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This is an archive of personal articles by Chris Ferris (Rector's Assistant 1998-1999) that we published in the Parish Magazine during 1998 and 1999. If you would like to contribute to our magazine or these webpages, please contact John Josephs.
Last updated 17 November 2001
by
Chris Ferris (Rector's Assistant 1998-1999)
We announced the arrival of Chris Ferris in the October 1998 magazine. He came to help and gain experience in the parish.. Chris lodged in Kibworth Beauchamp and thought the village was lovely, the people friendly and was confident that he would enjoy working with the young folk. Aged twenty-one, he was born in Londonderry in 1977. His family moved to the Isle of Man in 1986 and his father bought a hotel in Douglas. Chris has worked in the hotel but the life is not for him. After leaving school in the Isle of Man, he spent three years taking a degree in Theology at Lampeter and intends to enter the church. After spending his year with us, Chris will take a secular job for two years, which will certainly not be in a hotel he assured us! Then, if he still feels the same way about the church, he will apply for theological college. This will take only two years because he already has his degree in theology. Chris wants to be a parish priest rather than work in a specialised ministry. He enjoys walking, reading and music. We were very pleased to have him on board. Chris agreed to write regular articles during his time with us, here are his own personal thoughts during his year with us:
| The
Rector's Assistant even gets his own column! I will be tackling the hot potatoes,
those tricky issues which the church is confronted with. If you disagree with me or want
to ask me about something please feel free to grab me in the street (please be gentle!) One of the most sensitive issues within the church is sexuality. In the past the church has preached a negative message on sex, saying that it was sinful in itself. This attitude is such a shame as it is far from what the Bible says. Today the church seems to have gone to the other extreme in removing almost all restrictions within the sexual arena. The first thing that is clear from the Bible is that Sex is good. It is God's will that we should enjoy sex within its proper context, which is marriage. |
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| Human
beings are the apex of God's creation; it is no accident of birth that we are either male
or female but it has been planned by God. Our maleness and femaleness, our desire and
capacity to love, or to be loved, is intimately related to us being made in the image of
God. In Genesis we are given the covenant of marriage 'Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and cleaves to his wife, and they become one flesh' (2:24). Sex in a context other than marriage between husband and wife is wrong. Then in the following verse we have an incredible statement 'And the man and his wife were naked, and were not ashamed' (v25). Karl Barth argued that the Song of Songs is a commentary on this verse. The Song of Songs is a book which celebrates sexual love. It's poetry is beautiful and there are many verses I would love to quote but I have chosen just one: 'I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine' (6;3). Love's intensity, love's commitment, love's power. Sex is not a result of the Fall; it existed before the Fall. The Fall did not create erotic love it perverted it. As a result of the Fall sexuality has become corrupted and there are many problems which have arisen. There are so many issues which need to be dealt with: pornography, homosexuality, sex before marriage, masturbation, lust, the list goes on. I shall try to tackle these in the next magazine issue. |
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Last month I talked about the Bible's celebration of sexual love, but this time I want to deal with the warnings which the Bible has on sex.
Paul tells us that the body is the 'Temple of the Holy Spirit'. God has created our bodies to live in, they are set apart for Him. The Holy Spirit dwells within us, and our bodies should be used to bring God glory by following His will. To defile our bodies is to defile the temple of the Holy Spirit. We join ourselves to the person we have sex with - we become one flesh. Paul describes this as a mystical union.
In modern society we are challenged, as a result of this many Christians struggle when it comes to the sexual arena. The media screams at us what sex should be like, their message is simple 'If you are not doing it, there is something wrong.' Often what the media portrays as real life is far from the truth. The media has yelled at us that love is just a feeling, again back in the real world that is far from the truth.
We are confronted with so many issues and the first I want to deal with is pornography. Jesus warns us of the power of the eye. If we look at a person lustfully we have sinned. Pornography is wrong, not because it says too much about sex, but because it does not say enough. It ignores any idea of relationship, love, and commitment and it misunderstands intimacy. It is degrading to the dignity of women. Pornography can cause people to have an unhealthy attitude to Masturbation, although it is not wrong in itself, it can be motivated by sin and become addictive.
Today many couples feel the need to live together before they are married. The Bible says that sex is for marriage, as it is a part of the divine order within creation. Sex is a wonderful gift from God, and we are to use that gift in the way God has intended. Sex before marriage is like opening up Christmas presents before Christmas Day - it spoils it. Marriage provides security. It is easier to break up a relationship outside marriage, but marriage will encourage the couple to make more of an effort to work at things when times are hard. Statistics say that couples co-habiting before they are married are 80% more likely to divorce than those who do not.
Although I have dealt with the distortion of sexuality, we need to be reminded that in Jesus we are made whole through the power of the Cross. As Christians we affirm that sex is for marriage. We say no to sex before marriage and adultery after marriage. We fight the myth that sexual prowess is found by sexual conquest. "We confess the wholeness, the fullness of sexual expression found in a permanent 'one flesh' relationship in marriage." (Richard Foster: Money, Sex and Power).
I realise I have not covered every issue in the sexual arena but there is just so much to cover. I shall be dealing with Homosexuality in a future edition.
Recently I bought a copy of the "Meaning of the Glorious Qur'an". This is an interpretation of the Qur'an in English with a commentary. I am amazed at the similarities which exist between Christianity and Islam.
The issue of Christianity's relationship with other faiths has come into being as we are exposed to more and more faiths around the world. It has been particularly an issue since the last century. It seems that there are two extremes both of which are dangerous, the first extreme is that other faiths are demonic and evil. The other extreme is that all faiths are equal ways to God. Both of these attitudes, I think, are wrong.
In 1966, at St. Martin-in-the-Fields, the first Inter faith service was held. The secular press said that this was a great step forward, the Christian press condemned it as an affront to the uniqueness of Jesus. Today it is more acceptable. It seems to me that inter faith worship seems to be a compromise of the truth of the Gospel. Whilst it is wrong to demonise other faiths, it is wrong to place them alongside Christianity as equal expressions of faith.
God has revealed Himself within all of creation and, because of this, all cultures in the world throughout every age have had some kind of belief in God. It seems that it is human nature to crave for the divine and the transcendent. In Jesus that craving is satisfied. Jesus has consummated creation and redeemed creation. In ignorance of Jesus other faiths are responses to that craving for God, they are genuine responses to God, but they are incomplete. It is Jesus who shows us who God is because He is God in human form.
Jesus is the Light of salvation, the only hope of the world. Christianity is the Truth, not one of many Truths, not simply some private Truths, but the Absolute Truth. Christianity is intolerant according to the worldly, the secularised person because Christianity claims to speak the Truth. Truth exists. Truth is not relative, Truth is not changeable and truth is found within the person of Jesus Christ who is the only Son of God in human flesh who died for us. Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6
by Chris Ferris (Rector's Assistant 1998-1999)
In January I read a magazine article on homosexuality, some of it was an eye-opener, most of it was nothing new. A part of the article was a section called 'Church of the poisoned Mind'; this gave an extremely negative view of the Christian belief concerning Homosexuality. The church is still represented as having this negative message, even though many within the church are afraid that we are becoming too positive.
Where do we, as Christians, stand when it comes to the issue of Homosexuality? Opinions vary immensely and I recognise that I am about to give my own.
Some of my closest friends are Homosexual. They are people whom I love and respect very much and I have learnt a lot from them. The first thing I want to say is that God loves us all, whoever we are and whatever we do; Homosexuals are no different.
I believe that a sexual act between two people of the same sex is sinful, because it is sex outside of the covenant of marriage. I think that the Bible is clear on this (I am very aware of the recent attempts to interpret the Bible differently but I am in no way convinced by such attempts). The Bible only ever condemns the physical act, never the orientation, thought or desires. The Bible does not say that God is against Homosexual people, that He does not love them as human beings or that He is unaware of how they feel.
'Because He Himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted.' (Hebrews 2:18)
What God does hate and condemn is any sin and behaviour which affects our relationship with Him, all sin deprives us of the incredible fullness of life God wants us to have.
It seems to me that it is possible to love someone of the same sex deeply, without that relationship being homosexual. We have much to learn from homosexuals; they are open about their fears, temptations and sexuality, all of us need to be like that so we can help each other and build each other up.
'A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved so you must love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.' (John 13: 34-35).
by Chris Ferris (Rector's Assistant 1998-1999)
Whilst watching Comic relief I found myself shedding a few tears when I saw the suffering in the world; I felt helpless.. I asked the question which has been asked so often 'Why does God let this happen?' I had a picture of God in the same room shedding tears for those who are suffering, except God is not helpless; He is a powerful God of love.
The problem of pain is one of those issues to which there is no easy answer. To an extent I can explain some suffering because it is a result of our own foolishness, but when I see people who are close to me suffering both physically and emotionally through no fault of their own, like many people I find it difficult to understand why God would allow this to happen.
Suffering is so difficult to deal with when you believe in an all-power and all-loving God. I believe that suffering is caused by our rebellion towards God. Before the Fall of humankind there was no suffering. I also believe that there will be no suffering in Heaven. I also want to say that I believe suffering is a result of sin. Why then does God allow sin in the world? He does so because he loves us and wants us to have free choice in our decisions. Love is not love if it is forced on us; love only exists where there is choice.
David Watson, a great Christian writer who died of cancer at the age of 50, said that through suffering many people have become more Christ-like; I think that this is true.
Although suffering is never good in itself I believe that God is with us in our suffering and that He is using that suffering to speak to us and to draw us closer to Him.
I believe that God wants to put an end to suffering, but humankind has shut God out. He wants to come in, but He will not force his presence.
Even as I write this I am not convinced by what I say; it is really only possible to give suggestions as to why there is suffering in the world. I have come to trust God and I believe that one day there will be no more suffering or pain anymore and that God will be with us.
'Now the dwelling of God is with men and women, and He will live with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and He will be their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.' (Revelation 21: 3-4).As a Christian I cannot offer reasons for suffering, only hope.
by Chris Ferris (Rector's Assistant 1998-1999)
Spring Harvest was spiritually enriching and I left Skegness encouraged and challenged. Between the gherkins and a superb bottle of Rioja, I attended a seminar entitled 'Who says what the Bible says?' Out of all the seminars I went to, this was the most interesting. It was led by Elaine Storkey, the new President of Tearfund. She is a brilliant academic, theologian and a person of great faith and deep love for God. She addressed the question of the authority of the Bible and how we allow the Bible to speak.
For me she brought the Bible alive; she brought out incredible themes and showed how we can interpret the Bible according to those themes.
We did some group work on the idea that we had been invited to give a talk on the bible to a group of non-Christians and what we would say. It made me realise that we need to present the gospel message in a way that the world can relate to it, just like Jesus did, but that we need to be careful we do not make the Bible say something which it does not.
Today we live in an age where some theologians attempt to re-interpret the Bible in order to make it more comfortable; they also try to explain away major events of the Bible. They rightly point out that the Bible is culture conditioned, but I think, that far from taking away from the Christian message, it actually strengthens it. We need to read the bible in its context or we risk making it say something it does not. Unfortunately these theologians simply end up emptying the Christian faith of all substance and content.
The Bible is God's word. He has spoken to us in a unique way through the bible. I believe it is infallible and flawless as originally given and is the supreme authority on all matters of faith and conduct.
The bible is God's love letter to the world. In it we read of our failings and how God came to find us. The Bible constantly presents us with a God who is love, who is powerful; a God who is not mocked. The simplest stories in the Bible can tell us so much about God. The Bible reminds us of the most profound theology and philosophy the world has ever known: 'Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.'
by Chris Ferris (Rector's Assistant 1998-1999)
As part of my research into modern culture, I came across this quote whilst reading one of the most popular girls’ magazines: "We’re constantly bombarded with messages about how teenage girls should look and behave. This can mean anything from having to shave our legs to wearing only the right kind of trainers. But if one girl refuses to buy into all this conditioning her so-called mates hit her with some big time abuse ...." Hooray!!! I thought, it is about time magazines said something like this. It reminded me of Sister Act 2 and something that was said in the film: "I understand that you have got to think about your image because image is very important to everybody. Because of course your friends are going to dictate your actions through your life, and hey I would not want you to step away from them and be an individual!" (Sister Mary Clarence, in Sister Act 2). But as I went through the magazine what did I see? Advertisements for trainers, perfume, make up, etc. all with the message "If you buy all these, you can look this good". I wanted to throw something!
I could not believe it. There is so much pressure on young people today to conform, we live in a culture where sexual promiscuity, is seen as good. There is pressure to have your first kiss, then to lose your virginity. Magazines for men of my age give out the message that to be successful you must have a particular car, earn so much money, wear designer clothes and be a hit with women. No wonder the suicide rate for men of my age has gone up dramatically, people have such low self-esteem if they do not match these standards.
I sit back and look at society and see the brokeness of people’s lives and all I want to do is cry.
Perhaps the people who publish such magazines need to look at the reality of what is happening in society. Maybe, just maybe they might think about the message they are really giving.
I rejoice that God’s love for us is unconditional. I rejoice that I am made in His image, I look like God: "I am fearfully and wonderfully made" (Psalm 139: 14). I rejoice that I do not even have to try to find love, truth and belonging, because God gives us those things freely.
This is an incredible message, a message that the world desperately needs to hear.
July/August 1999 -
Inclusive Language
by Chris Ferris (Rector's Assistant 1998-1999)
When I arrived in Lampeter for the first time, I received information from the Theology department about writing essays. It was the policy of the department to use inclusive language (i.e. to say humankind instead of mankind, etc.). I was horrified! More compromise in standards I thought. Over those three years I became more and more convinced that the policy was right.
Perhaps I am being pedantic, but as I looked into the issue I realised that there is a serious point to be made. Language has developed when men were seen as leaders in society and women were oppressed. Language reflected the society and culture of that time.
I believe that language changes, and that language reflects what is happening in society. Today we see the desire for men and women to be treated as equals. A desire which is slowly becoming true as we are moving away from the idea of male headship which people have tried to defend by using the Bible.
It is to the Bible I want to look to defend my own view. At the heart of my argument is the belief that men and women are dependent on each other (and ultimately God). When God took a piece of Adam's rib to create Eve, I do not believe that it implies male headship or priority in creation but that Adam and Eve needed each other for wholeness and completeness.
After the Fall of humankind God curses Eve using these words: "Your desire will be for your husband and he will rule over you." That is a prophecy not a command, and throughout the Bible whenever we see male headship being talked about it is always restricted to the situation and is not meant as a universal command and is a response to the Fall of humankind. The issue of sexism, women in the ministry, male headship will always be an issue; it was in Jesus' day and in Paul's.
I believe that God is calling us to consider these issues within in a changing society and in a church declining in membership. I believe that it is the task of my generation to bury any notion of divine sanction for the subordination of women and this is a task which we must bring into the church.
We are members of the Body of Christ and we have freedom because of the blood of Jesus whether we are Jew or Gentile, male or female, slave or free.
I finish with a quote from Vera Sinton: "In a fallen world there will always be pain associated with contact with the sexual 'other' Apart, we are able to build defensive walls. Together, in Christ, they are torn down by His redeeming act of sacrificing love."
by Chris Ferris (Rector's Assistant 1998-1999)
One thing I really dislike is long car journeys. Even if it is just a ride around the Manx countryside I always feel tired, nauseous and fed up, even though all I have done is sit in the back of the car. After such a journey I need to go for a walk on Douglas beach and the refreshing breeze leaves me feeling much better.
The Christian journey can be like that, sometimes it can be hard to know where we are going, the journey just seems long and tedious with continual set backs. We have been on the journey for years so there seems no point in turning back.
I have gone through periods like that, I felt that my faith was dead and that I was going nowhere. In times like that I had to force myself to soak the situation in prayer and I usually found out the problem was to do with sin.
In the Acts of the Apostles Peter gave a solution to this problem:
'Repent then and turn to God, so that your sins might be wiped out, that times of refreshing may came from the Lord.' (3.19). Repentance is turning from sin and such an act can bring incredible renewal.
Walking on Douglas beach always reminded me of the this verse, the fresh air always reminded me of the work of the Holy Spirit, it is Him who brings the times of refreshing and soaks us in the love of God.
by Chris Ferris (Rector's Assistant 1998-1999)
In September I was away on holiday for a few days with friends. One of the topics we talked about was marriage, divorce and remarriage.
The Church of England is at present struggling with this issue. Opinions vary immensely and it is an issue that needs to be treated with a lot of sensitivity.
It is interesting that this issue was hotly debated in Jesus' day as well. The Pharisees asked Him about divorce and, to me, Jesus' answer was fascinating. He responded to their questioning by attacking the male attitude to marriage. He called them 'hardhearted', Moses allowed divorce in order to protect women who were badly abused by their husbands.
A divorced woman in Jesus' day had no other choice but to become a prostitute. It seems to me that Jesus was not prohibiting divorce and remarriage, but rather He was questioning people's attitude to marriage. It is wrong to enter marriage having not thought through the commitment involved, it is also wrong to read Jesus' teaching on marriage as a literal command.
I believe that there are occasions when remarriage is appropriate, but any decision to marry should not be taken lightly and the possibility of getting divorced should not even be considered.
Jesus wanted the Pharisees attitude to marriage to change. As Christians we must listen to the debate sensitively, with understanding and not be quick to judge.
"Haven't you read," He replied "that the Creator 'made them Male and Female' and said for this reason a man will leave his Father and Mother and be united to his wife and they shall become one flesh'? So they are no longer two but one. Therefore what God has joined together let no one separate. (Matthew 19: 4-6).
Chris Ferris came to the end of his time as Rector's Assistant in June 1999 and although he looked for employment in the locality for several months he unfortunately had to return to the Isle of Man in late September. Thank you Chris for your help, encouragement and articles. We hope to see you before too long.
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updated on Saturday, 17 November 2001 by Kevin
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