Category: learning

but of this tree

wonderfulexchange1 Comment

The announcement came tonight of the creation of an artificial life form.

The official announcement, at least. When I went looking for links, I gather this has been known for a few months, but I had somehow missed it.

Craig Ventner, who was at the heart of the human genome project, has created a synthetic chromosome based on a bacterium which has been pared down to what is essential for life.

(stop to breathe, while you ponder that phrase)

The synthetic chromosome is then implanted in a live cell, at which point it becomes, in effect, a new life form. There is a much fuller (and more reliable) description here if you want it.

And I find I don’t know what to think. One part of me simply has to acknowledge the skill of this and rejoice in the complexity of the human mind. Another part of me screams, ‘no, we mustn’t do this.’

What frightens me most is that there are so few people in the world who can think sensibly about both the science and the morality (not to mention the theology) of it.

How can we decide what is right when we do not begin to understand the consequences of our actions? Is there a basic taboo in place (human beings have no place creating life forms) or is this too part of freedom God gives us?

I cannot make sense of it. So I will take refuge in poetry instead:

And where do I go
from here? I have looked in
through the windows of their glass
laboratories and seen them plotting
the future, and have put a cross
there at the bottom
of the working out of their problems to
prove to them that they were wrong.

R. S. Thomas
from The Echoes Return Slow

a little knowledge…

wonderfulexchange20 Comments

Here are some of the things people tried to teach me today:

  1. all wars are caused by religion
  2. young couples today want to get their children baptised, but can’t because the words of the service claim that their precious little ones are full of sin.
  3. new mothers can’t go out till their babies are churched.
  4. new mothers can’t go out till they themselves are churched.
  5. creeds and vows are mumbo-jumbo.
  6. vegetarians are unrealistic, hypocritical and self-righteous.
  7. it is wrong to allow children to be involved in a wedding even if the bride & groom want them there.
  8. Anglican ministers are not called priests.
  9. good Christians don’t go to church.
  10.  the best people aren’t Christians.

What I actually learned:

  1. when left to a mixed crowd of atheists and occasional church attenders, a priest’s best friend is the Air Force paramedic who is equally misunderstood.

good soil

wonderfulexchange6 Comments

A lot of church life involves a huge input of energy for a very uncertain return. We live in faith, of course, but there are inevitable moments of thinking ‘was that worth it?’.

But sometimes, just sometimes, there is an unexpected return. And so it was with this summer’s project: The Growing Season.

The idea for The Growing Season came out of nowhere, during an hour spent thinking and writing when someone had failed to turn up for a meeting. The idea was simple: offer a set of challenges over the summer — something people could do in short bursts throughout the week, or in one hour long slot. Something that could be done anywhere, at any time, so that people could ‘catch up’ after holidays.

The only bit of careful thought was in choosing challenges that would be diverse, manageable, and — well– challenging. So, there was one on bible, one on prayer, one on life story, one on talking about God, one on asking someone about their beliefs, and one on acts of kindness.

I thought maybe half a dozen people would get involved — and that was an optimistic estimate.

But the response has been amazing. I know that at least 25-30 people chose to take part in most of the challenges, and others who claimed they haven’t have at least dipped into the odd challenge here or there.

Someone discovered that he really could read the bible so long as he used a new translation rather than the King James. A couple of people came to see that God had been present in their lives in ways and at times they had never recognized. Others had conversations about God and faith that they might not have had otherwise.

And then, remarkably, they talked about what they had done. We have just had an evening of very relaxed, wide ranging conversation about God, faith, and discipleship. The sort of conversation priests live for. And all from the tiny effort of offering six A5 sheets of paper with a weekly challenge.

Well done, all. It’s been a delight to listen to your stories.