Engaging with Culture

I watched "Babel" with Brad Pitt on Saturday... thought it one of the most dull films ever... till I read what Damaris had to say about it's world view... need to get better at this!

http://www.damaris.org/cw/

"Listening involves more than just hearing words that are spoken; it involves really comprehending what is actually being communicated (which usually turns out to be much more than what appears on the surface) and responding in a way which demonstrates that you are ‘in tune’ with what is being offered.

In Christian thinking, it is the non-verbal act of the cross that is central to the healing of the relationship between us and God. The symbols and images associated with the Gospel transcend cultural and linguistic barriers not only in today’s world but have done so throughout history since the time of Christ. God does not speak to us directly but rather reminds us of his promises and his presence through other human beings, creation at large and from Scripture. The non-verbal work of the Spirit of God ‘speaking’ in these ways is what brings our knowledge of him to life. Films like Babel serve as a good reminder that while language is the primary way in which we know and understand the world and those around us, it is not the only way to communicate. If we want to be understood, the film says, we have to listen."

Thinking Well

One of the reasons I started a blog was to help with my thinking… hearing, seeing, reading something, assessing it, formulating a thought, expressing that thought (hopefully concisely)!!!

It's certainly helping my mind to be ticking over "how does the Gospel speak into this situation" in and around the world… which has been great… I've noticed that it all springs from meditating on God's word… I was sat in Richmond Park with a dear brother at the weekend, and we read Psalm 19 and 84 together… chilled out in the Park with no external distractions really helped my thinking through the truths of those Psalms for myself… chatting them through helped firm up such thoughts… praise quickly followed - to God for his amazing Creation; to the LORD for his honey-sweet word!

Sweet indeed!

In the mornings, distractions hit me a plenty… is the coffee ready? Need to eat breakfast! What's the time? Better head to the office! Are the trains running OK? It means that my head might be in the Bible during my "quiet time" but my thoughts are really all over the place… something to work on! Tips?

Then, there is critical thinking… something I'm pretty rubbish at… "What did you think of that talk?" is a question that gets bounded about a lot… how do we answer that well? Maybe it's the wrong question we're asking… "How do you think areas of your life should change in response?" might be the question we're trying to ask… not sure… But how do we think critically, particularly about Christian stuff? I find it hard… perhaps because I don't know what it actually looks like to think well… perhaps because I think "that's better than I could do" so who am I to offer comment… perhaps because critisism follows too quickly, before self-application!

What does it look like to think, well? How do we go about thinking well?