Besides not having written an proper updates for ages, while I was out of the country I also slipped somewhat behind with the side column showing what I've been reading. I don't imagine that you're all that bothered, but I feel that I should catch up, and this is easier than writing the piece on Bosnia that I promised.

Along with James Thwaites' Renegotiating the Church Contract, the first book I listed on my return, I also read Misha Glenny's The Fall of Yugoslavia, C.S. Lewis' Prince Caspian and of course the inevitable. I'm feeling somewhat inspired by C.S. Lewis just at the moment. I'd fallen away from my plan to reread the Narnia books, but spurred on by anticipation of the upcoming movie, I can tell you that Prince Caspian is in no way done justice by the old BBC adaptation. I've just started on The Screwtape Letters, which I've also read before, and Lewis's talent for insightful summaries of complex issues is breathtaking. I don't remember it being this good before…

Arg... So, yeah, I've pretty much missed my chance to not go a whole calendar month without posting. In my defence, I have spent half of this month out of the country on mission with Novi Most International. I've started trying to draft something on it today, but the computer's playing up and I can't be bothered right now. I'll tell you about it later.

It’s taken me a while to get round to posting this, so any of you that read 24-7prayer.com regularly will have seen it already. In an article posted at the end of last month Pete Grieg leaves a few comments on the global prayer movement. He mentions one young man considering becoming a monk so as to devote himself to undistracted prayer. As the end of Transform draws ever nearer and the uncertainty of my future becomes ever more noticeable, I can so relate. I suspect it’s not quite my calling, but I’m making a mental note to find out more about monastic communities when I have some time.

It seems like a scam and looks like a scam says Newsnight of freeipods.com. They’re right. It does. But they then go on to say that, surprisingly, it’s not. As do Wired News, and a whole bunch of other news sites. The Newsnight story (dated last September) says they don’t operate in the UK, but looking at their web site, they apparently started about a month ago. So I figured that it had to be worth a try. If you think so too, then I very much recommend reading the terms and conditions thoroughly, as there’s certainly some stuff in there that would have caught me out had I not. Once you’ve done that, I’d be appreciative if you could enter by way of my link, so I get credit toward that pink iPod mini I’ve been wanting...

I know it’s a bit late, but it’s time for my election reflection (that’s actually mainly a repost of a comment I made on Rachel’s blog weeks ago).

This year, for the first time, I gave serious consideration to not voting, or at least spoiling my ballot. I’ve been thinking a bit recently about issues surrounding power and the Christian use of it, and I started to wonder whether it was something I wanted any part in.

I’ve heard and read quite a bit in the last few months on church unity, church history and several issues which have caused church division. It’s very clear the church has spent far too long acting as a worldly power, and far too little time as an imitator of Christ. There are many issues that everyone knows are important to the Christian vote, most of which are helpfully(?) listed by the Christian Institute, together with details of how your MP has voted on them in the past. Whether you agree with their interpretation of “Christian morals” or not (and personally, on at least some of those issues, I certainly don’t), a question remains over whether they are issues on which we have the right to demand legislation.

Is Britain still a Christian nation? Was it ever? Is a Christian nation even possible? Would it be a good thing if it were? I’m increasingly of the opinion that the answer to all those questions is “no”. Christ was a powerful voice because he spoke with humility from a position of service, and because he lived what he taught. His ultimate victory came in total submission and with the impression of defeat. He preached uncompromising truth, but initially required only one thing: repentance.

In a country where only about 5% of the population now attend church, can we really expect the election to reflect Christian values? Should we even want it to? And what is the aim of seeking to enforce a Christian morality in the laws of our nation? Are we hoping that we will somehow make people pure, and thus achieve their salvation by obedience to law? Is that the gospel?

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no-one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.

John 15:12-15

How is it that I can stand in worship with my arms raised and hands unfolded toward heaven, when Christ had nails driven through his palms in my place?

I finished reading Stephen Sizer’s book. To call it alarming would be something of an understatement. I was left with a profound feeling of anger at the horrifying manner in which Christianity is being corrupted, and faithful people being led astray by this teaching. Amongst many things Sizer brings into plain light are the justification of ethnic cleansing in the name of Christianity and attempts by so called Christians to reinstitute the sacrificial system, thus denying the very death of Christ. Most alarming, perhaps is the scale of this movement. These are not a few weirdos, but rather big name influential Christian speakers. As Sizer says in his conclusion conservative estimates would suggest that the Christian Zionist movement is at least ten times larger than the Jewish Zionist movement and has become a dominant lobby within contemporary American politics.

The statement Challenging Christian Zionism is included as an appendix to the book and, while I know very little of the political situation, defiantly seems worth a read.

I’ve been reading quite a few exciting books just recently. The last, Pete Greig’s The Vision and the Vow, I felt an immediate urge to buy for everyone I know. It contained so many passages I’d love to be able to quote in huge blocks right now. That, however, is not really the point of this post.

The point of this post (aside from making sure I don’t go an entire month without posting) is to explain the link on the left to the book I’m currently reading. That book is Christian Zionism by Stephen Sizer. If you click the link you will notice that it takes you to the publisher’s web site rather than the usual Amazon.co.uk page. As far as I can make out it’s not presently listed on Amazon. If I were conspiratorially minded, I’d be suspicious. The page I’m linking to is from the inside of a frameset, so you may find that if you want to buy a copy (and you should) you have to go to the IVP Books homepage and navigate from there. A search for Christian Zionism should do it.

The book paints a frightening picture of the way in which the evangelical church has been hijacked for an extreme pro-Zionist agenda based on questionable eschatology and a distorted image of God. Whilst a lot of what is discussed has been limited to the United States, it’s plain to see the increasing influence of end-times teaching in the political actions of the British church. Anyone with even a passing interest in eschatology or the signs of the times (and I’m pretty sure every Christian will encounter those at some point) should read this book.

I don’t watch a lot of TV, but it seems I’ve barely been able to sit down over the last week without seeing a trailer for The Exorcism. This programme went out late on Thursday night accompanied by many warnings that it was for adults only and may contain material that some viewers would find disturbing. Until I started watching I’d been planning an early night. The sleeping would have been considerably more entertaining. I’m not quite sure what Channel 4 were expecting with this show. Were they really hoping that someone possessed by Satan himself was going to sign up, go though several weeks of tests and then just walk into the studio? Deliverance ministry is something that requires much discernment and, I would have thought, a swift resolution when prompted by the Holy Spirit. Clearly I’m in no position to judge whether Channel 4’s “test subject” had a genuine problem with spiritual oppression, but you’d have thought any one of the many clergy and other church figures involved could have told the producers that they were never going to get the drama they were hoping for. There was no explanation given as to the nature of spiritual powers, and host Krishnan Guru-Murthy continuously gave the impression that they were dealing with the devil. As any theologian could have told them, the devil (unlike God) is not omnipresent, and probably has better things to do. I would imagine that there probably is some kind of occult ritual that might summon him, which might have made for a more dramatic exorcism, but I wouldn’t trust any Christian minister who agreed to be past of such an “experiment”.

Sorry. Rant over. For what it’s worth, my own experience took two people about an hour and a half, and was far from that calm.

Update: I’ve never deleted a post from this site before. I hope I never have to again. I don’t want to try and justify myself, and I can’t really offer any kind of explanation. But I would like to apologise unreservedly to those who I’ve hurt. It seems that I’ve been read in ways I never imagined I would. In seeking to record my own feelings I’ve portrayed my life, and the lives of others in a grossly inaccurate manner. I’ve not been honouring to either my friends or to God and can’t even hope to make it up. I’m sorry.

Andii Bowsher seems to have quite a skill for finding interesting links. Accrding to this Wired article Brazil spends more of software licensing than it does on combating hunger.

Kind of encouraging.

I failed somewhat in not plugging this beforehand, but last night was the climax of a second ecumenical new year 24-7 prayer week for the city of Bradford, this time ending with an awesome four and a half hour Prayer and Praise Evening at the cathedral.

This year’s venue was Youth Base on New Hey Road, BD4. It’s a much smaller building than the one we used last year, but the prayer room was on the top floor, with an amazing view out over the city. On returning from the cathedral last night I stopped briefly to read the latest 24-7 e-bullet and clicked a link to this page, which expresses everything way better than I could hope to. I’d not heard any testimonies of time in this prayer room, and I wasn’t expecting to find one there. I wept and praised. It’s still an exciting time to be in Bradford.