Christian Century – Faith Matters
Second Thoughts… a piece I had published in Christian Century this month
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Maggi has kept a blog since September 2003, writing about theology and faith, the arts and literature, and a little about life and random nonsense...
In an increasingly secularised society few people have a good working knowledge of the Bible. Yet a great deal of our culture is built on stories or ideas that come from the Bible. Literature, art, music, language and even the fabric of our society - such as our justice system - are built on Christian concepts and biblical references. The Writing on the Wall provides a fascinating introduction to the Bible's best-known, and most influential, stories. Each chapter gives some background to the text of the Bible, and shows how the stories have become enmeshed in Western culture. Adam and Eve, the ten plagues of Egypt, The Prodigal Son and Mary Magdalene all feature - along with how the Bible has influenced everyone from Shakespeare to Monty Python, and Caravaggio to Banksy. 
Giving It Up explores the Lenten idea of 'giving up', taking it beyond the traditional idea of simply abstaining from something, and suggesting instead that what we need to give up is our existing ideas about God. With a daily readings for each day of Lent, from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday, it follows the heroes of the Bible who had to give up their own too-small ideas about God.
This is Maggi’s bestselling book of daily readings for each day of Advent, Christmas and Epiphany. Advent is the beginning of the Church year, and marks the anticipation of the coming Messiah. These readings explore how beginnings and endings in our own lives are illuminated by the different Gospel narratives of Christ's coming.
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That beggars belief, even in one hardened by the lunacies of the church
Well, I get the title at least. After reading the statistics, the church should certainly be re-evaluating its mission.
-A Wee Blether
I just did a mini analysis and have a brief summary here:
http://davepaisley.typepad.com/disaster_area/2008/02/church-of-engla.html
Are you missing something? Not really.
Maggi, I’ve just had a quick look at the figures and, to answer your question, you are not missing anything. The summaries try to pick out the odd good statistic but overall the trend is down. Sorry to say this but until the Anglican church stop tearing itself apart I don’t see how, on a national scale, this will stop.