Food for thought

I've been looking again at the writings of Blaise Pascal, probably best remembered now for Pascal's Triangle. I worked in a school in France for a year named after him, in the town of his birth. Interestingly, in light of the last post, he was a devout Roman Catholic, and he has some great insights on the relationship between reason and faith, amongst other things. Anyway, here's a quote for the day:

There is enough light for those who desire only to see, and enough darkness
for those of a contrary disposition.

Is Benedict's visit a blessing?

Ok, so this may be controversial....but I've been trying to ponder how to respond to the Pope's current visit to the UK and the media coverage it has excited.

It seems that evangelical Christians veer (publically at least) from an ongoing tendency to Catholic bashing in some circles, fighting the battles of 400 years ago as if they're still top priority today; to an uncritical acceptance that it must be a good thing that the Pope has come to the UK as it will raise the priority of Christian faith.

So far, Benedict's pronouncements about the dangers of secularism have no doubt struck a chord with many Christians of all persuasions, and probably others too. And there is much to commend and admire in the Catholic church's willingness to risk unpopularity in order to uphold traditional Christian teaching. But, for all that I've no wish to doubt the genuine faith in Jesus of many, probably most, Catholics, I can't help but struggle still with many aspects of Catholic teaching - not just the bits about condoms and the role of women, but more fundamenental things like the official (at least) Catholic view of how we're saved, what happens when we break bread, how authority is to be exercised in the Church, and where it comes from, the role of Mary and the saints...to name a few.

So, while my starting position with individual Roman Catholics is to assume that they are my brothers and sisters, on the same side, and while I admire the sense of history and catholicity (note small 'c') implicit in the Catholic (large 'c') church, I have to be honest and say that I struggle with it as an institution. Hence, while I pray that there may be good things coming from the Pope's visit, my fear is that many secular people will identify what they see on their TV screens as what Christianity is all about. And for me as a Pastor, that is a concern. So, back to the original question: I think at best Benedict's visit is a mixed blessing; but I'd love to be proved wrong.

The Power of a Preposition

Just came across this article in the always stimulating Leadership journal. It's particularly talking about children's ministry, but, it seems to me, the basic point could equally apply to youth work, and to adult ministry in church. The big question: are we ministering to, for or with? And my slightly tentative follow-up: are there circumstances when each one of these would be appropriate, in which case the trick would surely be to know what is right in each situation?