INSIGHT

LST INSIGHT - The Tree of Life issue1

LST INSIGHT - The Tree of Life issue 3

Welcome to the new look INSIGHT.

We’ve worked hard to create an accessible

theological magazine that is packed with

thought provoking articles and reviews, from

across the spectrum of LST faculty and associates.

In this issue we look at, and have taken our theme from,

where contemporary culture meets theology head on

in the stunning ‘Tree of Life’ film. We also explore issues

such as morality, counselling and living out faith in

the world.

INSIGHT is a magazine to be read and reacted to,

reviewing media that can fuel your relationship with

God. We’d love you to get involved – get in touch with

feedback and your ideas for further features or topics

you’d like to see covered.

Where’s the news? For the latest news about LST we’re

developing a regular news sheet. If your copy of INSIGHT

doesn’t have a news sheet in it and you’d like one, just

let us know or you can download it from the website.

Great things are happening at the London School of

Theology. We’re almost 70 years old and excited as

God challenges us to move forward with him in new

ways at the forefront of delivering effective, Bible based,

academically rigorous theological education.

The future is yet to be written – walk with us as we

prepare people to change the world.

Matt Adcock Editor

Special thanks to... Review authors: Sheila Green (retired LST Teacher & current LST student), Graham McFarlane (LST BA Course Leader/Senior Lecturer), Chloe Lynch (Leader of LifeGiving Church and Open Learning (BA) Tutor, LST) Tony Lane (LST Professor of Historical Theology), Sam Hargreaves (LST Lecturer in Music & Worship); as well as a big thanks to YouthWork magazine for use of their content.

Email [email protected] Facebook /LondonSchoolOfTheology

twitter @LSTheologyWeb www.lst.ac.uk


Matt Adcock Insight Editor & Director of Communications

nerv interactive (nerv.co.uk)Designers

Robert WilloughbyNew Testament Lecturer

Mark BeaumontSenior Lecturer in Islam & Mission

William AtkinsonVice-Principal (Academic)

Richard PicklesTheology & Counselling Diploma Level Tutor

Anna RobbinsSenior Lecturerin Theology and Contemporary Culture

Steve Motyer Theology & Counselling Course Leader

Tom WadeReligious Educator


he fallout from the bombing of the twin towers

in New York ten years ago has been truly

global. But especially in the UK, the copycat

7/7 attacks in London added to 9/11 a deeper

gloom which today still casts a heavy shadow over society.

Commentators tend to point out that relations between

Muslims in Britain and the rest of society have taken serious

hits from these events, and that confidence still needs to

develop to a level reached before September 2001. Both

devastatingly cruel bombings of civilians were undergirded by

Muslims who claimed to be retaliating against the US and the

UK for their military intervention in Muslim territory.

In the chilling video made by the mastermind of the

London carnage, Sadiq Khan, a twenty something British

Muslim from Yorkshire, proclaimed that British society was

corporately guilty of interference in the internal affairs

of a sovereign Muslim state, and that he was bringing the

retribution of God to bear on his viewers for such a crime.



What was very disturbing about the aftermath of 7/7

was the agreement of roughly one in four young British

Muslim men with Khan’s view that British society has

supported ‘illegal’ military intervention in Iraq and

Afghanistan, and that Muslims have the right to resist

such non-Muslim aggression.

The recent three-part life of the Prophet Muhammad

screened by the BBC showed the Khan video in which he

had claimed to be following the example of the Prophet

and then asked whether Muhammad would have

supported the killing of civilians in battle. A series of

scholars appeared on camera to argue that Muhammad

only used military force as a last resort and in self-

defense, and that he explicitly ruled out attacks on

civilians. The fact that a serious historical documentary

gave so much room to a twenty first century suicide

bomber who passionately believed that he was fulfilling

the will of God is eloquent testimony to the impact of

the latter on the public consciousness.

What has Christian theology to say in this context?

First of all, Christians should recognise that some

claiming to defend Christendom have used violence

against innocent Muslims in recent times and not just

during the Crusades. In the year 2000, I was giving some

teaching on Islam for missionaries to Bosnian Muslims

in Mostar, and will never forget being taken to the local

park, which was now completely filled with gravestones.

‘roughly one in four young British Muslim men

(agree) that British society has supported ‘illegal’

military intervention in Iraq & Afghanistan.’



‘Christians need to promote and uphold democratic

values that make allowance for personal faith and

practice but prevent coercion of any kind.’



I read the dates on a number of them and was struck by

the often young lives of Muslim citizens taken out by

Serbian artillery that had been blessed by church leaders

as a means to preserving Serbian Christian culture.

Second, Christians need to promote and uphold

democratic values that make allowance for personal

faith and practice but prevent coercion of any kind. The

British tradition of tolerance for individual expression of

belief needs to be vigorously argued for and defended.

For example, the recent outlawing of the public

wearing of Muslim female face coverings by the French

parliament should not be followed elsewhere, and

Christians ought to be the first to protect the right of

a Muslim to wear personally chosen clothing in public.

The best British approach is exemplified by a girls

secondary school near where I lived in Birmingham that

has designed headscarves for Muslim pupils in the forest

green colour of the school uniform.

Third, Christians must at the same time use this

freedom of personal expression in our culture to confess

their faith in Christ as the incarnate Word of God in

conversations with Muslims. There is no need for us

to cower in the corner in silence for fear of offending

Muslims who hold only that Jesus is a messenger of

God. Another story from Birmingham might illustrate

this. I was asked by a church leader to visit the home of

a Muslim GP he had befriended to explain the Trinity. I

gave the GP my Bible and suggested he read Colossians

1:15-22, which he did, and then he sat back in the sofa

and breathed out, ‘Now I understand what Christians

think of Jesus’. It was not too difficult to explain Father,

Son and Spirit from that point. Naturally, he was not

necessarily convinced that Colossians was telling the

truth, but I believe that Scripture speaks first before our

own witness to what is said there. After all, that GP

now knows that Christians hold to the incarnation of

the Son of God as a result of the clear teaching of the

Bible, and that this doctrine is not a later development

from the time of the Council of Nicaea in 325 as some

Muslim polemicists have argued. There have been liberal

Christian voices urging conservative Christians to play

down the incarnation in order that Christians might get

along with their Muslim neighbours. But the fact that

this Muslim GP was glad that someone took the time

to explain why the incarnation is so central to Christian

faith demonstrates that we can respect Muslims

without needing to apologise for what we believe God

has revealed in Christ.

Finally, the message of the peacemaking Christ of

Colossians 1:22 should be the very heart of our lifestyle

as Christians in relation to Muslims. Just as he sacrificed

his blood on the cross to bring all things back to God

so we ought to seek to represent him in the same spirit

of sacrifice, encouraging Muslims too to be at peace

with God.

Mark BEauMont

Senior Lecturer in Islam and Mission and a council member of Arab World Ministries UK.

‘The message of the peacemaking Christ of Colossians

1:22 should be the very heart of our lifestyle as

Christians in relation to Muslims.’


...we gaily sang, ‘the wise man built his house upon the rock’,

eagerly looking forward to the last line, ‘the foolish man built his

house upon the sand, and the house on the sand FELL FLAT!!’ -

accompanied by all sorts of collapsing sound effects and actions.

It certainly rubbed the point home to us seven-year-olds, as we

picked ourselves up from the floor. Build your life on the Rock that

is Jesus, and you’re secure. Ignore his words and build on the sand,

and you’ll be swept away by the storm.

‘The wise man built his house upon the rock’,



his is why I feel passionate about the

‘Theology’ in ‘Theology and Counselling’.

For nine very privileged years I’ve been

the Programme Leader for Theology

and Counselling at LST. During that time there’s been

a remarkable growth in Christian Counselling agencies

and training programmes across the UK – and no

wonder. Christians want to get involved in ministry to

an estranged and hurting society, in all sorts of ways,

and counselling is one of them. Our Theology and

Counselling programme is run in partnership with CWR,

one of the UK’s leading providers of Christian counselling

training. They do a great job. I’m really glad that Selwyn

Hughes (the founder of CWR) saw the vision of a

partnership with LST, because under the umbrella of our

joint venture with CWR we’ve been able to give depth,

and solidity, to the ‘Christian’ in ‘Christian counselling’. I

think that was part of Selwyn’s vision.

Yes – theology is the Rock on which Christian

counselling can be really well built. So what do Christian

counsellors gain, through having studied theology as

well? The gain is priceless, in my view, as I reflect on my

years of working with T&C at LST, and talk to students

and colleagues about it. Everyone has a slightly different

take on the blessings, but blessings they certainly are,

and I think I can summarise them like this:

a solidly founded world-view. God leaves mystery

clouding round the edges, when it comes to the big

questions, but that’s all part of the deal, as we share

with clients their perplexity about the world. Theology

helps us to know how to live with uncertainty, and to

know where the solid ground is. We don’t offer false

hope or reassurance, because we’ve looked closely at

the big issues of creation, humanity, sin, and salvation,

and built biblical foundations for our world-view. And

that means...

a well-rooted spirituality. It’s not easy, finding out

why life is so tough for so many people, and discovering

a spirituality which copes with that. Bringing theology

into counselling training gives plenty of space for this,

so that when the storms hit our lives, we know well

how to distinguish between trite, ill-thought theological

responses and others which go deep into Scripture and

bear nourishing spiritual fruit. And that means...



Counselling practice founded in clear self-

knowledge, knowledge of ourselves in Christ.

All good counselling courses aim at fostering self-

awareness in their trainees. This is why trainees are

usually required to undergo their own therapy. If we don’t

know ourselves, we’ll have blind spots that will intrude on

the work with clients. But for Christians there’s a whole

extra realm to self-knowledge – knowing who we are in

Christ. Can we truly take on board the love he has for us?

The shape and depth of his grace? How our bodies relate

to our spiritual life in him? Do we know what spiritual

gifts he has given us, and how to exercise them? Do we

know how to walk in the Spirit, and what that means

for our life on planet Earth? – and how this will impact

our client work? If we’re growing in this, it will mean...

Protection against disastrous legalism. Jesus kept

very bad company, and gave huge offence by welcoming

sinners and partying with them – because he knew (and

shows us) how grace changes lives. Do we know him

well enough to be as radical as he is? Good theology

leads us in his footsteps, and makes us signs of the

Kingdom. Bad theology gives out sets of prescriptions,

rules for living, just based on human church tradition:

and counsellors with bad theology will be inwardly

wanting to shift their clients in the direction of their

particular set of rules. Good theology subjects all this to

biblical critique, and delivers us from legalism. And this

kind of theology also gives...

a capacity for deep personal and theological

reflection. We notice this in our students. They go

deeper. Theology requires it. We can’t do everything on

our course, but we can set our students off on a lifetime

journey of reflection, giving them a taste and a growing

capacity for plumbing personal, biblical, theological,

psychological and spiritual depths, discovering

something of the integration between these areas. It’s

a wonderful journey, an awesome calling. I think that

theology and counselling together create holy ground,

a sacred space where we find the presence of the one

who is the Wonderful Counsellor. And people who are

beginning to experience this also develop...


‘we can set our students

off on a lifetime journey

of reflection’

Fluency in talking about spiritual things. Counsellors

with good theology aren’t stuck with fixed, Christian

language in talking about the things of the Spirit. When

you’ve gone into something deeply, you can begin to

find new words that communicate freshly. You’re not

bound to the old formulations (or wineskins), because

you see clearly what it’s really all about. You’ve got the

new wine. And a great side-effect of this study and

growth is that you gain...

reliable insight into the tough questions clients

bring. Clients don’t spare us. They bring their anxious

questions – where was God when I was abused? Why

do good people suffer so much? Have I committed

the unforgivable sin Jesus mentioned? Is it OK to be

homosexual? Can God forgive me, if I can’t forgive the

person who abused my child? It probably won’t be right

to become an ‘expert’ and start answering our clients’

questions – but theology helps us to be comfortable

in our skins while feeling the pain of these questions,

because we know that there are good biblical responses.

What a blessing.

Yes – blessings. Seven of them. Feels like a perfect

recipe. Seven precious minerals glinting in the Rock on

which a well-founded, firmly built Christian counselling

ministry can rest. Wise counsellors will build on it,

because ‘the house on the Rock STOOD FIRM!’

StEvE MotYEr

Theology & Counselling Course Leader and Lecturer in New Testament and Hermeneutics


‘theology helps us to be comfortable in our skins

while feeling the pain of these questions’


THEOLOGY AS TEARS IN

ACTION



cry a lot. I never used to. Tears for me have

always and continue to be mysterious; a

mixture of emotion and experience that

represent an overwhelming of the person. There

was a time where I was known as always detached,

distant, intellectually sensitive, awkward and preferring

discussions around anything abstract rather than

anything personal. Tears then were beyond me. They

represented something mysterious because I could not

allow them or what they represented to be part of my

experience; they were unknown, whilst I stuck within

the lines that I drew my world within. The shift that

occurred and continues to occur within me involved

the constant movement between what is known and

unknown; a constant stepping towards something

other than me in hope that in doing so I would know

something of the mystery of Christ. Tears in a sense

seem to bridge that space between, allowing me to

enter into a newness of being.

To be asked to write an article on how theology engages

with counselling seems to involve discussing the process

of change that I continue to go through between

thought, emotions, knowingness, and the experience of

knowing others in a way that impacts every part of me.

I’ve found that there has been for me a sea change in

how I engage with myself, the world, and the various

overwhelmings of life that come my way. This journey

seems to be rooted in who I am, especially the shadow

side of my being, as I have sought to follow Jesus. It has

been as I have owned the impulses, drives and deeply

illusional ways of who I am that I have found new ways

of relating to others, less bound by

that which I used to disown.

I came to faith whilst at a

residential rehabilitation centre for

drug users for my heroin addiction.

This one experience has shaped me

beyond what I thought possible.

What I gathered from what I had read and experienced

of people whose outworking of their faith captivated

me, was that life as a Christian is one of entering fully

into the pain of others’ existence with the hope of Christ

and an open mind. This was a simple but powerful vision

which has remained core to me. It has impacted my life

whether through my family, my Church life, my own

therapy, in my education, and with working with those

excluded from the norms of societal expectations. I

studied theology and counselling between 2001 – 2003,

which I found allowed me to begin to face myself and

know something of what it is to step into the unknown

of relationships. I found that the same theology that

spoke of the complexities in interpreting scripture, that

allowed me to engage with theologians, psychoanalysts

and psychologists and helped me to enter into the

inherent subjectivity of being me and relating to

existence, also spoke to me of seeking God in the face

of the excluded.

When I left studying I found a job in a needle

exchange working with injecting drug users; it seemed

to fit something of what I knew enough of for me to

feel safe, whilst being a space where I felt my faith

could be explored. The first time one of my clients died

I collapsed. I remember sitting idly in a coffee shop

numb from crying and not knowing or wanting to know

anything anymore. Death had been around in my past

when friends had overdosed, but death, such needless

death in the light of what could have been, seemed

more real now, more deadly even. I didn’t really notice

the tears that day and the experience was anything but

meaningful. Hard and absent reality seemed to crush in

like darkness that tore at me and took my happiness as it

stole my connection to my client. It was overwhelming,

and I raged against everything.

‘IT WAS THEOLOGY, BROKEN, BUT STILL

BELIEVING THAT IN JESUS THE CHARACTER

Of GOD IS TRULY REVEALED’


It was theology, broken, but still believing that in Jesus the

character of God is truly revealed and that in the face of

Jesus there was space for profound loss and tears which

allowed me to cry and try to be present to the friends

and family of my client. Over the years many have died

and many have incredibly found new ways of making

sense of the world without the felt need of destructive

patterns of living. I have found myself during a work

day often sitting alone and crying, texting a friend for

some sense of someone being there in those moments,

unable to communicate as fully as I would want but

needing some sense of connection. The counselling

world involves helpful ways of being open to being open

to others regularly through peer groups, supervision and

personal counselling. A community of people seeking

to engage as deeply as they are able so they have space

for the brokenness they seek to work within. And I

have also found myself praying. They feel half thought

prayers often, almost an unwelcome interruption to the

sorrow, isolation and need for ongoing work on my own

character formation as each person shows me more of

myself. Cries of lament, born out of a place where I find

the cross to be meaningful in a way that books don’t

seem to get to the heart of despite their good attempts.

I find increasingly that poetry allows me to enter into

the edges of my experience of life, reminding me of all

that I miss of the world and of my faith. In the poem

Return Journey, Rowan Williams writes,

Grace yes, but damnation too dissolves

In place, so it is not the future

But the past we know to be incredible,

Eluding the imagination: unmoved mover

Of uncomprehending souls, shaping the mind (2003: 16)

The words strike me of that utter beyondness of that

which Christians refer to as God. The one that casts the

imagination in new light, constantly destabilising any

stable sense of self in the light of an utter beyondness

and intimacy that is present in Christ. The unmoved

mover that Rowan Williams speaks of, to me calls to

mind the creation of space for the connections between

peoples’ broken relationships and within peoples’ broken

selves to reconnect and find fresh meaning in God. And

in this I find ways to begin to make my own connections

with others and myself too; as if in a community formed

by love there is space for profound and destabilised

people who allow the overhwhelming of the passion

of God to enter into their being overwhelmed by the

horrors and complexities of life and themselves.

As the Apostle Paul says, ‘from him, through him, and

in him we have our being’ (Romans 11: 36). And this is

why the place of counselling in the broad sense of the

word in the Church matters to me. It matters because

the Church is a network of broken beings attempting

to reflect Jesus by loving one another with a love that

allows Christ’s love to be seen, and those outside the

Church to experience the very fragrance of God. Tears,

counselling, theology and the very character of God in

the face of Jesus. The metaphor of faith as a journey can

mean many things, but I find that the journey involves

moving paradoxically towards the unknowingness of

God in the face of Jesus. This involves every way that

we live, breathe and have our being being constantly

reflected back to us by our brothers and sisters as we are

gifted by one another, allowing us to re-enter the world

as gift to those around us.

rICHarD PICkLES

Theology and Counselling Diploma Level Tutor and an accredited counsellor with the British Association for Counsellors and Psychotherapists.

(Williams, R. (2003) The poems of Rowan Williams,

Oxford: The Perpetua Press).

‘from him, through him, and in

him we have our being’

LST INSIGHT - The Tree of Life issue16 LST INSIGHT - The Tree of Life issue16


hether expressed or unexpressed,

this sentiment reigns unchallenged

in many Christian hearts. There even

seems to be a certain pride at times, as if,

astonishingly, Christian spirituality could be measured in

terms of one’s avoidance of theology! Bible seminaries

get called ‘Bible cemeteries’ and some dare to suggest,

‘Don’t try to understand it—don’t try to think it through;

just believe it!’

What’s going on here? Well, there may be several

factors at work. Of course, anti-intellectualism plays its

part. We all know what Paul wrote to the Corinthians

(1 Cor. 1:20-21), don’t we?! But when Paul wrote this,

and when Tertullian asked,

‘What has Athens to do

with Jerusalem?’ they were

not being anti-intellectual.

They had other concerns

to pursue. We need, in

contrast, to think through

what Jesus actually meant

when he charged us with the need to love God with our

whole minds (Mark 12:30).

Sometimes the culprit is a pragmatism that sees

theology simply as a means to an end: ‘I need to study

theology so that I can . . .’ But Moltmann has told us,

loud and clear, to avoid that folly. Theology is about

wonder, about worship, as much as it is about practice

(The Trinity and the Kingdom, pp. 5-9).

There is the danger, too, of a pneumatism that

says, ‘We need to learn truth by the Spirit. What place

does the mind hold in that process? Aren’t God’s ways

often profoundly contrary to merely human wisdom?”

However, the Spirit is no enemy to the sanctified mind.

A mind saturated by the truth of God will be open to

the things of the Spirit, and vice versa.

In direct contrast to cries of ‘God, please, but

no theology,’ I want to cry, ‘Give me theology so I

can draw nearer to God!’ It may surprise you to read

that there were moments while I researched for my

PhD in theology that were for me profound worship

experiences. I came closer to God through this research

- I understood something of God’s mysterious ways that

I had not encountered before. And I adored.

I love theology - precisely because I love God. I love

thinking about the one I adore. Theology is not the

study of a topic. It is gazing at a Person. Theologians -

real theologians - love God.

WILLIaM atkInSon

Introducing new faculty member, William Atkinson. William has recently joined LST faculty as Vice-Principal (Academic) and Director of Research. He is also LST’s first Senior Lecturer in Pentecostal and Charismatic Studies. He became a Christian in his teens and has never looked back. Describing himself as ‘someone who simply adores God,’ William is deeply committed to Jesus Christ and his kingdom, and wants this to shape all his values and priorities. Though he started adult life working for the National Health Service as a junior doctor, he soon went to Bible college and prepared for church-based ministry. He now has over twenty years’ experience in church leadership and theological education, serving for many years as a minister at Kensington Temple in London and then as Principal at Regents Theological College.

He arrives at LST with a passion to see God’s kingdom expressed in all that LST stands for and pursues. He has no time for dry intellectualism or empty theories.


‘I love theology - precisely because I love God. I

love thinking about the one I adore. Theology is

not the study of a topic. It is gazing at a Person.’


t was on a typical summer’s evening

at a typical Christian youth festival.

Young people of all varieties were

gathered together to hear the

evening preach, some more reluctantly

than others, myself included. We

awkwardly stood around during the

energetic worship and laughed with

each other at the extravagant

dancing that was taking place

in front of the screen where

the words were projected.

We then sat and rolled

our eyes as the

preacher took

to the stage

in an effort to get us all to convert, even though the

previous 3 evenings had tried a similar thing with little

effect. Instead, I started to scan the room to see if there

were any ladies around that I was yet to introduce

myself to. 40 minutes later, however, I was an emotional

wreck. Standing at the front of the room near the stage,

I looked around to see many others, possibly hundreds

doing the same, many of the people I’d previously

been laughing with, looking around with the same sort

of expression my face no doubt conveyed. We’d been

converted. We were in the family. We were Christians.

Or were we? For half an hour we’d sat through the

preacher doing a routine of highly amusing personal

stories, mixed with heart tugging emotional points and

with some biblical application. Interesting stuff, but

nothing too revolutionary. Then with time running out,

the preacher reached his crescendo.



‘What happens tonight when you leave here? What

happens if when on your way home you are hit by a

bus? Do you know where you are going? Do you know

that you are saved? Do you know that you’re not going

to hell? It’s not too late to change that. You can stop

yourself going to hell by becoming a Christian right

now!’

Deafening silence, quickly followed by a stampede

towards the stage, an event rarely seen elsewhere other

than a Justin Bieber gig, and within moments I was a

Christian.

My conversion, and I fully realise this now, came from

a complete place of fear. A fear that if I didn’t become

a Christian I faced an eternity of fiery damnation in the

pits of hell while my friends played harps and sat on

clouds mocking me from afar. Now we could spend

a long time debating the ‘turn or burn’ attitude of

preaching, but more interesting is how the idea of hell

has become a prominent idea in Christianity recently. For

many it all started with Rob Bell and his (now infamous)

book, Love Wins. Described by LST’s very own Professor

of Historical Theology, Tony Lane as ‘a mediocre book

that was brilliantly marketed,’ Love Wins asked lots of

questions and got the debate rolling on whether Bell

was perhaps a Universalist, and what actually hell is

in the first place. Perhaps as a direct response to this

we’ve also had Francis Chan and Preston Sprinkle’s

Erasing Hell, where ‘Chan and Sprinkle emphasise the

need to submit to the teaching of Scripture even where

that most offends our modern sensibilities’ (see review

on page 30), meaning that not everyone is saved, and

therefore for some hell does indeed wait.

Popular culture has not been immune to discussing hell

either, and it’s usually the atheists who live best by the

mantra ‘theology is everything’ in their writing. Phillip

Pullman crafted an engaging and unique spin on hell in

his Dark Materials trilogy while more recently; Iain M.

Banks has produced Surface Detail where hell is at the

forefront and driving force behind his novel.

Banks novel is set firmly in a well realised future

where many civilisations are able to record ‘mind-

states’, places to where old minds can find new

bodies and disembodied minds can inhabit virtual

environments. Banks suggests that in the future, some

civilisations would create afterlives. And inevitably,

some civilizations would create hells as well as heavens.

At first this may seem rather shocking, but Bank’s

conclusion is pretty persuasive. The suggestion that

some cultures with enough resources would therefore

create places of torment with which to threaten their

populations as a moral deterrent feels all too possible.

What follows is an explosive all out war over the fate

of these various hells where the needs of individuals

and the needs of the many are in constant conflict. It’s

an excellent read and prompts some really interesting

questions to go away and ponder, and then to discuss

relentlessly.


‘MY CONVERSION CAME fROM A COMPLETE PLACE Of fEAR.

A fEAR THAT If I DIDN’T BECOME A CHRISTIAN I fACED AN

ETERNITY Of fIERY DAMNATION IN THE PITS Of HELL’

LST INSIGHT - The Tree of Life issue20 LST INSIGHT - The Tree of Life issue20

So where do we stand? Where does the debate head to

next? Part of it will lie in what your current understanding

of hell is. Are we simply moral people, and indeed, are we

only moral Christians because of the fear of spending

eternity in hell? There are a number of theories about

what hell actually is and what we have to do to avoid

getting there - or indeed whether hell even exists in

the first place. There are many theories about hell out

there seemingly pointing to the fact that Christians

don’t agree on the subject. Annihilationist theory argues

that God will eventually destroy or annihilate the bad,

leaving others to live on in immortality. Other apologists

argue that hell exists because of free will, and that hell is

a choice we make rather than a punishment inflicted on

us. Apologist Jonathan L. Kvanvig wrote:

‘CS Lewis believes that the doors of hell are locked

from the inside rather than from the outside. Thus,

according to Lewis, if escape from hell never happens, it

is not because God is not willing that it should happen.

Instead, residence in hell is eternal because that is just

what persons in hell have chosen for themselves.’

Responding to the idea that some may never hear the

gospel and therefore have a chance to be a Christian,

apologist Dave Hunt argues:

‘We may rest assured that no one will suffer in hell

who could by any means have been won to Christ in

this life. God leaves no stone unturned to rescue all who

would respond to the convicting and wooing of the

Holy Spirit.’

How does the idea of somebody, lets say someone

who has led a particularly immoral life, converting on

their death bed to Christianity fully and thus avoiding

hell, stand in our understanding of our faith? Is this

fair, and if so, why believe right now? Add into the mix

the idea of universalism, brought to the forefront of

the argument via Bell’s recent book and the idea that

perhaps hell is a construct to keep us acting obediently,

and we are left with a spicy cocktail that many would

struggle to drink.

Perhaps you find yourself agreeing with Blaise Pascal

who, in a theory termed ‘Pascal’s wager,’ offered that it’s

in our best interest to believe in a God for ‘If you gain,

you gain all; if you lose, you lose nothing.’ Do we believe

in hell just in case? Is this enough to start building a

faith on, is it an inescapable part of the Christian faith,

or is it time we reconsidered everything?

So where do we go from here? If it’s reading material

you require then you’re in luck as there is plenty out

there. Read Bell and Chan’s new material, engross

yourself in Iain M. Banks, Surface Detail, and get the

conversation started. Theology is everything; our culture

is embedded in it. Plato once quoted Socrates as saying

‘the unexamined life isn’t worth living.’ Perhaps it’s

about time we started examining our faith as part of

the culture we live in - after all, it may just stop us from

going to hell. Happy reading – and debating…

toM WaDE

Tom is a religious educator who is immersed in contemporary culture - he speaks at GreenBelt and writes for several publications including YouthWork Magazine.


ction by action, we build our character.

Whether in public, or in private, what

we do is both a revelation and a

construction of who we are. In a media-

rich world, there seems to be a feeling that we can

hide behind the illusion of anonymity, and be different

people in different places and times. Our actions are

without consequence. Here I’m a ruthless business

tycoon; there I am a gentle lover. Here I hack into your

private information, but there I would never ask you to

tell me something that is none of my business. I can do

some calculating things, but I am a good person at the

end of the day.

The notion of a world free of responsibility, free of

consequences doesn’t square with the best of human

reasoning, let alone with a Christian understanding of

ethics. In one Aesop fable, the birds are warned by the

swallow to eat the hemp seeds before the seeds grow

up into plants that are woven into nets that will be

used to catch them: Destroy the seeds of destruction

or they will destroy you. Oscar Wilde, at the end of

his life, noted his experience of this reality: ‘I forgot

that every little action of the common day makes or

unmakes character, and that therefore what one has

done in the secret chamber one has some day to cry

aloud on the housetops.’ I hope none of those caught up

in the current scandal are genuinely surprised that their

actions have come back to haunt them.

Even business leaders over recent years have been

calling for more ethical teaching in MBA programmes

because graduates were failing not to exhibit appropriate

business skills, but failed to grasp the importance of

honesty and integrity. Yet it takes more than knowledge

of ethics to make an ethical person. It takes the tough

discipline of subjecting every action to a standard that

is higher than yourself. It takes more than a decision,

though certainly not less; it takes the very formation of

a person.

And so we really do reap what we sow. Maybe

that is why the apostle Paul encouraged the Galatians

not to grow weary in doing what is right. Perhaps he

knew how frustrated people might become when they

constantly finish last because the more ruthless players

fix the rules to their own advantage. Perhaps he knew

the temptation to give in, just once or twice, just a little.

But instead, he challenges us to forget about self-

interest, and persist in helping everyone as we have

opportunity. Because in time, perhaps after a long, long

time, and well out of sight, we will reap a good, enduring

harvest. This is the potential of a good character, well

formed. The long term reward comes from doing

the right thing in secret as well as in the open, rather

than using your power and influence for personal or

professional gain: Now that’s a number worth hacking

into. Sadly, the temptations of power are usually too

great. Number by number, call-by-call, character is

corrupted. And everyone loses.

anna roBBInS

Senior Lecturer in Theology and Contemporary Culture.


he debate over the loss of salvation is

not simple. It feeds on a variety of deeper

theological interpretations like those

on predestination and free will. Those in

a sturdy ‘predestination camp’ believe that if God has

saved us there is nothing we can do to change that.

Those who lean towards the scriptural emphasis on free

will tend instead to leave room for the possibility of

man ‘letting go’ of the saving hand of God.

Differing views on the role of faith and works also

come into play. Views on the seriousness of sin and the

extent of grace are also important. Those with a larger

vision of sin are more ready to entertain the possibility

of losing salvation than those who see nothing but grace.

We can be clear on a few important points.

First, we must be careful in applying to salvation

biblical narratives that have to do with losing out on

blessing, being discarded for service or being punished.

Second, if there is no fruit, there is no life. Jesus

was very severe with fruitless trees (Mark 11:14) and

warned against building houses on sand (Matthew 7:24-

27). Those who are lax in their lifestyle and live close to

the edge need to beware!

Third, unbalanced gospels of cheap grace, blessing

and prosperity, signs and wonders, or even the ‘simple

sinner’s prayer gospel’, take sin lightly and leave the

door open for backsliders. Where repentance and the

fear of God are included as vital a part of the salvation

process, they are more likely to be seen in the daily walk

as well.

MarvIn oxEnHaM Theology and Education Course Leader and Lecturer in Philosophy, Education and Applied Theology.

Can you lose your salvation? Does a one-time commitment count even when people consciously turn against it

or can people actually lose their salvation?



here are plenty of examples in the Bible of

what we would tend to think of broadly

as mental health issues. Jesus’ ministry

clearly provoked incidents of huge psychic

disturbance. Mark alone has four individual accounts of

exorcism (e.g. Mark 1:21-28; 5:1-20; 7:24-30; 9:14-29).

The people concerned manifested a number of different

symptoms ranging from convulsions, foaming at the

mouth, grinding teeth, terror, shouting and screaming,

to inability to speak, multiple personality disorder,

self-abuse and abnormal strength. Sometimes these

symptoms, though not all, look to us like some form of

epilepsy, though the language used in Mark is that of

‘having an unclean spirit’ or being ‘demonised’.

Often the response of Jesus is to drive out the

unclean spirit, often with a word of command, but also

less dramatically and even at a distance. There doesn’t

seem to be a blueprint for how He did it… the picture

is complex both in terms of symptoms and in terms

of Jesus’ actions. It seems, though, that the possibility

of demonic influence is almost always acknowledged.

This is in marked contrast to today when the secular

western worldview doesn’t allow for the demonic and

tends to be largely built upon a closed system of cause

and effect. For Christians the denial of any spiritual

dimension is inadequate. It rules out huge areas of

human spiritual experience which most of the rest of

the world still acknowledge.

What Christian leaders need to do is to study the

art of discernment as to the real cause of the illness

and to ensure an openness to the possibility of demonic

influence whilst not insisting that this is the only

possibility.

roBErt WILLougHBY

Programme leader of the MA course in Transformation and Lecturer in New Testament.

Each month Youthwork magazine endeavours to answer some of the tough theological questions. LST is

often the source of those answers as this page demonstrates. We believe that theology should be put into

practical use. To read the full version of these responses visit: HTTP://YOUTHWORK-MAGAzINE.CO.UK/

cAN MENTAL HEALTH PROBLEMS BE EXPLAINED AS A RESULT Of DEMONIC INfLUENCE?



here were you when I laid the

earth’s foundation? ...while the

morning stars sang together and all

the angels shouted for joy? (Job 38).

GRACE: ‘Grace doesn’t try to please itself. Accepts being slighted, forgotten, disliked.

Accepts insults and injuries.’

NATURE: ‘Nature only wants to please itself. Get others to please it too. Likes to

lord it over them. To have its own way. It finds reasons to be unhappy when all the

world is shining around it. And love is smiling through all things.’

Terrence Malick’s Palme d’Or winner, starring Brad Pitt, Sean Penn and Jessica

Chastain, is his first film in six years, The Tree of Life is a hymn to life, excavating

answers to the most haunting and personal human questions through a kaleidoscope

of the intimate and the cosmic. Certainly the most theologically charged film for a

long time, read on to see the various reactions to this film from the faculty and

students of LST… And your chance to win a copy to watch and consider for yourself.



Now here is a film which will bring

joy to the hearts of most Christians.

A genuinely first class director in

Terrence Malick, with some first class

credits to his portfolio (Badlands, Days

of Heaven, The Thin Red Line), decides

to shoot a gorgeous film, winner of this year’s Palme

d’Or at Cannes, which traces the whole biblical narrative

in a more or less modern (1950s Texas) context. And

superbly shot it is. The initial impact, which continues

throughout the film, is the sheer visual beauty of the

filming. Colours seem brighter and sharper, composition

is clearly wonderfully thought through. And so on. It is

visually exquisite.

But the first thing that jars is the dinosaurs. What on

earth is all that about? Frankly it looks absurd, and

even more so when we move seamlessly to the small

domestic drama which dominates the rest of the film.

Is this Jurassic Park with class? Having said that, I must

admit that the succession of family dramas are also

beautifully done, though in the sort of way that you

would expect of a series of chocolate or coffee ads.

The central relationships are between father (Brad

Pitt), mother (Jessica Chastain) and their young son

Jack (wonderfully played by Hunter McCracken).

Father seems to represent the dog-eat-dog world of

Darwinian natural selection, attenuated strangely by

his disappointed failure as a musician. Father attempts

to make a man out of his son i.e. make him tough

enough to beat the others in the race of life. Mother

floats about slightly dislocated from reality and is an

object of boyhood devotion. The son becomes surly and

aggressive (no surprises there). Father fails in the high

stakes business world and an elder son dies at the age

of 19. Towards the end Jack (now played by Sean Penn)

seems to become an architect, stuck in meetings and

walking about the concrete and glass city – all to little

meaningful effect …

The actual narrative hardly pulsates and only if you are

beginning to suspect a grander narrative intention would

you begin to piece together the frankly heavy-handed

allusions to Eden, the Fall and hence the breakdown in

relationships on all levels. What seems to have happened

is that the creative artist begins with those foundational

biblical stories and asks ‘Now how can I illustrate this in

a modern guise?’ rather than starting with a real family

narrative and asking how this is made sense of by the

biblical story and stories.

Perhaps the key moment of the film comes when

we are all (characters and film-goers alike) asking

‘Why is this all happening?’ The answer comes from

Job – ‘Where were you when I laid the foundations of

the earth?’ This, of course, is intended to link with the

shots of dinosaurs mentioned above, and by the strange

and gratuitous outpourings of lava, oceans and shots of

earth from outer space. Get it? Sadly the film lacks the

penetrating and heart-rending chapters which precede

God’s utterance in the biblical account of Job and which

give it heft and depth.

Sadly even the positive first impressions become much

less certain. Floaty colours and shapes become frankly

meaningless. The clarity of the visual imagery is made

to convey a version of heaven where all is redeemed. All

the suffering of the past gives way to the reunion of the

main protagonists on a brightly lit beach. Kitsch.

roBErt WILLougHBY

Programme leader of the MA course in Transformation and Lecturer in New Testament.

‘...lacks the penetrating and heart-rending

chapters which precede god’s utterance in

the biblical account of job’



LST students give their reactions...StEvE ParkEr

The Tree of Life is not an easy film to watch, we’re not

sure what’s real and what’s imagined sometimes. We

feel the grief of the loss of a child, the overly assertive

parenting of the father and the son’s search for meaning

within the framework of the universe. I’m glad it was

made. It’s not just visual and audio stimulation, it’s fuel

for the soul.

tauraI BanDaWa

We are nature. Nature is not a separate force that

influences our life; no, we are part of nature, we are a

component that completes the puzzle. Without us

nature would not be nature, for it would be missing a

segment of its identity. Grace is the otherworldly force

that is independent of us. Grace is that which comes

from God. Grace does not contrast nature but rather

grace engages with nature in an attempt to better it.

Nature possesses a scar that only grace can mend.

EvE ConnoLLY

In a time where so many poignant questions are being

raised about who God and where God is in a world

marred with suffering and grief, the producers and

the famous cast of The Tree Of Life had an amazing

opportunity to really engage with these questions.


WIN A COPY OF THE TREE OF LIFE ON BLU-RAY!

INSIGHT has 5 copies of The Tree of Life on Blu-ray for readers to win... In order to enter the

competition simply email

your name and address to

[email protected] or call:

01923 456240. The winners

will be drawn at random from

entries (one at the end of

each month) until March ‘12.


DIrk HoFFMan

The movie starts off with a quote from Job 38, God’s

answer to Job’s question for the reason for his suffering.

Instead of a clear answer with several causes, there is

simply a counter-question: ‘Where were you when I laid

the earth’s foundation? ...while the morning stars sang

together and all the angels shouted for joy?’ (Job 38:4,7

NIV). As in the case of Job, there won’t always be answers

to our questions but the way of grace, the knowledge of

someone who is higher than me but still allows me to

live a life which is not permanently consumed by the

struggle of nature.

rEBEkka ZIEMann

I can only think of it as a stunning piece of art, using all

the available resources: from music-rich and dramatic

to simple and monotone, silence, light-effects. All that

film, drama, music and art have to offer.

StEvE CrEaMEr

The film’s brilliance is found not in complex plot

developments or detailed dialogue but in the raw

expression of life’s journey and the profound questions

that arise from our realities.

SaraH PILLoW

The Tree of Life will no doubt divide its audience. The

big questions addressed throughout of ‘where are you

God?’ and ‘why God?’, amidst the pains and struggles

of life (with reference to the biblical story of Job), are

ones that most Christians can relate to, and is indeed a

biblical theme.

ANDY KENCH

This is a brave, exciting and mind-boggling film of epic

proportions with the big questions of life all addressed

through narrative, poetry, Christian doctrine and some

very conspicuous scenes taking us through the depths

of time and space.

rEaD MorE onLInE at:

http://www.lst.ac.uk/hot-topics/the-tree-of-life


Will all be saved? If not, who is

saved? Is there an opportunity to

accept salvation after death - either

for those who have had no previous

opportunity or perhaps also for those

who have previously rejected it? If

some are lost, what is the nature of

hell? Does it involve endless conscious

suffering? These are some of the

questions asked by Rob Bell in his, by

now infamous, Love Wins - a mediocre

book that was brilliantly marketed.

Half of the Evangelical world in the

USA and elsewhere were debating it

before it was even published and the

secular media devoted significant

attention to it.

Just as Steve Chalke’s comments

on the atonement provoked a flood

of responses, so also to a lesser

extent has Love Wins. One of these

is this present book, for which most

of the research Preston Sprinkle did,

while the actual writing was done

by Francis Chan. They set out their

views in a positive way, while also

engaging along the way with Rob Bell.

They quote extensively from Bell and

seek to represent him fairly, though

I think they portray him as more

unequivocally universalist than he is.

The problem is that ‘Love Wins’ asks

lots of questions (350 according to

one reviewer!) and presents a variety

of views, but Bell is sometimes coy

about what he actually believes.

What is the positive view that

Chan and Sprinkle present? What

are answers to the questions listed

above?

1) Not all will be saved.

2) It is those who put their trust in

Christ who are saved.

3) There is no further opportunity

after death. So what about those who

have never heard the Gospel? This

issue is covered briefly in an Appendix

of FAQs. The answer is that, ‘there’s

nothing in Scripture that says that

anyone will be saved apart from faith

in Jesus’ (p159); though there is the

concession that God may

occasionally reveal himself through

dreams, visions, etc. The trouble with

the quoted statement is that it would

imply that all those living BC are

lost, as are all dying in infancy. This

is an issue that needs more careful

attention.

4) What is the nature of Hell? Here

they offer a more nuanced view.

They incline towards the view that

Hell involves unending conscious

suffering, though they acknowledge

Erasing Hell: What God said about eternity, and the things we’ve made upFrancis Chan & Preston SprinkleDavid C Cook 2011, £8.99 ISBN 978-0-7814-0725-0



that the teaching of Jesus and Paul

can also, with integrity, be read

as teaching that the ultimate fate

of the lost is annihilation. As they

illustrate, both views were current

in Judaism at that time. It is in the

Book of Revelation that they see the

strongest indication that hell is not

annihilation.

At what level is the book written?

The main text is written in a fairly

accessible way, which should not

cause problems for anyone with a

reasonable education. At the same

time, the authors have made good

use of up-to-date scholarship. The

endnotes draw attention to this,

where appropriate, as does the

Bibliography.

So, how does Erasing Hell compare

with Love Wins? As an exercise in

marketing, the latter wins hands down.

I doubt if Time Magazine will pursue

Francis Chan for an interview. Again,

as an exercise in communication, Rob

Bell has skills that are hard to beat,

reminding one of Dan Brown.

Perhaps we should call him Dan

Bell or … In terms of approach, Rob

Bell asks lots of questions, snipes at

established orthodoxies and suggests

answers without always pinning

himself down. Chan and Sprinkle, by

contrast, state very clearly what they

believe and why.

No one could reasonably mistake

what they are saying, while Bell’s

elusive style invites uncertainty, with

as much controversy over what he

says as whether he is right. Erasing

Hell is a restatement of orthodoxy

(with a recognition of the ambiguity

of the New Testament on the issue

of annihilation); Love Wins sets out

to challenge orthodoxies. Rob Bell’s

concern is to speak to post-modern

doubters while Chan and Sprinkle

emphasise the need to submit to the

teaching of Scripture, even where that

most offends our modern sensibilities.

For a passionate restatement of

the traditional orthodox view, this

book has much to commend it.

Reviewed by Tony Lane,Professor of Historical Theology.

A pastor, international speaker and church planter, Francis Chan is the author of Crazy Love and Forgotten god. Preston Sprinkle is a professor and writer.

What happens to people after they

leave LST/LBC? Perhaps it’s especially

appropriate for us as church to

abandon the ‘great lives’ approach to

history writing and embrace a

narrative relating more to ‘real

people’. A history of the school which

focused on the lives of real people

would throw up an incredibly rich

tapestry of experience lived before

God and in the face of the joys and

challenges with which he confronts us.

Judy Hopkins was at LST/LBC

between 1983 and 1985, at which

time she was Judy Huckle, and

current students might like to locate

her among her contemporaries in an

earlier incarnation on the photographs

which adorn the faculty corridor.

Judy’s book is a well-written

account of finding direction, a

life-partner, a much-loved family,

bereavement and subsequent hope

- not a complete life but quite a

saga nonetheless. It’s worth reading

especially for the immensely real

and deeply felt engagement in the

realities of life’s challenges which any

one of us can appreciate and identify

with.

Reviewed by Robert Willoughby, Programme leader of the MA course in Transformation and Lecturer in New Testament.

Lucy’s Rainbow:A Journey of Hope. Judy Hopkins (with Helen Porter) Milton Keynes: Authentic, 2011


To be asked to review this book in the

aftermath of the recent riots - the

cause of much suffering for innocent

people - whilst also experiencing

personal tragedy within my own

family, felt somewhat opportune.

Suffering has played a big part in

my life through multiple loss and

emotional trauma, so I have often

puzzled over this big question of,

‘Why is there suffering if there is a

God of love?’ Also, the presence of

suffering in the world seems to have

increased in frequency and intensity.

Yet again I am hearing the sirens of

emergency vehicles in the streets

close by and through the immediacy

of the media, our lives are constantly

impacted with tragedy and suffering,

for which we can feel impotent.

Michael Baughen’s book helps us

to understand the whole issue of

suffering. It seems to me to be very

much a ‘now book’.

This One Big Question of a God of

love in a world of suffering has been

around for as long as I can remember

(and that’s a long time!) and it is often

used as an excuse to not believe in

God. Baughen’s biblical understanding

and pastoral experience enable him to

approach the subject in an accessible

and masterly combination of theory,

and practice. Baughen skilfully uses

Scripture by way of explanation,

combined with examples of personal

stories of suffering.

The book has two parts. The

first part tackles the big ‘Why?’

question by considering other ‘why?’

questions about suffering, such as,

‘Why doesn’t God stop such things

as wars, crimes, injustice, ‘natural’

disasters and illness? After all, He is

omnipotent, isn’t He? Oh, and ‘What

have I done to deserve this?’ Basically,

there are no easy answers, but there

are ways to handle suffering and

the second part of the book looks at

these, through the ‘How?’ question.

Essentially this concerns learning

from the life of Jesus about the love

of God. The Cross, which silences all

questions about suffering, is central.

I was particularly struck by an

anonymous quote, ’Suffering is not

a question that demands an answer;

it is not a problem that demands

a solution; it is a mystery which

demands a presence’ (p.19). This for

me sums up the book, in that although

there may not be answers to satisfy

us - at least this side of heaven - there

is something about suffering that

demands a presence and Baughen has

effectively demonstrated through his

book that it is through knowing God

that it is possible to handle suffering.

Coincidentally, I read through

this review again on the anniversary

of 9/11: a tragic reminder of the

mystery surrounding suffering and

made all the more poignant for me

hearing the powerful testimony of

Cheryl McGuinness, on Radio 2’s,

Good Morning Sunday programme.

Her husband was one of the pilots

made to fly into one of the Twin

Towers. Cheryl spoke of knowing the

presence of God with her through her

suffering.

Interestingly, she said that on

going to Ground Zero for the first

time after eight months had elapsed,

demonstrating the depth of grief

which kept her away, the sight of the

fallen metal frames in the shape of

a cross was a very powerful, healing

image for her.

The intention of Baughen’s

book is to provoke thought in those

switched off from God and to equip

believers to be more informed

about this important issue. I highly

recommend this very readable book

as an excellent resource for anyone

perplexed by suffering that they

might be comforted, be a comfort

to others and that in so doing, their

relationship with God might be

deepened.

Reviewed by Sheila Green (LBC 1972-74; LST 2007-2011) Retired teacher; BA(Hons) Theology & Counselling and currently student of MA in Integrative Psychotherapy.

Bishop Michael Baughen (LST 1953-1955) although retired remains active as an assistant Bishop, author and speaker.

The One Big Question: The God Of Love In A World Of SufferingMichael BaughenCWR 2010, £7.99 ISBN 978-1-85345-572-8



In As Good As It Gets, Stephen Clark

invites his reader to journey with him

through the Song of Songs, a book

which he considers best read as ‘a

collage of pictures’ of love, life and

relationships (xiv). His focus is not,

however, confined to the marriage

relationship as might be assumed

based on the main content of the Song:

Clark emphasises the significance of

the friends/community in the Song

and draws implications not only for

marriages but also for friendships, family

and wider community life today, as well

as an individual’s relationship with God.

He presents his reflections on the

Biblical text in the form of fifty daily

devotionals which are well-written

and engaging. Each daily portion is

usually somewhere between three

and eight pages of text in length and

follows the same pattern: after a

quotation of several verses from the

Song, some devotional commentary

is offered; sections entitled ‘reflection’,

‘meditation’ then follow, before the

daily reading closes with a written

prayer for the reader’s use.

The author’s tone is perfect and the

level of depth ideal for the believer who

wants a little more content than might

usually be offered by a daily devotional.

But this book must also come with a

small health warning: these devotionals

contain some academic footnoting and

thus many of us may not consider it

suitable for consumption before 8 a.m.!

Whenever you may choose to

read it, however, you will find within

the pages of this book an interesting

mix of the academic thinker and the

experienced pastor. Clark engages with

a panoply of scholarly commentaries

and other works throughout the

devotionals, tackling the Song verse

by verse and chapter by chapter. He

even includes two appendices on

the absence of God’s name from the

Song and on identifying redemption’s

presence in the text. His thinking is

rigorous and yet this rigour does not

translate into heavy prose. Rather, his

writing sparkles as he reflects upon and

applies the insights derived from the

Song, illustrating them from pastoral

experience.

Yet Clark does not do all of the

reflective work for the reader. The

meditation sections, which appear in

every daily portion, consist of several

Scripture passages quoted in full

with references but without further

comment.

My thoughts on these sections were

initially mixed. In part, this ambivalence

was due to the absence of commentary

regarding why these other verses had

been selected. Some brief explanation

would have been helpful, as it was not

always apparent how Clark felt that his

selection of passages was connected

with the discussion which had preceded

them.

And yet, as I continued my

readings, it was this element of Clark’s

format which came to resonate with

me the most. For it was these verses

which seemed to return to my mind

some hours and days later, drawing me

back to the subject of Clark’s focus in

that day’s devotional and encouraging

me to ‘chew’ over God’s Word.

It seems to me that it is Clark’s

skill in combining the academic with

praxis, causing his reader to wrestle

not only with Scripture but also with

its pastoral application, which makes

As Good As It Gets stand out. Despite

its academic rigour, it is not, per se, an

expository commentary and I would

not choose to use it as a foundational

study resource for preparing a

preaching series. But then that is not

how the author intends this book to

be received. Rather, he expresses a

desire to contribute to the recovery of

Scripture’s central place in the life and

worship of God’s people. Accessible to

a wide range of readers and brimming

with passion for the application of solid

Biblical scholarship to pastoral praxis,

As Good As It Gets goes some way

indeed towards its author’s goal.

Definitely one to read for your own

benefit, whether you are pastor,

academic theologian or minister in the

workplace or home!

Reviewed by Chloe Lynch, (LST 2007-Present) Part-time research student at LST, Leader of LifeGiving Church and Open Learning (BA) Tutor.

Stephen M. Clark (LST 1969-1972) is Senior Pastor of Old Cutler Presbyterian Church in Miami, Florida.

As Good As It Gets:Love, Life and Relationships: Fifty Days in the Song of Songs

Stephen M. ClarkEugene: Wipf & Stock 2011, £23.50,ISBN 13: 978-1-60899-623-0


This is an intelligent book on the

story and meaning of Jesus. It is the

kind of book you would want to give

to someone not only searching for

the truth of the Christian faith but

who can also carry a good read. It

is the overflow of the author’s PhD

thesis but it is not an academic tome.

Rather, it embodies what the late

John Stott demonstrated in his own

teaching ministry - deep thinking in

order to produce simple teaching.

As the author reminds us, his desire

is not to produce abstract and

propositional thinking but a narrative,

a story, about the life, death and

resurrection of Jesus. It is located in

the here and now - of 21st century

discrimination baked in the furnace

of human selfishness and self-interest

- and the need for a solution. That

solution is Jesus, the one sent by

the Father and empowered by the

Spirit. As such, then, the story of

Jesus is inextricably connected with

the identity of the Father who sent

him and the Spirit who enabled him.

What is so refreshing about this book

is that the missional imperative of the

gospel is brought back into its proper

setting - not surprising given that So

is Research Tutor at the Oxford Centre

for Mission Studies.

The book falls into four clear

sections. Three centre on Jesus with

a final look at the Trinity and human

society. We are firstly introduced to

Jesus the Teacher. Here, So unpacks a

series of antitheses concerning human

life, sexuality, marriage, truth and

peace. With these he demonstrates

the radical and uncompromising

nature of Jesus’ teaching. What I

liked specially about this section was

the fact that So ties the content of

Jesus’ teaching with the question

of authority: Jesus can teach with

authority because he is sent from,

and by, the Father. However, and very

helpfully, So takes the reader further

- to Jesus the Practitioner. Here the

reader is exposed to several aspects

of the practical dimension of Jesus’

teaching, whether in healing, the kind

of people he mixed with, his view

of Sabbath, how he related to the

outsiders and children. Again, So does

not pull any punches about the radical

nature of Jesus’ praxis – put bluntly, it

offends the religious, and especially

those in religious leadership. Little has

changed.

Next, So develops the character

of Jesus. He is the Humble Servant.

Here the reader is taken through the

inner motivation and character of

Jesus. First, we look at Jesus and his

temptations and his identification

with a needy humanity around him.

Then we move into a very clear and

helpful presentation of the story of

Jesus’ death and resurrection. Again,

what makes So a good read is the

fact that he makes all this meaningful

and direct. Anyone looking for a good

resource for a series of group studies

would be hard pushed to find a better

place to look - think ahead - Lent

groups! This book will be a great help.

Finally, the book ends on an

exploration of the identity of the

God whom Jesus reveals. What I

particularly appreciated about this

section is the way in which Damon

sets the story of God, the Trinity, in

the human need he unpacks in his

introduction. It is a humanity that

needs to be freed - freed from its own

moral referencing, its insatiable self-

interest, its disregard for the poor, and

its constant conflicts. This is the mess

in which the gospel takes root and

shape. This is the context of mission.

This is what church is all about. And

this book is a timely and helpful push

for those concerned enough to read it

that there is indeed a Jesus who has

been forgotten in today’s pluralistic

and relativistic world and a Trinity

that has definitely never been known

by many.

Reviewed by Graham McFarlane, BA Course Leader / Senior Lecturer in Systematic Theology.

Damon W. K. So (LST 1993) is Research Tutor in theology at Oxford Centre for Mission Studies.

Visit www.jesus-trinity.co.uk where you can read extracts from the book for free and purchase it at a discount.

The Forgotten Jesus And The Trinity You Never KnewDamon W. K. SoWIPF & STOCK Publishers 2010,£20.00 - ISBN 978-1-60899-631-5


I was away during the summer (and

frankly, even if I’m in the country I’m

usually behind on the hip new songs),

so I put out a message on the usual

social networks - ‘What songs have

been popular at this year’s festivals?’

The overwhelming response surprised

me - ‘Matt Redman’s latest album.‘

Matt has continued to resource the

church with some fantastic material

over the last few years - Never Let

Go on 2006’s Beautiful News, You

Alone Can Rescue in 2009 on We Shall

Not Be Shaken - but his presence at

UK festivals and events has been

minimal. It was a good few years ago

that a teenager told me he thought

Matt was getting ‘a bit old’ (how

uncool did I feel!), but this year he

has been back leading at the Soul

Survivor summer camps, and his

brand of thoughtful, engaging and

God-focused guitar-led worship is

back on the radar of our teens.

If your church is anything like

mine, your youth group has probably

emerged back from their summer

bursting to play some of these songs.

The problem is, often what works in a

tent with thousands of young people,

a fantastic band and a PA that could

shake a tower block doesn’t quite

have the same impact in your local

church with Gladys on the piano. And

after a while all of those summer-

anthem albums begin to sound the

same, with predictable guitar riffs,

lyrics and dynamics.

So I was intrigued to put on Matt’s

new album and see what translated

to an ‘average’ local church context.

The first track lays its ‘festival’ cards

on the table, with the congregation

at this live recording joining in the

seemingly ubiquitous ‘Whoa, ho,

whoa-a’ intro - it’s going to sound

great in Shepton Mallet, but perhaps

not so hot with Gladys. The song

continues in a familiar anthemic rock

direction, with some fairly confident

lyrics that ‘Our passion will not die’

(can we really be sure in promising

God that?).

The next track, Here for you takes

us on a more interesting and usable

path. It is a slow-growing call-to-

worship song, with an atmospheric

opening leading into a majestic

climax, and lyrics committing the

time of worship to God. I could see

this being used as a service opener.

The only variation from the

anthemic-rock sound comes in the

title track, which has a more celtic

feel and some strong lyrics as we

sing, ‘Bless the Lord O my soul’. This

became something of an anthem for

our LST Worship Connect summer

school. One health warning - if you

plan to sing it in church, drop the key

from G to E if you want to avoid a

top F#! This song and Never Once

acknowledge the difficulties of life

‘Kneeling on this battleground... Scars

and struggles on the way’, which

is good to hear in contemporary

worship. Meanwhile Magnificent

and Holy are powerful declarations

of God’s hugeness - ‘Your glory God

revealed from distant galaxies/to

here beneath our skin.’

Overall, it is a fine album within

the familiar contemporary worship

genre, and many will continue to

worship along to it when the festivals

have packed up. I was looking for

some more innovation in themes

and music, and didn’t find them here.

It would be interesting to hear Matt

lead some songs in a more stripped

down setting, pushing in to some

of the gap areas that contemporary

worship usually avoids.

Reviewed by Sam Hargreaves, Lecturer in Music & Worship. A published songwriter, Sam co-leads RESOUNDworship.org, a new expression of contemporary worship song-writing and, with his wife Sara, co-leads the ministry engageworship.org.

Matt Redman is a Christian worship leader, songwriter and author. He was one of the main worship leaders associated with the Soul Survivor youth organisation. Matt has authored and edited multiple books on Christian worship, including the unquenchable Worshipper and the book Facedown, which accompanied the album of the same name. His latest book Mirror Ball relays his thoughts and experiences of ‘living boldly and shining brightly for the glory of God’.

10,000 Reasons Matt RedmanPublished & Copyright 2011 Sparrow Records Marketed & Distributed in the UK by Kingsway; £12.99 - 5099996-785324



If you’re looking for something to

re-enchant you with the possibilities

of mainstream Christian music, you

need to listen to Ghosts Upon the

Earth. Michael Gungor began his

journey as a worship leader, planing

a church called Bloom in Denver and

travelling with his band. This has

morphed into what they call ‘liturgical

post-rock’(!), a happy collision of

eclectic music styles with some deep

theology and a healthy refusal to

conform to industry conventions.

Gungor trade in a different

currency to most Christian-

based music: wide varieties of

instrumentation, time signatures,

and harmonic textures paint a broad

canvas of God, life and worship.

Influences are fairly obviously rooted

in Icelandic post-rockers Sigur Ros

and US Episcopalian lo-fi folky Sufjan

Stevens, but you’ll find plenty of

originality in their use of nylon-strung

guitar, choirs, banjo, orchestra, and

some great fuzzy synth on Wake Up

Sleeper!

Lyrically they mix familiar Biblical

phrases and themes with some

unexpected, challenging yet helpful

insights: ‘Breath and sex and sight/all

things made for good/in love divine’

in You Are The Beauty, or ‘Let children

sing/even if they don’t know why/

why drown their joy/just because

you’ve lost yours?’ in Church Bells.

The first few tracks of the album lead

you on an evocative journey through

the chaos of pre-creation, through

God’s speech-act ‘Let there be light’,

and on into celebrations of our place

in the created order. This shifts into

a darker tone with The Fall, Wake Up

Sleeper and Ezekiel, before picking up

into some resurrection themes as the

album closes.

Michael Gungor has said

this material was written for

congregational worship. I’d love to

see him lead it, because I think I’d

struggle! Perhaps our models are too

narrow, our notions of participation

too restricting, our dreams too small.

These songs are certainly not going

to fly next week in your local church

without some serious preparation, but

I’d recommend this album to anyone

who wants to be inspired, challenged

and touched by God in a fresh way.

It is an album that grabs you on first

listen but really rewards repeated

plays, and challenges other Christian

musicians to consider pushing their

boundaries to even a fraction of

where this band has gone.

Reviewed by Sam Hargreaves, Lecturer in Music & Worship. A published songwriter, Sam co-leads RESOUNDworship.org, a new expression of contemporary worship song-writing and, with his wife Sara, co-leads the ministry engageworship.org.

Michael Gungor is a singer/song writer living in Denver, Colorado United States. He leads the musical collective called Gungor that tours around the world performing and leading worship experiences in both mainstream and religious venues. Gungor grew up in Wisconsin as the son of Pastor Ed Gungor. He has been playing music since he was a child. He began leading the music in his children’s church, and grew up with his music and his spirituality hand in hand. Gungor studied jazz at both Western Michigan University and the University of North Texas, while working as a worship leader in local churches.

Ghosts Upon the EarthGungorLabel - Brash Music , £12.99 ASIN: B005DZMQA4


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