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Cultural Searching

Encountered this sign on the train from Waterloo to Clapham Junction, grafitting the space usually taken up by an advert. Given all the uncertainty following the election, ecological, economic and other concerns, I think we are seeing an increased search for meaning in the UK. People are increasingly finding a culture defined by the market and a life style dependent on consumptive gratification as unrewarding. I hope this questing will open up the spiritual landscape.  Given all the uncertainty, this is an opportunity for the church to start talking about a more virtuous society and that would called hope.

This Sunday is Pentecost, the third great celebration of the Christian Year – where we remember the work of the person of the Holy Spirit. What would Britain look like if there was a movement of the Spirit now?  That would be interesting…

POSTED 21.05.10 BY: ianmobsby | Comments (4)

4 Responses to “Cultural Searching”

  1. On May 24th, 2010 at 9:58 am James_Vincent said:

    You’ve opened up a hornets nest here Ianmobsby: what would Britain look like if there was a movement of the Spirit now?

    Well, I reckon people would almost immediately react about the system you described above. A lot of the celebrity-driven, fame-addicted bits would crumble as people stopped and asked “why is that important?”. And I think a lot of people would change their actions overnight.

    It’s a pretty scary thought to be honest, the idea that the Spirit could turn up and upset everything almost overnight. The very fact that it can suggests that as Christians we have a lot of work to do to get a head-start on these issues an deal with them now.

    The cynic in me says that things would also get a lot harder. A lot of people wouldn’t like someone turning up and saying you’re doing things wrong, and for those who felt ‘mobilised’ persecution would probably follow. Christ himself found that out. But I suppose you’d have to expect that if the Spirit turned up and “shook the foundations of the world and rocked the pillars of heaven”.

  2. On May 24th, 2010 at 4:39 pm ianmobsby said:

    I agree James, that when people do react to the Spirit who challenges us to follow Jesus, this inevitably takes us to Gethsemane, but from death to resurrection. So that makes me hope, that beyond people’s stuff, the process of suffering can take people from the death of much of contemporary culture into new life, transfigured and transformed through the love of God.

  3. On May 25th, 2010 at 8:13 am James_Vincent said:

    As hopeful and optimistic as it is, wouldn’t the reality be that we would see a lot about ourselves and the world around us that Christ wouldn’t be especially chuffed with? I think it would be “hopeful” in the sense that people would be experiencing God in a pretty definite way, but I don’t know how the Powers At Be would react to a challenge in their authority…

  4. On May 26th, 2010 at 10:01 pm Ian Mobsby said:

    I think the powers would be divided – we remember Nicademus who was in the Sanhedrin side with Jesus… The Spirit unsettles – and people choose whether they wish to follow or not… and the Spirit will blow where the Spirit blows.