Hell! What is it good for?

The rough guide to hell: How to find your way around.

I have a distinct memory of sitting in a meeting about fifteen years ago and being ‘taught’ that one of the Reasons for Evangelism was ‘the reality of hell’. I can’t remember whether it was the idea of evangelism or eternal conscious torment that I was finding more distasteful at the time but I’m quite confident that the idea of mixing them up must have had some effect on me! At around the same time, I heard there were other ideas about eternal destiny knocking around in Christian thinking and I was quite glad. I didn’t feel a particular urge to pick or prove one; other people had done some homework and decided that eternal conscious torment was a bit made up. I was pleased because, to be honest, it had always seemed a bit churlish to me. I’m by no means an expert, but here are two alternatives to what are known as the ‘traditional’ views. I had expected them to both be fairly recent schools of thought, but they’re not (particularly Universalism). Trust me that they are both well argued, and comprehensively argued about. Just for the tab though, here are the main ideas summed up in less than 100 words each!

ANNIHILATIONISM:

This is basically the view that that eternal life isn’t everyone’s fate. If God judges a person negatively, they are just destroyed (with or without a period of punishment first, depending on your perspective). Annihilationists reckon that when the bible talks about the destruction of those who fail at judgement, it means destruction (!). I remember being taught that the lake of fire etc is for demons and the like, and not for people at all.

UNIVERALISM (wiki did so well at explaining it I’ve quoted that!):

“In Christianity, Universalism refers to the belief that all humans will be saved through Jesus Christ and eventually come to a harmony in God's kingdom… Universalism was a fairly commonly held view among theologians in early Christianity… In later centuries, Universalism has become very much a minority position in the major branches of Christianity, though it has a long history of prominent adherents”.

(en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universalism)

K. Chalk 2007]

Another Place….[Webster]

A ghastly grotesque prison, chains, manacles, and red hot fire. And in the middle, a young girl reaches her hands up to heaven, offering prayers for those who seek her intercession. The “Anima Sola”, a lonely soul trapped in a spiritual realm between this world and the next. A superstitious tale, possibly still held to by some devout Christians, which combines the most imaginative elements of Mediaeval Christianity, with elements of many folk religions. A fanciful notion of “Purgatory”, so removed from any reasoned reading of scripture that it seems to epitomise why Protestants protested against Roman Catholicism and its teachings.

Except, whatever the embellishments of the Mediaeval period, from the earliest days of Christianity, and in the pages of the New Testament itself, there is the definite recognition that, somewhere, or sometime between this world and the next, there is ‘somewhere’ else.

“Christ, put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built.” St. Peter’s writings may draw heavily on Jewish mythology (perhaps, as Moffatt’s translation suggests, it was Enoch who went to preach to these spirits), but St. Peter is not alone.

In his letter to Ephesus, St. Paul writes: “[Christ] ascended” - what does it mean but that He also first descended into the lower parts of the earth?”
[Check your concordance and Greek Dictionary – the lower parts of the earth refer to a “Spiritual” underworld, not just the tomb].

And, whereas some popular translations may speak of a physical “Grave” in Acts 2:27, when St. Luke quotes from the Psalmist, he chooses the word “Hades”: “For You will not leave my soul in Hades, nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption”

Try to prove “Heaven” or “Hell” from the pages of scripture, and one is left interpreting allegory and poetry. So much the more is this ‘other place’ obscure.

However alien this notion may be to many Christians, whether it be Purgatory and/or Limbo, and however much it may be hidden in Jewish mythology and Mediaeval fable, to some, this vague, hidden, ‘other place’ all the more reinforces the hope offered by Christ: Of course I pray for the dead. The action is so spontaneous, so all but inevitable, that only the most compulsive theological case against it would deter me. And I hardly know how the rest of my prayers would survive if those for the dead were forbidden. At our age, the majority of those we love best are dead. What sort of intercourse with God could I have if what I love best were unmentionable to him?

The well-read will recognise this hard-line, fundamentalist, and Romish teaching coming from the pen of … C.S. Lewis.

To quote…
Go to heaven for the climate, hell for the company.—Mark twain
Hell is other people.—Jean Paul Satre
Maybe this world is another planet's Hell.—Aldous Huxley
Coffee should be black as Hell, strong as death, and sweet as love.—Turkish proverb

Matthew chapter 13 47 "The Kingdom of heaven is like this. Some fishermen throw their net out in the lake and catch all kinds of fish. 48 When the net is full, they pull it to shore and sit down to divide the fish: the good ones go into the buckets, the worthless ones are thrown away. 49 It will be like this at the end of the age: the angels will go out and gather up the evil people from among the good 50 and will throw them into the fiery furnace, where they will cry and gnash their teeth." Revelation chapter 21 8 "But cowards who turn away from me, and unbelievers, and the corrupt, and murderers, and the immoral, and those who practice witchcraft, and idol worshipers, and all liars - their doom is in the lake that burns with fire and sulphur.

Matthew 12:40, Jesus Christ says:"For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly: so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Jonah "In my distress I called to the LORD, and he answered me. From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help, and you listened to my cry. Hell

Hell

[Chris Coffey Oct 2007]

St Peter turned the page and found the name. He opened the draw beneath the desk, took out a ticket and handed it across. John noticed its weight; striking gold in colour it wore the phrase “I promise to pay the bearer on demand the sum of eternal life”. Lifting his eyes from his treasure he looked St Peter in the eye, smiled and said, “Do you mind if I ask you something?” The saint moved almost imperceptibly, he was different from what John had read, a gentle face now studied him. “I’m worried about my friends and family, my wife, you see, I still don’t know how this works. I’m worried that, well, they might not make it here”. He rubbed the ticket nervously with his finger and thumb, as if expecting the ink to come off and reveal it as a fake. “Some of them have had a faith, or struggled to, but life’s hard, they’re reasons why people walk away, and, well, I’m not sure what that means. What I’m asking is, erm, what’s going to happen to them?” St Peter said nothing, indicating not that he was ignoring John but rather listening more intensely than people living and breathing often do. “I’ve got friends born into different religions, or some who’ve had bad, even abusive experiences at the hands of so-called Christians. I know you must get these kinds of questions all the time but I’ve always trusted God you see, I always thought it’d work out in the end. And this is, I guess, my end and...they’re good people you see”. John thought about his own struggles, the days when he wondered if it was all a lie. Peter looked sympathetic. “Why am I a Christian? Said John desperately, “Did I stand more of a chance because my parents were? Or what if I hadn’t had that encounter, or such and such conversation?” Is it really so reliant on all that (he thought but didn’t say) so finely balanced? St Peter raised an eyebrow and John felt certain that he was just a few seconds away from crying in front of a dead saint and a now rapidly forming queue. John thought back, at first he’d believed that good people went to heaven and bad people, hell. Then he grew up and realised that life doesn’t draw such stark lines, that it was impossible to sort people into piles that way. He started to believe that it was a question of faith – that that became your ‘ticket’ in. John had always hoped there was some compassionate end that had to be seen. John started to cry and Peter got up from his chair and came around to lay a hand on his shoulder. He met his gaze and asked “What am I supposed to do?’” “Go through that and forget why I’m crying? Can you have an absence of pain without an absence of memory?” Peter had returned to his seat by the time he spoke. What he said brought little comfort to John but it was said with great compassion and understanding. John knew that if he had the faith to take the first step it would be ok, that in life the rules were the same as in death, God wanted us to have the faith to make the first move. He felt certain that if he asked Him for strength to take the first step, that he wouldn’t let him down. “God show me how to do this” he prayed. With a surge of courage he slid the golden ticket across the desk, turned and walked away. John stepped up his pace before either Peter or the crowd could say a word, before his brain could catch up with him and went head-down back in the direction he had come from. After walking for some time he found the fork in the road and the bus-stop. He hadn’t noticed it before but the shelter had no boards, or times, instead someone had scratched two words where the routes would usually be. He looked closely but didn’t recognise either. John wept. He had never felt so alone or confused. Had he thrown away the chance to see Him face to face? He thought about the times his faith had carried him through life’s tough times. Looking down his eyes fell on something lying in the dust, picking it up he saw the letters WWJD, a discarded bracelet left by some believer who decided they didn’t need it anymore. For the first time ever he felt the urge to put one on and tied it to his wrist. He wiped his eyes and sat down to wait for his loved ones.

Tab - The Word[s] of God

http://www.artofthestate.co.uk/Banksy/banksy_graf_boy_tottenham_court_road.htm

Creation Or Evolution-
The Bible’s Story
G Lockwood.
In the beginning was the Bible and the Bible was with God……………… Now that would be easy. If it were that simple then this article would be a quick one, however it is much more complicated than that.

The big question – Who wrote the bible?

There are two ways of answering this question,
1) I could list all the people who wrote each book and then discuss if they were true authors or were there sub authors etc.
2) Or I could write about how the bible was compiled.

I have chosen answer question two as I think most Christians have little understanding of how the Bible came about (evolved). Now I don’t claim to be the full authority on this subject (however if you want to claim this then great). I have however done a little digging around and have compiled The Lockwood Bullet Point Evolution Of The Bible.

Before Jesus there was the Old Testament as we know it. This covers a large period of time in written form. Originally some parts of the OT were shared orally e.g. the first five books(the Pentateuch).
These were written down and as the years passed more books were written by prophets, historians, poets etc then around 200 BCE we see an attempt to form a cannon (authorised list) of scripture by different Jewish groups.
Soon came the Septuagint which was a set of scriptures produced for the Greek speaking world which Christians use for the basis of the Old Testament.
Then post Jesus’ time on Earth a number of other books were written about Jesus and the early church.
Many different books circulated within different churches, some are in our New Testament while others did not make it for numerous reasons.
There was much debate amongst the early church about which books should be included in a NT Cannon.
By 300 CE Eusebius recorded a NT Cannon only including 9 books.
Once the Emperor Constantine had become a Christian there started a series of Councils which would shape the Bible as we know it.(325-787 BCE).
By 400 BCE St Jerome produced the Vulgate Bible this included the Septuagint, deutrocannonical books (Books not in the septuagint but before the birth of Jesus) and the New Testament
Fast forward now to the Council of Trent (April 8th 1546) here the Catholics cannonised their version of the bible which was very similar to the vulgate.
In 1563 the Church of England adopted the Catholic cannon with the ecception of the deutrocannonical books saying that they were "for example of life and instruction in manners ... [but not] to establish any doctrine."
Apart from a little tweaking and debate the Bible has been pretty much the same since then. With the Protestant church not including the deutrocannonical books (the Apocrypha).


The list above is just a quick introduction to how the bible was created and there is much missed out due to time and I did not want to bore you, I hope this has proved helpful.

The Empty Church
By RS Thomas

Discuss by O.Howells

They laid this stone trap
for him, enticing him with candles,
as though he would come like some huge moth
out of the darkness to beat there.
Ah, he had burned himself
before in the human flame
and escaped, leaving the reason
torn. He will not come any more

to our lure. Why, then, do I kneel still
striking my prayers on a stone
heart? Is it in hope one
of them will ignite yet and throw
on its illumined walls the shadow
of someone greater that I can understand?

This poem by RS Thomas is one in which can be interpreted in a number of different ways. One way of interpreting it is to say that God, just as the bible says, does not live in building made by men, nor does he respond to ‘smells and bells’ and pious religious ceremonies whereby people’s hearts are far from Him, but instead comes close to those who earnestly seek Him in spirit and in truth.

The second part of the poem depicts RS Thomas on his knees earnestly seeking God with all his heart, but feeling frustrated with the act of prayer while wrestling with doubts that God will answer. However, this doesn’t stop him and he prays anyway in the hope that God will answer and that he may enter his presence.

The poem is really good in that it addresses the issues and difficulties that many people face when praying. In order to become disciplined at prayer you have to take the time to pray and have faith that you are being heard. Just like developing any relationship, you must constantly put in the time and effort – the same is true of prayer.

Some say that prayer changes God and that it causes Him to do things that without praying wouldn’t have taken place. Some say prayer changes the person praying and by spending time with God, they begin to understand what God’s will is as their desires change and line up with His. Some say both take place.

My bible...
Rebecca Owens

For me, the bible comes alive through small segments of script. I do not read it as most people would read a book, from front to back (which is probably just as well because the book is not in chronological order anyway). Instead I dip in and out, with the small knowledge I have of the different books (I find the books in the New Testament a bit more straight forward and easier to look in to) and start to read little bits of scripture or stories. As I am reading some sentences spring out, at this point I just tend to sit back and chill out meditating on the one word, few words, sentence or sentences and what they mean. I suppose sometimes this could be called a ‘revelation’ or as the thesaurus says an ‘eye-opener’. It’s like a light bulb going on inside of you, something that you didn’t know or understand before suddenly you see.

I do not approach the bible in a historical document like way but instead take it for the small scriptures as I have described above that it provides. This is only because I don’t have an in depth knowledge of the bible (probably because I don’t read the bible enough) to approach reading it in this way. I mainly shy away from reading the Old Testament as to me it reads more like a historical document and instead read the New Testament because it presents itself in more stories etc. which seem to have no historical or background knowledge attachments to them. However this is not altogether true and having some knowledge of the Old Testament would show that there is a link and relationship between the two Testaments. With this knowledge certain scriptures would make more sense and would come more alive. I’m not quite sure how to gain a greater knowledge of the Old Testament and the links between the two Testaments, but I presume a good way to start would be just to read it!

TAB - TURNING POINTS

RESOLUTION>>

K. BRAYBRROK

At the beginning of the New Year I don’t make resolutions to do things differently. That would be setting myself up to fail, but occasionally times of reflection sneak up on me. As I consider the turning points in my life, I recollect that the first adult, parent-defying decision I made was deciding that a relationship with God, hopefully enabling me to become more like him was something that I wanted. Prior to that point, big decisions were made for me, but now the choices and the responsibilities are mine.

Is this crush going to last the rest of my life?
Should Cardiff be the place to call home?
Is being a social worker a way of enabling me to do more good than harm?
Is being a Mum as hard as the books say? *

I look at where my adult journey has taken me. Am I more like Jesus 10 years on? I think I have made him more like me. It’s easier that way.

To the meek …… Jesus is gentle
To the radical …… Jesus is the revolutionary
To the definite …… Jesus makes no compromise
To the conscientious objector …… Jesus is the peacemaker

For me, I’m weary and overwhelmed and Jesus is the comforter. I guess the biggest turning point has been deciding to take refuge.

*To answer these questions for the interested:
I made my vow and married him;
Cardiff is where we own a house;
I became a social worker and trust the difference I make is for the better
being a Mum is harder and more wonderful than can be put in words.

LABYRINTH>>

S.BRAYBROOK

One of my favourite meditative tools is the labyrinth. Although I enjoy what some call “meditation”: sitting in a relaxed posture, focussing on my breathing or my “mantra” of scripture verses, “breath prayers*” or Holy names to empty myself of all the stress and anxiety, if I really need to refocus, or pray or work out a problem, I have to move. Perhaps that’s why I’m no good at praying sat in a group in a room.

I think I share this in common with a lot of people. Do people go to the gym to pound a treadmill for thirty minutes after a stressful day at work just to keep fit? Sure, it helps them unwind, but it also helps them think, refocus, meditate. Its something it seems monks throughout the ancient world felt as well. Labyrinths are found depicted in manuscripts, on walls and on floors of Pagan, Egyptian, Greek and Christian holy places, to name a few.

The picture shows one of the most famous labyrinths, the one in Chartres, France. For thousands of years people have come to walk it. Monks, pilgrims, even couples as part of their wedding ceremonies have taken the single path to the centre and out again:. A labyrinth isn’t a maze: there are no false passageways, no dead ends, no wrong turns. One second you’re close to the centre, the next you’re heading away, but eventually you’ll find your way to the centre.

I think that’s why I like it. When I think about my journey, sometimes I feel close to my goal (which is, ultimately, God) and sometimes I feel far from it, but despite the twists and turns, ultimately I’ll get there.

There isn’t space to make a labyrinth to walk tonight, but if you want to, please “walk” our labyrinth at the back, adding your thoughts, prayers and reflections on the way.

*Prayers that can be said in a breath such as “Maranatha” or “Come Lord Jesus”

DOORS>>

D. ROLAND

Sometimes life doesn’t turn out the way you planned it.

Doors slammed shut

I thought I would make a good teacher; friends told me I would make a great teacher; they even said I was head teacher material! But I didn’t rush into it – no, I did my ‘homework’ and got work experience for a year before enrolling on training (PGCE). You have to understand that I needed to make this succeed since this was my third attempt at kick-starting my faltering career, and my wife wasn’t going to keep funding an eternal student. So I threw all my energies into my studies, amassing an impressive personal library of children’s books as well as poaching planning resources from every teacher that crossed my path. I analysed other colleagues’ classroom management techniques – no one could accuse me of being under-prepared. My first job in January 2003 was in a small village school with 26 children in my class. I started to crumble right from the first week – anxiety attacks, sleeplessness, panic. I became a gibbering wreck at home, barely capable of stringing a sentence together. The doctor prescribed various drugs to keep me functioning, but how would that help me manage classroom behaviour? The crunch-point came one afternoon in my third week, when one particular boy wound me up so much that in my frustration I grabbed the back of his head and yanked. I had crossed the invisible line, and all the children knew it. I was immediately sent home, pending the full investigation by social services. During those three days I thought hard about what this crisis was telling me………I then resigned.

Doors opened

I’d like to tell you that I regained my mental balance over the next six months. I’d like to tell you that I discovered a new career direction immediately. I’d even like to tell you that God became so much more real when things were difficult.

Yet this was an unlooked for opportunity to completely rethink what my priorities were. What was really important to me? Maybe I wanted a job that didn’t suck everything out of me – that allowed me energy and time for relationships and other activities. I chose to let go of the need to prove myself through my ‘worthwhile’ career, and instead safeguard my sanity. Four years on, Diane and I are enjoying the stimulus of moving to Cardiff :- a 9 to 5 job is just fine for now.

Sometimes life doesn’t turn out the way you planned it.

image 01 http://images.darkhorse.com/covers/300/c/cgw8.jpg

TAB: WISDOM.

This month leading up to the big Birthday we look at the idea of wisdom...please visit the Discuss page to leave your three 'wisemen[women]' votes
cheers

Wisdom and the Bible
C.Coffey.
“the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.” 1 Cor 1:24-26

My own relationship with the Bible, speaking honestly, is a fraught one. Sometimes confusing, often challenging I’ve found that the idea of reading 10 minute snippets a day doesn’t really work for me. I could do that with an airport paperback, dip in and dip out, forget where you left it scan back 3 pages and get the gist of the story, but not with something as dense and complex as the Bible. I would rather sit down once a week and read, look up, re-read, phone a friend, but most of the time I struggle to do even that. For me approaching the Bible, when reading it on my own, is a real effort, an act of doing something because I might do me some good, because ultimately I believe it’s important. Occasionally, out of curiosity I pick it up as you might someone else’s diary, turning previously unturned (or forgotten) pages with trepidation, afraid of discovering something more I can’t explain. Bear with me on a short analogy:

You see as a Christian, a follower of Jesus, I’ve joined the ‘company’ (not for profit by the way) without having read every single word of its 1000 page mission statement. Shameful to admit, I know! I joined because its founder was like no other I’d ever met, but for me the mission statement is only a way of understanding the founder better. If my day to day work was just about reading that manifesto, defending it, quoting it to colleagues over coffee breaks as a panacea for all work related troubles then I wouldn’t be doing my job properly – the job of putting it into practice. Likewise if I read some of it in the first week and then tucked it away in a draw, I’m likely to lose my way, to forget why I’m doing what I’m doing. The mission statement is important if the company is built on sound values, but the mission statement isn’t the job, it just helps you do the job. The wisdom occurs somewhere between reading the words and putting them into practice. Or as Jesus said:“Wisdom is proved right by all her children”. (Luke 7:34-36)

What is born out of wisdom will speak for itself. Where we get our wisdom from will be obvious in our actions, our decisions. It’s our responsibility as people looking for truth to ‘test everything’, to look for God’s wisdom (what fits with what we know about God) even in the unlikeliest places. What we see, even what we see when we pick up the Bible isn’t the same thing as seeing what God wants in fullness, and it’s certainly not the same a seeing God fully. But as a Christian I believe that Jesus is the best example we have of what God is like. For what it’s worth that is why I don’t believe that God only speaks through man’s-recorded-history-of-His-interaction-with-the-world (the Bible) but through people and humanity’s gifts or art, music, conversation etc etc. God chose to use the book(s) and the man.
You see I think the purpose of the Bible is multi-layered. On one level it’s about telling the story of God, on another level it is a comforter, on another a challenger. A warm bath or a cold shower. God’s gift. Not an instruction manual for successful living, a lifestyle guide, or a collection of morality tales to keep people in check. A gift, a way of understanding a small ‘some’ of the mystery of God. I personally don’t believe people who say that they decided to become a Christian purely because they spent time rationally exploring the claims of the Bible, testing its validity as a historic text and after watching it under the magnifying glass could find not fault in it. Spiritual truth, in part is about revelation and wisdom is more important than mere knowledge.

I think of it not as a book with all the answers, though some treat it like tarot or a magic 8 ball, or as having all the evidence, hence the confession at the end of John (21:25) and the slenderness of the Gospels, but as we may see one day, what we really needed. Maybe not what we might have chosen for a religious text, but the wisdom of God rarely walks hand in hand with our wisdom. His sense of justice and fairness is different from ours, his sense of worth, his sense of what, as the Christmas story tells us, a rescue plan should look like.

Adventually
C. coffey

What would it take to clean you up this Christmas?
Dust you off, or would you break apart?

Could I get a sense of what it really means? God-down, shuffling around, crying loud and eventually tottering, staggering, walking; then older to step, side by side, shoulder by shoulder, as a godmanTM. Maybe, just maybe, I could buy that.

And you push through the wall of world and baby goo, you come through. They look in awe at a thing too small to pick up its things and walk anywhere at all, too easy to snuff out, and not enough presence to muster a crowd, hold a sword, or scream out loud (apparently no sound he makes).

And they the strangest crowd, the illiterate undercaste, the mystics, the cattle bend down and we are told that not a sound could be heard, not even a mouse. O silent night, oh sweat and smell, oh peaceful scene.

What did they see in you? What kind of peace, what form of rescue, nativity, delivery, were they waiting for? “Unto us” a sign, a son, a king, is born with shoulders too small to balance any kind of government at all.

God comes down
With a whimper not a bang
A bump not a crown
God falls down.

Somewhere quietly, quite unnoticed a cord is cut, a door shut, but unaware, the assembled must have curbed the thought, ‘is this it, as entrances go?’ In a barn, God, clutching at straws.


wisdom for dummies…
From Wikipedia and other places...

Wise:
having the power of discerning and judging properly as to what is true or right; possessing discernment, judgment, or discretion.

characterized by or showing such power; judicious or prudent: a wise decision. possessed of or characterized by scholarly knowledge or learning; learned; erudite: wise in the law. having knowledge or information as to facts, circumstances, etc.: We are wiser for their explanations.

Wisdom is the ability, developed through experience, insight and reflection, to discern truth and exercise good judgment. Wisdom is often considered to be a trait that can be developed by experience, but not taught. Others see wisdom as a quality that even a child, otherwise immature, may possess independent of experience or complete knowledge..

Magi:
1. Christianity.
The three wise men or astrologers from the east who brought gifts to the infant Jesus, guided by a star. Also called the Three Kings and the Three Wise Men.
2. historical
A sorcerer, magician or astrologer in ancient times.
3. historical
A Persian priest in ancient times.
Etymology: 14c: from Persian magus magician.

The Magi was a tribe from ancient Media, who were responsible for religious and funerary practices. Later they accepted the Zoroastrian religion. The best known Magi are the "Wise Men from the East" in the Bible, whose graves Marco Polo claimed to have seen in Tehran, Iran.
Wisdom and Philosophy

A standard philosophical definition says that wisdom consists of making the best use of available knowledge. As with any decision, a wise decision may be made with incomplete information. The technical philosophical term for the opposite of wisdom is folly.
Sources of Wisdom

Freethinkers and others believe that wisdom may come from pure reason and perhaps experience, while others believe that it comes from intuition or spirituality.
Beginning with the ancient Greeks, European culture associates wisdom with virtue. They are outlined in the Hebrew book of Wisdom 8:7. These virtues are praised under other names in many passages of Scripture.
Religious Explorations of Wisdom

Islam
In the Koran the Prophet Muhammed is chosen by God to represent his wisdom.
The Prophet Muhammad said that: "Fearing God in your actions and intentions, and knowing that Almighty God is watching you wherever and whenever you are is the peak of wisdom".

Christianity
Wisdom is represented by the sense of justice by the lawful and wise king Solomon. There is an oppositional element in Christian thought between secular wisdom and Godly wisdom. The apostle Paul states that worldly wisdom understands the claims of Christ to be foolishness. However, to those who are being saved Christ represents the wisdom of God. (1 Corinthians 1:17-31)
Judaism
The seventh verse of the first chapter of the Jewish book of Proverbs in the Old Testament states "Fear of God is the beginning of Wisdom" (Proverbs 1:7). The beginning of fear of God is hating evil, the ways of evil, arrogance, pride and a duplicitous mouth (Proverbs).

Confucianism

Confucius stated that wisdom can be learned by three methods: Reflection (the noblest), imitation (the easiest) and experience (the bitterest).
Buddhism

Buddha taught that a wise person is endowed with good bodily conduct, good verbal conduct & good mental conduct
(AN3:2) and a wise person does actions that are unpleasant to do but give good results and doesn’t do actions that are pleasant to do but give bad results (AN4:115). This is called karma.

Taoism
Practical Wisdom may be described as: Knowing what to say and when to say it.--

TAB - Everything is meaningless?

Octobers TAB takes a look at the book Ecclesiates from the old Testement and shakes it a little to see what falls out and then a few barnonians let us know what they think.


Chicken Vindaloo for the Soul
c. coffey

The preacher in his best black took to the street corner and pronounced Everything is Meaningless onto the High St. Holding his hand high like a sword he explained what life was for and where we were all going wrong. He pointed out the futility of work to the suit in a rush, and joyless sex to the teenage boy, he told the girl in the hairdresser ‘because you’re not worth it’, before reminding the little old lady that she been ignored all day. He spat and swore and placed his voice above the sound of people going somewhere fast. He asked the Big Issue seller where the justice was, the teacher what he really knew, the queue what was at the start and the girl in ‘Smiths if she’d read what she sold. Gathering a crowd he asked ‘is it just me?’ and they smiled back. Even the man telling people that Jesus Loved Them stopped to hear the good news. The office worker on his lunchtime pint bought another. The woman selling pocket whistles left the stall to see what this prophet had to say. “Anything can happen to anyone”, said the preacher and we all Ummmed along. “There is nothing new under the sun”. And building up pace he spat some more and slammed a palm into a hand. “I have tried it all and nothing works”, a goth in the back said “Amen” and bit by bit the city centre saw the world set to rights at 20 past 1. The man in his best black stopped and sighed and all was still. Nothing could be heard not even a tout. At the edge a boy tugged his mum’s cuff and a salesmen for a moment forgot his fee, the shopper lost her list and the flyers weren’t handed out or dropped. No names were signed or cigarettes stubbed as the crowded leaned in to see the shrinking figure, suddenly sad.

“Enjoy what little you have and follow God’s commands”, he said. And then, at that point, he lost them all. They shrugged and left, one by one, in silence. As everyone knows, you should never let religion get in the way of a good rant.

Freedom.
B.williams
This morning I woke up different. I don’t know how to describe it. It’s as if… as if a different person was sitting in my skin, and yet I know I’m still me. But it’s all gone. Everything I said was ‘just the way I am’. Now there is no dense ball in the basement of my stomach, dragging down the corners of my mouth. No black threads tightening around my bronchioles, suffocating. No lead lining the soles of my shoes. I hear no footsteps following me down the street, and when I look in the mirror… it’s just me. No one else. No grey cloud hovering above my head. I smile, and feel no need to wipe the grin from my face. I don’t divert my eyes, but meet myself in the glass with a steady gaze. I breathe in, and out, feeling a soft covering where the panic used to be. And in the lack, there is a presence. The lack is not an empty space, but it is full… of what I can’t describe. But it’s different. And it’s good.

Via negativa
R.S Thomas
Why no! I never thought other than That God is that great absence In our lives, the empty silence
Within, the place where we go Seeking, not in hope to Arrive or find. He keeps the interstices
In our knowledge, the darkness Between stars. His are the echoes We follow, the footprints he has just Left. We put our hands in His side hoping to find It warm. We look at people And places as though he had looked At them, too; but miss the reflection.

Build no barn.
s. farrel
A setting sun,
or rising dawn.
Each moment
Either
or.

I'm waiting for
what comes next
to define
what went
before.

A frozen moment
single day
will make
no sense
alone.

For in this span
of earth bound years
each day
is only
one.

How can we know
the day does please,
if not
contrast
with night?

The misery of
darkness
against
the joy
of light.

Embrace each moments
fleeting fruit
be it joy
or pain
or sorrow

And build no barn
to store life's fruit
another crop
love yields
tomorrow.

The zen of Ecclesiates.
Simon b. went and asked a bunch of questions to a christian (lou) and a buddhist (chris) ...

Ecclesiastes is a book that has been found useful by both Buddhists and Christians. Why do you think that is?

Lou: Its because it tells the story of a quest for truth, happiness and meaning to life. Isn't every man and women searching for the same thing regardless of religious belief or culture? The book has a universal message and point that everyone can relate to. All people can emphasise with the teacher’s dissatisfaction; I know I can. It is not a book filled with dogma and concepts it is an honest account of true searching and of experimentation: of scrutinizing things first hand and to see how life answers.

Chris: The main reason, I think, is because it is written from the viewpoint of squarely facing dissatisfaction with life, and not denying this feeling. It helps many people to see their own feelings mirrored in this way, and to follow the writer’s journey through his
dilemma.


What does the phrase "Everything is Meaningless" mean from a Buddhist and Christian perspective?


C: Seeing everything as meaningless is a way of
expressing dissatisfaction, or discontent with living in a world where everything is changing and impermanent, nothing brings lasting and complete satisfaction.

L: Not to waste time chasing things that don’t satisfy. Everything is a temporary gift from God so don’t get lost in it. Play your part in life as an actor takes to the stage. Be in this world but not of it. So eat drink and be merry, go to work, enjoy your relationships but it will all come to an end. So assume your grand role but know that you are a citizen of another kingdom.


The Ten Commandments:

worship only God 2) don’t worship idols
3) respect his Name 4) remember the Sabbath 5) honour your parents 6) don’t murder 7) don’t commit adultery 8) don’t steal 9) don’t lie 10) don’t covet.

How has (Christian/Buddhist) worship, belief or practice affected you as a (Buddhist/Christian)? Is there anything you wish your respective faith communities would learn?

L: One thing I think my faith community could learn from Buddhist traditions and practise (including myself) would be to sit in silence before God and trust that he would teach us from within. To stop the constant need for chattering and systemising and experience God first hand. We don’t need to know all the answers, we just need to approach God with honesty and openness and allows him to mould us and shine light on us, to show us who we are and who he is. Also Zen Buddhism teaches about the present moment, to not be looking and saying in the future I may know God more, or I used to be much closer to God. This is a waste of time. We can only know God and experience him now in the present.

C: We can learn a lot from our Christian brothers and sisters about building compassionate communities that serve the wider community. The Buddhist community is still very much in its infancy in the west, and I think we must continue to work on finding the best models of community to fit different circumstances in modern living, and sometimes to challenge society's direction and motivation.


Ten Prohibitions (of a Buddhist monk)*:

taking life, 2) taking what is not given,
3) sexual misconduct, 4) lying, 5) taking intoxicants, 6) eating after noon, 7) watching or participating in dancing, singing and shows, 8) adorning oneself with garlands, perfumes, and ointments, 9) sleeping in a soft bed, and 10) receiving gold or silver

*The first five of these are to be followed by all who choose “The Middle Way” along with the unlimited virtues of friendliness, compassion, sympathetic joy and even-mindedness.


I am cutting ecclesiastes out of my Bible.
J. Bell.
To me, Solomon’s conclusion:
Fear God and keep his commandments is not a genuine statement of faith. It's more like a grumpy admission dragged out of him by the apparent futility of his own experience. He goes as far as declaring: The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning ..."This is the point where I really want to lift Solomon bodily out of the pages of my Bible and give him a good thrashing and earbashing.

Maybe he’s partially right. Maybe the experience of loss really can teach us about wisdom. But Solomon, mate, I have DONE my time mourning and lamenting the messes Ive made, the things I’ve done wrong. I cant change my regrets, I cant unwaste the time I’ve wasted regretting them. Moreover, if that’s all you can say to a mate or a friend or a relative who’s just lost a loved one before their time - oh, poor dear, but the heart of the wise is in the house of mourning. - then, Solly, your stupid words deserve to be kicked like an old rusty tin can from one dusty end of this world to the other. Kicked HARD. Death and despair are NOT the only places you find wisdom.
Wisdom does not deserve to be confined to the funeral parlour or buried in the graveyard. Wisdom is something ALIVE and fragrant and beautiful and joyful. It’s a gift from God. Solomon, you used your gift well - and then you wasted it. You took what God had given you and you threw it all away. Consigned Wisdom to a place that Wisdom didn’t deserve to go. And you buried your own hope with it.

And maybe I am being smug. From my privileged perspective in time I can see how the story ended for Solomon, and God "biting his lip" (as Rob put it) for the sake of the promise he made to the house of David as his descendants trashed and crashed their way through the history of Israel until the Exile. I can see how, after 400 years of silence, God spoke once again to the people of Israel, and how the promised Liberator - descended from David’s family finally arrived. Maybe Jesus got the things Solomon didn't get - life not as a king but as a refugee, then a village carpenter, then a storyteller, teacher and healer, life truly fearing God and keeping his commandments, life giving life and hope and health and joy back to others - and then, oh maybe old Solly was right - here comes death. A bloody, sad, premature, violent and criminal death. A death which gave the angst-ridden teenage me, and millions like me, just what Solomon didn't have: hope for the future. Not going down to the place of the dead and staying there, but coming back up again, alive and different.
But I am still angry with Solomon. Mentally, if not literally, I am cutting Ecclesiastes out of my Bible and replacing it with words and memories of people who gave me joy and hope. Two people I (and many others) lost this year, but who live on in the way they lived.

There is Rob, the storyteller, in his Day-Glo Hawaiian shirt, throwing his two-minute Bible cards about on stage at Cardiff International Arena, and two thousand kids shouting back at him as he goes through the Street Bible version of the Beatitudes: "WHO'S LAUGHING??". There too is Rob, the encourager, noticing me having a bad day on the reception desk at work, and saying "I'll put one up for you!" (making a prayer gesture with his hands) as he goes out the door. There is Rob, the comforter, standing with the pubchurch crew in the foyer of the cinema when we went to see The Passion of The Christ, and me, last out of the cinema, staggering back through the corridor, suddenly and inexplicably overwhelmed by what I’d seen on screen. As I reappear into the foyer, Rob comes across and scoops me into a big hug and holds me until I recover.

There also is my cousin Caroline, dancing, yes, dancing around her hospital bed while in palliative care, and waking up from a coma everyone thought shed never wake up from,
demanding: "A cup of tea!
But not your pillywally cup of tea. A PROPER cup of tea!" There is Caroline again, as her teenage son tells us at her graveside, sitting in the stern of the boat the time they went out boating on the canal and he fell in, and Caroline, calm as ever, asking him "Are you all right?" with her mouth full, still eating a packet of crisps. And there with her in the grave are the nine long red roses we threw in, and hidden away with her in her mahogany box is the conker from her favourite tree, a conker that will one day annoy the parish caretakers big time by growing up into a massively majestic horse chestnut tree in the middle of the village churchyard.

So there you go. Two people in their forties, who had more than their (un)fair share of pain and heartbreak. Both died well before their time. Both left people behind who should never have been left behind that way. But still their memories give me hope. I saw a picture of Rob yesterday on the back of one of his books and I smiled. He is far away, but not so far away. We are still on the slow road. He is doing God-knows-what in God’s heaven! I am mourning for them and I miss them both, much more than I would care to let myself admit. But those two people still give me hope. Both Rob and Caroline showed me a living picture of Jesus, whether they realised it or not. Which is more than Solomon’s sorry words ever will.



Ecclesiastes for dummies...that’ll be me then!

The book has special relevance today in our materialistic society, for it helps us to see the vanity of many earthly pursuits. It contains lessons for all, .
TITLE: In the Hebrew Bible, the book is called "Qoheleth" (Koheleth) which means "preacher" (cf. 1:1).
AUTHOR AND DATE OF WRITING: Jewish and early Christian tradition attribute the book to Solomon. The author identifies himself as "the son of David, king in Jerusalem" (1:1).

For the words meaningless or vanity read smoke or vapour

Eccl 12: 8 to 14
Not wanting to spoil anything but here’s the end…


8 "Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Everything is meaningless!"
9 Not only was the Teacher wise, but also he imparted knowledge to the people. He pondered and searched out and set in order many proverbs.
10 The Teacher searched to find just the right words, and what he wrote was upright and true.
11 The words of the wise are like goads, their collected sayings like firmly embedded nails-- given by one Shepherd.
12 Be warned, my son, of anything in addition to them. Of making many books there is no end, and much study wearies the body.
13 Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole [duty] of man.
14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil.
(NIV)