Don’t bomb Syria

My letter this morning to the Prime Minister:

Dear Prime Minister
I urge you not to rush into bombing Syria. More killing and destruction must only be a last resort. There is no immediate threat to our nation from Assad. An attack on another sovereign nation not attacking us can only be justified morally or legally with a proper UN mandate.  Otherwise we are opening the Pandora’s box of international chaos and possible world war. We are not learning the lessons of the disastrous failures of military action in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya. All justified on grounds of moral necessity and all failed to achieve the long-term stated goals.

Please for the sake of long-term prospects do not rush into military action. Spend our money on diplomatic and other solutions. Build bridges back with Russia. Understand the needs of all players. Let the UK take the lead with diplomatic and humanitarian responses.
Yours sincerely
The Revd Canon David Hodgson
Rector of Wokingham

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Marcus Borg Foundation

Last week I discovered the website of the Marcus Borg Foundation.
https://marcusjborg.org
It is committed to exploring a realistic and meaningful articulation of Christianity for the 21st Century, building upon the historical and theological research and teachings of Marcus Borg.

Pilot scheme launched to help build sustainable future for listed places of worship – GOV.UK

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pilot-scheme-launched-to-help-build-sustainable-future-for-listed-places-of-worship

Martin Luther, Reformer

The  towers of the town church at Wittenberg ,where Martin Luther was the parish priest in effect and preached often.

Today is acknowledged as the 500th anniversary of  the beginning of what is known now as the Protestant Reformation. Martin Luther , a priest, monk and university professor at Wittenberg in Saxony, Germany, concerned that true Christian teaching about salvation was being corrupted by the sale of indulgences by Church authorities,  posted 95 theses for debate on the university noticeboard, the door of the church next to the castle (not pictured). From that simple act of academic freedom flowed a process of religious, political ,cultural and psychological transformation which changed the world for ever.

Final day of Creation Time season

My efforts to write a daily blog during the season of Creation Time  fell apart around Day 13.  Other demands on my time took over. But I’ve rallied myself for the final day of this season, which is the feast of Saint Francis, patron saint of the natural world including animals, and also international World Animal Day, supported in the UK by the animal  charity Naturewatch Foundation. It also happens to be the first day this year of the Jewish festival of Sukkot, or Booths, which is the equivalent of a harvest festival.

Later this morning at my local church primary school I’ll be telling the story of Saint Francis and the wolf of Gubbio. and we’ll be singing “Make me a channel of your peace” based on words attributed to Francis. Francis and the wolf of Gubbio is a great story. Yes it’s mythological, but that doesn’t stop it containing some very topical messages for today.

There are different possible messages of course depending on how you tell it! I’ll be avoiding  some of the less helpful versions of the story I’ve found online. Some use the story to strike the fear of God into hapless listeners – obey God or else the wolf will gobble you up. This subverts the life and teaching of Francis which was to release people from fear and guilt. Others attempt a more rationalist use of the story, as theodicy – the theological attempt to justify the ways of God to humanity. In its more hard-core versions these tellings of the story explain the existence of violence, whilst not conforming to God’s will for the world, as nonetheless something God had to impose on the world to keep people in line. This is the kind of argument that justifies the application of pain, as in corporal punishment,  as chastisement in discipline. Or justifies pushing benefit claimants to near-starvation to force them to try harder to avoid relying on the public purse. And then there are those versions which simply eviscerate any subtleties and mystery by portraying it as a simple story of how kind Francis was to animals and what a rapport he had with them.

What will I make of the story? It will be about the possibility of  forgiveness and of making peace.

 

Creation Time Day 13 – John Muir

John Muir  (1838 – 1914) American naturalist and wilderness conservationist is best known for his work to ensure Yosemite became a natural park. His vision and concern for preserving wilderness had a strong influence on President Roosevelt.

Although raised in Wisconsin and after travels in North America and the Caribbean as a young man he settled eventually in Caifornia. Muir founded the Sierra Club, now a powerful environmental organisation.

He believed that wilderness areas should be preserved unexploited, opposing even apparently sustainable use. He led campaigns to prevent various schemes to use or develop wilderness areas,  in some cases at the cost of personal friendship.

Muir’s experience of mountains and wilderness was framed by him in terms of a strong spiritual connection. He regarded these areas as a special sacred gift of the Creator.

Creation Time Day 12 – Sandra Steingraber

Sandra Steingraber (Photo: steingraber.com )

Sandra Steingraber (b.1959) is an American biologist and author who writes and campaigns on environmental issues  especially to eliminate the use of carcinogenic chemicals in the environment. A cancer survivor herself, she advocates for increased public awareness and political action on, and greater medical research resources to be devoted to, the role of toxic chemicals in the relationship between environmental factors and cancer.

Steingraber has been hailed as the “new Rachel Carson” (see day 1 of this blog series). Since the publication of her 1997 book, Living Downstream, and subsequent documentary film of the same name, she has received numerous accolades and awards both for her success in communicating and making accessible to the public the scientific research on this topic, and for her political advocacy and campaign work.

As a result of her direct action trying to protect wild areas from contamination and industrialisation in the United States she has served some weeks in prison, through refusal to pay fines on charges of trespass and disorderly conduct.

Her work makes the connections between the environment and human rights. Steingraber is also campaigning for continued concerted action on climate change and to prevent the spread of fracking, the extraction of shale gas by hydraulic fracture.

“From the right to know and the obligation to inquire flows the duty to act”

Sandra Steingraber ( Living Downstream 2^nd ed)