malcolm chamberlain

Yesterday's Guardian newspaper carried a fascinating article simply titled 'faith', in which Stuart Jeffries explores the notion that "Britain's new cultural divide is not between Christian and Muslim, Hindu and Jew. It is between those who have faith and those who do not." The article argues that dogmatic atheists, such as Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens, simply present an alternative fundamentalism to that of religious extremists; one that is just as devoid of tolerance, grace and the desire to understand the other.

It seems to me that both points of view, religious fundamentalism and atheistic fundamentalism, are equally underpinned by modernist propositional rationalism and a certainty that leaves no room for doubt. Both claim to have grasped the True meta-narrative and, as such, both are equally out of touch with the cuture(s) of postmodernity and the sense of exploratory journey. The challenge for incarnational mission is to tune into the spiritual heartbeat of the postmodern explorer and simply provide spaces for connections with the ever-present Christ to be made. For this to happen with integrity, we will need to buck the trend of the two fundamentalisms and open up the arena of questions and doubts, for it's in the doubting and questioning that many people find the God of grace.

Read the full Guardian article 'here'

Labels: debates, mission