Sea of Faith Christchurch Group

Storms of my Grandchildren
The Truth about the Coming Climate Catastrophe and our last chance to save Humanity
by James Hansen. Published by Bloomsbury, 2009

The main thesis of this book is as crystal clear as it is frightening: that human activity over the last century has rapidly increased the greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere to the point where we are on the verge of transforming the planet into a hothouse world, with massive species depletion, sea level rise and and a host of related changes. All threatening the whole biosystem with unstoppable global warming. The difference between Jim Hansen and other “end of the world” prophets, is that he is a leading planetary scientist who has spent a lifetime studying these trends. His predictions are based, not on a misreading of some ancient religious text, but on hard science. And it all points in the same direction. Continue Reading »

In the middle of winter, traditional Maori celebrated Matariki.  This was the beginning of a new year; time to celebrate with a special hangi and then to begin planting kumara.

In the middle of winter, ancient Romans celebrated the winter solstice.  Venerators of sol invictus, the invincible sun, they marked the turning point when the sun ceased becoming weaker and colder, gaining in strength and showing light triumphing over darkness.

The early Christians took over such winter solstice celebrations, turning them into a celebration of the birth of their savior and applying what had been cyclical truth based on the seasons of nature to the one-off of that birth.

But what about us moderns? Are we so cocooned in our neon-lit, climate-controlled rooms that we have no sense any more of the rhythms of nature? Living in the shadow of the free market and global capitalism with its relentless competition, is there no place for the unproductive purposelessness of ritual and ceremony? Has Christmas, transposed to a different season here in New Zealand, lost its religious significance and become a time of family togetherness, excessive food consumption and commercial exploitation?

Our meeting on Friday 25 June is an opportunity to informally explore such questions.  Please feel free to bring and share any thoughts or ideas.

On Friday 11 June, we will look at what Christians call the Old Testament with the help of Claus Westermann, a German expert. For most people, the bible is a book that begins with the story of creation. Scholars, however, give us quite a different perspective.

First, the Old Testament is not a book but a library of books, one that increased and evolved over a thousand years.

Secondly, this library began in the time of the Israelite kings (Saul, David, and Solomon). The first “book” recorded events at court, especially surrounding the succession from King Saul to King David and then from King David to King Solomon.  Later, a preface was added, committing to writing a bundle of oral traditions that pre-dated the kingship; stories of wandering nomadic clans, of oppression in Egypt, of the infiltration of Canaan.  Even later, another preface was added in front of the first preface, that extended the pre-history of the kingship right back to the beginning of time, drawing on a mix of mythical and legendary traditions.

Later, when the Israelites were in exile, a priestly group added their variants of the main stories to this library, merging them with the originals. Other items were added; a collection of temple songs (the psalms), stories and words of various prophets, and wisdom literature such as Proverbs and the book of Job.

Further to our recent evening on Karen Armstrong’s charter of compassion, you can view the text of the charter here: http://charterforcompassion.org/ This website also gives you the opportunity to affirm the charter, adding your name to the list of those who have also done this.

From cave painters to modern day philosophers, theologians, scientists, and people generally, K.A. surveys all the writers and schools of thought on God and ultimate reality.

While K.A`s focus is necessarily a narrow one, on particular views about God, she looks at each one’s impact, reaction and development on current and later peoples and societies, on the emergence of orthodoxies of all kinds and every changing response and reaction to them.
There is much to suggest this book is about mankind’s need for certainity, that the universe and all life is not a meaningless chance occurance, about an obsession with God. Continue Reading »