Anthropax's Old Blog

... from Monastic Mumblings. For those not in the know, the Anglican Church in America (and a few other places) is known as the Episcopal Church, for many various and exciting reasons. For the first time in their three decades of existence, the disco band The Village People have inducted an openly Episcopal man, igniting a controversy that threatens to tear the fabled Village People group asunder. Holding a press conference in New York City today, The Construction Worker, a prominent member of The Village People since its inception in the 1970's, urged "tolerance and understanding" for its latest member, The Episcopal Guy, who joined the group over the weekend. "From the start, The Village People have been all about inclusiveness," The Construction Worker said. "And introducing The Episcopal Guy as our latest member is part of that tradition." While The Indian Chief and The Fireman were reportedly in agreement with The Construction Worker about including The Episcopal Guy in the band, The Policeman, The Cowboy, and the Leather-clad Guy were reportedly opposed,creating speculation that The Village People might split up into two smaller, somewhat less influential disco bands. I love how in the comments section some wit has quiped that he'd "feel better about this if he weren't a practicing Episcopalian". Technorati Tags: Anglican, Humour

...Cath gives a charismatic homily on the Messianic Secret... Technorati Tags: Ball, Lampeter, Anglican

...Cath Mac explains Apostolic Succession to the willing masses... Technorati Tags: Lampeter, Apostolic Succession, Ball

Two fellow Lampeter Bloggers: Sandra (middle) and Greg at the Ball on Friday. Technorati Tags: Lampeter, Bloggers, Ball

Just to let everyone in Lampeter know, John's now OK. Pics from the ball will arrive shortly...

Ahem. Tonight is the President's Ball in fair old Lampeter University. The weather's looking lovely, my date has her dress ready, and we're all set to have a jolly time.

Couple of things have come up about those racist lttle shits at the BNP. Firstly, we have an item on the Guardian newsblog linking to Sky News (no, I never thought I'd have any respect for Sky news either, but here we are...), who aquired a taped conversation that the BNP press person had with a student. I found it via Jo and I'd recomend following the links to get to it. " Even if it is not your usual thing, there is a video report worth watching on the Sky News website. It concerns Phil Edwards, the far-right BNP’s national press officer, and the recording of a telephone conversation he had at the start of last year with a student. When the student started working, Mr Edwards explained, he would be paying taxes to raise black children who would “probably go and mug you”. Part of it was probably planning, part of it luck, but there is a sparse and uneasy dramatic quality to the report - the kind you might find in a Beckett play. The recording is played back to Mr Edwards, a grey-haired man in a pullover, tie and anorak sat on a park bench in an empty-looking market town. He denies he is racist. At 3 minutes and 20 seconds, a middle-class couple walk behind Mr Edwards and the reporter asks them if they think the comments are racist. The camera pans up to the standing couple and they agree. It then pans down to Mr Edwards, giving the impression he has been misbehaving in class, or is at least to be looked down on. He tells the couple he thinks they are wrong but are “entitled” to their view. The reporter tells them he is the BNP press officer, whereupon they laugh and walk away. " He makes the claim that there have never been any great African civilisations. Pah! Bullshit! What about the Mali Empire? Or the Fulani Empire? I doubt he's visited the Great Mosque of Djenné either, and as for the great treasures of Ethiopia. Sub-Sarharan Africa tended to be pastorly based (although that is a great simplification), so it's no wonder that the Eurasian social structure (which is based on an agrarian system providing enough food to support artists/priests/government/military) never developed in large numbers. It's not because of some genetic weakness in sub-saharan people, but rather the environment that they live in that dictates how a social group develop. Anyway, a social group doesn't have to build huge cities to be valid and important, and it's just showing how ethnocentric the BNP are. The other BNP themed part of the post, I was browsing the Church Times website (it has an interesting lookin g bit on the Sydney Anglicans as well, but I can't access it) . "CHURCHES are being urged to make it absolutely clear in the run-up to the local elections next week that Christians do not support the British National Party (BNP) The party has made direct attempts to win over Christians through its so-called Christian "front", the Christian Council of Britain. Its placards, "Defend Christian Values", have been in evidence at BNP demonstrations in Leeds and at protests such as those against Jerry Springer - the Opera The BNP is exploiting faith tensions, says a report from the Churches Regional Commission in Yorkshire and Humberside. One leaflet asks voters: "Are you concerned about the growth of Islam in Britain? Make May 4th referendum day." It adds: "Defend our Christian culture." The Bishop of Sheffield, the Rt Revd Jack Nicholls, led a walk for peace on Sunday to show solidarity with other faith leaders and communities in the city, where the BNP is fielding four candidates. The group walked from the Al-Rahman mosque to Firth Park Methodist Church, with a short, silent vigil outside each place of worship, and prayers for unity and peace. The leaders issued a joint statement reaffirming that all their faiths were incompatible with any party or philosophy based on hatred or treating people as inferior because of their race or beliefs. "We reject the current demonisation of the Muslim community as an affront to all our beliefs and as a danger to the whole community. We can only continue to move forward as a city through mutual tolerance and respect," the statement said. "We assert that racism is a sin, and are appalled at the claim made by groups such as the British National Party and the Christian Council of Britain that they speak for Christians, when in fact their messages of division and hate are the opposite of Christian values." But Harehills in Leeds can boast successful efforts to deter the BNP from fielding a candidate this time round. The ward of 17,000 people was targeted four years ago with overtly racist literature. Canon Alan Taylor, an Anglican parish priest and Lib Dem councillor, was re-elected two years ago. In 2002, he supported a fellow candidate of Asian origin and urged that the BNP must be opposed (News, April 2002). He said on Tuesday: "Concerted efforts over many years have seen the BNP give up in one of the most multi-racial areas of the city." " The BNP views are racist and should be totally unacceptable to any Christian worthy of the name. Technorati Tags: BNP, Anti-Fascism, Anglican, The Guardian, Africa

This looks interesting... "In his interview with the newspaper, Cardinal Barragan said: "Soon the Vatican will issue a document about the use of condoms by persons who have grave diseases, starting with Aids." He said his department was studying the document, along with the scientists and theologians who wrote it. "It is Benedict XVI who asked us for a study on this particular aspect of using a condom by those afflicted with Aids, and by those with infectious diseases," he added." In other news, I'm back in Lampeter, enjoying the lovely countryside as the evenings get lighter for longer, and planning trips to the seaside (with picnics and things). The President's Ball is on Friday, and I'm taking Louise along as my date - should be good. John brought back a rosary from Rome for me, and Amanda and Ross brought back a little statue of St. James from Santiago de Compostela. Oh yes, and I may be going to America with Bridget over Christmas, which would be ace! *edit* The Church Times has an article about it: "Dubbed "the AIDS bishop", he argues that the papal ban has always allowed exceptions - for example, where a woman's health is at risk. He argues that it is a matter of sacredness of life, and that hundreds of thousands of women in sub-Saharan Africa will continue to die unnecessarily if the ban on condoms is not lifted." Technorati Tags: Catholic, Seaside, Benedict XVI

So I got around to seeing 'V for Vendetta' last night. As an attempt to review it in a non-traditional way, here are a few thoughts about it in no order of significance: Fascist Britain? Hmm Oh dear Oh! How Phantom of the Opera! Good heavens! Hmm... Look at all the art! Ooo! Poor old Stephen Fry Valerie eigh? Oh dear... What?! Ho hum... Well there you have it, not a half-hearted post making up for being to lazy to post a proper review at all. Oh no, not at all.

Today Elizabeth the Second, By the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith celebrates her 80th birthday. The Guardian has a rather good comment about her: "It's hard to think of a recent predecessor - let alone a likely successor - of a comparable sincerity of belief, and it has been vital in sustaining the establishment of the Church of England. It would be quite possible to make the claim that Elizabeth Windsor has become one of the nation's most articulate religious leaders - but that says as much about the timidity of the competition as it does about her." And the Torygraph has a homily by Tom Utley: "I still have the occasional fantasy that one day I will be walking along the Mall as the Queen is driving past in her carriage. A would-be assassin leaps out from behind a tree in St James's Park and levels a gun at her. Valiant Tom Utley interposes his person between his sovereign and the gunman, and takes the bullet for her. (In my fantasy, I suffer only a flesh wound, which doesn't hurt a bit, but I am lavishly rewarded for saving the Queen's life: "Arise, Sir Thomas; do stay for tea".)" The Guardian article makes a good point about the Queen not retiring, as she is, like the Pope, the leader of the Anglican Church, and therefore invested with an 'indelible spiritual mark' (if you will). Technorati Tags:The Queen, Anglican

Two books arrived yesterday that I've really been looking forward to.The first one is Gustavo Gutiérrez's "A Theology of Liberation", partly for my Liberation Theology essay, and partly because I just wanted to read it.

The second is Leo Tolstoy's "The Kingdom of God is Within You", which, from having read a little bit seems rather extreme. He seems to advocate total non-resistance, something that I find very tricky to reconcile with my slightly pragmatic approach (even though I do have my fair share of wide-eyed idealism...), in particular when we think back to the second world war. If everyone was a pacifist, then that would be fantastic, but when there are people like Hitler in the world, resistance can be justified. I wouldn't mind being converted to total pacifism, so I'm giving old Leo the chance, but I don't think it'll be likely. Ho-hum.

I've got a big post coming up (with pictures and everything!) that involves Bactrian Camels (my favorite type of camel), a Forward in Faith Church and The 7th Marquess of Bath. Technorati Tags: Leo Tolstoy, Liberation Theology, Pacifism

... for the Jesuits for quite a while, partly because of the nature of how they perform missionary activity, partly because of the way they focus on social justice and human rights and partly because of the Servant of God Oscar Romero, as well as other Jesuit saints and notables. Many of the more extreme Protestant missionary groups (I'm thinking of NTM in particular), seem to lack respect for indigenous cultures that is simply shocking. They introduce seek to transfer their little slice of America (for they all too often are American based) into the South American jungle, without a thought towards what is best for the cultural groups in question. I've been told of a tribal group, half who had been converted to a very protestant form of Christianity, and the other half to Catholicism. The protestant half were all wearing western clothes given to them by the missionaries, being moulded into consumers who did not hunt for their food, and viewed their own culture with scorn. The Catholic group were allowed to continue living in their traditional clothes, as well as the methods of production of their food, and created carvings of Our Lady in a form that was meaningful to them. I feel that the Catholic way of spreading the word is much less damaging to the indigenous cultural systems. Another anecdote that springs to mind is when I was told by a fundamentalist preacher in Lampeter that if a cultural group did not have a concept of 'guilt' then it should be introduced. Needless to say, the Anthropology student in me recoiled in shock! I first read about Oscar Romero in a Religious Studies textbook (he was a case-study) when I was 13. The idea of the priest speaking out against the injustices that affected his flock left its mark on me, and the image of an Archbishop being martyred as he celebrated the Eucharist is such a powerful one, that reminds one of Thomas Becket, a Saint slightly nearer to home. Both stood up against pressures from the secular world to defend what they believed in,andnbothe were murdered for it. Other Jesuits whose stories tear at the heart strings include St. Peter Calver and Alfred Delp, as well as all those who defended indigenous peoples in the reductions. Technorati Tags: Jesuits, Oscar Romero, Anthropology, Theology

Play Democratic Ping Pong here!

... from ++Williams "... And the Bible is not the authorised code of a society managed by priests and preachers for their private purposes, but the set of human words through which the call of God is still uniquely immediate to human beings today, human words with divine energy behind them." ++Sentamu "...Therefore, love the poor, the prisoner, the stranger, the vulnerable, and the afflicted of our imprisoned and imprisoning world. For “in Christ all shall be made alive”. Everyone matters to God. For all are God-carriers." And the Pope "...may the leaders of nations and of International Organizations be strengthened in their will to achieve peaceful coexistence among different races, cultures and religions, in order to remove the threat of terrorism" Technorati Tags: Anglican, Rowan Williams, John Sentamu, Easter Day, Pope Benedict

Hurrah! Easter seems to mean more if you've been through the full Triduum. The haunch of venison is roasting in the AGA, the Simnel cake has being washed down with a good glass of sherry, and I've got two hours before the meal, meaning that I am free to plough on through Brideshead Revisited in an armchair by the window. *content sigh* Technorati Tags: Easter Day, Venison, AGA

The Lord is risen indeed! Alleluia! Technorati Tags: Anglican, Easter, Easter Vigil

I'm looking forward to the Easter Vigil, even though it means I'll miss Robert Beckford's look at Cinema and Christianity, with what looks like a good exploration of the sublime Il Vangelo Secondo Matteo. Technorati Tags: Holy Saturday, Triduum

As is traditional, we broke our fast with Hot Cross Buns this morning. Tonight was the "Veneration of the Cross" Service at St. Mary's, so off I toddled. The Choir was, as ever, superb, and the long, dignified liturgy fitting in with the solemn occurance that we comemorated. The 'highlight' of the service (although to use such a term is not fitting in the slightest) was the proclamation of the cross, and the customary veneration by kissing the feet of the corpus. The liturgy gave a good bit of time for reflection on the Cross, while the choir sang some haunting reproaches, which was most welcome. Technorati Tags:Anglican, Good Friday, Triduum

The Maundy Thursday service was superb last night. The liturgy was beautiful, and so very moving that I almost cried. The choir was in top form, and the procession of the Blessed Sacrament to the alter of repose before the stripping of the Altar (with the choir singing Tantum ergo "Therefore we, before him bending, this great sacrament revere") was just fantastic. Scribere Orare Est talks about his experiance at the start of the Tridium here. Technorati Tags: Anglican, Maundy Thursday, Triduum

...with the DDO went very well, and I'm now 'official'. It's a help that he's my vicar anyway, and over the summer I'll get the chance to go around with him (or one of the other priests for the group of parishes), and serve at the Church. I've also got a great big list of books that'll help. Technorati Tag: Anglican

...the DDO tomorrow.

I went along to an ecumenical Stations of the Cross last night at the Roman Church in Monmouth. It was just the Anglicans and Romans, united together in our catholic ways (allthough there was a lady who I think may have been a Methodist minister - it gave the RC priest a bit of a start when he saw the collar on her!). Some of it seemed a little 'controversial' (as I overheard one old lady mutter), with a prayer for the Pope (!) and a Hail Mary (fine by me...). The liturgy hadn't been altered for us Anglicans, which I felt was rather nice thing (although there could be other, less romantic reasons for that). However, Fr. Pat seems lovely, but wasn't dreadfully, well, charismatic, and kept on making unexpected pauses that weren't appropriate. He may have had a speech impediment as well, which didn't help (althouth that's not his fault). The pews were a bit close together as well, as making for tricky genuflection towards some of the stations, but, well, there we are. Technorati Tags: stations of the cross, Catholic, Anglican

I went up to Malvern on Thursday to see a play, because, well, I fancied going. The play was Phillip King's farce "See How They Run", which had lots of vicars, and a simply superb set. "It’s 1942 in the idyllic village of Merton-cum-Middlewick and the residents are bracing themselves for imminent German invasion. However, there are more pressing matters at hand at the local vicarage, home to the Reverend Lionel Toop, his wayward former actress wife Penelope and Ida the incompetent maid. A classic case of mistaken identity is the catalyst for rumours and cassocks to fly. The vicarage is overrun with bishops, nosey neighbours, more vicars and an escaped prisoner of war. Uniforms are lost, found, begged and borrowed and chaos runs riot. And just when things can’t get any worse, they do…Guaranteed to have you laughing helplessly in the aisles, this is one of the funniest comedies ever written." Technorati Tag: Farce

I guess that I have to blog about the excitement surrounding the 'Gospel of Judas' that has been causing headlines in various newspapers. This text will apparently shake up Chrisianity, as it says brand new things about the position of Judas and Jesus etc. Or not. A few points...

1. It wasn't written by Judas: In the time when it was written, as well as later, it was very common for writers to try to associate their work with a famous person, partly to get it noticed, and partly to give it more credibility (like pseudo-Denys).
2. It was written by Gnostics: Gnostics had very, very dodgy theology. Too dodgy and complicated to go into in this short blog. They were heretics, needless to say.
3. It's not going to destroy Christianity: The Gospel is not more going to destroy Christianity than the writings of L. Ron Hubbard. Granted, the position of Judas needs thinking about, as he did play his part in the death and eventual resurrection of Christ, and thus redemption of the world, yet seems to have gone to Hell anyway, even though his act of betrayal was needed.
4. It does back up Irenaeus: Irenaeus writes about the Gospel of Judas, so all in all it does seem like a useful new text to help with understanding of the evolution of the Church.

*edit* Titusonenine has a slightly better look at the place of the 'Gospel of Judas' and Gnosticism Technorati Tag: Judas

Hello all. This trip is turning into a mixture of the wonderful, the hilarious, the emotional, the frustrating, the heartbreaking and the plain bizarre. The elections were interesting... the Blue Party (the ruling party) gained control of the council in Tangalla, beating the opposition Green Party, who have been in power in Tangalla for about 10 years. So there was lots of unease here over that and one man was shot dead in Beliatta - a town not far from Tangalla. However, one Green Party supporter said maybe it was a good thing that the Blues got in as now Tangalla wouldnt be overlooked by government as it now held power in Tangalla. How terrible is that - you're pleased that the party you dnt support wins, because you know thats the only way your town will get help. So corrupt here. Had a lovely weekend in Mirissa - met a wonderfully wacky man called Dizzy who originally hails from Plymouth, though you wouldnt know that if you looked at him. Our group went to a Sri Lankan beach party on Saturday night - good fun. Lots of music and dancing and Arrack. Though the police arrive about half 12 and stopped it - apparently the music was too loud. I'm told that happens quite frequently in Sri Lanka. Job continues to be enjoyable. Am really loving the fact that every day is so different and am really looking forward to Chris arriving on Friday and then my parents on Monday. As the schools are off until the end of April, we shall all be doing some traveling, which will be fun. One of the great things is the different sort of people you get to talk to - lots of different kinds, because everyone wants to talk to you because you arent Sri Lankan. And the vast majority of people are so interesting and have so much to say and just talking for five or ten minutes can give a glimpse into their world - and thats always so different from mine, or any Westerners. Was one of the guests of honour (!!) at a school show/exhibition today. The children demonstrated their gardening skills, their arts and crafts skills and their cooking skills. There were speeches and then all the guests were taken around the exhibitions (which I had to open by cutting a ribbon) and we got to sample some of the food, which was absolutely lovely! Sri Lankans certainly know how to run an event and welcome visitors. On a similar vein, I was invited to a New Year Festival at one of my schools today which was really interesting. The pupils dance traditional dances and take part in different competitions, with many of the games resembling the sort of games you might find at a Sports Day in a British school such as the wheel-barrow race. But there were some stranger ones too, including a beauty contest, a crying competition and a laughing competition. They also have a game they played which involves the contestants being blindfolded and trying to smash a pot with a huge great stick which is hanging from a net… health and safety would not allow in Britain methinks… I enjoyed it a lot – I guess it’s an event that I’m unlikely to go to again in my lifetime. I gave out some prizes, was given a VIP seat and was generally treated very well. Anyway, enough of my ramblings. Hope all is well with everyone. Keep in touch. Love, Humph Technorati Tag: Sri Lanka

Having a free afternoon (like most afternoons in all honesty...) I drove on up to Chepstow in order to visit the rather nice indie bookshop. I ended up getting yet another Stephen Fry novel (The Hippopotamus if you must know) and another in the populist range trying to cash in on TDVC type success (a misfortunate trend that has resulted in too many people being attracted to wannabe Gnoticism... something we at Lampeter have a far too much of, the University being a hotbed of pick 'n' mix religions and spiritual beliefs *sigh*), by telling a romping tale about the Knights Templar. Here's the Amazon page - I'll let you dear readers know if it's anything more than the enjoyable hokum that it looks like. However, the main happening of the day was as follows: Returning to my car I got in, but left the door open for a little while, enjoying the lovely day. I noticed the parking attendant walking past my open door, and a bothered looking woman coming to meet him, holding her credit card, and various tickets - from ther conversation, it was clear that she had left hercar too long, and was looking to pay a fine. "Aha" I thought, I'm just about to leave, and have a parking ticket valid until just after 9 the next morning, "I can save this lady the hassle, as well as the hefty fine that she would have to pay, after all, I won't need this ticket any more, and some use should come out of it". I popped on over, and offered the lady my ticket, only to be informed by the attendant that I "couldn't do that", and that to do so could result in a large fine. I was shocked dear reader. Now I, like I am sure many of you, give my parking ticket to others when I am about to leave the car park if there's a good bit of time left, in order to save them the 60p or so that it would cost for two hours parking. Other people sometimes offer their ticket to me, and if I was only parking for a few minutes to pop into a shop, that ticket would be very useful. If I can't see anybody who may find said ticket useful, I often wedge it onto the ticket machine, so others who come to pay will find this gift from a stranger. To discover that this is a criminal activity shocked me to my very core, as this sort of thing builds a community, and would perhaps brighten up someone's day.

...because it now can't bully South American countries into doing what it wants. "We're concerned about the leftist countries that are dealing with China," says Congressman Dan Burton, the Republican chairman of the sub-committee on the Western Hemisphere. "It's extremely important that we don't let a potential enemy of the US become a dominant force in this part of the world." However, Chinese influence in Latin America is gaining grounds: In Sao Paulo, Chinese language classes are packed. Not only are students taught how to speak Mandarin, but they are also guided in cultural habits such as attending banquets and singing Chinese folk songs. "Everything I do is with China now," says one student Priscila Marques, who runs a freight forwarding company. "It's Brazil-China; nowhere else." Mandarin is definitely the language to learn now (along with Arabic, but for different reasons...), and quite a few schools in the UK are starting to teach it. My little brother and sister are getting ready to start secondary education, and I would hope that the schools and government start to promote Mandarin classes. I wish I'd had a chance to learn it at school, but, well, there we are...

I've been thinking about this for quite some time, and have now decided that the time is right to announce it to the blogosphere. I feel that I have had a calling to the vocation of a priest in the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Anglican Church. In other words, I feel that I should become a vicar. I've discussed the issue with many at university, and with some of the local clergy, and will soon be dropping in to have a chat with the DDO, to see about becoming an Ordinand. As you can't be ordained in the Anglican Church until you are 23, I may have to take a year out between the end of my degree at Lampeter and the starting of my postgrad degree. As I'm doing Theology at the moment, I should only have to do a 2 year post-grad degree. A gap year would be rather good though. Hmm. Have to think about that one, as it would be good t osee the world a bit. I ask that Saint Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows prays for me in this calling, and help guide me on my way.

Technorati Tag: Anglican

In a coup for the Conservatives, the lead singer of Coldplay, Chris Martin, has declared his backing for David Cameron, releasing a song that the party hopes will become the Tory answer to Labour's 1997 anthem, Things Can Only Get Better Mr Cameron hopes more British bands will follow where Coldplay has led the way, creating a Tory version of the socialist bands-for-Labour movement organised by Billy Bragg in the early 1990s. "I'm calling it Blue Wedge," he said. "Blue is back. I want all the top bands out there, from the Attic Monkeys to the Kaiser Chefs, to know they're welcome. There's absolutely nothing about my policies which anyone could object to." You can hear the track here, and the lyrics to the song here. I'm not supprised about this, with Cameron trying to present a new modern face for the Tories, who are, let us not forget the political equivalent of Coldplay fans. *edit* I've moved this to the day the story came out, as I was a little too late...