Papa is a Mama - The Shack

One of the most contentious issues raised by the book, the Shack, is the way we image God. Some say it can't be done and, indeed, shouldn't be done. Others, and I think I would be one of them, would argue that the only way we can talk about God is in human language. Language is symbol and in talking about God, at all, we are already in the realm of image making. Others, take language literally, and when we talk of the first person of the Trinity as Father then we are saying that he is male. The book 'The Shack' doesn't take that line. The Father (Papa), as the story goes, is 'imaged' as an African-American woman. Hence, the controversy - not male, not white!

I would hold with the 'apophatic' tradition that God is mystery and that when we speak of Father, Son & Holy Spirit we are moving in the realm of symbol and analogy. Feminine images, therefore, are perfectly acceptable for God. Male & female, together, image God (Gen 1:27).

Is 'The Shack' right? Am I right?

Chris

P.S. Part 2 of 'The Shack', this Sunday night @ 5.30pm - God and suffering.

Back to Church Sunday - last grasp @ christendom?

It was great to see some new people @ connecT exploring God with us. We hope you enjoyed what we are trying to do. Thanks to all the team!

But, was back to church Sunday a good thing? Was it a last grasp @ christendom? I'm mulling that one over a bit. It could have been, depends on how it was handled. We tried to be open, invitational & hospitable. We tried not to push church rules, regulations and 'religion'. We tried to speak about Jesus and do so in a way that made sense to the culture. We tried...

How did it go for you?

Chris

Back to Church Sunday

At connecT, this Sunday, 13 September 5.30pm, we are keeping 'Back to Church Sunday'. The idea is to come back to church if you haven't been for a while or come for the first time if you have never been. We will keep it in the connecT flavour - informal, relevant, faithful; and followed by a meal. Hope you can make it. connecT meets @ St. Jude's Anglican Church, 444 Brighton Rd, Brighton, South Australia each Sunday @ 5.30pm.

Chris

Life in parables

Now, what was that all about? So someone asked after I was trying to say something profound about parables. Er...what I was trying to say was that parables are best left a little open ended. A parable, like the 'good Samaritan', says something about the way we experience the reign of God and how we respond to it. Indeed, that parable finishes with a call to be like the 'good Samaritan'.

But, I no longer hold that a parable should only have one meaning as, seemed to be, suggested in some books and articles I read in the past. A parable - left open - invites us into the story. Who am I really - the priest, the levite, the victim or the good Samaritan or even just the inn keeper?

Parables get us involved and in turn help us to see that our lives can be parabolic -earthly, incarnational stories that speak of the surprising God among us.

Chris

P.S. Don't forget connecT looks at 'the Shack' (previous post)