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I read something interesting today - the Guardian
Posted by Derrick
on
14:51
As I said in a previous post, I like to amuse myself by reading some of the websites dedicated to the eradication of Faith. Now normally I would not regard the Guardian as such a site. I think it is a very secularist place to visit and they certainly have the idea that faith is a less than intellectual choice. Moreover, they are sometimes very much anti-Christian as well. Take their religion page today. Stories about a BBC film to (carefully and respectfully) depict the life of Muhammad, one about women's rights in Islam in Pakistan which respectfully points out that proper muslims do not behave that way, a story about the temple in Kerala which is revealing its secrets and stories about Christians relating to old-fashioned Anglicanism (in favour of a liberal church), abortion and gay rights.
We all know that as Christians these are our only topics of conversation.
However, I did find one comment which said the following
I used to attend a very successful Episcopal church in the middle of Edinburgh.
The Minister decided that we needed to remodel the whole church, so this 200 year old building has been revitalised by having the heart torn out of it.
Out went the oaks pews, (the one that Sir Walter Scott sat in survives in a museum) the hand carved rood screen, most of the plaques and other decorations on the walls that marked the lives of generations that had worshiped there. Get rid of that fusty old rubbish - nothing that hasn't happened in our own lifetime matters.
Even the hand carved baptismal font was going to be unceremoniously dumped, but for the deputy minster rescuing it to hand on to another church.
In came a giant screen, banks of monitors and a re-design that made the place look like the offspring of a supermarket and a conference centre.
This monstrous vanity project has left the church with a bill for about £5 million that will haunt it for decades and which has resulted in a drive basically torecruit members who have deep pockets and an inclination to give. Many of the older members of the congregation feel totally sidelined - as one said to me "I suppose we are part of the fusty old rubbish!"
So now we have an interior that will age very rapidly and a lot of high tech bells and whistles that are already starting to break down.
This continual contempt for tradition and the dismantling of everything that has made the church work for 2000 years makes me despair.
Churches are being remodeled and services are being stripped of their meaning so that a small in-crowd can create their own customised church with its own home made rituals. Most of these will be completely meaningless to people a few years down the line, so the whole process will begin again.
In pretty short order what is left of the Anglican church will have departed so far from mainstream Christianity that it will be little more than a rump of people running a social club for no really good reason .
This made me think because I am currently debating with several members of the church I attend over the issue of the new sound system. The amount being spent would, I feel, be better spent elsewhere. I think that something needs to be done to improve the church as a useful place but I wonder what the cost will be.
We shall see what the outcome is.
We all know that as Christians these are our only topics of conversation.
However, I did find one comment which said the following
I used to attend a very successful Episcopal church in the middle of Edinburgh.
The Minister decided that we needed to remodel the whole church, so this 200 year old building has been revitalised by having the heart torn out of it.
Out went the oaks pews, (the one that Sir Walter Scott sat in survives in a museum) the hand carved rood screen, most of the plaques and other decorations on the walls that marked the lives of generations that had worshiped there. Get rid of that fusty old rubbish - nothing that hasn't happened in our own lifetime matters.
Even the hand carved baptismal font was going to be unceremoniously dumped, but for the deputy minster rescuing it to hand on to another church.
In came a giant screen, banks of monitors and a re-design that made the place look like the offspring of a supermarket and a conference centre.
This monstrous vanity project has left the church with a bill for about £5 million that will haunt it for decades and which has resulted in a drive basically torecruit members who have deep pockets and an inclination to give. Many of the older members of the congregation feel totally sidelined - as one said to me "I suppose we are part of the fusty old rubbish!"
So now we have an interior that will age very rapidly and a lot of high tech bells and whistles that are already starting to break down.
This continual contempt for tradition and the dismantling of everything that has made the church work for 2000 years makes me despair.
Churches are being remodeled and services are being stripped of their meaning so that a small in-crowd can create their own customised church with its own home made rituals. Most of these will be completely meaningless to people a few years down the line, so the whole process will begin again.
In pretty short order what is left of the Anglican church will have departed so far from mainstream Christianity that it will be little more than a rump of people running a social club for no really good reason .
This made me think because I am currently debating with several members of the church I attend over the issue of the new sound system. The amount being spent would, I feel, be better spent elsewhere. I think that something needs to be done to improve the church as a useful place but I wonder what the cost will be.
We shall see what the outcome is.
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