Monday, December 29, 2008
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Council Estate Christians 11: Why don't Muslims have this problem?
My last post on council estate Christians was about how the perception is often that Christians are middle class. For some reason this is not a problem for Muslims in London.
I often meet Muslims from council estates, but I don't often meet Christians from council estates. At a recent Debate between a Christian and a Muslim apologist – I couldn’t help but notice that most of the Christians were wearing suits or chinos and blazers – whilst most of the Muslims were dressed in street gear.
This is fascinating to me, because if you look at both the doctrines and the history of Christianity – it shouldn’t be this way.
So, if I grow up on a council estate today – what might I think? That if you’re from the streets – you can be a Muslim, but not a Christian.
Why do we have this problem?
I often meet Muslims from council estates, but I don't often meet Christians from council estates. At a recent Debate between a Christian and a Muslim apologist – I couldn’t help but notice that most of the Christians were wearing suits or chinos and blazers – whilst most of the Muslims were dressed in street gear.
This is fascinating to me, because if you look at both the doctrines and the history of Christianity – it shouldn’t be this way.
So, if I grow up on a council estate today – what might I think? That if you’re from the streets – you can be a Muslim, but not a Christian.
Why do we have this problem?
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Monday, December 15, 2008
Friday, December 12, 2008
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
Council Estate Christians 10: Christians are middle class
By the way, I think there are major problems in using the categories middle\upper\working class - but I'll write about that another day.
There is a common perception on council estates that Christians are middle class. This results in many people thinking:
1) They will never be accepted by Christians because of their background
2) Christians will never understand them.
3) They could never be a Christian - unless they changed their culture.
4) They need to change their fashion, venacular, and sense of humour in order to be more Christian.
I think there are a number of factors for this problem:
1) The majority of Christians in England are middle class.
2) The majority of Christians dress in a middle class manner. Some churches even have dress codes for the preachers that involve a shirt and tie (which is often perceived as a class marker).
3) The majority of Christians talk in a middle class manner.
4) The majority of Christian leaders are middle class - hence both their example, and their sermons come across as very middle class.
5) The majority of Christian authors are middle class.
6) The majority of Christians do not look into council estate issues, but rather focus on middle class issues e.g., How to evangelise post-modern university students.
7) Many Christians actually confuse middle class values with biblical values. Of course some mc values may well be biblical, but some, such as self-reliance are clearly unbiblical.
So, if you grow up on a council estate, you are not gonna see many Christian role models. And if you do see any, they might well be portraying the middle class lifestyle more loudly than the Christian lifestyle.
Some will want to become middle class, and will love the idea of wearing a suit to church, and getting a job in finance. But others, like myself, will want to know, what does a council estate Christian look like? What is council estate Christianity? What does the Bible say about protecting my family in an area where the Police don't seem to care? What does a regenerate christian from a council estate look like - surely its not a bloke who wears a tie to church?
I believe this is a major hindrance to the gospel in council estates. I hope that more Christians will be aware of this, and consider if there are things they can do to counter this problem.
There is a common perception on council estates that Christians are middle class. This results in many people thinking:
1) They will never be accepted by Christians because of their background
2) Christians will never understand them.
3) They could never be a Christian - unless they changed their culture.
4) They need to change their fashion, venacular, and sense of humour in order to be more Christian.
I think there are a number of factors for this problem:
1) The majority of Christians in England are middle class.
2) The majority of Christians dress in a middle class manner. Some churches even have dress codes for the preachers that involve a shirt and tie (which is often perceived as a class marker).
3) The majority of Christians talk in a middle class manner.
4) The majority of Christian leaders are middle class - hence both their example, and their sermons come across as very middle class.
5) The majority of Christian authors are middle class.
6) The majority of Christians do not look into council estate issues, but rather focus on middle class issues e.g., How to evangelise post-modern university students.
7) Many Christians actually confuse middle class values with biblical values. Of course some mc values may well be biblical, but some, such as self-reliance are clearly unbiblical.
So, if you grow up on a council estate, you are not gonna see many Christian role models. And if you do see any, they might well be portraying the middle class lifestyle more loudly than the Christian lifestyle.
Some will want to become middle class, and will love the idea of wearing a suit to church, and getting a job in finance. But others, like myself, will want to know, what does a council estate Christian look like? What is council estate Christianity? What does the Bible say about protecting my family in an area where the Police don't seem to care? What does a regenerate christian from a council estate look like - surely its not a bloke who wears a tie to church?
I believe this is a major hindrance to the gospel in council estates. I hope that more Christians will be aware of this, and consider if there are things they can do to counter this problem.
Sunday, December 07, 2008
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
New Bibleworks 8 Context feature
The Bibleworks blog has been doing a great job of writing about some of the new features in Bibleworks 8. Its not out yet, but from what I can see on the blog, it looks like a good upgrade.
My favourite new feature is the context one - here's why:
I sometimes use Bibleworks in group bible studies, and always use it when JW's come round. I love being able to locate a verse immediately, and to be able to see various English translations and the Greek all at once on one page. However, the limitation in Bibleworks 7, was that you could not see those verses in context, unless you toggled the view. Now, if I'm understanding this rightly, you can look up those verses, and then in the right hand column, see those verses in their context.
My favourite new feature is the context one - here's why:
I sometimes use Bibleworks in group bible studies, and always use it when JW's come round. I love being able to locate a verse immediately, and to be able to see various English translations and the Greek all at once on one page. However, the limitation in Bibleworks 7, was that you could not see those verses in context, unless you toggled the view. Now, if I'm understanding this rightly, you can look up those verses, and then in the right hand column, see those verses in their context.
Tuesday, December 02, 2008
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