Meaning of life is 92, say Christians
-16/11/04
According to Douglas Adamsí popular ëHit
Meaning of life is 92, say Christians
-16/11/04
According to Douglas Adamsí popular ëHitchhikerís Guide to the Galaxyí books, the meaning of life is 42. Not so, claimed a British liberation theology consultation meeting last weekend ñ itís 92. Thatís the number of explicit references to the ëreign of Godí made by Jesus in the Gospels.
By contrast, said Fr Frank Regan, ëchurchí is specified just twice. He was emphasising the need to give priority to the message of justice, peace and right relationships that Jesus spoke and embodied, as distinct from issues of institutional survival which often preoccupy the Christian community.
Other contributors at the gathering in Wistaston Hall, in the north of England, included Brazilian Methodist Suzy Viana. She is now working with Churches Together in Hemel Hempstead on the ëCutting Edgeí community partnership, but told the story of the involvement of Christians in supporting the occupation of unused land by landless people in the Amazon region of Brazil.
Meanwhile Bridget Rees described the work of the Sabeel Liberation Theology Centre in Jerusalem, and brought with her some fragments of a Palestinian house recently demolished by Israeli security services in the occupied territories.
And Baptist ministers Roy Dorey and Bruce Stokes spoke of the challenge and opportunity of church involvement in community regeneration in North Southwark.
Simon Barrow of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland talked of the life and struggle of the churches in China, having been part of a recent ecumenical delegation there. Meanwhile Lucia McGuckin spoke of work with victims of torture, substance dependence and prostitution in Peru.
Other contributors came from the Ashram Community in Sheffield, the Roman Catholic Justice and Peace Networks in England and Wales, Unlock (formerly the Evangelical Urban Training Project), the Shaftesbury Societyís Development and Regeneration Group, and initiatives in Scotland and Ireland.
The consultation, which began in 1989, convenes every two years to link together a broad range of people committed to radical social action from a theological perspective. There is cooperation with the Institute for Liberation Theology in Sheffield (part of the Urban Theology Unit), which has published a series of books and resources around these themes.
Liberation theology emerged from Latin America and Asia in the 1960s and 1970s. It emphasises the biblical message as one of liberation and affirmation for people marginalized and excluded by the dominant forces in global economy, society and politics.
Meaning of life is 92, say Christians
-16/11/04
According to Douglas Adamsí popular ëHitchhikerís Guide to the Galaxyí books, the meaning of life is 42. Not so, claimed a British liberation theology consultation meeting last weekend ñ itís 92. Thatís the number of explicit references to the ëreign of Godí made by Jesus in the Gospels.
By contrast, said Fr Frank Regan, ëchurchí is specified just twice. He was emphasising the need to give priority to the message of justice, peace and right relationships that Jesus spoke and embodied, as distinct from issues of institutional survival which often preoccupy the Christian community.
Other contributors at the gathering in Wistaston Hall, in the north of England, included Brazilian Methodist Suzy Viana. She is now working with Churches Together in Hemel Hempstead on the ëCutting Edgeí community partnership, but told the story of the involvement of Christians in supporting the occupation of unused land by landless people in the Amazon region of Brazil.
Meanwhile Bridget Rees described the work of the Sabeel Liberation Theology Centre in Jerusalem, and brought with her some fragments of a Palestinian house recently demolished by Israeli security services in the occupied territories.
And Baptist ministers Roy Dorey and Bruce Stokes spoke of the challenge and opportunity of church involvement in community regeneration in North Southwark.
Simon Barrow of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland talked of the life and struggle of the churches in China, having been part of a recent ecumenical delegation there. Meanwhile Lucia McGuckin spoke of work with victims of torture, substance dependence and prostitution in Peru.
Other contributors came from the Ashram Community in Sheffield, the Roman Catholic Justice and Peace Networks in England and Wales, Unlock (formerly the Evangelical Urban Training Project), the Shaftesbury Societyís Development and Regeneration Group, and initiatives in Scotland and Ireland.
The consultation, which began in 1989, convenes every two years to link together a broad range of people committed to radical social action from a theological perspective. There is cooperation with the Institute for Liberation Theology in Sheffield (part of the Urban Theology Unit), which has published a series of books and resources around these themes.
Liberation theology emerged from Latin America and Asia in the 1960s and 1970s. It emphasises the biblical message as one of liberation and affirmation for people marginalized and excluded by the dominant forces in global economy, society and politics.