Reading- the last 24 hours

Andrew Brown has once commented that he feels that Rowan Williams' thought often seems to be dictated by the dialogue he seems to have with whatever book he's reading at a given moment.

I think there may rather be something in this- after all, as I read his foreward to his new book 'Crisis and Recovery' he talks of reclaiming economics for the humanities and notes:

'We have learned to tolerate forms of thinking that, because they are essentially reductive, tempt us to imagine that the "real world" is the one of conflict and profit- and that the social imagination, the cultivation of relationship, the transformation of an environment into intelligible and beautiful form is so much decorative blather.'

I'm always happy to see 'blather' used in public discourse, but more importantly, Rowan presumably thinks (and I strongly agree) that this should not at all be the case, Our knowledge in the realms of what is often called 'the subjective' (often dismissively) remains meaningful, as does our imaginative sense of self- and can be used to guide our thinking in how this relates to others. This seems to have a strong resonance with the book 'Absence of mind' by Marilynne Robinson- , which of course Rowan Williams has written a review of.

I of course am little different- I too am reading Marilynne Robinson (and have to admit to needing a dictionary next to me as I do). So far I've only got past the introduction but I think I understand the thrust of that passage- nevertheless I've felt it necessary to reimagine it in terms of a musical analogy- no doubt brought on by the fact I've just finished 'Coffee with Mozart':

So, I was sat the other day with a group of friends and we were, yes, all having coffee, and being such clever people our conversation turned to the deep topics of life, of meaning, of being, of love.* Then in a moment of inspiration, I take up a pen and some Manuscript paper and quickly sketch out a brief melody and ask my friends what it was.

"Why!" exclaimed the first, a talented Musician "This is the start of Bellini's Casta Diva- I can hear it in my head! Such beauty!" And began to cry.

The second was deeply perturbed by this 'This is silly' he said 'it is just a few markings on a page, ink and paper- nothing more'

The third said, after a moment of reflection, 'What it is is a genius, in my minds eye, first standing in awe as the inspiration hits him, then frantically scribbling away at that piano to try and release this tension and share this beauty he has found with the world. Here lies his testimony."

"I like music" said the fourth.

Now- which one of these people provided the correct answer?

That, at any rate, is how I try to provide a way to myself of exploring the weaknesses of the particular kind of thinking that Robinson wished to disparage. I look forward immensely to watch her rip apart the pseudo-scientific theories that govern much of our common discourse on mind.

Armed with the suggestion that we are not simply and always powerless pawns in the face of social forces allows ourselves to equip the weapon of imagination to rework our social relationships and thus recast the economic models we no longer believe ourselves subject to. This is nothing new for the Church, of course as the successive essays in "Wealth and Poverty in Early Church and Society" (Ed. Susan R. Holman) demonstrate. Particularly pertinent to this topic is the Essay Rudolf Brändle who shows that in John Chrysostom's imagining of Christ as in the least of all people in Matthew 25.31-46, he was given a way to fuse faith and grace with works, which enabled him to constantly hammer his rich parishioners in homily after brilliant homily for the lack of compassion and almsgiving- far more important things he felt, than asceticism and piety. This tradition perhaps continues down today with, as coincidence would have it, Rowan Williams using the festive period to suggest the rich need to shoulder more of the burden the UK is facing, amongst other things.

What other essays in Wealth and Poverty show though is that often the Church often lacks a comprehensive critique of the structural and cultural causes of poverty- so perhaps 'Crisis and Recovery' marks a step in the right direction for really challenging the fundamental ills that disfigure our society that perhaps can also avoid the kind of 'scientific determinism' (Marxism being a very notable example, also brought up by Robinson) which seek to rob us of any sense of being able to make a real difference to the status Quo.

I like books; but what was this blog post about?

*Not unlike, I notice, the men in Machado De Assis' short story "The Mirror: A Sketch for a New theory of the Human Soul"

Once more unto the Barricades!

We Need "to show solidarity with the large numbers of people who are suffering as a result of government cutbacks".

We also must raise protest "on behalf of those losing their jobs, seeing their public services undermined, their hopes for higher education jeopardised, or their fears realised through the creation of what increasingly seems like a less caring, more brutalised society, and where vast bonuses form the contemptuous retort to any mention of restraint, and the black economy of the super-tax dodger is seen as a legitimate moral code"

Who could the speaker of these words possibly be? Is it an irate Len McCluskey sounding another call to arms? Is it Ed Miliband changing his mind and finally deciding to reveal his true colours as 'Red Ed'; the monster from the wild and desolate hinterlands of the left that the Tory press always knew him to be?

Well no, not exactly- it is in fact the Bishop of Blackburn, the Rt Rev Nicholas Reade.

Look at him! Look at Nicholas Reade! He clearly has 'dangerous Radical' and 'Turbulent Priest' written all over him. The clerical collar gives him away. The Full article can be found here.

I am really of course, supportive of stories that show the Church concerned with the poor rather than gays or women for a change, though I am though intrigued by what is meant by 'christian protest', as if it is somehow objectively different from other protests.

Perhaps he does, after all people are already quite used to Christians standing in the street shouting random slogans at them or else handing out battered-looking leaflets- This being the case, maybe we do need to sharpen our approach when it comes to protest. After a quick brainstorm I've come up with some suggestions which I humbly submit for the Bishop:

1) Possibly something like this- though with a change of words? Perhaps we should chant James 5:1-6 antiphonally? Or for the more modern worshipper of course perhaps turn it into a new four chord song involving hand-raising and a frustratingly catchy chorus?

2) Why stick to forming a mere human chain when one can form a human Rosary?

3) In the spirit of the liturgical season, when challenged by police or store-owners, insist that you were led to this point by a star and can't really move on until 'something miraculous has happened'.

Of course, the best examples of biblical, and whilst there is of course the option of writing scathing letters or overturning money tables, I think they'll be expecting that sort of thing the crafty dodgers, so instead I offer 2 of my personal favourites-

4) Marry a prostitute- give birth to children and name them things like 'Fatally Compromised' or 'Forsaken by God' (Hosea 1)

5) Lie on your left side for 390 days without turning over and on your right for 40 days, eat only bread baked using cow manure as fuel, when this period is up take a sword and cut off your hair and beard- proceed then to burn 1/3 of it, scatter 1/3 of it to the wind and with the remaining third, walk around attacking it with the sword. (Ezekiel 4, 5)

Now if that doesn't show the authorities we mean business, I don't think we will ever get the message through to the authorities. I look forward to seeing the Bishop on the warpath in the new year.

Finally I would just like to wish anyone reading this a very Merry Christmas, I hope the day itself is particularly good and happy. I would offer best wishes for the New Year, but I'm not sure if I'll find something to say before then, so maybe, maybe a Happy New Year to you as well!