I had the distinct honour of attending Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali’s lecture on Islam and Christian relations. He is a great speaker and confirmed to me, anyway, that we should get to know our neighbours. He was helpful because he spoke of history of Islam and related stories of historic Christian/Islam encounters both good and bad. I was disappointed that most people that attended the public lecture were my age and older. Don’t young people care to be informed? (this is a tangent by the way)
The most important part of the Bishop’s visit was that he came to college and we had a small group session with him earlier in the day. His focus there was not so much the topic of his later lecture but he brought up the notion of “secularism” (his word). He defined secularism as the trend in Western society to make, change and interrupt laws without considering Christianity or God. He pointed out that the basis for all moral/ethical law in western society is based on the Bible. He works with lawmakers in the
He seriously believed that morally we may be entering a “dark ages”. (I forgot who he cited for this idea). And as church leaders he charged us to be “Light” of the world. He compared the light image to the salt image. He believes that Christian for awhile have been salt and now must be light.
I asked what that looks like in the parish context. He said we must hold to Christian ethic and educate people on what the Bible says. He pointed out that even in a small church someone will need medical treatment that may come from research that buys aborted fetuses or from other far out means. He indicated that he has already had to take a stand against research into human animal cross breeding.
The dilemma. If the research helps hundreds or thousands, is it okay to in a laboratory make a half human/half cat to get the medicine from? Secularism says why not. I ask, “What does us teach us about the value of human life? And its relationship to God?” My answer, “Under these conditions, life becomes another throw away product.”
Called to be “Light”. Could this be why the book of Amos came up about a thousand times (seems like) during my discernment to candidate for ministry? Time will tell, I suppose.
1 comment:
In answer to your tangent - the reason young people don't care to attend things such as that is because they're marketed under names such as the "Rollie Busch Lecture". Note the LECTURE part of that. They think it will be boring.
I also think that young people, in general, haven't had enough distance from studying to appreciate the concept of learning for the sake of learning - not to further an end.
I meant to come along, but I never actually plan it, and then don't. Next time you go to one, let me know and I'll tag along with you. Maybe then I'll look respectable.
As for the rest of your post - I really find that interesting - the concept of a moral/ethical dark age.
I think that as long as secularism continues then we will be in a dark age. Not that there aren't good, moral people out there who don't subscribe to Christianity. Because there are. But I don't think that the church has been a very good compass to the world in the past, in pointing out the right direction.
Maybe when the church finally starts to point true north on its own, other people will start following.
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