A Kingdom of Heaven for Victims

Simon Swift’s latest guest post. A bit of heaven here, and in the wider scheme a challenge to any views as to the value of ‘good’. If we leave ‘final destinies’ to God we can then get on with, endorse, support all genuinely good works… and surely they are kingdom activities. Simon lets the article speak for itself.


Last night I was at an event celebrating ten years of a local charity: *WORTH, helping Women On the Road To Healing. They provide help to women who are recovering from being in an abusive relationship. We heard stories from victims of abuse who are being helped by this charity. They where stories both harrowing and inspiring as we heard their journey to recovery and healing. Interestingly the methods used to help them in the process were all creative ones. Things like gardening and flower arranging, nature and mindfulness, writing including poetry and reflection, painting and creative crafts, and dance. All enabling the women to find self expression.

It’s not surprising that the woman who started it all is a christian, because what she is doing for these women is bring down a little bit of heaven to earth. Helping to plant a seed into women who lost their self worth and even their identity in an abusive and controlling relationship. By creatively giving them a sense of self worth and identity, they begin to recover, getting their life back and a hope for the future.

At the heart of abuse is control. It can be found anywhere, not just in marriage, relationships and family, but in the work place, in religions and other institutions including governments. At its worse, it strips the victims of their identity and they loose their self worth because they are often blamed for all the abuse they receive; it’s always the victims fault.

When a victim of such an abusive situation escapes, they need to recover from the trauma of they experience. They need to be able to leave it behind and start to find a new life. That is where charities like WORTH can help. Using creativity to give them a vehicle to rediscover their own self expression. Creativity helps to develop their own sense of identity and value which gives them hope.

For me I see that this charity is bringing down heaven to earth whether they realise that or not. Perhaps we can even go as far as to say that this charity expresses, in action, the beatitudes of Jesus.

There is a place in this world for our faith because it should be our lived out expression of the kingdom of heaven. The world tries to convinces us that our faith is only to be expressed in private, behind closed doors. But that is a lie. Our faith is about freedom. Living out our hope expressed in our daily lives as love. Faith that takes delight in seeing life grow in both our selves and in others, and in doing so we discover we are partnering with the one who is love.

*If you want to know more about WORTH and what they do, here is their web site: https://www.worth-charity.co.uk/

Mammon, The Market & The Commodification of Life

This post is a republication with permission of Adrian Lowe’s second article exploring how our existence is shaped either by God or Mammon. The original was published at Substack:

https://adrianslowedown.substack.com/p/mammon-the-market-and-the-commodification


The universe is composed of subjects to be communed with, not objects to be exploited

Wendel Berry

The free market is one of the most influential ideologies in the developed world, and it has become a cornerstone of Western civilization. The promise of a free, fair system of trade – untethered from government control, allowing for private ownership and opportunity for “all” – has a utopian ring to it. Economists and politicians often speak of its virtues in terms that seem to attribute salvific power to it. However, if we’re honest, we all know this ideology may be a wolf in sheep’s clothing. In the shadow of what appears to be one of the West’s greatest strengths lies an even bigger weakness. Beneath the neatly shorn sheep guiding its every move is a gargantuan and greedy machine called Mammon. None of us can escape its power; it has become an intrinsic part of the architecture of our collective existence. Our “living, moving, and being” (Acts 17:28) are subject to the automaticity of Mammon.

At a macro level, I suggest the Mammonic Machine is influencing the proponents of globalization, an economic order that is relationally disruptive, in that its aim is to connect the world through trade and migration (labour movement). This results in cultural dislocation as borders are erased and a sense of place and locality are degraded, all of which, according to the Genesis creation narrative, are the foundation for individual and collective meaning and are a core requirement for humankind to flourish. At a micro level, individuals have an insatiable appetite for more, newer, bigger, and better, fuelling our acquisitive lifestyle. Our fear of scarcity and our idolatrous affection for comfort and security feed our tendency towards limitless consumption and accumulation.

The Pressure of Mammon

So it is that the Mammonic Machine exerts pressure on the marketplace, demanding obsolescence to be built into design, as we have come to obsess about all things ‘new.’ It dictates that we have a system of mass production to sustain our collective desire for ‘more for less.’ Disposability thus comes to lie at the core of our throwaway culture, resulting in the devaluation and de-sacralization of belongings as their identity is reconfigured from being the gifts of a good God into commodities.

The Power of Mammon

Of course, the power exerted by Mammon is not limited solely to the marketplace. It is Mammon that is the unseen power behind the commodification of life in its entirety. In truth, Mammon and its economic value system have become the lens through which we perceive reality. This commercialisation of life results in human existence—including individuals, their bodies, labour, and natural resources—being treated as commodities, objects of economic value to be bought, sold, or exploited. In this process, life itself is reduced to something that can be exchanged in the marketplace, with its value determined not by inherent dignity or purpose, but by its economic worth or utility. This often involves turning human beings, relationships, or natural resources into objects of profit, stripping them of their endowed sacred or intrinsic value and viewing them primarily through the lens of commercialism or consumerism.

‘Silver and Gold’

The Bible has much to say about Mammon’s deceptive and dehumanising ideology, its accompanying narrative around the controlling power of ‘silver and gold’ and its idolatrous status—idolatry being an Old Testament metaphor for the commodification, commercialisation, and “financialisation” of human existence, another way of saying Mammon!

The Exodus narrative speaks extensively about the domineering and enslaving economic, social, and spiritual power of ‘silver and gold’ that held God’s people captive for 400 years, and, of course, of how Yahweh defeated them and liberated Israel from their internment. ‘Silver and gold’ were the currency of Egypt and symbolised the commodification of life under Pharaoh. This was a world of coercion (the drive to perform better and produce more) and competitive advantage. Pharaoh’s insatiable appetite for the accrual of wealth and power became the engineering that formed the reality of life in Egypt. Driven by anxiety (an absence of peace), fear (of loss), and restlessness (an inability to stop), Pharaoh turned to ‘silver and gold’ for his salvation, constructing for himself gods of ‘silver and gold.’ Later, Yahweh will expressly warn against the idolization of the commodity market. Pharaoh’s surrender to the gods of ‘silver and gold’ governed the architectural framework for life in Egypt.

The Exodus narrative exposes the results of a commodity-driven market economy in terms of its impact on people. The intrinsic sacred value of human life and labour is degraded and demeaned; it is no longer determined by inherent dignity and purpose but by its economic worth and utility in the marketplace. The sons and daughters of God lose their true identity as they become slaves for the monolithic machine called Mammon.

It must come as no surprise that following Israel’s liberation from a life codified by the gods of ‘silver and gold,’ Yahweh gives clear instructions on how to remain free from its stranglehold. Moses receives a mandate for the way in which Yahweh will reconstitute and reengineer what being the community of God looks like.

“I am the LORD your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery.
“You must not have any other god but me.
“You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. (Exodus 20:2-5)

First, Yahweh reminds them of their rescue from the Egyptian Leviathan, the powers of sin that had enslaved them. This exhortation is repeated numerous times, for example:

“…be careful that you do not forget the LORD, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.” (Deuteronomy 6:12)

In effect, God is saying, ‘don’t forget that you were once slaves!’ His instructions are clear: the idolatrous social, economic, and spiritual model of Egypt is over. Miriam makes this clear in her celebratory prophetic song where she declares that the ‘horse and the rider have been thrown into the sea.’ This is the metaphor used for God’s redemption of His people. The horse and the rider symbolize Pharaonic power. Judgment is executed on the systems of power that held God’s people captive.

Rabbinic thought suggests that the horse was the symbol of the culture of Egypt. When the Israelites sang of the downfall of both ‘horse and rider,’ they were expressing their appreciation of the fact that not only were Pharaoh and his slave masters being removed from the scene, but so, too, the oppressive culture of Egypt coming to an end. Throughout the Bible, the culture of Egypt is identified with the horse, which is a symbol of militarism and the ideology that ‘might makes right.’ The horse is also a symbol of arrogance and pride. When God brought down Pharaoh and his cohorts, He also removed from the world stage a belief system that justified crushing and enslaving other human beings. The removal not only of the dictator but of his doctrine, and not only of the tyrant but of his theology, is part of the pattern of history from a Jewish perspective.

Later in the text, Yahweh provides greater clarity in instructing Israel:

“…..do not make for yourselves gods of silver or gods of gold.” (Exodus 20:23)

One of the hallmarks of this new community, liberated from their slavery, is revealed in God’s command to Israel that they do not make idols of ‘silver and gold.’ This is an invitation to live together in a counterintuitive way to that of the Pharaonic, Mammonic love of money. He also foresees their temptation to a life of dualism (‘You shall not make gods of silver to be with me’ Exodus 20:23)—the attempt to serve two masters, as Jesus puts it. God knows Mammon is enslaving; its mantra calls for our enhanced performance. It demands we work harder and longer in order to meet the desire it places in our hearts for ‘more.’ This love of money exercises coercive economic power. It also divides people as it stratifies society by creating ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots,’ rich and poor. In effect, what Yaheweh gives are guidelines for staying out of slavery by living a life free from the commodification and productization of existence. It’s a lesson on how to be and to remain fully human, protecting the Imago Dei and thus revealing Yahweh as the Creator who loves His creation.

AMOS – What Happens When Commodity Becomes King?

I am part of my church family’s preaching team. Recently, we decided to speak on the minor prophets, and without thinking too much, I volunteered to speak on the book of Amos. I hadn’t read it for a while, but I committed to doing it. When I re-read the book, I began to wish I hadn’t! However, as I laboured through the collection of seemingly disjointed poems and declarations, I began to see how history can repeat itself, how not heeding Yahweh’s plea to ‘remember’ but instead forgetting, results in a return to captivity—slavery to the gods of ‘silver and gold,’ and the consequential spiritual, social, and economic decay that follows in its wake.

In summary, the narrative tells us that Israel was enjoying unparalleled economic prosperity under the rule of King Uzziah of Judah and King Jeroboam II. However, this success led to a market ideology assuming an idolatrous status. As all idols do, they demanded devotion, surrender, and obedience—the Mammonic Machine would accept no less. God plucks Amos, a nobody, a shepherd and fig grower, out of obscurity to confront the idolatry of the rich and powerful. Their totemisation of economic success resulted in them forgetting God and His ways. To quote Walter Brueggemann, “Prosperity breeds amnesia.” The people had forgotten God’s deliverance from the corrupt, oppressive, and corrosive socio-economic system of Egypt that held their forebears captive for over 400 years. They had become captivated by the same Pharaonic, Mammonistic system that had dehumanized a previous generation.

Amos is uncompromising in speaking the truth and identifies how Israel’s growing affection for ‘silver and gold’ is contemporizing and re-engineering their individual and collective life.

‘You can’t wait for the Sabbath day to be over and the religious festivals to end so you can get back to cheating the helpless. You measure out grain with dishonest measures and cheat the buyer with dishonest scales. And you mix the grain you sell with chaff swept from the floor.’ (Amos 8:5-6)

The prophet challenges a worldview shaped by personal gain and private profit that had resulted in the re-codification of their values and behaviours and confronts a form of worship that has become disconnected from the way they live, work, and do business. Socio-economic injustice was rife, as the gods of commodity exerted their power and malformed reality. Amos articulates the many ways in which these gods were disfiguring and dehumanizing Yahweh’s people. Let me mention just three.

1: The productization of people and relationships

At the heart of Christian ethics is the belief that human beings are made in the imago Dei, or the image of God. This concept, rooted in Genesis 1:26-27, holds that all humans possess intrinsic dignity and worth because they reflect God’s nature. Unlike other aspects of creation, human beings are endowed with rationality, free will, and the capacity for moral decision-making. They are not objects to be used for personal gain, nor are they products to be bought and sold. However, in a world, ancient or modern, where the Free Market is idolized and venerated, lives are commodified, people become products to be traded, and relationships are de-sacralised.

‘…because they sell righteousness for money and the needy for a pair of sandals’. (Amos 2:6)

When God is forgotten and economic success (‘silver and gold’) becomes our god, the intrinsic God-given human value of individuals is swallowed up in a market ideology. People become products in the market and a means to satisfy the personal desires and needs of others. Modern capitalism and consumerism reduce human beings to mere economic units, depriving them of their inherent worth as created, image-bearing beings.

This process of commodification could be described as relocating relational goods from the humanistic sphere and placing them in the commodity sphere. Mary Harrington, writer and contributing editor of UnHerd, says, ‘Commodification takes something out of the context of relationship, isolates it, and gives it a market value other than that which relationship bestows’. . She cites the porn industry as a powerful example of this and makes the point that ‘whilst the industry might say that this is about self-expression and empowerment, the truth is that this is a cold-blooded, merciless commercial machine that hacks human pleasure centres for profit’. Sex is made homeless; it is extracted from the context of relationship and bought and sold as a commodity.

2: The primacy of personal gain and private profit

A radical individualism has been at work on both the political right and left over many decades, and this too has contributed to the commodification of the human being and to technocratic tendencies, both of which are dehumanizing and undermine our ability to build the common good together.

One of the roots of the commodification of life is the consumer culture that dominates much of the modern world. This culture encourages individuals to define their worth and happiness in terms of material possessions and measures of economic success. Advertising, media in all its forms, and the marketplace constantly reinforce the idea that life’s meaning is found in pursuing an acquisitive lifestyle regardless of the cost to others.

‘You trample on the poor and extract taxes from him, you have built houses hewn of stone’ (Amos 5:11)

From a Christian perspective, this consumerist mindset is deeply problematic because it distracts people from the true purpose of life: to love God and neighbour (Matthew 22:37-40).

Mammon and his commodification of life foster a culture of individualism and greed, which is antithetical to the Christian virtues of humility, generosity, and community. It leads people to view relationships, experiences, and even themselves through the lens of consumerism. This is particularly evident in the rise of social media, where personal experiences, bodies, and even personalities are commodified for likes, followers, and brand endorsements.

And when we see life through a commercial lens, where trading has invaded, conquered, and then codified collective behaviours, our common socio-economic life becomes fractured as it centres around ‘my (individual) prosperity’ at the expense of my neighbour.

Brueggemann captures this so well in his commentary on Psalm 73 where he describes the “two ways” before which the faithful stand: a way of self-enhancing commodity and a way of relational communion. He describes these as the choice that is before our own society, and before every society. ‘Our society in its dominant forms is now committed to the rat race of self-sufficiency and self-enhancement, the pace of which is set by greed, celebrity, and violence that contradicts the depth of human life. In that lethal rat race, the refocus of faith is the (re)discovery that such a set of priorities has no staying power. What lasts is a life of communion in obedience that is preoccupied, not with the love of self, but with the love of God and the love of neighbour.’ (From Whom No Secrets are Hid – Introducing the Psalms, Walter Brueggemann)

3: Truth has only a commercial value

Amos points to the depths to which the god of the markets, the god of commodity, Mammon, will go in that ultimately it makes even truth a commodity to be traded for commercial gain.

Listen to this, you who trample the needy
and do away with the destitute in the land.
You say, “When will the new moon festival be over, so we can sell grain?
When will the Sabbath end, so we can open up the grain bins?
We’re eager to sell less for a higher price,
and to cheat the buyer with rigged scales!”

As the prophet points out, when we forget God and become worshippers of the god of economic success, this idol, as all idols do, demands our absolute devotion. Not only that, but all idols also require sacrifice. Mammon – ‘silver and gold’—has its own accompanying sacrificial system. In a world where this god is revered, loving neighbourliness is reconfigured by a market economy and, in doing so, people and relationships are commercialized and productized for personal gain and private profit. Eventually, honesty, integrity, and righteousness will find themselves as an offering on its altar. Truth can become whatever it needs to be to ensure the continuation of success and is corrupted for the sake of maintaining the momentum and progress of the Mammonic machine.

Final thoughts

That all sounds a little bleak! As I have already mentioned in my first essay on the subject of Mammon I am going to point to the hope that the Gospel offers and in doing so suggest some countercultural, counterintuitive ways of thinking and living. In my next essay, I will explore the concept of Repair as a form of resistance against the forces that seek to commodify every aspect of our existence. This will not only be a philosophical reflection but also a call to practical action—ways in which we can tangibly embody this hope.

Before I sign off, I want to leave you with a couple of lines from John’s Gospel where he quotes Jesus Himself.

‘“I no longer call you slave, because the master doesn’t confide in his slaves. Now you are my friends, since I have told you everything the Father told me”’ Jesus Christ (John 15:15)

Isn’t this simply beautiful! In just a few words, Jesus dismantles one worldview and ushers in another. He shifts his hearers from a paradigm of servitude to one of freedom, replacing hierarchical, transactional relationships with the radical intimacy of friendship.

Jesus doesn’t see human beings as instruments of profit, stripped of their endowed sacred value through the lens of commercialism and consumerism – slaves. His words don’t just challenge economic paradigms; they upend the entire value system that measures human worth by productivity and profit. Instead of being trapped in a transactional existence, He calls people into a relational, dignified existence—one of friendship, trust, and intrinsic worth. He sees them through the lens of the Father’s love, an emancipatory love that restores what has been degraded and reclaims the Imago Dei in each person.

The Father, The Wayward Son and His Brother

Simon Swift’s latest guest post, using  the ‘prodigal son’ parable to talk about what inheritance means for us.


Jesus was very good at using stories to point to spiritual truths. He was able to pack many layers of wisdom into his stories. Like Gold miners we can dig and dig into these parables and keep revealing more truth each time. Of course we have to have a good idea about how the original hearers understood the stories least we miss what he was trying to say to us. None the less because they are stories we can still find rich seams of truth in our own times. One such story is the Prodigal Son and in particular the strange case of the complaining elder brother and how the father makes a remarkable reply.

First we have to make a note of what we mean by inheritance. We are not here, taking about inheriting a large amount of money from some distant aunt and then spending it on a world cruise or something. We are talking about passing on a legacy from one generation to the next. It’s about family, and land that will pass from one generation to the other, each building on previous forefathers work. We tend to think of it as having to wait until our parents die before we can enter into the inheritance. That is why we see the impatient younger son ask for his inheritance now; today please. Surprisingly, the father gives him his inheritance and off he goes to squander it. Just maybe the later conversation with the eldest son gives us a clue as to why he so readily agrees.

Most of us know the story well; if you don’t you’ll find it in the gospel by Luke chapter 15:11. When the younger son after running out of money, returns and makes a plea to his father to allow him back home as a hired hand, he is humbled by his experience and understands he does not deserve anything more. His father has a completely different perspective, seeing him as lost even dead. With the return of his son he is eager to restore him fully to son-ship and therefor inheritance, celebrating because he has been found and is alive. The fattened calf is to be prepared, slaughtered for a celebratory feast; but the story does not end there.

Almost seeming like an add on, the eldest brother makes his appearance for the first time. He is not happy, complaining about how his father is reacting to the return of younger, no good brother. It would seem he has a point and to us today we would be forgiven for wondering why this part was added on to the story, was it even needed?

Lets look at it from the older brothers perspective. His resentment and refusal to join in the celebrations shows us something about his attitude towards his place in the family. First he complains that he is working like a slave then points out he has never disobeyed his father and even moans that he has never been given a young goat for feasting with his friends. He sees his position as not much better than his wayward brother does. Looking for a reward in the future he is obedient to the father. In other words he is playing the role of a hired hand, a slave.

It is a remarkable answer that his father gives him: That all is his. His inheritance is in the now, in partnering with his father; not in working for him as a hired hand; not so he to could squander it partying away; but to grow the estate and be part of the blessing that would come with it, saying, “Every thing I have belongs to you.”*

There is a wonderful connection between ourselves and God. It is a relationship of father and son. Not only do we become part of his inheritance, we also share in the inheritance as God’s children. Rather then see Jesus as the second Adam We should see him as the first in the new age. The first Adam in the new heaven and earth and we too, get to inherit this new earth. Perhaps we must be like the prodigal son and return home, or maybe we are like the eldest and need to realise we are not a hired hand, waiting for a reward.

The earth, the whole of creation is made and realised by God’s word. Manifested out of his desire that pours out from his great power of love. If we are children of God then we are heirs, co-heirs with Jesus, and we can enter into that inheritance today. Partnering with the spirit to build the estate, manifesting the new heaven and earth.

Yet we have sold our inheritance for the desire for material objects on the one hand and for our need to control on the other. Like the younger son in the parable, we chose to cash in our inheritance and go party. We squander the riches of the earth. We turn to consumerism to fill the empty spaces in our lives that should be filled with eternal life. Or like the eldest we fail to see passed his own nose. We build standards that no one can reach and drink in energy from judging other when they don’t. We lose out on the blessings of compassion and instead build power bases of control. In our desire to become gods we starve ourselves of light.

The new age, the new heaven and earth are to be brought into our lives now. Each day whether prodigal son or older brother, we can enjoy the new age by simply having a father-son relationship with our creator. Whether we are out in the fields working or celebrating a returning son or daughter, we are actively inheriting the new age. That means we have to live the new age, the kingdom of heaven life today.

*Quotes of the story from Tom Wright’s translation: The New Testament for Everyone.

Spirituality and Creativity

Another post from Simon Swift… his ‘January contribution’. I suspect Simon enjoys writing for many reasons but if he is like me (I suspect in this aspect he is) it is also a means of finding one ‘s own ideas being crystalised. And if that be true then as you read this piece I hope a few of your ideas also crystalise. OK… here it is.


Sometimes, when I am writing a poem, I find it starts to speak to me about how it wants to be written. Maybe it doesn’t like the structure or my approach to the subject. I know I’m the creative one but none the less I get this feeling that I should listen to the poem and let it direct me. Doesn’t always happen, but when it does, it’s definitely not me; it’s the poem. Once I listen then the poem starts to take shape.

This highlights what I believe is the spiritual nature of creativity. It gives a sense that ideas and inspiration are alive and trying to communicate with us. Wanting to be birthed by us into the physical world; we are merely a conduit for ideas to be realised.

In her book ‘Big Magic’ Elizabeth Gilbert talks about ideas in this way. She believes that ideas are energetic life forms that have a consciousness, wanting to communicate with us so they can be manifest. She believes that so much she insists that we should be polite to them even if we should decide that a particular idea is not for us – just in case word gets around about your rudeness and ideas start avoiding you.

Now you may think that is going a bit to far, even silly, and I admit that it’s probably not what’s really going on, at least scientifically, but it helps to think that way because spirituality and creativity are closely related to each other. It useful to use a language that helps us to understand our creative processes, to help speak and think about it. When scientists research the creative process the language used may not be very helpful to the average creative who needs to understand their way of interacting with the process of creativity and inspiration. Spiritual language comes in helpful here as it is related to experience and the relationship artists have with inspiration and ideas.

So what about the Christian faith, what has the bible to say about it. Well, in the book Exodus we find God giving instructions on how to build the tents, make the priestly cloths and all the utensil and the alter, even giving details about the size of things. Then God goes on to claim that a man named Bezalel has been given abilities and intelligence with knowledge and all craftsmanship along with Oholiab they are anointed as craftsmen. Could we then say that the holy spirit is often involved with us in giving us ideas and in having inspiration.

Now I do believe if we work hard enough and focused enough we can learn anything. However, how good we actually get at something often depends on our interest in it and if we pick it up easily. That is to say somethings we naturally seem to gravitate to and get quickly, usually something that gives us pleasure. I myself have learnt to play a few instruments at an elementary level. Yet I know people who can pick up an instrument they have never played before and within a few minutes they are playing it at a level that would take me weeks to match. So I do think we can have a bent towards a particular creative discipline. Does this then come from God that picks individuals out or is it more a case of being willing to listen to the spirit, to be receptive in a way similar to how Elizabeth believes, which is all about cooperation and being open.

Greeks talked about muses and Romans of having a genius. Today we talk of people being geniuses. The trouble is it can leads to arrogance and aloofness. We know God is creative and we too have that ability, it’s part of who we are as humans and that is all of us. We honour God when we use our creativity and so we should be humble and thankful, showing gratitude to God and possibly to the ideas themselves that we have been chosen to birth. We can reject an idea because it may not be the right time for us or some other issue is at hand and so we should do so graciously least we should offend and I think that keeps us grounded and stops egos taking over.

Our artistic creativity is a place where we can express our deep emotions. Through images, stories, and sound we can share something more than just facts, communicating in a way that connects us to others. Sometimes though, it is for just the fun of creating something that’s pretty. You see this with crafts like sowing and needle work. These crafts can fill a functional need, but can also be used to express our creativity and add something into the world that takes us beyond the mundane. For the artisan it gives them a sense of achievement and satisfaction.

Creativity is not just about fine art and crafts, there are many areas where we can apply our creative abilities; science and medicine, industry and business, technology and philosophy. Humanity has seen tremendous advancements in these areas. Unfortunately that same creative spark in us can be used for destructive purposes and there has been many a regime and political leadership that has done so, bringing misery, subjugation and death into the world. Nuclear technology is a prime example, being used to kill thousands of people while also being used to provide energy to keep our modern society, so dependant on electricity, going. Who knows what other ways we can advance though using our creative capacity. But there is one possible threat to our creative spark that is on the horizon.

Artificial Intelligence is here to stay, but at the moment it is difficult to see how this will impact our lives and what it means for not just the creatives in our world but for all of us. The UK Government has recently announced that it wants the UK to be at the for front of the technology. Yet it has already caused concern from the creatives fearful of their intellectual property rights being bypassed by the AI companies as they use web scrapping to collected such material for training AI machines. Will we become lazy and become content creator instead of artist? Will it cheapen such art if anyone with an idea can just get an AI machine to do the work for them, removing any need for skill, or is that a good thing?

If spirituality and creativity are closely connected then what does that mean if machines do all the creative stuff? Do we just end up with content creation and fail to do one of the most important parts of being human: expressing love, joy, pain, fear, and loss into a body of work that can move the emotions of those exposed to it. I’m sure there will be many benefits to AI, but what we must not do is allow it to steal from us one of the defining attributes that has been given to us by God: The ability to be creative and add something to this world that is meaningful, beautify and a blessing.

Carrying God’s image

Another article by Simon Swift on exploring humanity as in the image of God. I particularly liked, ‘As we leave the Garden of Eden to head into the wild. We should not hunger for a return to the garden, rather in the wild we should create a garden’.


In our modern understanding of history and science based fact which is supposed to be based on evidence rather than mythological story telling, we can lose a lot of depth of meaning that can be found in the biblical stories if you take them literally as fact. We have to remember myth does not mean untrue. The Genesis stories are a case in point; especially the first couple of chapters. I find in the creation stories deeper truths can be dug out if you don’t take them literally. It is especially helpful as our own world view changes from that of other generations and we can re-visit the stories to help us understand the world around us and ourselves. The suggestion that we are made in God’s likeness is profound and we would do well to take on board the implications of such a blessing. 

It suggests not so much that we look like God visually, rather we have a destiny within creation to represent God’s intent. I like how Tom Wright(* YouTube Video at the end of the post) advocates that it should not be seen as a static image but a dynamic one. We reflect God’s image into the world through what we do, the way we be, and how creatively we redeem the world through restorative justice. Now if you want a purpose in life I suggest that should be your number one choice.

Perhaps, the story of what we call the fall had to happen. How else would both Adam and Eve be able to tell the difference between good and evil? After all, it was the fact they did not know the difference that led them to eat the apple in the first place. They ended up with knowledge but not wisdom. They were, you could say, immature in how to use this new found knowledge and it led to discovering new emotions like shame and fear. They had to be sent on a journey out of the garden into the wild. Maybe it was God’s intent all along: We as humans have a life which is one big journey through a dark valley where we learn to live in his presence; and waiting for us is an overflowing cup.

Is this not similar to how we grow up, discovering the world is not as safe or as simple as we found it in childhood? Unfortunately we find it difficult to mature into the destiny of reflecting God’s image into the world. There seems to be within the knowledge of good and evil a corrupting temptation which we easily find attractive. The world is cold and dark without a light and so turning to self-preservation we lose sight of who we are as humans. Our ego is prone to make us think the world resolves around us, further drawing us into the trap of selfishness. Unable to see passed our own nose, we do not realise we are walking into the kingdom of death. We create a culture driven by exploitation and lose the delight of beholding creation and of the creator himself. The temptation is for power and control. We celebrate people with such power, we build ever taller towers in homage to it; it becomes our idol. We become owned by an empire based on death and our freedom can only be paid for by blood. Biologically we are human, yet our humanity shrinks in this kingdom of death. In this empire of power, humanity loses its meaning and worth. 

But there is hope. There is one who is fully human and has paid that price of blood. We can now leave behind the kingdom of death and enter into the kingdom of heaven. It is the way of the pilgrim on the narrow road. It winds its way through the dark valley and onward to the overflowing cup; it is still waiting for us. Perhaps it is this journey which gives each of our lives a meaning, finding connection again with the light of the world. A journey of encounter and exploration of God’s love based power. A rebirth into an eternal life connected to the spirit. It may seem counter-intuitive to give ourselves away as we make our way on this pilgrimage, but when we do we find we are filled again with the bread of life.

The challenge for us is to learn how to live immersed in the power of love and freely give that power away into a world run on empire power and death. Have we the courage to live creatively, bringing redemption into the world? The passion enough to see structures, institutions and philosophies stolen from the power of empire, redeemed and repurposed by the creative power of love?  Are we ready to suffer for a kingdom based on love when faced with the demands of the dominating power of empire? Perhaps maturity is to be found in living out a life of love power while still being in enemy territory; not escaping but subverting. 

As we leave the Garden of Eden to head into the wild. We should not hunger for a return to the garden, rather in the wild we should create a garden. Perhaps the wild is, and always was, waiting for us. Waiting for us to learn the way of love, maturing and using the knowledge of good and evil in wisdom. Let us take our destiny, purpose and inheritance as God’s image bearers and give life in all its glory a meaning. The story of Humanity and God is not finished, far from it. The exciting thing is, you and I are writing the story right now. How do you want your chapter to be written?

* N.T. Wright on What It Means To Be An Image Bearer

Is theology useful?

Simon Swift (UK) is someone I met on Zoom and, like so many of us, in seeking to engage with the who and what of our context has explored what a biblically-informed faith and beliefs might look like. I look forward to reading them as they will be practical as well as provocative. Enjoy this first one!


So often one is given the impression that you must have an understanding of God packaged in a set of rules and facts. These facts defining the type of christian you are. Often labelled by this or that theology. This can constrain our ability to develop an understanding of God within the world we live in. Surely theology should be a tool to help us in our discovery of who God is and the on going story of humanity in God’s creation. In other words theology should be a useful guide.

Theology shapes what type of believer you are. It is often defined by the type of church you grew up in or was most exposed to when you became a believer. Yet a lot of Christians are unaware of where their beliefs come from and how they are born out of theological debate and argument. There are many different church movements and denominations promoting their own theologies as the truth, one wonders which one is right. We should not let theology be a form of christian identification and exclusion.

But what if theology was not meant to be defined in such a tribal way. Instead simply an attempt to be helpful in understanding God and our relationship with him. That these theologies are best understood as forming out of a context of those developing their knowledge of God and faith. A theology based on the Bible, understood through the lens of our circumstances and experience. This will mean that different generations will have a different take on how they interpret what they meet in the scriptures. Even our own experience, language and world view will mean we to have to do the work of developing a theology for our generation. For example, what the gospels meant for black slaves in the historical Americas compared with today’s inner city populations in the UK will be different. How do we in different circumstances and ages relate to God the Father or what does Jesus’ Death on the cross means for those living in the 21st century?

In the west the corporate economic system has struggled to deal with a changing world. The imperial powers have evolved out of industrial revolution to a digital technology driven system. The pressures have lead to the rise of populist politics, culture wars, and the power of social media. In the UK the speed of fake news transmitted around the world led to riots on the streets. Fortunately, what looked like an attempt to destabilise the newly elected government failed and came to nothing, but it has left a scar and the divisions in our society have been exposed. In these turbulent times what has Jesus’ journey to the cross have to say to us?

We do not have fake news, but the Good News. However, if we want to speak into our times and the people of our nations with this good news. We have to learn to interpret Jesus’ teaching, and what the passion of Christ is and able to do, in a way that modern people, whether boomers, x, y, or z generation can understand and see as meaningful to their circumstances. In short what does being set free mean in the modern world of consumerism and digital technology?

Sure you can answer that with a discussion about going to heaven or hell. But does it have any meaning to the people of today? To be honest, it doesn’t mean much to me. I’m a heaven down to earth kind of guy. I’d want to see heaven come down to earth in the here and now. When we meet Jesus for the first time we are helped by the holy spirit and find it a wonderful experience, but then comes the settling down as we go to church and are invited to read the Bible. That can be difficult without help and the cultural gap between us and the ancients is massive. Here theology can come to the rescue. But if the theology is old itself, we can find it difficult to align our own world view and be able to make it meaningful. I’m not saying theologies from older times are wrong, no, they where probably right, but for then. I just question whether they make sense now and do they answer the questions of today. Here is where scholars and academics can be a great benefit in helping us to understand the background to the development of the different theologies.

In many of the stories that fill the Bible we encounter people who often have to go on a journey, discovering who God is. Abraham is a good example. Looking for a fertility god he encounters the creator god. But it takes him a long time to learn this, to be able to comprehend the magnitude of the promise he is given. When we read his and other stories from the Jewish scriptures, do we get it, do we see the Father God of creation, of his son Jesus or do we just see an archetypal god of wrath and judgement?

In the gospels, as we follow the stories of the disciples, we see the change in their understanding. In particular Peter, his perception of Jesus and his relationship with him changes, their relationship strained and almost broken. Yet it was always about a living relationship that created a meaningful faith for Peter and a deep friendship between both of them.

Is theology of any use? I think so. Just as Jesus taught his disciples, taking them on a journey of discovering faith. So too we journey in our faith, we too have to grow in our relationship with the trinity and have our worldview impacted by the gospels. The theologies we have can help us in that journey. But for us to grow we must understand our theologies are never complete. That some of our understanding will be wrong. We must be able to hold such theories lightly, letting go of them if needs be. There is such a thing as bad theology. We must temper our knowledge with love, gaining wisdom to avoid theologies that bring hate and division.

We do need theology, allowing it to inform us, giving us a good foundation to build our faith on. However, we must remember our lived out relationship with God, the Son and Holy Spirit within creation and expressed in our lives will teach us: there is always more than we know and the adventure of life is to find out.

Our theologies should be capable of equipping us to speak in our modern language, into our world, to our times, bringing the freedom of the Gospels and the kingdom of heaven down to earth. Just one word of warning, the Gospels are not conservative; they are radical. Jesus has a habit of upsetting the apple cart. If we want to speak into our world, are we ready for that, those of you living in the western world?

The Power of ‘I’

A short post by Gaz: ‘enjoy’… and / or think!


‘I’ Love You’

I meet marrieds and others who say ‘love you’ to friends or partners or in comedy when you can’t say the L word ‘luff luff luff’.

There is an innate power, a deeply personal work and energy in adding the ‘I’.

How comfortable are we with I Love You !

Where might we bring back the weighty ‘I’ to those we more comfortably risk ‘love you’ or manage discomfort by reducing our regard for someone to other phrases.

Oddly though, and perhaps a different strand, it is often not the loss of love which breaks apart a relationship but something less explored, the loss of like.

Not liking is corrosive but we cannot create like, it is the responsibility of the self or other to be likeable. We can love, convey love, but where do you tell those you love that you like them. When was the last time someone articulated they like you. We can love without like, love can remain long after like has flown. Are we left to read between the lines as to how likeable we might be, guessing that love also means like.

I told a new friend recently, ‘I like you, thank you for your friendship’, they stood up and hugged me.

Prophetic Observation: The Old becomes New

I read this post by Matheus Lapa recently and asked if I could re-post here. Matheus is not even close to being half my age(!!) but I have a great zoom connection with him on a regular basis. Brazilian, living in Canada, married to Eduarda with soon to be two children. He is certainly one of a new generation ready to rise from Brazil with perspectives that will take the body of Christ out of the ghetto. Enough from me!!


“In this way, if anyone is united with the Messiah, they are a New Creation – the old has passed away; behold: what exists now is different and new!” (2 Corinthians 5:17).

NEW APOSTOLIC EXPRESSIONS

Okay… Paul, a widely loved and studied figure in our days, right?! I suspect, however, that during his time it was not the case – for many, if we truly understood Paul, he wouldn’t be accepted by the overwhelming number of people who advocate for a “Pauline theology” today.

Paul was a sign of contradiction to his fellow countrymen and Jewish brothers due to Jesus’ call, the Messiah, on the road to Damascus, and he certainly represented a contradiction to Jesus’ disciples and the churches of his time: not only because he claimed that the apostles, who were considered something, had nothing to add to him (Galatians 2:6), but also by the way he lived his own life.

One of the situations that occurred was in Corinth, a city where Paul worked and nurtured a community. A group of super-apostles sought to undermine his apostolic authority, claiming to possess greater wisdom and authority, highlighting their eloquent preaching.

The marks of Paul’s apostolic authority should be seen in what these super-apostles rejected: his simplicity and humility, weakness, and his sufferings for the sake of the Body of Christ.

The emergence of new apostolic individuals will be characterized by a disregard for conforming to what is already established; they will envision a new path to be taken, which will require new expressions to fulfill what lies ahead. The structure of these apostolic individuals will not be about glamour and fame, eloquence and wisdom as the established order dictates. These men and women will be a contradiction: radically humble, intentionally servants, persevering patiently through the persecutions and resistances that will come their way.

NEW EYES

Who will be able to perceive this new apostolic expression? Just like Paul as a new apostolic expression was not recognized and received by everyone as an apostle of Christ, even by those he had worked with for a long time. Only those who have a new perspective, new eyes, will recognize the new authority.

Paul addresses this issue in 2 Corinthians when he declares that he would not assume a posture expected by the super-apostles. The apostle states that “we should not judge anyone by worldly standards” (5:17). What does it mean to judge by worldly standards? It means to rely on human standards, to decide based on what is seen or heard. We judge by worldly standards whenever we fail to see others through Christ.

How can we know people in a different way? This question can be answered when we look to Jesus. As we understand how Jesus saw people, we will understand what our attitude should be toward the world. According to the Scriptures, the Messiah would “not judge by what he sees with his eyes, or decide by what he hears with his ears” (Isaiah 11:3).

To be inspired by the fear of the Lord is to have our inner being ordered toward the contemplation of God, relating to all things as God ordained. In practical terms, people who do not “judge by worldly standards” will never judge something about someone based on what they see or decide based on what they hear because they know that there is much more than what our eyes can see. God establishes this standard of relationship for the new creation as a break with this age.

Only those who have their perspectives renewed, ordered by the fear of the Lord, will recognize new apostolic expressions and will be developed, participating in the new horizons established by God.

NEW CREATION

The language of Scripture regarding the New Creation is marked by an imagery of continuity and discontinuity. For example, the vision of the New Creation as the final fulfillment of all things, where there is no more death and suffering, goes beyond the vision presented in the Old Testament. Isaiah’s vision of New Heavens and New Earth, a language used to describe the restoration of Israel, where the sins of the nation would be completely forgiven (Isaiah 65:17), the prophet sees the prosperity of the righteous but does not see the abolition of death: “For the young man shall die a hundred years old” (Isaiah 65:20). Thus, the New Creation (in Isaiah) is not something entirely different. It incorporates an ideal that is recognized by the Jewish mindset that was shaping a new understanding for the people of God – so it can say something about their identity, purpose, and hope for this present world.

Similarly, while this ultimate eschatological horizon, seen by the prophet John in the book of Revelation, has not yet arrived, we also need to articulate a language that is not only able to announce the reality of the New Creation but also generate an imagery that guides and orders life. This was the apostolic challenge of Paul, and I believe it will be ours as well: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come” (2 Corinthians 5:17); “For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation” (Galatians 6:15). What does it mean to be a New Creation? How is the New Creation shaping today for the future? What are the signs we see today?

The challenge of this journey toward the ultimate eschatological horizon is what Isaiah would face if he had access to what John wrote about the reality of the New Creation: to have a framework capable of embracing both continuity and discontinuity, submitting to the process of being formed into a new form at each stage.

NEW COMMUNITY EXPRESSIONS

Paul’s apostolic activity is not related to what is now known as ‘church’. Paul was a builder – he was interested in forming New Communities for the New World of God. Thus, his instructions were not limited to ecclesiastical organization, but a social ordering of nations toward the one God and Lord.

The emergence of new apostolic expressions will also mark the formation of new communities that will be much broader in their scope, diverse in their expressions, and above all, marked by love. The context in which we are living as humanity is, in many ways, similar to what the early Christians experienced: they lived in a pre-Christian era, and today we live in a post-Christian era. This means that today we are in the exact context for the emergence of new community expressions.

Of course, this emergence will not be ‘easy’, the gaze of suspicion and distrust will remain, but it will be inevitable – they are already a reality, even if they cannot be seen now. In the coming years, new apostolic voices will present new expressions.

Poem #2 by Joanna

In this poem I was trying to understand some of the meaning of ‘blessed are the poor in spirit’. I can’t say I got to the bottom of what it truly means as it is a great mystery and impossible to fully grasp, yet a great comfort. It came out of my own suffering knowing that Jesus is near to me in spite of, but also because of it.


King

Lonely wanderer
Still your troubled brow
Take a moment to sink
Into the easy embrace
Of the warm lamb man
Who comforts those who mourn
And bears the marks of thorns and nails

The bright blessed flawless ones
Walk on heads held high
Striding forward into the glorious heights

But he lifts up the broken, and the weary
And they get taken to his sanctuary
To the intimate place
Where healing and union happen
He binds up the wounds
And washes the feet
Of the unwashed and the weak
So faint from suffering
They cannot lift their heads
Cradled in his arms
Rags put off and robes put on
Laid down beside the river
That gently meanders through the meadow
The sound that soothes the soul
He sits, just sits right there
Never leaves and when ready
The dove breathes
The poor and weak revived.



I am Joanna. A mother of a 22 year old daughter, Katie and a wife of Derek. During 2007-2010 I experienced a real awakening and experienced a powerful move of the Spirit through various ministries and at my church. I prayed for many people and it was powerful sometimes. However in May 2010 when I was 42 years old my life changed forever when I experienced a small but devastating Cerebellar stroke. It affected my balance and has caused me perpetual vertigo ever since mainly a rocking sensation and is an unseen disability which greatly limits my life. I had to give up my job working in a university library which I loved mainly because of the friends I made there and our wonderful relationships. So I have lived 12 years in the desert effectively and suffered a great deal at the hands of my illness which has led to trauma and anxiety. It has caused me to at times be in deep despair and to question my faith and whether I even have a place in this world. However, it’s as the disciples said to Jesus when he asked them if they still wanted to follow him ‘where else would I go’. I have known him in the valley and on the mountaintops in the past and he is ever present in both places though I experience him differently now than I did. It is more of the still small voice than the waves of his presence and experience of glory etc.than I felt in the past. I would love to be healed but have learned to accept things to some extent and wait to see if things may ever change? I do my best to be ‘salt’ and ‘light’ where I find myself but fail I’m sure on many occasions. I am always searching for answers and understanding though which is partly why I have written poetry and other reflections on issues affecting our world.

Poem #1 by Joanna

Joanna sent me a couple of poems on reflections that I asked if I could post here. She has been on a number of Zooms with me, like us all with questions (are there really more questions that answers, or am I simply discovering that I am not as smart as I once was / thought I was?). Below is the first one followed by her ‘bio’ in her words. I will publish the second one tomorrow.


In this poem I think I was inspired by a variety of themes. I was talking about the presence of God in the mountaintop experience and in the valley. Psalm 139 came into it – where can I go from your presence etc.? My own inability to rescue myself. Also reflecting on the divisions in society and political polarisation (particularly at the time when Brexit and Trump were big issues) and the weakness of selfishness and hate. Also descent of love in the person of Jesus into the abyss and the ultimate triumph of love over all experience,resurrection. God is love…

Love

Beneath the pinnacles
Of high ecstatic bliss
Beneath the oracles
Of wisdom unending
I stand, I sit, I lie
Searching for the inerrant truth
For the utter heights
Of giddy redemption
Of everlasting light

Boxed into my shadowy dwelling
Beneath the grassy earthen roof
By unharmonious voices
I push against the absolute
Against the harsh wall
Of implacable certainty
Human thought may vary
Violent, utter, hard
But love speaks louder
But love has the first word, the last word

Swimming against the flow of the false positive
She transcends the dead work of human slant
She swipes at death
Her beauty soars swiftly
Up, up into the heavens and beyond
And bathes creation in her rainbow glow
Cradling all the broken fragments of humanity
In her tender arms
Kissing the earth
With a mother’s mouth


I am Joanna. A mother of a 22 year old daughter, Katie and a wife of Derek. During 2007-2010 I experienced a real awakening and experienced a powerful move of the Spirit through various ministries and at my church. I prayed for many people and it was powerful sometimes. However in May 2010 when I was 42 years old my life changed forever when I experienced a small but devastating Cerebellar stroke. It affected my balance and has caused me perpetual vertigo ever since mainly a rocking sensation and is an unseen disability which greatly limits my life. I had to give up my job working in a university library which I loved mainly because of the friends I made there and our wonderful relationships. So I have lived 12 years in the desert effectively and suffered a great deal at the hands of my illness which has led to trauma and anxiety. It has caused me to at times be in deep despair and to question my faith and whether I even have a place in this world. However, it’s as the disciples said to Jesus when he asked them if they still wanted to follow him ‘where else would I go’. I have known him in the valley and on the mountaintops in the past and he is ever present in both places though I experience him differently now than I did. It is more of the still small voice than the waves of his presence and experience of glory etc.than I felt in the past. I would love to be healed but have learned to accept things to some extent and wait to see if things may ever change? I do my best to be ‘salt’ and ‘light’ where I find myself but fail I’m sure on many occasions. I am always searching for answers and understanding though which is partly why I have written poetry and other reflections on issues affecting our world.

Perspectives