A New Reformation

The Reformation was a process which was generated by a misunderstanding and manipulation of personal faith in God and his Son by the church.

A new reformation is urgently needed because of a lack of understanding of the nature of love and of the sanctity of the person. Jesus said: “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25, v40).

We need to embrace these words and approach each person we meet, friend or stranger, with a self-giving love, just as Jesus showed us. In earlier generations people blessed each other. This expression of personal encounter is rarely heard now. We need to learn again how to bless others with selflessness.

The theses to be pinned onto doors everywhere are as follows: Bless and love all you meet.

Discover as you do this that Christ dwells within you. Discover as you do this that God is in this simplest of actions and feelings.

Put yourselves in God’s hands.

Then, in time, there is a friend beside you who sanctifies and values all friendships everywhere and you find God in all things.

You will find a peace that passes understanding and you will help to save the world.

Congratulations on the articles on the Reformation in the January issue. It was good to be reminded of our legacy and the debt owed to men like Luther, Calvin and our own John Knox.

The interview with Dr Askew was excellent although his humility prevented the full extent of his leadership and input to the fantastically imaginative European road map project.

I was privileged to be in Geneva just after the big blue World Reformation Truck left on its journey to visit 67 cities in Europe from Switzerland to Finland. It seems a pity that it will not be coming to Scotland since it will be south of the border.

My visit was at the invitation of the Rev David McLeod, locum Minister (until the end of December) at the Auditoire de Calvin to bring details of The God Question (TGQ) resources and the Grasping the Nettle (GTN) initiative. We were able to carry a letter of greeting from the Moderator, the Rt Rev Dr Russell Barr to the Scots Kirk.

Presentations on TGQ and GTN were made to members of the congregation at a meeting in the Manse and also to a Christian group at CERN as well as to representatives at the World Council of Churches and the President of the Protestant Church in Geneva. With that recent background the Reformation articles were doubly interesting. Unfortunately, the photograph labelled ‘Auditoire de Calvin’ is a photo of the wrong church. That photo is in fact the Temple de Plainpalais in the centre of Geneva.

However, folks may be interested to know that inside the Auditoire there are plaques for both Calvin and John Knox.

For anyone not familiar with TGQ or GTN, see www.thegodquestion.tv/explore and www.graspingthenettle.org John

Spence, Ardrie

I have just read Dr Bradley’s article about the Scottish Reformation in the January edition of Life and Work.

It seems surprising that he has not mentioned George Wishart burned at the stake outside St. Andrew’s Castle. Why?

Mrs Frances Wishart, Madderty by Crieff, Perthshire

Cartoon: Bill McArthur

Christians and Daesh

In his reply to the Rev Peter Park’s letter (Nov 2016 issue), Roger West states that ‘Militants of Daesh pray to the same God of Abraham that we do’ (January 2017 issue). I assume that the ‘we’ to whom Mr West refers are Christians.

I would like to draw his attention to a few points that are pertinent to the God whom Christians worship and from whom life comes.

The Nicene Creed refers to belief in ‘one God, the Father Almighty; One Lord Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father … true God from true God; and belief in the Holy Spirit, the Lord the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified’.

The Westminster Confession of Faith states ‘In the unity of the Godhead there be three persons, of one substance, power, and eternity; God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost. The Father is of none, neither begotten nor proceeding; the Son is eternally begotten of the Father; the Holy Ghost eternally proceeding from the Father and the Son.’ (Ch2. III)

Additionally, the Statement of Christian Faith authorised for use in worship and teaching by the General Assembly 1992 states, ‘We believe in one God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit’.

I would with respect argue that Daesh along with other faiths of the book do not worship the same Trinitarian God as of the Christian faith, and to state that we do diminishes the Gospel message of the incarnation and the atonement.

All three faiths (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) that have their roots in the person of Abraham have a shared history that is found the Genesis narrative, but the revelation of God in Jesus and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost preclude us from holding fast to the notion of a shared God in whom we all worship. Michael Weaver, Probationer Minister, Dunbar, East Lothian

Restoration of bells on such a scale is sadly rare, even in London. It was a joy and privilege to be part of this once in a lifetime undertaking.

The Dean, Development Trust and Society of Bellringers did well to deliver this ambitious project on time.

After the service, the bells were lifted home and hung, ready to be rung again for many years, a big part of the soundscape of London.

J Michael Buchanan, London

Renewal Note

I refer to the lead article in the February edition of Life and Work “A movement not a programme”, describing the Path of Renewal pilot project.

In particular the article refers to “23 congregations, from a variety of settings and the full length of Scotland from Dumfries to Orkney”.

As Moderator of the Shetland Presbytery can I assure the author that we are both part of Scotland and have a congregation enthusiastically taking part in the pilot. Situated as we are more than 100 miles north of Orkney might I suggest “Dumfries to Shetland” might have been a little more accurate for your readers and encouraging to us.

Brian Dobby (Rev), Scalloway, Shetland

Imp ortance of Bells

At a very special Evensong in Southwark Cathedral, London, on January 9, the culmination of a £200k project to renew a massive Ring of Bells, two recast bells were named and baptised by the Bishop of Southwark, echoing medieval, pre-reformation practice.

Many of the restored bells filled the central nave, a float in a river of wool, a spectacular temporary art installation. The smaller recast bell, 0.5 tonnes, was named Nicholas to remember Colin Slee, former Dean from 2000 to 2010.

The mighty Southwark Tenor (2.5 tonnes, five feet plus in diameter) was named Andrew after St Andrew. Inscriptions honoured James I, King of Scots and his descendants (including the House of Windsor) and also those who served and made sacrifice in the First World War.

The Bishop of Southwark sprinkled the new bells with water, anointed them with Oil of Chrism and then censed them. This was rather unpresbyterian but, in the spirit of the Columba Agreement, there to be enjoyed and given significance.

Words and Definitions

A short footnote to the letter in Life and Work’s January issue from Iain and Isabel Whyte.

My Collins dictionary defines the word “Semite” as “A member of the group of Caucasoid peoples who speak a Semitic language, including the Jews and Arabs as well as the ancient Babylonians, Assyrians and Phoenicians”.

It is therefore not appropriate to speak of antisemitism in the context of Israel, as the Palestinians are equally a semitic people as the Israeli Jews.

In fact, more so, when one considers the centuries the Jews were tragically scattered throughout Asia and Europe gaining a mixture of many different strands of DNA. All people should be treated with respect, care and consideration.

Jenny Martin, Edinburgh