Events
Events
John Robinson's Honest to God was a
publishing sensation 50 years ago, selling a million copies in
1963. The dominant theory of the book is the idea that
having rejected the idea of 'God up there', modern secular people
also needed to recognize that the idea of 'God out there' is also
an outdated simplification of the nature of divinity. Rather,
Christians should take their cue from the existentialist theology
of Paul Tillich and consider God to be 'the ground of our being'.
It was a controversial set of ideas at the time. In his last
interview before his death, CS Lewis noted that, 'I prefer being
honest, to being "honest to God."'
To mark the 50th anniversary of its publication, SCM
Press has assembled a panel to discuss its influence and
contemporary resonance. Mike Wooldridge (who will chair) is the
BBC's World Affairs correspondent; Sam Wells is the vicar of St
Martin-in-the-Fields; Francis Spufford is a lecturer of Creative
and Life Writing at Goldsmiths College, London (and also the author
of the recent Unapologetic); Mark Vernon is a writer and
broadcaster (often of this magazine) and Sheila Watson is the
archdeacon of Canterbury.
The even takes place pretty soon - April 29, 7:00pm
at St Martin-in-the-Fields, Trafalgar Square, London WC2N 4JJ - but
no tickets are required and admission is free.
--
May, as most of you will doubtless be aware,
contains Christian Aid Week and this year the charity will focus on
how to 'Bite Back at Hunger'. 'Today around 870 million
people are desperate for food. One in eight people will go to bed
hungry tonight. This is a scandal' says the organisation, and as
usual has a considerable range of resources to help fellow
campaigners get involved, fundraise and spread the word about the
charity's activities.
If you wanted to do something different to support
the Week, it may not be too late to take part in their signature
scheme.1.4 billion people live on less than £1 a day. Christian Aid
is asking you to put yourself in their shoes by living off £1 for
food and drink for five days (April 29-May 3). 'It will be tough
but it can be a profound, rewarding experience and the money you
raise from your challenge will help some of the world's poorest
communities lift themselves out of poverty.'
You can sign up to take part at www.livebelowtheline.com/uk-christianaid.
There's a supportive online community to engage with and more
details about how to go about the challenge - and why.
For less able souls there are a host of other
activities and resources to help you contribute, including worship
sessions quizzes you can run at your own church. www.christianaid.org.uk.