What Is The Point Of Being A Christian?
September 12th, 2008
A six week course exploring the truth that Christianity points us to God will start next month, with 6 meetings scheduled in October, November and December. The discussion group will look closely at the book published by Timothy Radcliffe, entitled ‘What is the Point of Being a Christian’.
Timothy Radcliffe is in demand the world over with Bishops, priests, lay people and above all young people. In this book, Radcliffe has assembled the best of his addresses he has given over the last three years. A man with strong liberal instincts, he has held high office in the Roman Catholic Church and has a profound respect for the authority and teaching charisma of his Church. With political sympathies to the left of centre, he shows himself in this book to be passionately concerned with issues relating to the environment, globalisation and the pastoral care of the marginalised and dispossessed.
Shot through with humour, friendship and wisdom, the pages of this book outline a manner of living which is at once faithful to the teachings of Jesus and rooted in the tradition of the church and at the same time responsive to the turbulance of the modern world.
Autumn Study & Discussion Group 2008
On Mondays at 39 Bicham Road, Reepham @ 7.45-9.45pm
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October 20th: Introduction… Hope
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November 3rd: Freedom and Happiness
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November 10th: Courage
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November 17th: Truthfulness
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November 24th: Unity of Humanity
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December 1st: Healing and Rest
If you are interested and would like to attend, please let Sue Page know: 01603 870886. You can also email Sue for more information at: suep@reephambenefice.org.uk. Books are available through Sue at the price of £11.99 or alternatively a few copies can be borrowed through the library.
It is also hoped that as the group meets, they can comment on their thoughts about the topics and issues raised during the groups on this blog. Or, indeed, if you have a contribution to make on the subject of ‘what is the point of being a Christian’ we would welcome your contribution. If you are not from the local area, but would still like to engage, why not read the book for yourself and engage with us here with your thoughts on Timothy Radcliffe’s approach to living the Christian life in the modern world.
Tags: christian living, courage, study group
Posted in
Discussing Christianity, Food for Thought |
3 Comments »
September 23rd, 2008 at 5:43 pm
I ordered this book from the library last week – it arrived on Thursday. I spent most of Friday evening glued to its pages, engrossed in the richness of experience that is so wonderfully explored by Fr. Radcliffe.
Peppered throughout its pages are moments of pure joy (for the reader) as we see through the eyes of a man who is well travelled and who has many a story to tell to help us engage with the central focus of the book: pointing towards God.
I’ve read many ‘how to’ books on Christianity – this book would most certainly not fall into that category, which is in itself quite refreshing. It’s an exploration of one man’s spirituality as we journey with him on his pilgrimage of faith and a growing understanding of God. It stands as a subtle reminder that we are never ‘finished’ on our journey as Christians, we are always marching onward, ever pointing toward God, learning and growing with His grace and love with each tentative step.
If you’re not able to attend the study meetings, I’d still highly recommend reading the book. I look forward to exploring this in more detail with the study group via this blog.
Daniel
December 10th, 2008 at 8:42 pm
Responses and Challenges to
“What is the Point?”
Reepham Study and Discussion Group
Autumn 2008
Between twelve and fifteen of us met on six Monday evenings. We studied, ‘What is the Point of being a Christian?’ by Timothy Radcliffe, a Dominican Priest.
We started each evening with the following prayer:-
Lord Jesus, you are One with the Father
and One with the Spirit.
You prayed that all who put their faith in you
should be united in the same manner.
As we meet together, sharing a
journey of discovery and rediscovery,
Give us your humility, trust, and courage;
May we learn together in your love and your hope!
Lord Jesus,
You who are the point of our Lives,
Point us afresh to Your Loving Welcoming Father.
In the power of your guiding Spirit.
Amen
At the start of each evening we stayed together to listen to a précis of the chapter we were studying that evening. For the next hour we broke into smaller groups in two rooms and first looked at a bible passage applicable to the theme of the chapter. We then answered some challenging questions for our lives as individual Christians and for the church
The six themes were
∑ Hope
∑ Freedom and Happiness
∑ Courage
∑ Truthfulness
∑ Unity of Humanity
∑ Healing and Rest
Some of us found the book over-wordy and long-winded. Timothy Radcliffe is an enthusiast and a very experienced and widely travelled priest. He draws on a number of anecdotes and the lives of individuals whom he has encountered. Maybe some of these made each chapter over long and were unnecessary once the ‘point’ of the chapter had been argued.
On the final session on December 1st we concentrated on the emerging challenges from the book for both the Church and individual Christians.
These are:
∑ To be and to live with hope and security in God’s love, while avoiding arrogance and self-righteousness
∑ To become a community that can speak of and with delight, joy and freedom.
∑ To be so filled with courage and lacking in fear that we can appear even eccentric and different without anxiety.
∑ To be willing to raise the central question for us and for others “What gives meaning to our lives?” And to answer, “God!”
∑ Called to be at home in both our bodies and the Kingdom.
∑ To create a forum where we can speak out without fear, choosing words and a language which can be heard and received by others without offence.
∑ To have the courage to ‘let go’ of our passion and addiction for work and to more regularly rest with God.
We had a valuable discussion and compared the lifestyle we are challenged to in the bookwith the vision for the church found in St. Paul’s letter to the Colossians, chapter 3 vv 12 – 17
We were asked which of the challenges we found hardest to begin to live up to.
Many found it was the penultimate one; that of finding the language and creating the appropriate situation to speak openly. In particular this applied across and in the church where we too often avoid confronting conflict because of the fear of causing hurt. The other tough challenge was how to raise the central question of meaning in people’s lives.
There is no doubt that we were glad to study the book and believe that we must hold the challenges before us and return to them regularly over the next few months for reflection and possibly further debate.
Every evening ended with a short act of prayer and worship. On the final night we celebrated our entry into the season of Advent with a special act of worship for this time. We ended with this prayer
Lord Jesus, Light of the World,
John told the people to prepare,
For you are very near
This Advent, as Christmas grows closer day by day,
Help us to be ready to welcome you,
This night and for evermore Amen
We then drank mulled wine and ate mince pies, looking forward to meeting together again next Lent
Sue Page
March 8th, 2009 at 5:50 pm
Just to update you all!!
We’ve moved on.
Its now 2009 and the season of Lent has begun. 34 of us [yes that's 34...45% of our electoral role and church members] are studying a course which runs for 5 weeks. We are meeting in small grouips in 3 different houses and looking at ‘Faith Hope and Love’ the new York Course for Lent 2009.
Below are the details
These Three
Faith, Hope and Love
A Five Week Course exploring the
Three Qualities celebrated in 1Corinthians 13
Listening to
Dr. David Hope, Bishop Tom Wright
Anne Atkins,
Abbot Christopher Jamieson
Professor Frances Young
Venues:
Monday Evenings 7.45pm
39 Bircham Rd
Thursday Mornings 10.00am 34 Bircham Road
Thursday Evenings 7.30pm 24 Mill Road
These meetings continue until Holy Week when we will have service each evening.
So far we have enjoyed listening to the speakers on the CD and are beginning to explore what it means to have Faith. We continue this week.
Do join us!!
More on these gatherings later on.
Watch this space!!
A Course booklet is available for each participant at a cost of
£ 3.50