A couple of years ago I was in Connecticut to co-lead a Zen retreat. As the retreat ended one of my co-leaders, Mary Gates, who is both a fully authorized Zen teacher and an Episcopal priest excused herself. Mary explained she had to say mass for the small congregation she served as vicar. Being me, I asked if I could tag along.

The service was held in a tiny stone chapel in West Cornwall. The town is a Norman Rockwell image of old New England. It even has a covered bridge. The chapel, well, built in New England or picked up and moved from some bucolic English countryside, it was picture perfect. There were eighteen of us in that little chapel, and we pretty much filled it.

The service itself was Prayer Book Rite II with all that means for those familiar with the history of Episcopalian religious services. For me as a progressive it’s filled with awkward masculine by preference language and as a Buddhist with a full-on dualistic God out there and you and me, down here theology. Not my cup of tea. And.

Several weeks into the new year, I am for the first time getting to teach three of my favorite courses in the same semester. One of these courses involves an in-depth investigation of the work of three of the most important writers of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, all of them women. One of these women is Iris Murdoch. When constructing the syllabus last summer, it did not even occur to me that 2019 is a particularly appropriate year to be introducing a dozen very bright students to Murdoch’s philosophical and literary work. 2019 is the centennial of Iris’s birth, with various celebrations planned in the U.K. and beyond to honor the work and life of this extraordinary woman. Last Friday was the 20th anniversary of her death in 1999 after several years of advancing Alzheimer’s disease.

Iris came into my life a number of years ago when I discovered that Simone Weil—a thinker so influential on my intellectual and spiritual development that my wife Jeanne calls her my “mistress”—was similarly influential for Iris Murdoch (Simone is another of the thinkers on the syllabus in my current course). In her last completed work, Murdoch asks a question that is arguably the central issue explored in both her fiction and her philosophical work—What can we do now that there is no God?

Writing in the decades after the Second World War, Murdoch assumes that human beings are required to grapple with a difficult world lacking the tools provided by traditional Christianity (or any other traditional religious framework). Yet she is by no means a happy atheist along the lines of Richard Dawkins, Sam Harris or Daniel Dennett. Murdoch believes that traditional conceptions of the divine, along with the various frameworks that have traditionally surrounded those conceptions, are meaningless, yet points out that while it is easy to say that there is no God, it is not so easy to believe it and to draw the consequences.

Gem #1: Angelou didn’t call herself a Christian – not exactly. In an interview on the occasion of being awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, she put it this way: “I’m always amazed when people walk up to me and say, ‘I’m a Christian.’ I think, ‘Already? You already got it?’ I’m working at it, which means that I try to be as kind and fair and generous and respectful and courteous to every human being.”

Gem #2: In another interview, Angelou said that while she was taught to believe in God, she became courageous when she made that belief her own. “I dared to do anything that was a good thing. I dared to do things distant from what seemed to be in my future. When I was asked to do something good, I often say yes, I’ll try, yes, I’ll do my best. And part of that is believing, if God loves me, if God made everything from leaves to seals and oak trees, then what is it I can’t do?”

So in Angelou’s honour, let’s keep these gems close and remember that being Christian is always a work in progress – and that God’s creative love makes all things possible!

well-researched and deeply thoughtful. Sofia Magazine

Challenging, dense… insightful… should make the reader think. Church Times

I’ve read and much admired The Christian Middle Way by Robert M. Ellis. I think he has understood the fundamental point of Christian practice. Jay Parini, author of ‘The Human Face of God’

Robert M. Ellis’ new book, The Christian Middle Way, has given me a path to walk on as I move through these new shadowlands in this segment of my journey. In this book, Ellis draws heavily both on the Middle Way philosophy developed by the Buddha and also the function of archetypes as articulated by Carl G. Jung.

Applying Middle Way principles including provisionality and avoiding the absolutizing tendency of metaphysical claims (whether religious or anti-religious) Ellis proposes a path toward integration that may helpfully include the archetypes of God and Jesus incarnate, crucified, and risen, as well as much of the symbolism and meaning of the Christian tradition on one’s journey. Lutheran Pastor (‘One Person’ Blog)

Robert M. Ellis is the founder of the Middle Way Society and author of a number of books on Middle Way Philosophy, including the introductory Migglism, the more detailed Middle Way Philosophy series and the forthcoming Buddha’s Middle Way (Equinox, 2019). He has a Ph.D. in Philosophy and a Cambridge B.A. in Theology and Oriental Studies. The son of a Baptist minister but formerly also an ordained Buddhist, he seeks a sympathetic but critical path through both traditions.

BY WILLIAM IRWIN

The Stone is a forum for contemporary philosophers and other thinkers on issues both timely and timeless.

Near end of Albert Camus’s existentialist novel “The Stranger,” Meursault, the protagonist, is visited by a priest who offers him comfort in the face of his impending execution. Meursault, who has not cared about anything up to this point, wants none of it. He is an atheist in a foxhole. He certainly has not been a strident atheist, but he claims to have no time for the priest and his talk of God. For him, God is not the answer.

Some 70 years later, Kamel Daoud, in his 2013 novel “The Meursault Investigation,” picks up the thread of Camus’s story. In one scene late in that novel, an imam hounds Harun, the brother of the unnamed Arab who was killed in “The Stranger.” In response, Harun gives a litany of his own impieties, culminating in the declaration that “God is a question, not an answer.” Harun’s declaration resonates with me as a teacher and student of philosophy. The question is permanent; answers are temporary. I live in the question.

A few weeks ago, I flew up to Portland from Los Angeles and found myself sitting next to a woman, about 45 years old, who was on her way to her first face-to-face date with a man she met online. She needed to talk because she was nervous about the impending encounter. I asked her questions and offered encouragement, for which she seemed very grateful. She was a fundamentalist Christian who had never married. "My biggest test of faith was when I was in the Peace Corps in Nepal and fell in love with a wonderful man who was a Hindu. We were getting close to a commitment but I did not want to be "unequally yoked" to an non-Christian. I was afraid of God so I backed away from him. It was so hard," she confessed. I just listened, but felt so sad for her. Her fear-based religion shattered the love of her life. And that fear even now dragged behind her like a useless anchor.

“God is love.” The Bible tells us so. Taking this short line from the first letter of John seriously results in a long list of significant consequences. These three words are our marching orders as Christians. They sum up the meaning and purpose of human existence. They open a window into a more compassionate, mindful, and progressive form of the Christian faith.

Pope Francis set out to usher in a new era of openness, but some of his recent remarks suggest he isn’t going far enough – his thinking still seems fettered to the old ways

Papa Bergoglio continues to surprise. But the “Pope of Surprises” might want to grant a few less interviews; they expose him in ways that heighten his vulnerability – in this his critics rejoice – and inspire his admirers: such uncalculated openness is rare in high clerical circles after all. But when the result is befuddlement, no one wins.

The harsh reality couldn't be avoided. The secretive, all-male, allegedly celibate clergy culture, where bishops can enjoy privileges once reserved for royalty and the extremely wealthy, was coming apart. There is no place left to hide.

The National Catholic Reporter of the USA says, in an editorial following on the sex abuse scandal, that after all of the denial, lying, cover-ups, excuses, promises to change, apologies for "mistakes made," and looking for blame and causes in every imaginable corner of the church, the harsh reality can’t be avoided. The secretive, all-male, allegedly celibate clergy culture, where bishops can enjoy privileges once reserved for royalty and the extremely wealthy, was coming apart, the NCR believes and says there is no place left to hide.

The film "Whale Rider" (directed by Niki Caro, New Zealand, 2002) just released on DVD opens with an unusual birthing scene and invites a parallel with the Christmas story. The gentle voice of a young girl narrates an ancient Maori cultural myth, the story of a long-awaited great leader who is coming to bring new life to a dying tribe.

This anticipated leader traces his lineage to the ancestor "Paikea," a revered hero whom tribal lore describes as having arrived from the legendary island Hawaiiki, miraculously, on the back of a whale.

"But now we were waiting for the firstborn of the new generation, for the descendant of the whale rider," she discloses, "for the boy who would be chief."

I found in my music collection ​the song by Atahualpa Yupanqui - it perhaps helps us understand anticlericalism.

Reading an extract from a Jesuit magazine I was interested in the following paragraph:

The Latin American bishops in 2007 led by then-Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio deplored “a Catholic faith reduced… to a collection of rules and prohibitions, to fragmented devotional practices… to the repetition of doctrinal principles, to bland or nervous moralizing.” They wrote, “Being Christian is… the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction.”

Robert M Ellis has a Ph.D. in Philosophy and a Cambridge BA in Oriental Studies and Theology writes in PCN (USA):

Despite a Christian family background, I have never managed to be a Christian in the way defined by most churches. I am not a ‘believer’, and could recite no creed without a sense of hypocrisy and conflict. But after many years of engagement with other traditions – Buddhist, philosophical and psychological – it has become increasingly clear to me that ‘belief’ is not what Christianity is most importantly about. It is quite possible to drink deeply of what Christianity has to offer, indeed to be ‘Christian’ in all the ways that matter – morally, spiritually and intellectually – without ‘believing’ such absolute propositions as that God exists, or that Jesus is the Son of God, or that Jesus saves believers from sin. Indeed, I will go further. Such beliefs have no positive practical effects on the lives of Christians, beyond being shortcuts to group conformity which may also have many negative effects.

Harriet Sherwood, religion correspondent of The Guardian tweeted about a letter sent to the newspaper from prominent humanists who are making a fresh appeal to the BBC to open up Radio 4’s Thought for the Day to non-religious voices.

Amongst the signatories is the philosopher Julian Baggini, a guest of PCN at our conference in London next June, the comedian Ed Byrne, the human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell, the Labour MP Nick Brown and the Bake Off celebrity Sandi Toksvig.

They are among 33 patrons of the charity Humanists UK who have signed a letter calling on Tony Hall, the BBC’s director general, calling for the ban on humanists presenting Thought for the Day to be lifted.

The letter says: “Over half the British population do not belong to any religion and around a quarter have a humanist worldview. By barring humanists from Thought for the Day, the BBC is blatantly failing in its remit to reflect the diversity of beliefs of its audience and wider population, and its legal duty to treat non-religious and religious beliefs equally.” It adds: “To many, the exclusion of humanists from Thought for the Day sends a very clear message that humanists do not have as much to contribute as religious people to one of the BBC’s most high-profile ethical slots.”

Humanists UK has campaigned for 16 years to open Thought for the Day up to non-religious voices. Andrew Copson, the chief executive of Humanists UK, said the BBC had “blatant disregard” for non-religious people who wanted to contribute reflections but were barred from doing so.

“It is deeply concerning and frankly undemocratic that, despite decades of humanist and secular campaigning to reform Thought for the Day, the BBC still will not budge and instead continues to shut out our voices time and time again.” The majority of contributors to Thought for the Day are Christian, although there are regular Muslim and Jewish contributors and occasional Hindus, Sikhs and Buddhists.

A flurry of correspondence ensued, including this letter from Adrian, chair of PCN:

“Of course Thought for the Day (letters 13 Nov) should be open to humanists for their contribution to the stream of voices, religious and non-religious, commenting on the important ethical issues of our time. No religion or ideology has a monopoly on truth, no matter how loud the voices, how certain the viewpoints. Surely we should be looking beyond the divisions in an increasingly tribalistic world and see what is good and life affirming in all faith and non-faith traditions? Bring it on! Lets have some thoughts for each day which lift up our spirits to face whatever that day brings! “

What do PCN members think? Lets have your views!

The Church Times reported that the Dean of Blackburn Cathedral, Very Revd Peter Howell, has persuaded the cathedral authorities to spend £18,000 on marketing a gin, called ‘Cathedra’, which will cost around £45 per bottle. The cathedral see this as a fund raising venture and an opportunity, says the Dean, ‘to engage with all aspects of society’…..Indeed click on the cathedral website and the first item which faces you is a bottle of gin!

Is this really what cathedrals should be doing? In 2016 there were 51,507 alcohol-specific deaths in the UK and over 300,000 alcohol -caused hospital admissions. No doubt the cathedral parishioners who can afford to spend £45 on this gin will not be visiting our town and city centres on Saturday night, blighted by the drunken revelry which necessitates the need for stretched police and ambulance services to be on hand. What next does the Dean of Blackburn intend to do? Special cathedral brand cigarettes? Maybe fruit machines in the transept?

If the cathedral truly wants to 'engage with different groups of people' why not try talking to them about a different kind of Spirit? Maybe the way to engage with people under the age of 40 who might well be drinking gin on a night out, is not to offer them a different brand of gin but a fresh look at what Christian faith might look like today?

What do PCN readers think about this?

Adrian Alker

Challenging ‘Belief’ and the Evangelical Bias: Student Christianity in English Universities by Mathew Guest, Sonya Sharma, Kristin Aune and Rob Warner provides interesting food for thought for any who think liberal Christianity has no future and that the answer lies in firm Evangelicalism. The study shows a significant number of students who self identify as Christians but whose faith is expressed in fluid terms. One reviewer thought the study to show Christian traditions transforming into "wells" rathe than "fenced off" enclosures.

Such a view seems to me a serious challenge to a current train of thought in the CofE which sees the future in fenced off enclosures of Christians committed to a particular theological rationale. Certainly of the Christian students in the study only a small minority identified with the usual Christian Union line and that should be a warning against the too easy move to a one size fits all approach.

The full study report can be found here: Challenging ‘Belief’ and the Evangelical Bias: Student Christianity in English Universities by Mathew Guest, Sonya Sharma, Kristin Aune and Rob Warner