way out west

Soundscapes

I came across this blog/work of "sonic-artist" Phil Harding (ex member of the Mod band "The Scene"!)

phill harding is a freelance composer/soundartist based in the pennine hills of west yorkshire, england [uk]. much of phill’s current work involves the use of environmental field recordings—focusing on the sounds we usually ignore or filter out—to point out the beauty in the mundane.  this blog is phill’s attempt to document his daily life.

many of these tracks were recorded binaurally—ie with tiny microphones placed in the ears, and are intended for playback over headphones only. listened to via headphones, binaural recordings tend to have excellent spatial properties, reproducing the way we actually hear, so playback feels [aurally, anyway] much as it actually felt to be in the space recorded. playback over speakers is not the best way to appreciate such recordings.  other pieces here were made using more traditional recording methods, and will sound fine over speakers or headphones.

Interesting

Technorati Tags: Art: Media: Music: Sound: Web 2.0

Did you see me?

Apparently we/I keep getting featured in the Christian press... which unsurprisingly I don't often read... I was told I was in a magazine the other day and now apparently I'm in this weeks Church Times... so if you happen to see my smiling face in something let me no (no prizes unfortunately!)

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The Making of Modern Britain

I've been watching Andrew Marr's interesting "The Making of Modern Britain".  Lots of fascinating stuff, one section deserves a mention because of the way it flies in the face of the medias love affair with the New-Atheists particularly their simplistic view "Science=good, Religion=bad".  Marr leads with a piece on Darwin's cousin Francis Galton.  Galton, the scientist wrote in 1869 the book "Hereditary Genius" in which he says,

a man's natural abilities are derived by inheritance, under exactly the same limitations as are the form and physical features of the whole organic world. Consequently, as it is easy, notwithstanding those limitations, to obtain by careful :selection a permanent breed of dogs or horses gifted with peculiar powers of running, or of doing anything else, so it would be quite practicable to produce a highly-gifted race of men by judicious marriages during several consecutive generations.

effectively launching the idea of Eugenics into the modern world, which within 100 years led directly to the experiments of Joseph Mengele and the death camps of Nazi Germany.  Marr suggests that Galton believed that poverty could be bred out of culture, that only the upper classes should be encouraged to breed.  The programme then sets Galton in contrast to Seebohm Rowntree, the Christian, who conducted a study of poverty in York in 1899 the findings of which where published in the book "Poverty" in 1901 and, when taken up by David Lloyd George, became the seeds of British social welfare reform. 

Technorati Tags: Christianity: Culture: Media: Television

A.N. Wilson rejects Atheism and finds faith!

From the New Statesman

Do people like Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins simply not get life?

I think on the whole that's right, that clever as the professional atheists are, they are missing out on some very basic experiences of life.

What's the worst thing about being faithless?

The worst thing about being faithless? When I thought I was an atheist I would listen to the music of Bach and realize that his perception of life was deeper, wiser, more rounded than my own. Ditto when I read the lives of great men and women who were religious.

Reading Northrop Frye and Blake made me realize that their world-view (above all their ability to see the world in mythological terms) is so much more INTERESTING than some of the alternative ways of looking at life.

Can you love god and agree with Darwin?

I think you can love God and agree with the author of The Voyage of the Beagle, the Earth Worm, and most of the Origin of Species.

The Descent of Man, with its talk of savages, its belief that black people are more primitive than white people, and much nonsense besides, is an offence to the intelligence - and is obviously incompatible with Christianity.

I think the jury is out about whether the theory of Natural selection, as defined by neo-Darwinians is true, and whether serious scientific doubts, as expressed in a new book Why Us by James Lefanu, deserve to be taken seriously. For example, does the discovery of the complex structure of DNA and the growth in knowledge in genetics require a rethink of Darwinian "gradualism". But these are scientific rather than religious questions.

ht Jason Clark http://deepchurch.org.uk/

Technorati Tags: Christianity: News: Spirituality

Sank•tuary - radio witness!

Sank•tuary has been getting significant local radio coverage over the last couple of days, I've done a couple of interviews for the BBC and for Beacon Radio here in Telford.  This morning one of the shows on BBC Shropshire having been talking about it... the presenter, Jim Hawkins is having a phone in which he introduced by talking about us and another story (about a bulgarian couple whose house has been completely furnished by people giving furniture) which he called "Hats off to Humanity" stories - good news stories about people giving themselves to help others for no gain... he also made a point that both of these stories where instigated by Christians!  It was fantastic, really gave me a buzz to here him talking, not because he was talking about us but because in this cynical and "bad news" swamped age Christians where being applauded for being counter cultural, for giving themselves to help others etc.  A few weeks back we had a visit from a member of the Shropshire County Drugs and Alcohol team (not our patch as Telford is a unitary authority) who wanted to see sank•tuary and find out if they could open similar projects in Shrewsbury and Oswestry.  When he heard that sank•tuary is run by Christians he commented...

All the most radical projects, the voluntary projects that go where others would go are run by Church people.  I never thought, in my career, I'd be saying this but... I need to find me some Christians!

Technorati Tags: Christianity: Missional: Radio: safespace: Sanktuary

Christianity Magazine puts "The Emerging Church" under the magnifying glass

The UK based magazine... which has been on a long journey from Buzz to what it is today!... has a couple of articles (inc it's cover story) on "The Emerging Church" in it's April Issue - an interview with Brian McLaren and a piece by Scott McKnight...  the McLaren interview is disappointing as it focusses primarily on asking him to respond to others criticisms/views on him (including 2 questions on Abortion!?) rather than giving him space to talk about what is energising him right now... the final question (Do you think the church of the west is closer or further away from authentic Christianity compared to previous times over the past 2,000 years?) is interesting and on it's own would have made a far more interesting article! 
McKnight's article suffers from trying to say it all, to be Emerging Church 101, but  to be fair he does it well.  It's actually a condensed version of a lecture given at Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia.  McKnight takes the 9) signs from Gibbs and Bolger's "Emerging Churches" and distills them into 5...

1. Prophetic - challenging the status quo - calling the church to a more radical lifestyle of faith
2. Post-modern - he makes a distinction between ministering to post-moderns, ministering with post-moderns and being post-moderns to be honest I find this a bit unhelpful, I don't see the to as he puts it "seeing post-moderns as trapped in moral relativism and epistemological bankruptcy out of which they must be rescued" as being "emerging"... I'm not sure how one can minister with or be post-modern without questioning the precepts of modern christianity?
3. Praxis-orientated - McKnight does stress here that for emerging christians works are not the way to salvation but a direct (and necsessary) product of grace - what we are given we shall give, practising the "way of Jesus" as he (and Gibbs and Bolger) puts it. Are we truly reconciled with God if that reconciliation does not lead to lives of reconciliation!?
4. Post-evangelical - for McKnight this is a matter of inclusivity vs exclusivity both in terms of hermeneutics (the suspicion of systematic theology, of consensus, of static theology) and in terms of soteriology (with differing views!)
5. Political - left leaning, concerned with social justice, freedom etc.

This is a bit of a whistle stop tour and there is much that is left unsaid by McKnight and some which is said too simplistically (no criticism intended, it's only one article after all!).  On the whole it's a helpful introduction to some of the emerging scene, though it's a shame it is so heavily rooted in the US experience - of course McKnight is American but this is a British Magazine!  This is no more evident in the selected "KEY Influences within UK Emerging Church Circles" - McLaren, NT Wright, Steve Chalke, Rob Bell, Shane Claiborne and Erwin McManus - whilst I have the up most respect for these guys, I think it's fair to say that McLaren and Wright have been KEY influences, Claiborne a later but influential voice, the others whilst having important contributions to make are not what I would call KEY influences.  I would see names like Newbiggin, Nouwen, Bosch, Donovan, Tomlinson, Frost and Hirsch, Joseph Myers, Pete Rollins, Pete Ward and Jonny Baker etc. as be more notably influential "within UK Emerging Church circles".

Christianity Magazine

Technorati Tags: Christmas: Church: Emerging Church: Media

Something Beautiful... Me!

I'm not blowing my own sartorial trumpet here... it's just that part one of my podcast interview for "Something Beautiful" is now available for download... listen here - http://www.somethingbeautifulpodcast.com/category/podcast/

Technorati Tags: Christianity: Culture: Emerging Church: Fresh Expressions: Missional: new-monasticism: Podcast: safespace: Sanktuary: Telford: Web 2.0

Brendan and the secret of Kells

The animated feature I've been tracking the production of over the last 3 years is now out... for more info and some reviews visit the blog - http://theblogofkells.blogspot.com/  according to a report the film is already award winning!

Brendan And The Secret Of Kells was the big winner at this year's Cartoon Movie in Lyon, winning best European director and best producer...  Irish animator Tomm Moore was named best European director of the year for his feature debut Brendan And The Secret Of Kells which had had its world premiere in the Berlinale's Generation sidebar last month.  In addition, the film's producers Cartoon Saloon, Les Armateurs and Vivi Film were voted as best European producer of the year.

Congratulations to Cartoon Saloon, I can't wait to see the film... if you want to know more there is now an official web site - http://www.thesecretofkells.com/

Technorati Tags: Art: Celtic: Media: News

Channel 4

As our filming day was abandoned due to the Snow and with the show being broadcast this Sunday... time has run out for the production company - so we've been binned!  Oh well, there you go, the media is a fickle mistress! ;-)

Technorati Tags: Media: Television

Something Beautiful...

A few days a go I had a long conversation (via Skype) with Thomas (@headphonaught) Mathie for the Something Beautiful Podcast... little me following in the illustrious footsteps of Frank Viola and Andrew (@tallskinnykiwi) Jones... Thomas even had me giggling by calling me a hero! it's nice to get a bit of flattery from time to time (just as long as one doesn't start to believe it ;-) )  anyway it was fun and hopefully Thomas managed to draw something interesting from my ramblings... It's not up yet, will repost the link when it is.

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