We just got home last weekend after two weeks in France and after so much French being spoken (not by me, I hasten to add) I thought I would try and teach our French friends some English when they asked me about work! And I said, it’s a lot about Hatch, Match and Dispatch (can you imagine trying that one to French people?) but, with that, I left Christine to try and explain it to them! That’s our usual pattern, I try to say something in French and then Christine says it properly. And it occurred to me that since we returned, I’ve already gone through the those three scenarios of ministry; I’ve arranged two Baptisms, I conducted a Wedding last Wednesday and on Thursday, sadly, I attended the Funeral of Dorothy Hill who was 99 years old. Dorothy Hill was the widow of the late Canon George Hill, Vicar of Glencraig from 1948 to 1974, and the immediate predecessor of Alwyn Maconachie.

Dorothy Hill would have been 100 on 9^th October this year, a date which I had marked in my diary for some time now. She was such a lovely, gentle person and she will be sorely missed by her family and friends, not least “Auntie Eva Sythes”, a long time friend of the family. Eva is “Auntie” to a lot of people! Just to let you know, Dorothy’s ashes will be buried in the Parish grounds beside her husband George Hill, just outside near to the Sanctuary, the last ashes to be buried in these grounds, as decided by the Vestry many years ago.

A major part of holidays is having the time to read. What I enjoyed more than anything, this time, was just reading the Newspaper. I couldn’t get over just how much was said of ‘Religion’ and the lack of it, or just the wish that it would all go away! I know where they’re coming from. Hardly a day went past without some mention of God or ‘religion’. Our secular, media influenced, world is trying very hard to discredit God and those who believe in him. Perhaps they’re running scared or they simply see an opportunity to bombast religion in the light of fanatical religious extremists. What an opportunity for ‘fundamentalist’ atheism – there’s a new term for you, ‘fundamentalist atheism’!

In fact, over the past few years we have seen the publication of several books promoting more militant voices that are atheistic in intent. There’s Richard Dawkins’ book ‘God Delusion’, and the American, Daniel Bennett’s ‘Breaking the Spell’, Sam Harris’ ‘The End of Faith’ and Christopher Hitchen’s ‘God is not Great’. All, in various ways, attempt to topple once and for all the edifice of religion.

The problem is not the books themselves, but how ‘faith’ is portrayed by the media or elsewhere. Many Christians express the concern that both moderate and immoderate believers are all being bunched together into one group, with the assumption that there is only a degree of separation between, let’s say, the average Baptist on the street and the suicide bomber in Palestine, or even London, for that matter.

In an article released recently by the Centre for Contemporary Christianity in Ireland, these books are ones that provide a simplistic model of conflict between ‘reasonable’ modern man and ‘primitive’ religious man and so the general media thrives on the conflict, and, in turn, media consumers become more dismissive of faith.

Watch any programme these days, especially the comedic quizzes that we are bombarded with these days, and anything to do with the Bible or faith or Christianity is dismissed out of hand!

The article continues, ‘Even more ironic is the fact that this militant secularism is becoming more popular in a world that is supposed to be post-modern, where everyone is supposed to have the right to their own views and to live by their own values. Yet since religious terrorism has become big news, tolerance towards religions and those who hold positions of faith has lessened significantly. And moderate faith is being removed as a voice in the public square.’

The article ends with a question, ‘What then is the Christian’s response?’ And I wanted to know what the answer is supposed to be! It wasn’t all that helpful, at the end of the day.

Are we meant to be the calm, collected, reasonable voice of ‘moderate faith’ in a sea of criticism? I don’t mind everyone against me, I can handle that. Even if I can’t always hold the argument, I know the Church isn’t going to crumble just because of my failings. What is worrying me more is what are we meant to be doing? This term ‘moderate faith’ doesn’t really gel with me. Jesus calls us to a radical faith, with radical values and radical lifestyles. The last thing Jesus was, was a moderate!

Yet as people of faith, we are lumped in with extremists, and there is only a degree of separation between the average Baptist on the street and the suicide bomber in London, as is perceived by the media.

You remember the two characters from Peanuts cartoon strip, Lucy and, was it Charlie Brown? And Lucy asks Charlie Brown, ‘What are you going to be when you grow up?’

Charlie Brown doesn’t really know, but it suddenly comes to him and he says, ‘I’m going to be a fanatic!’ Lucy replies, ‘What are you going to be fanatical about?’ Charlie Brown is completely stumped and really doesn’t know what to say, so he replies, ‘I guess I’m going to be a wishy-washy fanatic’.

There is nothing wrong with being fanatical about our faith and about our commitment to Jesus, but it doesn’t mean we have to raise our voices, it doesn’t mean we have to react in a militaristic attitude every time we’re criticised. Remember, we’re not defending ‘religion’; we’re standing up for a person. You see, Jesus calls us to be radical, certainly but not about religion!

Society can handle better a radical religion rather than a call to a radical lifestyle of loving sacrifice. Society misses the point every time. The Jesus the crowd wanted to crucify was a moderate only when it came to religion. He was radical about something far more important than religion.