The question about women bishops is back in the news in the UK; the Church of England has today voted to accept having women bishops.
This is a subject that seems guaranteed to raise strong feelings one way or the other, but personally I don’t know quite what I think about it - I can see both views.
However I have been very interested in the ways people have made their arguments, in the motivations and the resulting stances, whichever way they have been arguing.
Here are a number of arguments that I have heard put forward frequently:
- the equality agenda demands action to address a clear inequality
- if the church is to keep up with public opinion it's high time to address this anachronism
- the church has always done things this way, and changes in public opinion are no reason to change now
- it's clearly not fair
- what was right in 1st-century Palestine is not necessarily right now
- the 'stained-glass ceiling' effect
- that one view is obviously right and the other side is being belligerent / unreasonable / old-fashioned / liberal / etc.
All the above arguments appeal to common sense, human opinion, or an internal sense of 'rightness' or fairness. It is hard to disagree with such arguments; they are common and useful bases from which to make judgements.
However, they are all also 'human worldly thinking’, even when Bible verses are tacked on the end to ‘prove their point’!
And I am certainly wary of any argument that resorts to force or that does not take seriously the views of the ‘other side’.
There are some behaviours that are ‘obviously wrong’ - for example thieving is wrong. Few people would argue that thieving is right, and the Bible is unequivocal: “Do not steal” is one of the 10 commandments.
But the issue of women bishops is not such an issue - there are many, many people who care deeply about this, and present their case carefully for or against - and many use scriptures to back their view. There is no straightforward commandment, “Thou shalt / shalt not have women bishops”, but there were certainly many ways in which Jesus went against the cultural norms of his day to recognise and value the place of women, and there are also passages which speak about leadership being male.
So this seems to be one of those issues that is not ‘core’ Christian doctrine - such as Jesus’ humanity and divinity, death and resurrection, and salvation by faith, are. And yet it is an issue that people feel strongly about!
So, I am happy to hear from any who...
- will grapple honestly with the complexities of what the Bible has to say about men and women, and about leadership
- who demonstrate their love for those of the opposite opinion, by listening carefully and respectfully, and by working for their wellbeing if they are hurt by the outcome.
- and who speak with humility, and listen with openness to the mind of Christ.
For I know that honesty, humility, and love are qualities of God.
A man was walking along a road when he came to a fork in the way.
To the left was a good, wide path, which seemed to lead to pleasant green meadows, well-fed cattle and trees laden with good-looking fruit. To the right the path was narrow, and looked rocky and difficult; he couldn’t see where it was leading.
Now the man remembered his Sunday-school lessons, and realised that the good-looking path to the left might not be the right way to go - but then it looked so inviting! So he decided to sit a while on the fence that he noticed between the two roads; from there he could see which path other travellers would choose.
As time went by many came and chose the left path, and he could see them going on to enjoy the meadow and the fruits. A few, just a few, decided to turn to the right and he could see them struggling over the rough terrain until they went out of sight.
Then a well-dressed man came to the fork, and noticing our traveller sitting on the fence, went up to him and said, “I see you have decided which way you are going!”
“No, sir!” he replied, “I am sitting here on the fence watching people coming by and choosing which path to take, before I decide for myself.”
But the well-dressed man responded, “No, you have decided already!”
“Who are you, sir, that you know so much?” the man replied.
“I’m sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Satan. That meadow and those fruit trees to the left belong to me.” And without waiting for a reply, he continued, "And so does that fence that you are sitting upon; it also belongs to me, for I put it there."
(I claim no authorship, other than for retelling this story in my own words; I first heard it at my church and do not know its origin.)
The assumption that one chooses one’s faith and religion is almost taken for granted in the Western world. However, this is not the case everywhere and, in fact, it probably doesn’t apply in the majority of the world. The most common version is simply to be born into a culture which expects its members to have a certain religious outlook and belief system; the most extreme version comes as: “Convert or be killed”!
Personally, I struggle to see how any god who requires force to acquire adherents is any god at all - but if he is, then he is nothing but a tyrant. But perhaps this is just my own particular upbringing and view of religion. I don’t know.
But this I do know: the God of the Christians always gives us a free choice. He didn't create us to be, and he doesn't want us to be, automatons. Rather, he made us in his image, giving us free will - including the choice of whether or not to enter into a relationship with him.
Along with choice, the Christian God recognises us as responsible for our choices and actions, for in his love He created us free and responsible people, not slaves!
I also know this: that Satan deals in deception, power and compulsion, and disguises choices except where it suits him. He also peddles the lie that we are not responsible for our actions (although responsibility cannot be so easily waved away!). Satan enslaves us, ensnaring us in bondage; we are not free at all, for he deals in power, in force, and not in love!
It is only the Christian God who gives us choice! When a religion restricts our choice to believe or stop believing, or does not recognise our responsibility for our actions, be very clear who is behind it!
The most extreme version of this is seen in some parts of the Middle East at present, where one group says we must be compelled to accept their view, or be killed! And yet these people, who deny there is any other choice, are indeed making a choice - for themselves and for others! - and they are responsible for their actions and will be held to account, in this life or the next, unless they repent and turn to the God who is Love!
The world seems a particularly violent and evil place at the moment - brutal force, savage wars, beheadings - and I am shocked. Not especially shocked that people can act in such a manner, but shocked to realise that this is merely a reflection of what is inside you and me.
Most of the time I am fooled by the thin veneer of 'civilisation' and 'decency', and so too easily think of myself as 'respectable', even 'good'.
But in some of the actions we've seen on the news, we observe the raw power of satan working in people, and then I remember that there is no difference at all between me and them - except the saving work of Jesus! For without Jesus, my destiny was in the hands of that same evil power we see so clearly uncloaked just now.
And in all the decent people I know, who have never deliberately gone out of their way to seriously harm another, let alone to maim or kill them - and yet have no time for Jesus - I am aghast that they would entrust their destiny into that same hideous and evil power.
All praise be to Jesus, whose goodness and light far outshines the evil and darkness of satan - and was willing to die to save me - and all who will call on him - from those evil clutches.
The Lord God is a jealous God and he does not want us to put in place anything that we value more than him! Exodus 20v5 - in the passage where God gave Moses the 10 commandments - says "I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God”; there are similar passages in Exodus 34v14 and Deuteronomy 4v24.
The first of these passages says we are to 'break down the altars, smash the sacred stones’ of anything that does not worship God alone.
I am a Christian and do not have any carved idols or sacred stones, so I can race past such Bible passages without seeing any relevance for me.
But one of the ways in which we see whether we are genuine about loving God is when we seek his guidance. For it is here that we often put in place provisos, limitations and loop-holes. When our prayers take the form:
- “Lord, if you will do this for me, then I will do that for you" - then we set up a proviso
- “Lord, I will happily do this for you, but I couldn’t do that” - then we put in place a limitation
- “Lord, please let me know what you want me to do, and I will do it if I can” - then we leave ourselves a loop-hole.
And by so doing we are revealing those things that we value more than God; in effect, they are false gods!
We are very good at setting limits on what we will allow God to do! Sometimes we are directly disobedient, and will not obey what we know is right, but much more often we simply and subtly put in place provisos, limitations, or loop-holes in what we are prepared to do for God. Frequently these sound very good, even ‘Christian’, and much less blatant than the examples above.
For example, I am fairly new working in my current work place, which is a mission counselling centre, and am about to take a leadership role there. So, here are some of the things that I want for this job:
- I want our centre to be successful in supporting people who are going through difficult times
- I want our centre to be an example of what good missionary care looks like
- I want us to contribute to the mission of supporting those who are in the front line of sharing the gospel to those who have not yet heard
- And I want to be a good team leader
These are some of the things I care about - and there is nothing wrong with them. Except that God is a jealous God, and He is not really interested in my ideas, but He is interested in whether I am open and obedient to His plans!
If I am just concerned about what I want, it leads me to praying like this:
- Lord, please help us to be successful in supporting missionaries
- Lord, please make us an example of what good missionary care looks like
- Lord, please make me a good team leader
- etc.
And these prayers all centre around asking God to do my will! I need to tear down these good ideas of mine, these altars in my heart. For God is a jealous God and He will not stand for things that I love more than Him.
Like God testing Abraham by telling him to sacrifice his only son Isaac, God requires us to let go of the very things we love the most.
For it is only when we lay down our good ideas, and the limits we try to place on God, that God will show us His perfect way forward. God will not guide us while we set limits, or if we are just going to consider His leading! Our ideas may be ‘good’, but they are not as good as God’s perfect plan!
God is a jealous God, but He is also utterly loving - His desire is not to thwart us, but to bless us!
When we set limits, we are probably trying to protect ourselves – after all, I am frequently afraid that God will ask me to do something that is too difficult. But God’s purpose is not to curse us, but to bless us! He wants nothing but the absolute best for us – as individuals, couples, as families, and as Christian organisations. He really does not want us to have second best by going after some other goal or god, however good they may look, when we can be truly safe and totally blessed by following wherever He leads us!
So, next time we face some decision, or seek God’s guidance for the way forward, remember that God does not want us to experience anything less good, less safe, less perfect, than He has planned for us. We are to say to Him, "Show me what to do and where to go, and I will do it; I put no restrictions in place. The things I care most deeply about, even if they are good, I will put them aside to follow wherever you lead."
For God is a jealous, and absolutely loving, God.
We have been surprised a number of times in the various churches in Nairobi that we have been to in recent months, notably the first time we saw we saw gifts to the church being blessed. Traditionally Kenyans eat with spoons, so when a member of the congregation gave a large number of spoons to the church, these spoons were blessed by the pastor for the members’ future use.
I admit that initially this struck me as strange, but, on reflection, I think they are on to something. Very clearly the attitude was that all gifts, even spoons, are gifts from the Lord, and are to be used in ways that bless the Lord through the members of the church. Nothing is to be taken for granted or used carelessly, it is all His provision and to be used accordingly!
Coming from a materialistic culture, it has made me realise how much I take for granted that most things can just be bought, used and, sooner or later, thrown away.
So this week we blessed some new dustbins that a member had given to the church to help keep the compound clean…
So, the next time we go shopping - whether for food, household goods, clothes, cash from the hole in the wall, or whatever - how about we come back home and dedicate their use to God’s glory?
The story in Matthew 14 of Jesus feeding the five thousand with just five loaves and two fish, is well known.
Having moved continents recently, I have realised that there is a cultural component to how food is shared when in a group. Back home in the UK, when invited to eat with others, we do a kind of mental calculation about the quantity of food available. For example: ‘there are 8 pieces of chicken and 6 people, so I better take just one piece; to take two would look greedy!’ In this way everyone has their share, and the awkwardness only comes later when considering seconds, and then we say ‘No, after you’, ‘No after you’ etc, or perhaps engage in some more devious manoeuvring to increase our chances of getting one of the two remaining pieces of chicken!
In some African cultures, the sharing of food is handled quite differently. The first person to help themselves takes all the food they would like, with no thought that there may not be enough for later eaters. This is not an expression of greed, but simply a different understanding of responsibility.
In the British model, it is the eaters’ responsibility to ensure everyone has food and so they calculate their share. In the African mindset, it is seen as the host’s responsibility to ensure that there is enough food for everyone, and so if the people at the end of the line end up with nothing, this demonstrates the under-provision by the host, not the greed or insensitivity of those at the front of the queue. In the event of the food running out, the host is expected to go and prepare some more.
But, if you are anything like me, I find it difficult not to look at those ‘greedy and insensitive’ people at the front of the queue who have left me without! It is very difficult to put my British mindset aside!
Back to Jesus and the five loaves and two fish.
Imagine yourself sitting in the crowd - a huge crowd of "about five thousand men, besides women and children” (Matt 14 v21), and one of the disciples eventually gets to where you are sitting. You can see that he only has a bit of bread and even less fish, and there are many, many people behind you, still waiting to eat. How much bread and fish do you take?
My first thought was to take just a tiny piece of bread - like at a communion service! - and maybe a flake or two of fish. Even that is more than my share! So I see it as a symbolic meal rather than an ‘eat-all-u-can’ offer that you sometimes see at a restaurant.
The trouble is, that in doing this, I have robbed myself of feasting on Jesus’ abundant provision; I have not realised that the Host is very well able to provide all that I - and everyone else - could possibly need, and indeed much more!
And this Bible passage tells us that He can, and He did!
