squad, have experienced or will experience a mental illness at some point in their lives"

I am concerned at a number of levels and for a number of reasons. The first being that I find Christians who are so excited by an issue like homosexuality, which affects four to five percent of the population (globally or locally, take your pick) . They rant and rave about something that affects one in twenty people tops. These same people studiously avoid an issue which affects one in four (or perhaps one in six, depends upon the definitions used).

Now I know I'm treading on dodgy ground here because some will accuse me of comparing apples and pears rather than 'like-for-like' (worse still that I am lumping both together as a 'illness' - which I am not). What I am trying to do as I open this discussion is to show the scale of the issue before us and the inordinately skewed focus regarding it (so it's not a discussion about homosexuality - O.K.!).

So hopefully I have put in some context and a datum from which to work regarding the man spoken of yesterday.

One of the more compassionate people regarded the issue as one that the man's pastor needed to address 'decisively'. Another spoke of the man needing to be 'locked up' and another was angry and upset because the bloke had (basically) 'spoilt his Good Friday religious bit!' (my words, his attitude!).

The problem with mentally ill people is that they aren't rational. They are disruptive and often controversial, noisy, aggressive, frightening, weird, and more beside. they just don't make sense and cannot see sense when it paraded before them. Rational conversation aimed at them produces fluffy bunnies, a world that is out to get them, half a dozen other personalities popping out to say 'hello' (sorry - 'sound of music' gene problem) and totally ridiculous responses (ever tried talking to me?).

The problem is, that 'they' (for it seems that the mentally ill lose identities and become that wonderful, anonymous, 'they') just don't do anything towards making church comfortable and 'they' can be disruptive and do need to be managed such that our services run with a degree of decency and decorum. BUT, there has to be latitude (not lassitude) shown, a degree of accommodation and acceptance along with the managing (AKA 'lock them up somewhere away from us')

Another issue is that having these 'nutters' (a word used to describe the mentally ill 'they'recently) going around telling people they're Christians isn't good marketing. Even if we let them come to our services, it would be good if they didn't support the idea that to be Christian, or even religious, is the province of the mentally ill, after all, we claim to hear voices and have a God fixation (two of the signs when I was training).

And then we have the 'demon' brigade. The wonderfully weird and often certifiable Christians who see mental illness as merely 'demonic' and, because "Demons are their ministry and calling!" (which is actually tosh!) look for a gunfight with the demonic causes of the illness. Now here's a bit of gained wisdom that I have built up over the years, your for free. Demons might not cause mental illness, but things demonic can use mental illness, the lowering of mental and emotional barriers caused by the illness and amazingly the medication and can sign up to make issue worse.

I have learned that what is presenting before me is more often than not (I've seen and dealt with less than twenty truly demonic mentally ill people in a quarter of a century of ministry)) a medical issue. At one stage I was the man who was called out to support a fair number of people under a section 4 admission and these were generally people who had felt better and stopped taking their pills. Some of them were 'demonised' (but the term is demon oppression, not possession) and although I have had my share of the funny voices, weird contorted faces, odd smells and even a levitation (I kid you not!) - we speak too often of demons as a cause and not enough as a parasitic entity (now I bet I sound mad myself!) and an effect.

That mentally ill people can be manipulated is often seen by the timing of their appearance. Often, just when stuff is trying and testing along comes someone presenting and I don't think this is coincidence. But it doesn't just interfere or distract, it also causes us to reject, deal with in a summary fashion or even condemned as 'knowing what they are doing and being disruptive or damaging' to the proceedings. Of course, what is often at stake is the comfort zone of the observer (cruel, but it has been true of me and I assume I'm normal).

We move on to the issue of 'WWJD'and this always raises in me the question, "Well, what would Jesus do?"

I think He'd take the person and their situation seriously. He'd afford them the chance to talk and would find the point where He could bring them to a place of awareness, stillness, realisation and peace. He would address the person rather than be drawn in by the illness and He'd bring healing. healing which would deal with the spiritual as well as the physical (after all, I was taught that mental illness is often a physical cause manifesting in the behaviour of the ill person).

Jesus would bring about a physical healing and would mop up any attached demonic followers as well. And so, the question nearly always comes, often in a statement. "Well, we don't have the power jesus did. Or perhaps we don't have the faith or it's not a gift I have, perhaps one day!"
But as we focus on Jesus, as we rejoice in the empty tomb, didn't he appear yesterday and give his Shalom? Didn't he breathe on those present and pour upon them, and us later at Pentecost, His Holy Spirit? Isn't the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead, that is Christ (homousios) within us and therefore what stops us from healing (another issue for another day) as He healed?

Is it faith? Or belief? Or our sins? I don't know - but I do know that I have prayed and seen blind eyes open (six of them) and have prayed and seen healing that defied my logic or experience and yet my faith was low, but my obedience was high.

Perhaps the first step is to start regarding the 'mentally ill' and merely regard them as being 'ill'. No different from any other physical illness, other than the fact that they enter into our comfort zones, that they are often embarrassing, difficult to deal with, obvious and apparent to all who see them. The manifestations are more obvious than a rash under clothing, for rashes don't shout out or wave their arms. the manifestations are more pressing and so therefore is the need to love and accept them as Christ would - not second class, not an embarrassment but as fellow humans with a more obvious affliction that our own, physical or spiritual.

Would would jesus do? Got an idea, then share it and do it!

Pax

ps. as an aside, please pray that as the mental health units and support centres close under the current financial cuts, that more churches would open their doors to provide support groups with spaces to continue their essential support work. That's one of the things jesus would do, I am sure.