C. S. Lewis: A Life by Alister McGrath

Hodder, 2013, 431pp

When C. S. Lewis died on 22 November 1963 his passing was overshadowed by the assassination on that same day of US President Kennedy. Even the UK media gave scant attention to the life, achievements and death of one of the key Christian voices of the 20th century. By the end of his days Lewis was in danger of becoming a forgotten man. It perhaps seemed that interest in his writings would dwindle, as sometimes happens with authors who have their moment, and then largely fade from public awareness. 

That was not the case with C. S. Lewis. There has been a revival of interest in both his life and works in recent years. In the Christian world, Tim Keller for one has championed Lewis's approach to apologetics. In the wider culture the Chronicles of Narnia are still much loved children's stories, with adaptations by the BBC and several Hollywood films based on the books. Shadowlands starring Anthony Hopkins explored Lewis's relationship with Joy Davidman. 

Many people are aware of at least the barest outline of C.S. Lewis's life; Ulsterman, Oxford scholar, the Inklings, Mere Christianity, Screwtape, Narnia, the Davidman affair and all that. In this excellent biography Alister McGrath helps to fill in the gaps, bringing Lewis to life as a brilliant, if flawed human being. McGrath is well qualified to write this life, hailing as he does from Northern Ireland, an Oxford Academic and theologian to boot. In preparation for this biography the author read Lewis's vast correspondence in chronological order, which proved an important source of insight. 

In McGrath Lewis has a sympathetic, but by no means uncritical biographer and one who is not afraid to challenge conventionally accepted aspects of the Lewis story, even those propounded by the man himself. A close reading of Lewis's letters leads McGrath to propose a revised chronology of his subject's conversion experience. All to do with bluebells, apparently. Lewis's relationship with women as it emerges in these pages was a bit odd, from Mrs. Moore, to Joy Davidman, whom he married to enable her to remain in England rather than return to America. Yes, they fell in love later, but still. 

As a young man Lewis turned his back upon Ulster Protestantism and became an atheist, confirmed in his unbelief by his experiences as a soldier in World War I. But his atheism left him feeling unsatisfied. While lecturing at Oxford Lewis came to believe in God and then under the influence of his friend J. R. R. Tolkein he came to see that Christianity was the 'true myth' that helped to make sense of the world. By June 1932 (according to McGrath's chronology), Lewis became convinced of the deity of Christ when travelling by bus to Whipsnade Zoo. 

Lewis's initial attempts to convince others of the truth of Christianity were of a highly intellectual variety, exemplified by his books, The Pilgrim's Regress and The Problem of Pain. He found a more popular audience for his reworked BBC Radio addresses published under the title Mere Christianity. Although an Anglican, Lewis had little time for denominational labels and devoted scant attention to doctrinal disputes. The Chronicles or Narnia were an attempt on Lewis's part to show his readers the truth of  Christian faith by appealing to their imagination rather than by the use of rational argument. McGrath is insightful on the genesis of the Narnia stories and how Lewis used them to convey key aspects of the Christian message, especially through Aslan, the Christ-like hero of Narnia. 

C. S. Lewis, was, of course an academic and McGrath describes some of the tensions and difficulties Lewis encountered at Oxford University. While he produced some solid academic works in the field of English literature, fellow academics appeared to dislike Lewis's Christian faith and resented the attention he attracted as a popular apologist. Hence the move to Cambridge later in Lewis's career. 

20th century evangelicals seemed to have viewed Lewis with some suspicion. McGrath cites D. M. Lloyd-Jones's view that he was 'unsound on a number of issues, chiefly relating to the doctrine of salvation'. No doubt those looking for doctrinal instruction shouldn't make Lewis their first port of call. We can go elsewhere for that. Lewis's life story is testament to the fact that the believer is at one and the same time 'righteous and a sinner'. 

Lewis's use of the imagination in apologetics has much to recommend it. Many parents (us included) have read some if not all of the Lewis's Narnia titles to their children. Enduring interest in the Chronicles of Narnia gives the church a point of contact with the culture. At a time when the Christian story is fading from public consciousnesses in the West, the magnificent figure of Aslan, especially in his substitutionary death and resurrection acts as a signpost to the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. 

Alister McGrath has given us a fine introduction to the life and writings of C. S. Lewis. Well worth a look. 

Paul A Biography by Tom Wright

SPCK, 2018, 464pp

Any endeavour to understand the Christian faith and its impact upon the world must grapple with the apostle Paul. Who was this man who contributed huge chunks of the New Testament, and who Luke portrays as the great hero of the Acts of the Apostles? How did his ideas catch on and shape the future direction of the church? Is it possible to construct a convincing biography of Paul from the materials found in the New Testament? Tom Wright has certainly made a good attempt at answering these questions. 

I really liked this biography of Paul and found it immensely enjoyable and informative. The author is an expert in the background history of Paul's times and deftly draws upon his knowledge of the period to bring the apostle to life. Wright offers a fascinating take on the development of Paul's thinking and personality. Inevitably the writer is a little speculative at times as he looks to fill in the gaps to construct a convincing Paul. How can it be known that Paul was meditating on the throne vision of Ezekiel 1 as he encountered the risen Jesus on the Road to Damascus, for example? 

Wright adopts a conservative stance to the Pauline authorship of the letters attributed to him in the New Testament. He takes historical accuracy of Luke's Acts pretty much for granted. That said, the author is not afraid to question common assumptions. He argues for an Ephesian rather than Roman captivity as backdrop to the 'prison epistles'; Philippians, Ephesians and Colossians. He almost had me pursuaded on that one, but not quite. The theory he advances at least deserves serious consideration. 

I would highly recommend this work to pastors and serious Christian readers. Wright enables us to approach Paul's life and writings with fresh appreciation and insight. Identifying Phinehas (Numbers 25:7-13) as an inspiration for Paul's persecuting zeal (Philippians 3:6) is a real eye-opener. The apostle to the Gentiles' role in ensuring the church did not split along Jewish/Gentile lines is  properly underlined. Wright is a fine writer and his narrative zips along nicely. His retelling of Paul's stormy sea passage to Rome (Acts 27) almost has you on board ship with the apostle and his shipmates. You can virtually taste the salty sea spray. There are many fine things here and I wish this could be a more glowing review. But there are some points of criticism. 

The fly in the ointment is Wright's account of Paul's gospel of justification by faith. He translates 'the righteousness of God' in Romans 1:17 as 'the covenant faithfulness of God'. Justification is not so much about sinners being put right with God, as defining who belongs to the people of God.  He characterises the traditional Reformation reading of Paul's gospel as little more than a means of achieving the necessary merit for the believer to go to heaven when they die.  Over and against this reductionist account Wright sets his more capacious understanding of Paul's theology. According to him the main focus of the apostle's eschatology is on the resurrection of the body and the hope of a new creation. 

The 'Poundshop Paul' of Protestantism needs the enrichment of Wright's superior 'Harrods' product. That ain't necessarily so. On the justification front, Paul certainly seems to place the forensic aspects of the doctrine front and centre. 'Justification' is the polar opposite to 'condemnation' (e.g. Romans 8:33-34). Certainly, those who believe and are justified also belong to the people of God, but the thrust of justification is vertical rather than horizontal. Having said that, no account of justification is complete if it fails to spell out the implications of the doctrine for church life. See The Gospel of Free Acceptance in Christ and Christ and the Covenant by Cornelis P. Venema for a thoroughgoing critique of Wright's methodology and teaching on justification by faith. 

Wright almost gives the impression that Evangelicals are so fixated on dying and going to heaven that they have failed to notice that Paul (among others in the New Testament) has a thing or two to say about the resurrection of the body. I wonder. My current 'big read' is The Christian Faith: A Systematic Theology for Pilgrims on the Way, by Miachael Horton, (Zondervan, 2011). I'm getting towards the end now, and am in the process of reading Horton's chapters on eschatology. Interestingly, in chapter 27 the theologian makes the point, "Going to heaven when we die is the way station, not the final hope announced in the gospel." (p. 906). The 'final hope' is described thus, "In the consummation, not only the earth but heaven itself will become new. As human bodies will be reunited in everlasting joy with their souls, so too earth and heaven will become one cosmic sanctuary of everlasting joy." (p. 915). Richard B. Gaffin Jr has also emphasised the central importance of the resurrection hope in Paul's theology in his Resurrection and Redemption: A Study in Paul's Soteriology (P&R, 1987 edition). 

This is not a late development in the Reformed tradition, either. Book III:XXV, of The Institutes of the Christian Religion by John Calvin is entitled On the Last Resurrection. In the space of 17 pages the Reformer anticipates many of the main arguments made by Wright in his excellent, The Resurrection of the Son of God (SPCK, 2003). According to Calvin, "Wherefore, he alone has made solid progress in the gospel who has acquired the habit of meditating continually on a blessed resurrection." (See this series of blogs on John Calvin and the resurrection of the body).  In his Body of Divinity, the Puritan Thomas Watson discusses Question 38 of the Westminster Shorter Catechism 'What benefits to believers receive from Christ at the resurrection?' He insists, "The doctrine of the resurrection is a fundamental article of our faith...The saved body shall rise again." His treatment includes this remarkable insight, "The bodies of the saints in the grave, though separated from their souls, are united to Christ. The dust of a believer is part of Christ's mystic body". (Emphasis added, A Body of Divinity, Banner of Truth Trust, 1978, p. 305, 309). The Reformed tradition has taught consistently that for the believer dying and going to heaven is but the intermediate state. The ultimate is the resurrection of he body and the renewal of creation.  

Wright's account of key aspects of Paul's teachings leaves something to be desired. His work scores more highly when it comes to helping readers get inside Paul's world, perhaps even inside the apostle's head as he proclaimed the gospel, planted churches, agonised over them, suffered for his faith, and at last sealed his testimony with his own blood.

The Jesus-following communities Paul gathered and the letters he addressed to them changed the face of the ancient world. Paul's life and writings continue to resonate today, for the good news he preached is, after all, "the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also the Greek." (Romans 1:16). 

Tolkien

Last night we went to see this film at the delightful (and cheap) Westway Cinema in nearby Frome. The Hobbit was the last book I read to our children at bedtime before they decided they were too old for that kind of thing. I have, of course, seen the three epic Lord of the Rings movies and also Peter Jackson's Hobbit trilogy. One day I'll have to get round to reading the The Lord of the Rings books. 

Right now I'm reading C. S. Lewis: A Life, by Alister McGrath. I've just finished the chapter on Lewis's conversion. McGrath details how Tolkien helped his Oxford friend, Lewis to make the journey from generic theism to faith in Christ. It is well known that Lewis, Tolkien and others formed the 'Inklings' literary discussion group at Oxford. Members used the group to try out their developing writing projects, including The Lord of the Rings. 

Male friendship is a key theme in the Tolkien biopic. Together with his brother, the author was orphaned as a boy. His education was overseen by a Roman Catholic priest, who ensured he got into a good school in Birmingham. There Tolkien formed close friendships with three other boys. Together they were going to change the world and believed their close knit 'fellowship' could never be broken.

The film also touchingly depicts the burgeoning romance between Tolkien and childhood friend, Edith Bratt. They eventually married, but the course of true love did not run smooth. Father Morgan forced Tolkien to break off his relationship with Edith to pursue his studies at University. 

Two of the school friends went to Oxford (Tolkien included), and two to Cambridge. The rugby scenes from Tolkien's university days brought home a resemblance between the actor who plays the eponymous writer, Nicholas Hoult, and the Welsh superwing, George North. But that's probably by the by. 

Days of study were brought to a halt by the outbreak of World War One. Tolkien was involved in the Battle of the Somme. The film gives glimpses of how the horrors of war helped fuel Tolkien's imagination as he depicted the tremendous battle scenes in The Lord of the Rings. German flamethrowers become fire breathing dragons. Knights in armour emerge out of the haze of yellow mustard gas. 

The war tested Tolkien's boyhood friendships to destruction. Accompanied by his loyal batman, Private Sam Hodges, Lieutenant Tolkien sets out across the trenches in search of  his poetically minded pal, Geoffrey Bache Smith. From life to literature, fast forward to Samwise Gamgee assisting Frodo Baggins in his quest to destroy the One True Ring. 

Tolkien was a devout Roman Catholic. I've already mentioned his influence on C. S, Lewis's conversion to Christianity. This side of the Oxford writer's life is only subtly present in the film. But the themes of quest, the conflict between good and evil, fellowship and love loom large in this thoughtful and well-acted biopic. As they do in Tolkien's writings. The film draws out how these themes were the product of the author's life experiences. They were also an expression of his faith. 

With the whole idea of friendship cheapened by social media, I wonder whether we have lost sight of the value of friendship as an aspect of Christian discipleship? See ‘Tolkien’ and the Dying Art of Fellowship for some thoughts on that.

The film ends with Tolkien penning the opening lines of what was to be my children's very last bedtime story, "In a hole in the ground there lived a...". 

The truth will set you free

Free speech is rightly considered a cornerstone of democracy. We should be able to express our thoughts, even though others may disagree with us. No one has the right not to be exposed to opinions that aren't to their liking. Yet this noble tradition of free speech is being challenged in these days of 'no platforming' and 'Twitter storms'. People whose views are not exactly 'right-on' are being denied the opportunity to address public meetings and risk provoking outrage on social media.

Rugby players and philosophers have found themselves in hot water. Witness what happened to Israel Folau, Billy Vunipola and Roger Scruton in recent weeks. See Matthew Parris of The Times for the free speech implications of the rugby controversy, and Douglas Murray of The Spectator for the low-down on The New Statesman's hit job on the conservative intellectual. All rather worrying. 

Strangely, it is often those who pride themselves in being liberal who are the quickest to shout down views they deem beyond the pale. Of course, they demand freedom to voice their own opinions, but the same freedom is not extended to others. That isn't liberalism, but another form of tyranny.

Freedom of speech is essential for calling the powerful to account. That is why dictators clamp down on the media and persecute their critics. They do not want their misdeeds exposed by the light of truth. As George Orwell put it, “In times of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act”. 

Valuing freedom of speech is a fruit of Britain's Christian heritage. As a Christian I don't just insist on my own right to free speech. I believe that people of other faiths and those who have no faith should also be free to express their convictions. We should have the freedom even to disagree with and criticise the beliefs of others. You can strongly disagree with someone's views, and yet treat them with respect as a person.

I'm glad I live in a country where I am free to follow my faith. In places like Afghanistan, China and North Korea Christians are actively persecuted by the state. (See Open Doors' 'World Watch List'. Jeremy Hunt the Foreign Secretary has recently spoken out about this outrage. Good on him. Religious freedom should be a basic human right for all people across the world. Baptists especially appreciate this point. We believe in the separation of church and state and do not expect the governing authorities to impose the Christian faith upon the nation. 

Jesus did not come to impose a new set of burdensome rules and regulations upon human race. He came as a liberator to set us free from the dark forces of sin that bind us. That is why he died to pay the price of our freedom and rose from his tomb to release us from the power of death. God exalted Jesus above all rule and authority, yet he does not use his power to enslave or exploit his followers. Jesus promised all who believe in him, 'you will know the truth and the truth will set you free'. (John 8:32).

*For May editions of News & Views, Trinity Magazine, and White Horse News. 

Awakening the Evangelical Mind by Owen Strachan

Awakening the Evangelical Mind: 

An Intellectual History of the Neo-Evangelical Movement,

by Owen Strachan, Zondervan, 2015. Kindle edition

On my study bookshelves I have at least one commentary on each book of the Bible. More again if you count Kindle and Logos editions. Most are scholarly works by Evangelical writers. Then there are countless theological titles dealing with a wide variety of subjects from the atonement to apologetics, historical works, and so on. Many have been published in the last 30 or 40 years by notable Evangelical scholars. These writers are in turn the product of world class Evangelical theological schools and seminaries.This abundance of literary riches would have amazed postwar Evangelicals. Today we tend to take it for granted. 

I finished reading this a while back, yet never got round to writing up a review until now. Must have slipped my mind. It was a 'fits and starts' read, anyway. Not that it wasn't any good, but I bought it cheap, a Kindle special offer and tended only to look at it occasionally. Like when I found myself hanging around for some reason or other, and wanted something to read to redeem what otherwise would have been wasted time.

In the 1930s and 40s theological academia was dominated by Liberal scholarship. Evangelicals working in the field were few and far between. Fundamentalists tended to view scholarly pursuits with some suspicion. They stuck to the Bible, stuck it to the Liberals, and that was about it. The trouble with that anti-intellectual approach was that it left Evangelical students bereft of the tools they needed to give a cogent defense of their beliefs in the academic world. Thankfully, the same cannot be said now. 

In this title Owen Strachan tells the story of how the founders Neo-Evangelicalism helped to reawaken the Evangelical mind. With the support of Billy Graham, Harold John Ockenga and Carl F. H. Henry led the way. Between them they founded institutions such as the National Association of Evangelicals, Fuller Seminary and the magazine, Christianity Today. Scholars such as Edward John Carnell, Kenneth Kantzer, John H. Gerstner, and George Eldon Ladd added their weight to the movement. They had big plans to capture the commanding heights of academia for the gospel. New books were published and older writers like Jonathan Edwards were rediscovered. The 'Neos' were self-consciously different to the 'Fundies' in their approach. Henry's The Uneasy Conscience of Modern Fundamentalism attacked the truncated world view of the Fundamentalists. 

Not all of the Neo-Evangelicals ambitions were realised, and today's Evangelicalism is not without its challenges in the academic world. Holding to the authority Scripture, substitutionary atonement and the new birth is never going to be fashionable in any generation. But that is where we stand. Carl Henry was a revered figure at London Seminary where I trained for the ministry (1988-90). His books were warmly recommended by the faculty. The Evangelical elder statesman visited the seminary when I was there and gave a talk on the doctrine of Scripture.

In a conclusion Strachan draws some helpful lessons from his study that are worth pondering. We owe a debt of gratitude to the likes of Henry and Ockenga, without whom pastors' bookshelves would be less well stocked than they are today. May this account of their efforts serve to inspire contemporary Evangelicals to rise to the intellectual challenges of our post-modern, pluralistic and secular age, 2 Corinthians 10:5. 

The Good News of Easter

Yes, there are Easter Eggs in the shops, which is good news of a sort. Easter bunnies and bonnets are fun too, if you like that kind of thing. The good news I have in mind is quite different. Easter brings us face to face with the most important events in the Christian faith. Yes, Christmas is a biggie. Then believers celebrate the birth of the Lord Jesus. But why was the Son of God born into our world as one of us? Easter points to the reason. Again and again in his teaching Jesus told his followers that it wasn’t going to end well. He was going to be betrayed, condemned and crucified. His friends couldn’t take it in. If Jesus was the long-promised Deliverer, wasn’t he supposed to overthrow his enemies, rather than be killed by them?

But that’s exactly how it turned out. It was meant to. Jesus did come not as a teacher of moral principles, or a spiritual guru, or a political activist. He was a Deliverer. He brought deliverance by laying down his life for his enemies. Christ died for our sins, paying the price for our rebellion against God. At the cross of Jesus we see God’s just demands met and his love for us revealed to the full. As Paul writes in the Bible, “but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Although broken by sin, human beings are not worthless. God values us so much that he sent his Son to die in our place. That’s good news.

Jesus’ followers didn’t see it quite like that. They thought all was lost when Jesus died. After all, what good was a dead Deliverer? They were right. Jesus’ friends, however, seem to have forgotten that he did not merely predict his death. He told them that after three days he would rise again. That is why his tomb was empty the first Easter Sunday morning. That is how he was able to appear before his followers and show them he was alive. The resurrection of Jesus demonstrated that he was the Son of God. His death really had paid the price of sin. By faith in him we can be forgiven and be put right with God. Jesus lives. The power of death had been broken. All who belong to Jesus will be raised up and make like him when he returns in glory. On that day everything sad will come untrue. All because of Easter. If that’s not good news, I don’t know what is. 

Easter Sunday Services 

Providence Baptist Church
10.30am & 6.00pm

Ebenezer Baptist Church
4.30pm

*For News & Views and Trinity parish magazines 

David Lloyd George: The Great Outsider by Roy Hattersley

Abacus, 2010, 709pp

You'd think it couldn't happen here. A populist with a shady private life ascending the highest political office in the land. I mean, this was Great Britain, not brash and gaudy America. Certainly not in the staid Victorian/Edwardian era. Never. But it did happen here. David Lloyd George became Prime Minister in 1916 and remained at the top until after the fall of his coalition government in 1922. 

A statue situated just outside the walls of Caernarfon castle captures David Lloyd George in full oratorical flight. This was his old stamping ground, where the future Prime Minister made his name as a fledgling politician. He championed the great causes of Welsh Nonconformity; temperance, disestablishment, education and land reform. In an era when politics was dominated by the aristocrat scions of Britain's top public schools, Lloyd George was a cottage bred boy, the product of a National School. Even when he became Prime Minister, Lloyd George was driven by an outsider's sense of grievance.

I started reading Hattersley's biography when we holidayed in Caernarfon in the May/June 2018 half term break and finished it on the flight home from our main summer holiday in Switzerland in August. Just taken me until now to write up a review. It was somehow fitting to read about the great man as I sat on the beach at Criccieth, the town Lloyd George made his home, or at least, where his wife and children made their home. He spent most of his time in London, even over the Christmas hols. 

Lloyd George's father died when he was young. His maternal uncle, Richard Lloyd took him under his wing and made every effort to make sure he had a good start in life. Lloyd belonged to the Campbelite sect of Sandemanian Baptists. So much as he aligned himself with any denomination  later in life, Lloyd George continued to identify himself with the Baptists. Hattersley records that he went to hear 'Dr. C. H Spurgeon' at the Metropolitan Tabernacle, London. 

Lloyd George made his reputation as a fiery orator, speaking to packed public meetings on subjects close to the heart of Liberal Nonconformity. He was involved in the 'Tithe Wars', a protest against a loathed tax that made Nonconformist farmers pay their dues to the Church of England. In a public meeting to discuss the tax a clergyman pointed out that people would have to pay Lloyd George his solicitor's fee if they consulted him on legal matters. The politician snapped back that only if they consulted him people had to pay. The 'tithe' forced Chapel-going farmers to pay for the clergyman's sermons even if they did not attend his services.

There was more to Lloyd George than campaigns and speeches. He was also a capable administrator. He proved an adroit President of the Board of Trade in Asquith's Liberal government. He was one of the great Chancellors of the Exchequer. Lloyd George introduced many of the social security benefits that we now take for granted including the old age pension, sickness and unemployment benefits. He fought for reform of the House of Lords, which led to the introduction of Life Peers. He brought swathes of reforming energy to his ministerial tasks. When the Great War broke out Lloyd George was appointed as Minister of Munitions. It was his belief that the war was being lost for want of artillery shells. He brought in men with experience of private business to help run the department. By the time his ministry ended the department was producing as many shells in a month as had previously been manufactured in a year. The ready supply of ordinance enabled the creeping artillery barrages that helped win the war.

The hesitant Asquith didn't cut it as wartime Prime Minister. Lloyd George took the helm and became the Man Who Won the War. He often clashed with Field Marshall Haigh's over his attentional tactics, but felt he lacked the political clout to remove the popular supreme commander. The war ending in victory, Lloyd George set his sights on making Britain a Land Fit for Heroes. He won the post-war General Election, which placed him in the incongruous position of being a Liberal Prime Minister in charge of a Conservative government. Roy Hattersley contrasts Lloyd George with a previous Liberal Leader, “Campbell-Bannerman 'always thought more of his policy than he did of himself'. When Lloyd George became PM, he ensured the death of the Liberal Party by reversing the order of priorities.” 

That, in essence was the problem with Lloyd George. His elevated sense of self made him think that everything was about him. The inward curve of self-love twisted his life out of shape. His long suffering wife had to put up with his long term absences from the family home and a string of adulterous affairs, all discretely covered up by a deferential media. He could be manipulative and devious in relation to his political allies. In relation to his opponents he was often merciless in misrepresenting them in order to score points and win his argument. Yet Lloyd George was also driven of a sense of crusading righteousness. He was an outspoken opponent of the Boer War, which he saw as a bullying campaign on the part of the British against a small nation. In a speech he claimed that when he stood before God on the day of judgement, the Almighty would let him in to heaven because he was 'for the Boer'. Evidently he had listened none too carefully to C. H. Spurgeon, who would have told the statesman to repent from his sin and trust in Jesus for salvation.

Hattersley tells the story well and is not afraid to criticise Lloyd George's conduct when censure is called for. As is often the case, great men have great faults. One wonders how Lloyd George would cope with being PM today. His private life would be all over the Tabloids for a start. He'd give Boris Johnson a run for his money on that front. But unlike the Tory wannabe, the Welsh Wizard was a master politician and mighty orator. If a pro-Breix PM, he'd no doubt run rings around the EUrocrats and just about everybody else to get us out of Europe on good terms.

Lloyd George's instincts were those of a socially conservative Chapel Boy (not always carried through into his private life), wedded to the Liberal values of free trade and social justice. Maybe he would be the man to lead the Social Democratic Party out of the wilderness and into power, who knows? The Great Outsider reminds us of what great political leadership can accomplish. But Lloyd George's statues in Caernarfon on and Parliament Square should  have feet of clay to remind us that the man immortalised in bronze was possessed of the kind of destructive drives that ruin lives and bring  the most high flying of political careers crashing to the dust. He was a great man and a great sinner. Would that he had heeded Spurgeon as the preacher pointed him to a great Saviour. 

Affinity Theological Studies Conference: 'The Worshipping Church'

Panel of speakers (minus one) 

The Affinity Theological Studies Conference is unique among a plethora of events in the Evangelical and Reformed world. Most other conferences revolve around addresses, lectures or preaching. They contain very little conferring, apart from an occasional discussion panel. Even there, any conferring usually takes place among the speakers, not conference delegates. This one's different. The papers are circulated beforehand with a view to having them discussed in the conference. First in small groups and then in plenary sessions. The papers will be published in due course, so I'm not going to attempt to summarise their contents. An outline can be seen here. Titles and authors listed below. Rather than delivering the papers, the authors simply introduce them before delegates head off to chew the fat.

I chaired our group and tried to ensure that our discussions had a practical bent. What would we do differently in response to the material in the papers? As it happens, members of our group were of one mind on most things, but there are always differences of nuance and emphasis to tease out. Discussion times flowed well, but never became especially heated. 

For me, I won't be implementing massive changes in my approach to leading worship. But I hope reading and discussing the papers will make me a a bit more thoughtful about the way I do things in future. It's a fair point that while preachers spend hours preparing to preach, little thought can go into the main prayer of a Sunday service. We can easily get stuck in a rut and become samey and boring. Keeping fresh takes effort. I'm not convinced that we should be using read prayers, though. The Spirit gifts pastors and teachers to lead worship and well as preach. But progress in gifting is both possible and necessary. When it comes to preaching, Bob Letham commended Augustine's dictum that preaching should, 'make clear, delight and pursuade' (Paper 3). That too takes work. 

So-called 'worship wars' seem to have died down of late. Congregations aren't splitting over styles of worship. Differences have now become settled, with some churches adopting a progressive approach and others maintaining a traditional stance. There are biblical principles at stake here and Paper 2 in particular took us back to the New Testament's teaching on 'gathered worship'. Yes, there is such a thing, insisted David Kirk, alongside 'whole of life worship'. Sometimes differences over worship styles can be down to cultural perspectives. Most in our group seemed to agree that we need to be contemporary, while at the same time consciously part of a worshipping tradition that goes back over 2,000 years. Before that even, if you include psalm singing (which we should!) and Old Testament worship (Paper 1). Papers 5 & 6 wrestled with managing change and what it means to be 'conteporary'. 

Yes, we who lead the gathered church in worshipping God need to give attention to the form, content and cultural relevance of our services. Sure. Paper 4 also reminded us that worship should stir the affections to the adoration of the our Father by the Son and through the Spirit. As Jonathan Edwards wrote,

That religion which God requires, and will accept, does not consist in weak, dull, and lifeless wouldings [i.e. wishes to act] raising us but a little above a state of indifference. God in his word, greatly insists upon it that we be in good earnest, fervent in spirit and our hearts be vigorously engaged in religion.

Prayer, singing, Scripture reading, preaching, Baptism and the Lord's Supper should be a means by which the hearts of worshippers are moved to worship. The affections raised should be appropriate to the truth proclaimed, ranging from godly sorrow over sin to joy inexpressible in the Lord. The truth bit needs underlining in our sentimental age. We look not for emotional outbursts, but a heartfelt response to God's Word. Edwards posited that the development of godly Christian character is the acid test of whether affections are truly of the Spirit. Emotional spasms won't produce the fruit of the Spirit. Only the word of truth and power of God can do that. 

Speaking of the Spirit, some papers gave attention to the way in which the Holy Spirit is especially present with the church gathered in worship. That gave rise to discussion on how that can be, given a) the Spirit is omnipresent and b) he dwells within each individual believer. We considered texts such as Ephesians 2:19-22, which speaks of the gathered church (note 'built together') as a 'dwelling place of God in the Spirit' and, of course the favourite verse of small churches, Matthew 18:20. In his introductory remarks to his paper Stephen Clark helpfully reminded us that while the Spirit is with the people of God when gathered and scattered, he may be more powerfully present at some times than others. The Spirit is not a force, but a sovereign person of the Trinity. His influences and effects therefore vary, both in relation to the individual believer and gathered churches. Our God seems to take special delight in drawing near to his gathered people, Psalm 87:1-3. 

Few things have been more divisive in Evangelical circles than what goes on in gathered worship, which is a great shame. But even in the church of the New Testament there was potential for division. Jewish believers with their tradition of psalm singing in the synagogues had to accommodate Gentile believers who composed new songs to the Lord. Gentiles, who were accustomed to boozy singalongs in their pagan days had to learn sing the psalms of Israel, now 'not drunk with wine...but filled with the Spirit', Ephesians 5:18-20. This involved both Jew and Gentile submitting to the other in the Lord, rather than splitting from one another, as they developed a distinctive Christian culture of worship (Ephesians 5:21). There's a lesson  there for our day and the divide between 'progs' and 'trads'. With great pastoral wisdom John Calvin shows us a more excellent way than acrimony, 

The Master... did not will in outward discipline and ceremonies to prescribe in detail what we ought to do (because he foresaw that this depended upon the state of the times, and he did not deem one form suitable for all ages)... Because he has taught nothing specifically, and because these things are not necessary to salvation, and for the upbuilding of the church ought to be variously accommodated to the customs of each nation and age, it will be fitting (as the advantage of the church will require) to change and abrogate traditional practises and to establish new ones. Indeed, I admit that we ought not to charge into innovation rashly, suddenly, for insufficient cause. But love will best judge of what may hurt or edify; and if we let love be our guide, all will be safe. (Cited in Paper 5).

Paper 1: A biblical theology of worship (Mark Johnston)
Paper 2: ‘When you come together’ (David Kirk)
Paper 3: Worship and aesthetics: a historical survey – with particular reference to Clement of Alexandria, Augustine of Hippo, Luther, Zwingli and other Reformers (Bob Letham)
Paper 4: Worship and the affections (Graham Beynon)
Paper 5. Worship today: maintaining continuity with the past and across the world (Ray Evans)
Paper 6. Worship today: contemporary expression of worship in one’s own culture (Stephen Clark)

The next Affinity Theological Studies Conference will take place in March 2021. The topic may be eschatology, but that's still to be decided. The Doctrine of God also merits attention, especially the Trinity in historical, biblical and theological perspectives, the eternal submission of the Son to the Father (or not!), one God 'without body, parts, or passions', divine sovereignty vs Open Theism, etc. Theme, 'Behold your God!' 

Evangelical 'Momentum' within the Church of England

D. M. Lloyd-Jones, 1966

In an article in the Church Times, Angela Tilby issued a wake-up call to the Church of England. Apparently, 'Momentum' is infiltrating Anglicanism. Not that kind of 'Momentum'. She wasn't worried that the good old CofE was going to be taken over by an influx of Marxtist-Lenninists brandishing the Morning Star and singing 'Oh, Jeremy Corbyn', rather than 'All Things Bright and Beautiful'. Maybe she wouldn't have minded that too much. 

No, the worrying thing is that people who actually believe the Bible and possibly even a good chunk of the 39 Articles of Religion are in danger of  imposing themselves upon the Church of England. Whatever next? As Tilby says, "It just seems wrong to insist that only those who claim to have a personal relationship with Jesus are real Christians, and that their priority should be about converting others." Crazy, like. You wouldn't find the great theologians of the Church spouting such nonsense; Athanasius, Augustine, and such. Let alone John Calvin and the Reformer Bishops of the Church of England; Latimer and Ridley. Pesky Evangelicals. 

It may even be that, "what was once a well-tolerated but distinctive ideology of faith has become the accepted norm." It was no doubt very kind of non-Evangelicals to be so tolerant towards people who preach the gospel, but heaven forfend that their 'ideology' should become the norm. Evangelicals should know their place and content themselves with being a 'wing' of the Church alongside the other wings, rather than trying to take the place over. It's not as if the other 'wings' would ever try and do that. 

The thought of an Evangelical 'Momentum' sweeping through the CofE, making it do evangelism and stuff, is giving Angela Tilby an anxiety attack. Her response illustrates rather perfectly the problem that faces Evangelical Anglicans. They must stay in their Evangelical box, keep paying into the coffers and stop trying to remake the Church in their own image. But can Evangelicals content themselves with being a well tolerated 'wing' of a Church that has more 'wings' than KFC has of the chicken variety? The Liberal 'wing', Anglo-Catholic, Nondescript Mainstream, LGBT+ inclusive, and so on. 

The thing that puts the Evangel into Evangelicals is the gospel of salvation by faith alone, through grace alone in Christ alone, to the glory of God alone. The preaching of this message is what constitutes the church as "a congregation of faithful men, in the which the pure Word of God is preached, and the Sacraments be duly ministered according to Christ's ordinance"  (Article XIX). Those who do not preach this message or sit under its proclamation are not the church in any meaningful sense of the word. Evangelicals who remain in theologically mixed denominations like the CofE must therefore either work to reform them, or leave. 

Angela Tilby laments, "Nowhere in today’s report is there any theological reflection on the nature of the current church decline." But any theological reflection must begin with God, take his self-revelation in Holy Scripture seriously and deal with the questions, 'What is a Christian?' and 'What is the Church?'. Michael Sadgrove Tweeted an appreciation of Tilby's article in which he said, '@churchofengland⁩ is not a network of gathered evangelising churches.' But that's exactly the problem. The church of the New Testament was a network of gathered evangelising churches. Read Acts.

Tilby casts the aspersion that Evangelicals are only interested in 'saving souls', and have little time for social justice. Who does she think led the campaign to abolish slavery, or agitated for better working conditions for ordinary men and women? The tradition of William Wilberforce and Lord Shaftesbury lives on among contemporary Evangelicals who work in disadvantaged communities. They run debt counselling services, organise food banks, serve as school governors, and help in countless other ways.

That said, Evangelicals might have something to learn from the Tilby's piece. At least in her perception they are theological lightweights and ecclesiological pragmatists. They talk in business-speak, “envision, equip, and enable . . .”. This is unfortunate. Evangelical Anglicanism has produced some very fine theologians such as J. I Packer and John Stott. Packer and Stott sought to root Evangelicalism in the great theological tradition of Puritanism, the Reformers and the Church Fathers. Alpha Course Evangelicals would do well to return to the 'Old Paths' to add theological weight to the movement. Yet even here, Packer and Stott were more comfortable than they should have been with Evangelicalism being regarded as a  'well-tolerated ideology' within the broader Anglican set-up. 

Serious questions need to be faced by Evangelicals within the theologically mixed denominations, 

Are we content, as evangelicals, to go on being nothing but an evangelical wing, making our protests, exerting our influence, hoping that we can gradually infiltrate so that others may come to see the wrongness of their ideas and the correctness of ours? Are we content to go on doing that? (Knowing the Times, D. M. Lloyd-Jones, Banner of Truth Trust, 1989, p. 251). 

Martyn Lloyd-Jones issued that challenge in 1966 in his address under the auspices of the Evangelical Alliance, Evangelical Unity: An Appeal. What the preacher said still resonates today. If the gospel defines what it means to be a Christian and what it means to be the church, the church must be evangelical, or it is no church at all. On that basis, we cannot be content with being an 'evangelical wing'. Why remain in alliance with people who deny that being a Christian means having a personal relationship with Jesus? 

Angela Tilby clearly believes that Evangelicals are the problem in the CofE. This depite the fact that Evangelical churches tend to be the ones that are growing in a context of general decline. She in effect says to them (echoing the words of king Ahab to the prophet Elijah), "Is it you, troubler of Israel?" To which Elijah famously replied, "I have not troubled Israel, but you...because you have abandoned the commandments of the Lord." (1 Kings 18:17-18). Quite. 

Lloyd-Jones called upon Evangelicals to come together to bear united witness to the gospel. It is clear that their presence in the CofE is not welcome by Angela Tilby and other leading figures in the CofE. To them you are little better than what 'Momentum' ideological extremists are to the Labour Party. Why stay where you are not welcome? Come out and come together with all who proclaim the gospel of Jesus. 

The Joy of Les Miserables

My mum has seen the musical version of Les Miserables twice.  It’s one of the longest running productions on the West End. Apparently, the show has been seen by 70 million people in 52 countries and 22 languages around the world. I saw the film of the musical when it came out a few years ago. But it was only in watching the BBC’s recently screened Les Miserables that the power of the story really came home to me. If you missed it, you can probably still catch it on BBC iPlayer. It is a brilliantly acted, magnificently staged and thought provoking drama. One of the most emotionally powerful things I've seen on TV for a while. 

The story follows the twists and turns in the life of Jean Valjean, a convict who became a respectable businessman. The prison chief, Javert did not believe that it was possible for Valjean to come good. Once a criminal, always a criminal. He vows to hunt Valjean down when he is released from jail. Javert stands for justice without mercy,  justice with no hope of forgiveness. 

As a former convict, Valjean could find nowhere to lay his head until a kindly bishop gave a bed for the night. True to form, Valjean stole the bishop’s silverware and headed off into the night. The police hunted him down and were about to force the thief return what he had taken from the bishop. Then something unexpected happened. The police wanted Valjean to face justice. Back to the prison hulks. But the bishop did more than show mercy, forgive the thief and let him off. He gave Valjean two silver candlesticks, explaining to the police that he must have forgotten them when he left in the night. That was a true moment of grace.

Graham Harrison was systematic theology lecturer when I attended London Seminary, (1988-90). He used to say, "Justice is God giving us what we deserve. Mercy is God not giving us what we deserve. Grace is God giving us what we do not deserve." How amazing is grace!

Such grace is a rare thing in today’s world. Look at what happened after Liam Neeson confessed to revenge fantasies the other week. Yes, what he thought about doing was wrong. He said as much himself. But many were quick to pounce on his remarks and label the actor as an unforgivable racist. Social media has turned us into merciless little Javerts for whom there is no conception of grace and no hope of redemption for those who have done wrong. With grace there is always hope, for grace gives us what we don’t deserve. Valjean certainly didn’t deserve a second chance. He knew it, and the grace shown him by the bishop turned his life around. That’s the joy of Les Miserables. 

The Christian faith is all about grace. God sent Jesus to satisfy the demands of justice by dying for our sins upon the cross. In his mercy, God offers us forgiveness for the wrong things we have done. Grace goes beyond even that. Those who believe in Jesus are welcomed into God’s family and given the hope of eternal life. In the BBC drama, when Valjean lay dying, his eyes were fixed on the silver candlesticks given him by the bishop. Grace enabled him to die in peace. "Amazing grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me". 

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