Daring to See God Now

Nick Baines

Description

Daring to See God Now is part of the highly popular series of open-minded York Courses for discussion groups and individual reflection, crammed with questions to stimulate thought and lively debate.
Mark's Gospel begins with Jesus 'proclaiming the Good news of God'. But, what is this 'good news', and who is it for? Taking Mark 1.14-15 as a starting point, this course raises important questions about change, repentance, and how we can become in ourselves living evidence of the good news. Examples are taken from the rest of Mark's Gospel as well as contemporary and historic Christians.

The five sessions focus on:

Session 1: The Good News of God
Session 2: The time is now
Session 3: God is present
Session 4: Change your mind
Session 5: Live it!

The course booklet is accompanied by a lively CD, featuring Anglican priest and Regius Professor Emeritus of Divinity at the University of Oxford, Keith Ward, the journalist and poet, Cathy Galvin, author and former Bishop of Llandaff, David Wilbourne, and former Methodist Vice-President, Rachel Lampard MBE.

This York Course is available in the following formats
Course Book (Paperback 9781909107236)
Course Book (eBook 9781909107793)
Audio Book of Interview to support Daring to See God Now York Course (CD 9781909107786)
Audio Book of Interview (Digital Download 9781909107779)
Transcript of interview to support Daring to See God Now York Course (Paperback 9781909107243)
Transcript of interview (eBook 9781909107809)
Book Pack (9781909107816 Featuring Paperback Course Book, Audio Book on CD and Paperback Transcript of Interview)
Large print (9781909107823)

Sujets

• Religion
• Christianisme
• Christian Living
• Philosophie et théologie
• Devotional
• Devotion
• Christianity

Informations

• Publié par: SPCK
• Date de parution: 01 août 2018
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781909107809
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 4 Mo

Extrait

Making full use of the Audio
Index of Track Numbers
[1] – [2] Introduction
[3] – [8] Session (1) The Good News of God
[9] – [14] Session (2) The time is now
[15] – [20] Session (3) God is present
[21] – [26] Session (4) Change your mind
[27] – [32] Session (5) Live it!
Each track number on the course audio corresponds to the start of each new question posed to the partici pants by Simon Stanley, the presenter. The track numbers are shown in square brackets in the text of the transcript itself.
When to play the Course Audio
There is no ‘right’ way! Some groups will play the 14/15-minute piece at the beginning of the session. Other groups do things differently – perhaps playing it at the end, or playing 7/8 minutes at the beginning and the rest halfway through the meeting. Groups may like to choose a question to discuss straight after they have listened to a relevant track on the audio – there are no hard and fast rules. The track markers (on the audio and shown in the Transcript) will help you find any question put to the participants very easily, including the Closing Reflections, which you may wish to play (again) at the end of the session. Do whatever is best for you and your group.



CD Track [1]
York Courses presents
DARING TO SEE GOD NOW
a course in five sessions, written by Bishop Nick Baines
[2] Hello, I’m Simon Stanley and I’m delighted to be your guide through this course.
Let me briefly introduce the contributors: Keith Ward, an Anglican priest, is Regius Professor Emeritus of Divinity at the University of Oxford, a fellow of the British Academy and has written many books on philosophy, world religions and Christian theology. Rachel Lampard MBE has worked for the Methodist Church since the year 2000, with responsibility for the Church’s engagement with political issues. She was Vice-President of the Methodist Conference in 2016-17. David Wilbourne studied Natural Sciences and Theology at Cambridge, has published six books, worked with three Archbishops of York, and was Assistant Bishop of Llandaff. Cathy Galvin is a journalist and poet. She has held senior editorial positions at Newsweek and The Sunday Times , and is currently a non-executive director of The Tablet . Her third collection of poetry will be published in 2019.
So, the introductions over, let’s begin.


Session 1: The Good News of God
Track [3]
This course is based on and around Mark’s Gospel, Chapter One, verses 14 & 15. Jesus came to Galilee proclaiming the good news of God and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God has come near, repent and believe in the good news.’ I asked our participants what they thought would be good news for themselves and the Church. Rachel Lampard kicks off, followed by David Wilbourne, and Keith Ward – last, but not least.
RL: I think some good news I’d like to hear for myself is the good news of peace. That’s what we need in our world at the moment, and it feels very absent. Hearing about the Prince of Peace, and the peace that can be brought in our lives, but particularly in the fragile places in our world at the moment - that’s what I’m longing for. The good news I want for my church at the moment, and I’m sure a lot of other people are thinking that, is just a good news of growth, a good news of other people who are hearing God’s word, hearing that message and feeling that the church is a place where they want to be.
DW: No more Armed Forces. Jesus said: love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, those who live by the sword will die by the sword. That would be really, really good news.
KW: We’ve had the good news. And the good news is, of course, that we are to live with God forever through Jesus Christ, and I wouldn’t want any more good news than that! But how do you get it home to people? So that’s the problem.
[4] But as Bishop Nick points out in the booklet, our world has always been a brutal place. But he wants to share good news with those who’ll listen. Well we’ve all listened, we’ve all wanted to see God’s goodness prevail, but somehow it always seems out of reach. What is it that keeps us carrying on as disciples of Jesus when he doesn’t appear to deliver what we expect? What helps us keep the faith?
KW: I don’t think I’ve ever been in a situation where Jesus hasn’t delivered what I expected -but that’s because I don’t expect a lot. I don’t get troubled with people disbelieving in Christ, I just do my best to go on. So I don’t have any problem. Nothing keeps me in the faith, it’s just it’s always been - since I was converted to Christianity - a wonderful thing.
RL: It’s quite hard to carry on sometimes, and you know, I can sometimes understand why people turn away. And I myself - it’s tempting to do that. Why do we carry on though? Well, we’re carrying on in faith, aren’t we - and also recognition that God answers our prayers in different ways. And God is faithful, and our faithfulness is about trusting in that. What helps me is the faithfulness of other people, to be honest. When I’m feeling a bit threadbare, and a bit stretched thin, it’s the faithfulness of other people: what people are doing, and have been doing, for decades and centuries before us, and we are just part of that. That stream of God’s people. And it’s not all up to you.
DW: I think Nick Baines has made a very good point: that we look for him in the wrong places. We tend to look for him in palaces when he’s in a stable; we look for him at the Lord Mayor’s Banquet when he’s feasting with beggars; we look for him on a throne when he’s actually on a cross; we look for him in a tomb when he’s risen. And I think if we start looking in the right places - unexpected places - we’ll find he does meet our expectations.
And where does David find Jesus?
DW: Schools, really. When I was first ordained, the last place I wanted to work in was schools, because I was shy and I thought the children would eat me up for breakfast. And, let’s face it, doing an assembly in a secondary school is as close to a near-death experience that you’ll ever get. But I was surprised by life in all its fullness in schools - and if you think of the Fruits of the Spirit: joy, peace etc etc there they are in schools. He surprises you in schools. Whereas we tend to look for Christ in churches - which can be terribly boring and dull - whereas schools, I don’t take Christ into schools, I find him in schools and bring him back again.
[5] Some people say they can meet God in the beauty and transcendence of nature. But is that enough?
DW: I’d say it was too much [ laughs ]. I heard a quote from Einstein on Radio 4 the other day: ‘Anyone devoid of wonder might just as well be dead.’ [ Laughs. ] Pulls no punches that, does it. And anything that moves you to wonder is marvellous. If you read a good book, you want to thank the author; if you look at a lovely painting, you want to thank the artist; if you hear a wonderful piece of music, you want to thank the composer and the orchestra. You look at the night sky, you want to thank God. I think one reason atheists are so cross is that they’ve got nobody to thank. Thank ‘chance’! Well, derr! [ Laughs. ] So, you’re moved, and you’re moved to give thanks, and therefore you’re moved to give thanks to the creator. Get out - and see the wonder of God outside! I think church should be a springboard for seeing God in nature. It’s not either/or - it’s both.
Rachel recalled being atop a mountain in Wales with all the family, when one of the children exclaimed:
RL: ‘That was awesome!’ And the real meaning of the word ‘awe’, I think we all appreciated, we all got a sense of God in that amazing shared stillness silence on the mountain. So that’s, for me, some of it - that sense of awe that comes from nature. But it’s not enough because, however awesome it is, it’s not personal, and that is a crucial part of our faith as Christians. We have to see God not just in nature, but God in people. We see God in - when we shelter the homeless, when we welcome the stranger. We see God in relationships, in the love and the forgiveness that we give and experience. God in nature is important, but it’s not enough. It’s got to be God in relationship with other people and, through that, in relationship with God.
KW: I believe that in loving the beauty of nature, you’re loving the handiwork of God. So I think you are loving God, whether you know it or not. You just don’t personalise it. You just admire the beauty - but I think that beauty lies in God. And so, enough? Well, no, it’s not enough, but then nothing is enough, because we are only saved by God, not by what we believe. So I do believe that God wants everybody to have life with God. Yes, if you find that nature speaks to you of something transcendent, then that is you’re really approaching what is in fact God. And then I presume that God will do the rest.