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Donald Mackinnon, Julian of Norwich and the seriousness of sin

One of the most terrifying two hours of my life was in 1986 when I delivered a paper to the Aberdeenshire Theological Club (the oldest such club in Scotland!). The paper was on Julian of Norwich, her view of Divine Love and human sin and whether in her theology these are adequately reconciled. The subject matter is intimidating enough, but sitting in the audience was Professor Donald MacKinnon. He was a large man – broad, tall, a craggy alp with a face that could be just as forbidding as any such North Face. He was also a large presence who when he laughed his shoulders resembled a kind of mirthful earthquake, and I found him to be a warm appreciative listener mainly, except when he gruffed out a 'yes' which was reassuring, or a harrumph which was worrying. The photo of a younger Mackinnon does no justice to the venerable, restless polymath ambling through Old Aberdeen with his brown leather message bag books and papers protruding, and stuffed with who knows what metaphysical speculations, and happy to stop and engage in conversation which could be gossip or gospel, metaphysics or meal times, German Romanticism or the state of the Harris Tweed industry.

I made quite a bit about Julians doctrine of sin appearing reductionist, and at times sitting light to the seriousness of sin as a radical negation of being, a pervasive and invasive power of evil that insinuates itself into the very structures of created being, so that only a redemption which reached into such profound depths of reality (the Cross of Christ as the Love of God ) could adequately negate that negation. The loud gravelly 'Yes', exploding into the sedate company, and the forward thrust of a leonine head were enough to keep me going forward with my paper, while hoping there would be nothing ahead that might provoke an equally strong 'No!'

At the end there were questions, observations, critique, appreciation and a feeling that the paper had, however marginally, passed. Then Professor Mackinnon came up, said kind things and said he would send me a book. He didn't – I think he meant he would send me a suggested book which he did. I bought it in the days before amazon the quick book getter existed. It was The Word of Reconciliation by H H Farmer,(London: Nisbet, 1966) a far too easily overlooked theologian whose philosophical theology remains worth our time and attention. I'll come back to HH Farmer. But in his book are these words, which capture in such lucid theological writing, the psychology and ontology of sin:

A great many people's concern about their sinful shortcomings springs in large measure from a disguised and subtle egotism and pride. They are, perhaps, particularly if they have had a Christian upbringing and take their Christian profession seriously, formed an image of themselves as displaying an exalted Christian character, and when they find, as they inevitably do, that they persistently fall short of this 'ego-ideal', they are cast down and depressed and harassed with guilt feelings. This they mistake for a true and deep repentance but it may be little more than a feeling of injured pride and self-esteem.

…

On the lips of the deeply penitent religious man therefore, the cry against thee, thee only, have I sinned', might almost seem to be an exactly and literally true statement. Some such awareness as this, however expressed, or perhaps not expressed or even expressible in terms at all, but only felt, some sense that because of one's sin the very foundation of one's being and life has been shaken (for what is God if not the very foundation of one's being and life?0, some consciousness that sin holds one suspended not over the shallows of time but over the abyss of eternity, the abyss of God, is an element in sincere and true penitence towards God; it is in fact this consciousness which in part constitutes it towards God.

Pages 65 and 67

6 July 2011
When Comment is Superfluous 4: Art Garfunkel and his Greatest Performance of the Greatest Simon and Garfunkel Song

I remember buying the Bridge Over Troubled Water Album just before I was married. The song is now embedded in the minds and I suspect the souls of those who lived through the 70's and 80's. It remains a powerful and lyrical description of love's commitment, compassion, faithfulness and what it means in our lives to find another human being who is utterly and reliably, our friend.

Sentimental, romantic, emotionally generous, the song is a poem, a prayer, a promise, and it describes one of life's greatest gifts – the self-giving of another in love and kindness, to the enrichment of our lives.

Comment is superfluous, not on the song, but on this definitive performance by Art Garfunkel in 1981, at the Central Park Concert – I just watched it for the I've lost count of it time – see it here

4 July 2011
When Comment is superfluous: 3 Gerhard Ebeling on The Lord’s Prayer

Reading a Journal I wrote some years ago I came across a short extract from Gerhard Ebeling's book on the Lord's Prayer. This Lutheran theologian has written several books translated into english. His major work awaits translation, especially his Dogmatics. But meantime here is a taste of Ebeling at his astringent best:

"It sounds religious to put God beyond time as the Eternal, and to keep time well clear of God as being something limited, earthly, human. But with this kind of piety we make God unreal and reality godless."

3 July 2011
When Comment is Superfluous 2: The Fruit of the Spirit.

"Other elements of the fruit of the Spirit have also a strong experiential or emotional dimension, particularly…joy and peace. It should be noted, however, that Paul would not have thought of either of these in individualistic terms: joy was characteristically for Paul a shared experience strengthening bonds of community (e.g. Rom 15.32; 2Cor 8.2; Phil 2.19-30; Philemon 7); and in Jewish thought peace was not reducible to a personal tranquility but included all that makes for social well-being and harmonious relationships."

The Theology of Galatians, J D G Dunn, (Cambridge, CUP 1993) p.112

I allow myself in this series of posts, one unsuperfluous comment –

given the heavy dependence of Evangelical spirituality on the writings and theology of Paul,

and in the light of Evangelicalism's characteristic individualism in the narratives of Evangelical experience,

such corrective exegesis might broaden, deepen and renew the Evangelical vision of discipleship

as intentionally following after Jesus in the community that is the Body of Christ,

that Body given to God in praise and prayer and worship,

and offered in service to the world to embody and express the Love of God,

by actively working towards the renewing of creation,

the redeeming of loss, and the reconciliation of all things

in the power of the Living Christ.

Long sentence for one comment I know. Important point though.

2 July 2011
The Mystery of the Trinity and the Beauty of the Infinite

"From an aesthetic perspective, David Bentley Hart offers an impressive trinitarian account of beauty that presents Being as primarily the shared life of the triune God: ontological plenitude and oriented toward another. The beauty of the infinite is reflected in the dynamic co-inherence of the three divine persons, a perichoresis of love, an immanent dynamism of distinction and unity embracing reciprocity and difference. The triune God does not negate difference; rather, the shared giving and receiving that is the divine life may be compared to an infinite musical richness, a music of polyphonic and harmonious differentiation of which creation is an expression and variation."

An Introduction to the Trinity, Declan Marmion and Rik Van Nieuwenhove, (Cambridge, CUP, 2011) page 218.

No, it isn't dumbed down theology – and yes, it is a piece of demanding and precise discourse upon the Trinity. But why would we think any serious contemplation of the mystery of the Triune life of God should be immediately accessible in everyday vocabulary? This is a very good book on the Trinity, one that will find its way into our course on Rediscovering the Triune God. It is written as good theology should be – scholarly, lucid, presupposing serious effort from the reader, and rewarding those readers who love to think and for whom thinking deeply and honestly and openly and receptively about God is a way of loving God with mind and heart.

The drawing by William Blake is one of the most delicately subtle pieces of theological art I know. A print of it hangs in my study.

1 July 2011
Aung San Suu Kyi and the Reith Lectures – political courage and moral leader

What is the passion which is so strong we are willing to forego the comforts of a conventional existence? In her Reith lecture Aung San Suu Kyi answers this in one word. But it is a word that makes all other words possible – freedom. And it is a word which has always exacted the price of suffering to uphold, defend, achieve and live in freedom.

This lecture is more than, indeed is nothing like, a scholarly reflection on the concept of freedom. Nor is it primarily autobiography though it is a deeply humane story of the forming and growing of a self that recognised the imperative to be free and to work for the freedom of others. Aung San Suu Kyi speaks of inner freedom, spiritual liberty which is to live in harmony with your own conscience. But the purpose of inner freedom is to work towards the liberation of other people in practical human life, to uphold the basic human rights of others, and to defend the right to live without fear and oppression. To carry on despite fear is a stance of unimaginable courage for us who live in an open democracy, and she speaks with great moral authority and insight about the inner dynamics of conscience, fear, courage and action.

This is an enlightening, ennobling and crucially significant voice speaking from expereince, about those matters without which human life cannot flourish. Humanity, humility and humus are all semantically related – they are morally related too, because out of the humus of humane and humble resistance and protest, grows a moral imperative that cannot finally and ultimately be eliminated by force, whether brute force or sophisticated systems of surveillance and suppression. This woman is a beacon of hope, a moral exemplar of political courage at its higher levels of ethical and humane development. Listening to her lecture is a profound education in political responsibility and moral courage. Incidentally, humour comes from the same semantic range – and the humour and laughter in her interviews and question responses is just one further dimension of this woman who embodies the patience, tenacity and hopefulness of the struggle for the freedom of her people.

You can hear the lecture and discussion here on Radio 4 Iplayer.

30 June 2011
When comment is superfluous 1.

Sometimes comment is superfluous. As in the case of the incomparable G Campbell Morgan, who is always good value, often theologically precise, and sometimes profoundly right, and unfailingly accessible.

"Said Thomas, 'except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails…I will not believe. What Thomas said of Christ, the world is saying about the church. And the wolrd is also saying to every preacher: Unless I see in your hands the print of the nails, I will not believe. It is true. It is the person who has died with Christ…that can preach the cross of Christ."

Allow me one unsuperfluous comment. The mission of the church the Body of Christ? It's about nailprints, visible and tangible.

28 June 2011
Karine Polwart, Folk Singing and the Prophetic Imagination

It's becoming an enjoyable if unpredictable habit. Innocently driving down or up the road to Paisley listening to the radio and there's a moment of illumination, or a coincidence of mood and music, or the fusion of idle thought and good ideas, or the interruption of the complacent routine by the unsettlingly different. It was the last of these this morning. I was ambushed by a song that compels our consideration of an unsettlingly different view of ourselves, our world and our responses to life around us.

On Radio Scotland I heard the haunting voice of Karine Polwart singing Better Things, the lyrics deceptively gentle in their subversive questioning of the way things are. And that lyrical gentleness and acoustic melody pushes ideas through our road metal defences like patiently persistent green shoots whose life force won't be denied the life giving sun even by the tarmac surface of minds hardened by the endless traffic of excess experience, information overload and sensory saturation that is our post- modern networked, globalised, rapid-feed culture. And yes, that is a long sentence, and a few over-wrought metaphors – perhaps.

The truth is that some of our best folk singers fulfil the role of prophet, and speak truth to power. They do this by calling in question the assumptions of the powerful, they dare to interrogate the ethics of political decisions, they refuse to accept that the economic bottom line has some kind of absolute veto on human compassion, is the reality check for kindness, or makes an ethical generosity foolish, unrealistic, or even worse, unaffordable.

The song Better Things does several of these things in oblique poetry that is at the same time a profound questioning of the wisdom of the world. Here are the words, and Karine polwart's own reasons for writing them given at the end:

So is this the best that we can do?
Oh I can think of better things – can't you?
Yes I can think of better things
That hands can make and hearts can sing

For now we deal with those for whom
A life is but a carnal tomb
In which the darkness holds no power
And neither does the final hour

So is this the best that we can do?
Oh I can think of better things – can't you?
Yes I can think of better things
That hands can make and hearts can sing

We may lament the deadly art
Of tiny atoms torn apart
Of visions that we can't return
And future fires in which we fear we'll burn

So is this the best that we can do?
Oh I can think of better things – can't you?
Yes I can think of better things
That hands can make and hearts can sing

Yet this is the art of those before
Who found a cure within the core
The noble mind behind the ray
That eased our earthly cares away

So is this the best that we can do?
Oh I can think of better things – can't you?
Yes I can think of better things
That hands can make and hearts can sing

Words & Music: Karine Polwart (Bay Songs Ltd 2007)
I wrote this for the "Bin The Bomb" campaign in protest at the UK Government's decision to re-commission the Trident generation of nuclear weapons. I just think maybe there are a few imaginative and constructive ways to spend £30 billion or so that don't involve weapons of mass destruction.

Swords into ploughshares, spears into pruning hooks, and technology turned towards the healing of the wounds of the world – I too can think of better things that hands can make, and hearts can sing.

26 June 2011
Why we all need to get a theological life!

The great and erudite and sometimes not easy to read Jaroslav Pelikan, once wrote a book called The Melody of Theology. A Philosophical Dictionary. It is both a dictionary and an autobiography in which Pelikan discusses alongside philosophical theology his own faith and convictions. The metaphor of music for theology, with the appeal to composition, melody, harmony, disciplined originality, precision and improvisation, provides a wonderful range of possibility in the thinking, writing, speaking, listening, conversing and praying that is the theological life.

I can hear already some sighs of impatience with such an apparently self-conscious and self-indulgent phrase – what on earth is a theological life? Anyone who leads one or wants one needs to get a life. Aye, but what kind of life? Because at its most creative, transformative and fruitful, it is a well lived theological life that not only helps us get a life, but helps make it a life worth getting! And no, I don't want to turn everyone into amateur dogmaticians, two words that should never be juxtaposed outside of an irenic spirit. Nor do I think everyone should give up other life pursuits, intellectual interests, family commitments, cultural experiences, leisure and entertainment pleasures, personal development for work, just to waste the time saved doing God stuff.

The theological life is life lived with God always on the horizon, and often in the foreground.

The theological life is a worldview interpreted through what we believe about God.

The theological life is what we believe about God being brought into conversation with our lived experience in our daily world, from the personal to the global.

The theological life is a way of listening to our lives, the world and the voices of all the others we encounter in the I-Thou of our living relatedness to all around us.

The theological life is to take with both committed seriousness and creative openness, the central truths of Christian existence and experience through which God has addressed His creation with the I-Thou of eternal love.

And thus the theological life is to live and learn, to give and take, to wonder and worship, to desire and enjoy, the great symphony of purposeful, precarious yet persistent love that has as its dominant theme what God has said and done in Jesus Christ.

And so the theological life is to see our lives, our world and the future of all creation as that symphony moving towards its thunderous, rapturous and sublime finale.

And so the theological life is to get a life, and one worth getting – and giving in love and service to one another, and to the Triune God, Father Son and Spirit, One God, Blessed forever.

24 June 2011
Lovers of Discord because Lovers of Truth?

Lovers of Discord is one of Keith Clements' best books, though I guess not all that well known now. Published 23 years ago it is a critical but appreicative account of some of the theological bust ups in England in the 20th Century. Whether or not he agreed with the theological speculations, aberrations and protestations, he clearly admired those who were too faithful to the truth to silence awkward questions, or settle for partial and unconvincing arguments, or put up with dogmatic pronouncements disguised as conviction but in reality strident certitudes scared stiff of hesitation, uncertainty and doubt. On the last page he quotes the well repeated lines about the Lord having yet more light and truth to break forth from his word, and uses it the way most people do – as a warning against ever thinking we have God sussed, or that our views have some kind of secure finality, or that our view of the Bible is the biblical one and other people who differ are, well, unbiblical.

But then on the last page he writes some reflections that could only come from someone whose spirit is ecumenical, whose faith is evangelical, whose theology is liberal in the sense of generous, and whose mind remains open to the Spirit of truth who takes the things of Jesus and makes them known to the intellect, the heart and those secret places within us where truth gains its purchase on our deepest motives, inciters our most passionate longings, and sustains our most persistent hopes. Here is Clements' final words in this book:

"There is a looking back to the past for authoritative reassurance, rather than an anticipation of some new thing, a continual desire to return and check the tomb is empty before taking the road to jerusalem to wherever Christ is to be met anew….We may believe in an ultimate unity of truth, though not apprehended as yet, and only seen in a glass darkly. The resolution of theological conflict is a hope and it will be fulfilled only when there is no more to be taught us by the Spirit of truth." (Page 242)

The book is available used on Amazon for 1p – which just goes to show you can't tell a book by looking at its price! The image is from Hubble – and is included here just to remind us of our size, our place, and our insignificance if we are considered apart from the eternal purposeful Love that moves the sun and other stars.

22 June 2011