Feed My Sheep

This paper was first written as a response to the differing views posted on the Internet by two Bishops. Bishop John Spong called for A New Reformation and Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali responded with A New Way to Speak of God. It seemed to me that both made an assumption about the purpose of the Church in the West and I thought both were missing something. Neither is now available, so what follows has been updated to stand alone.

here is no doubt that, were Jesus preaching now, He would tell stories not about sheep and inheritances, but about motor cars and mortgages. Bishop J was right to look forward and there is an ever pressing need to review our language and metaphors. Presumably the "non-inclusive" language of the ASB sounded acceptable when it was written. Now, so soon afterwards, it jars. The trinity of Anglican authority: The Bible, Tradition and Reason, as interpreted by some theologically elite group of souls, is not now enough. We need also to acknowledge the contemporary inspiration of God's people - vividly obvious in the events following the death of the Princess of Wales and its first anniversary.

In this Post Modern Age: no-one paid tribute to her with artificial candles, much less electric light, nor, to verge on the absurd, with that ubiquitous offspring of the space age: the teflon coated frying pan. Tribute was paid however, on the Internet. Some things were right others were not; and no amount of intellectual endeavour can decide. In a crisis these things emerge. More importantly no theology of Redemption and Salvation decided that she and Dodi are together in heaven just as neither protocol nor rules decided her funeral arrangements. Happily the dear C of E came up trumps with her funeral service, by using its vast treasure of Experience and Spiritual Symbolism to respond to the national mood.

Bishop J was keen on demystification as a way of bridging the gap between church and people: However, in this country the Church is held in high regard by most people. They turn to it on special occasions or at moments of crisis, but they do not want to join it. No amount of demystification of Doctrine will alter that, it is indeed the Church's Holy Mysteries which appeal. In any case we have been here many times before, Honest to God and The Myth of God Incarnate come to mind; paperbacks which made headlines at the time but fell into obscurity. As for the Virgin Birth, better termed sexless conception, that is now commonplace and maybe one could build a theological language around the idea of Jesus as mortal clone of the Immortal God. This fits well with the Biblical creation of man and woman in God's image and the idea of Jesus as a second Adam. I doubt though that it would do much for evangelism.

As for miracles, many, including me, can attest to their happening but work needs to be done to understand God's apparent selectivity. But then we know His ways are not our ways.

Both Bishops made an assumption about the purpose of the Church in our Western Society which they said is to explain?. I think otherwise. It should seek further ways to make its Spiritual Treasure available to any and everyone who seeks it as Jesus did. Its members are not a saved minority, but a saving group of disciples.

We seem to have got hooked on Jesus's final earthly words as recorded by Matthew: Make disciples of everyone. That still works in the Third World, but not here. Maybe it is because, historically, it has been used to endorse the Church's power over people: One baptism for the remission of sins. So, instead, let's embrace and emphasise the final words recorded by John: