SamMarsh.net

Keynes’s point of departure was the economist’s standard view that money has no utility in itself, but is simply the means to acquire goods which possess utility. People want goods, not money. Keynes, however, saw the capitalism of his day not so much as a goods-generating machine as a cash-generating machine: people acquired money to get more money. What should have been a means had become an end. This disposition to value money above the things it could buy was true of both the moneymaker and the money-hoarder, but the pleasure in the possession of money took different forms in the two cases. The overvaluation of monetary gain could be seen in the fetish of cheapness. Keynes suggested that standardization, stimulated by advertising, had ‘raised the price of idiosyncrasy’. If we all consumed exactly the same thing, prices would be much lower and we would all be ‘better off ’. But variety is a good in itself.

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But an economy which treats money as goods…, because, as Keynes said, abstract money will always seem more attractive than concrete goods. Our imaginations race ahead of our senses, filling us with unsatisfied desires, and money is the continual stimulator of our imagination, creating a perpetual sense of dissatisfaction with what we already have.

Keynes: The Return of the Master by Robert Skidelsky

May we spend our time and invest our imaginations on working and dreaming of all that God can and will do.

“And I, because of their actions and their imaginations, am about to come and gather all nations and tongues, and they will come and see my glory” (Isaiah 66:18)

Spirit, breathe into our imaginations.

10 steps to better preaching offers some helpful stuff over at Sydney Anglicans, worth a full read:

1. Prepare more.
2. Leave out the boring bits. “they are the fault of the preacher not the bible.”
3. Don’t wait till Sunday to try out you sermon.
4. Ditch notes
5. Speak to the people who aren’t there yet.
6. Have an argument – Arguments are always more interesting and forces people to think about where they stand.
7. Speak to the people who are there – Preaching the same passage to different congregations demands a different talk.
8. Avoid trite application.
9. Talk about Jesus every week.
10. Listen to your own podcast – the pain will be worth it.

Humans are amazingly creative beings. We’re constantly coming up with new ways to do stupid things. So, why would we think that the church addressed every possible heresy at these 7 councils?

Great post by Marc Cortez – he makes a fair point and has got me thinking. 

The 7 councils do stand at the heart of our understanding of heresy, but they don’t necessarily have to dictate to us how do we define heresy.

I like McGrath’s definition: “A heresy is a doctrine that ultimately destroys, destabilises, or distorts a mystery rather than preserving it.” Heresy ultimately distorts, rather than defends, the mystery of faith. It is a failed attempt at orthodoxy. It’s perhaps better, though, to accept this as a descriptive term rather than a pejorative one. Heresies don’t have to have malicious intent. They are simply misaligned with the truth they seek to give definition to. 

There is a danger when we look at using the formulations of the 7 councils as our ‘plumb-line’ for heresy, that we make the mis-step of assuming the Christian faith is “simply or even fundamentally a set of ideas.”¹ Experience of, and relationship with, The Truth leads us to seek to express this as a theological statement or set of statements. This does not detract, though, from the fact that theological formulations are secondary to the “experience that precipitated and shaped them.”² The search for orthodoxy then, is linked to authenticity.   Orthodoxy (believing the right things) cannot be divorced from orthopraxy (doing the right things). Your character must match the message. 

Defending the truth, then, is about protecting the health of faith. Ideas can be powerful things. As we grasp more of what is possible and our eyes of faith rise to new possibilities of what God’s plans are achieving, heretical teaching can rob us of the mystery and fullness of faith. They can lead us to believe the wrong things about God, which in turn lead us to live in ways at odds with, rather than in line with, the divine. 

If you’ve read McGrath’s book, or simply read the footnotes, you’ll notice I’ve basically nabbed all these thoughts from his book on heresy. Definitely worth a read if you’re interested in these things ;-)

The Foreign Secretary and the Archbishop of Canterbury intervened last night to try to save a Christian pastor in Iran who has refused to renounce his faith to escape a death sentence. An Iranian court gave Youcef Nadarkhani, 34, a third and final chance to avoid hanging, but he replied: “I am resolute in my faith and Christianity and have no wish to recant.”

The persecution of Christians across the globe is real.

Do pray for Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani. Then act by signing this petition whilst there is still time to do so.

Update: “CSW has facilitated the sending of over 19,000 emails from campaigners to the Iranian embassy in the UK and continues to pursue advocacy on behalf of Pastor Nadarkhani.

HT The Times (you must have a subscription to view)

HT Chris Brady (original source unknown)