Category Archives: Theology

Golf Lessons for Marriage

Jonathan and Rachel share many common interests. One of them is golf. They are not alone in longing to consistently drive the middle of the fairway, hit the green in regulation, get out of sand traps in decent shape, and sink those birdie putts. And we are willing to spend serious money on the latest clubs, clothing, lessons, books and videos to achieve that.

Whether you play golf or not, here are 12 simple lessons I am learning about golf which equally apply to marriage. They may not improve your game of golf but they will certainly improve your game in life.

1. Golf teaches that we all have handicaps … and that hardly anybody knows what they really are. In marriage you get the chance to discover what those handicaps are in yourself and in your partner and in love help improve one another’s game.

2. Golf teaches that the best courses are the ones that hardly change what God put there in the first place. As they say, play the ball where it lies and play the course as you find it. Fulfillment comes in accepting each other the way God has made us, handicaps and all, for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part.

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How can I cope with stress?

Its been a pretty good time for pharmaceutical company shares – at least those selling stress reducing medications… First, there was the government sponsored report that revealed the next generation of home buyers will struggle to even get a toe hold on the property ladder. Whereas in 2000, house prices averaged four times annual earnings, by 2026, house prices will cost 10 times average earnings – so mortgages will get costlier and take longer to pay off. The solution? Simple. Live with your parents until you can move in with your children…

Then came a report by an eminent chronobiologist, Professor Russell Foster of Oxford University, who predicts we are becoming a “Zombie Nation”. We are literally sleep walk our way into economic disaster. Extended work hours and a growing 24/7 entertainment, shopping and TV culture is leading to serious sleep deprivation. The consequences are weight gain, a rise in irritability, hallucinations and motor car accidents. The answer? For years the army have used the drug modafinal to help. Want to get more out of life, can’t afford to sleep but don’t want to be a zombie? Try modafinal. Problem solved.

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The Normal Christian Life

Do you ever read the names at the end of a movie? I usually only do so when the film has left me in a state of shock and I’m regaining my composure, like Woman in Black which I thought was safe because its rated a 12… I might watch the scrolling credits if there’s some neat music I want to listen to, or they have interspersed the credits with humorous out-takes that never made it into the film. Whoever reads the credits for the fun of it or to learn something significant? Doesn’t it ever amaze you that so many people’s names are listed? Are they real? And what’s a ‘Dolly Grip’ and ‘Best Boy’ anyway? Scrolling too fast to read any way there are hundreds of names of people who never made it in front of the cameras but who played an essential role and made the film possible. When you get to the end of one of Paul’s Epistles, it’s a bit like watching the credits at the end of a movie. Paul added them for a purpose. They are literally the credits for the movie of the Early Church. In Colossians 4:7-18 we meet an unusually long list of Christians who lived in Colossae. They may never have got to be in front of the cameras, an Apostle or perform miraculous signs, or write scripture or preach before kings and governors. So why do they get a mention? Because they played an essential role in the growth of the Church and Paul appreciated them. Paul holds them up as an inspiration to others. Listed here are ordinary Christians like you and me. They nevertheless played a vital role in the spread of the gospel.

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Speaking to God about People and to People about God

When I moved to Bristol about 32 years ago to train at Trinity College it took me some while to figure out why our road was called “Black Boy Hill” and the road next door with all the shops was called “White ladies walk”. I late discovered the ignominious role ports like Bristol and Liverpool played in the slave trade. The many fine buildings in these cities were built with the profits, as was this very church. It is easy to become desensitised to the suffering that occurred in our distant history. The British government has been careful in the way it has expressed sorrow for the past, to avoid a flood of legal claims by the descendants of slaves demanding compensation. Even art does not escape politicisation. We can recognise paintings that epitomise our national heritage – scenes like these painted by John Turner. But what about this one? Recognise it? Painted in 1840, it hangs in Boston’s museum of fine art. Know what Turner is saying? Its title is “The Slave Ship” but Turner wasn’t satisfied. It has a subtitle, “Slavers throwing overboard the dead and dying, Typhoon coming on.” “It kicks you in the gut” says art historian Simon Schama. Turner has captured one of the most shameful episodes of the British Empire, when 132 men, women and children, their hands fettered, were thrown into shark-infested sea, so that traders could claim the insurance for their loss. When the transatlantic slave trade was abolished in the British Empire, two hundred years ago, estimates suggest there were around 11 million slaves in the world.

Today there are more, at least 12 million. Tearfund tell us that “vicious illegal forms of slavery are flourishing across the world. Aside from guns and drugs, no trade is more profitable. Despite the fact that slavery is banned in most countries where it is practised, and prohibited by the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the slave trade is flourishing throughout the world right now.”

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Freedom in Jesus

If you were driving along in the 1970s and saw a beaten up Volkswagen camper van plastered with ‘Make Love Not War’ bumper stickers, with a skinny, long-haired, tie-dyed, granny-glasses driver, you’d know you had met a hippie. If it were the 1990s and you saw a sun tanned and well-toned Ferrari driver wearing Gucci shoes, Amani suit and a Rolex watch, you’d know you were observing a yuppie. And the irony is, that if you looked closely, you might see that the 20 year old hippie had cut his hair, shaved his beard, was working out in the gym and become the forty year old Yuppie. And if you saw him today, you might find him in a queue in Waitrose, a balding, portly gentleman, in a tweed jacket, the driver of an eco-friendly bio-fuel Honda.

With sufficient time, money or effort, most people have a tendency to identify with a clan or a cause; we like to know who is inside and who is out. So we adopt identity markers—visible practices of dress, vocabulary, material acquisition or behaviour that distinguish who is inside the group from those on the outside. Sometimes these are subtle, sometimes very in your face. In the first century a disproportionate amount of attention within the Jewish community was devoted to dietary rules, Sabbath-keeping and circumcision. This created much of the tension between Jesus and the Pharisees. It continued after Pentecost between the Church, Rabbinic Judaism and the Pagan religions.

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With Unveiled Faces

Are you sad today? Do you know why? If so, you are not alone. Millions of people, especially in northern latitudes suffer from SAD. Seasonal Affective Disorder is a recognised clinical condition. It is caused by a lack of light or sunshine. SAD is a form of depression especially common in winter but also in summer when for days on end the weather is grey and overcast. The symptoms include sadness, mood swings, fatigue, tiredness, lethargy and difficulty getting out of bed. The medical remedy, apart from moving to a sunnier climate, is to spend an hour a day walking in the light. We can joke about the English Summer but I know this is a medical condition that affects me. We may not be able to do much about the weather but we can decide how much time we are going to spend in the light of the other Son – the one that never clouds over. We live impoverished lives because we don’t spend enough time with Jesus. And surprise, surprise, we experience the symptoms of Spiritual Affective Disorder – impure thoughts, anger, envy, bitterness, resentment. To help us address this condition and get in the mood for today I want us to examine just one verse.

“And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” (2 Corinthians 3:18).

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Lament for the Living Dead

I know it’s only June, but it’s never too soon to start thinking of Christmas is it? Remember Charles Dickens’ play, A Christmas Carol? There’s Ebenezer Scrooge and Jacob Marley and Bob Cratchet and Tiny Tim. Ebenezer Scrooge was a heartless man. His business partner Jacob Marley had died a few years before. On Christmas Eve, Scrooge went home and Marley’s ghost came and visited him. Indeed Scrooge is visited by three ghosts that night—the ghost of Christmas past, the ghost of Christmas present and the ghost of Christmas future. During their visits, he sees himself as he really is. He sees the love and kindness of those he mistreated. And sees his own death. He wakes up on Christmas morning a changed man. He has seen the bleak future of his wicked life and determines to change his ways. What would happen if we could see our own funeral before it happened? How might we change our ways now? In our passage tonight, God inspires Amos to preach at their funeral while they’re still alive. He preaches a funeral for the living dead. This passage is an example of what’s called a lament. A lament is a poem of mourning connected to the death of a loved one. A lament wasn’t known for celebrating the life of a loved one like many Christian funerals are. Instead, it was known for its words of grief, regret, sorrow and pain.

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The Hidden Treasure of Jesus

The Hidden Treasure of Jesus from Stephen Sizer on Vimeo.

Two people sat in a forest, meditating on the mysteries of life. The name of one was Faith, the name of the other, Intellect. An angel came and offered to give them what they most desired. “What do you choose?” said the angel. “Give me knowledge of all that has been, all that is, and all that will be” said Intellect. “The gift is granted” said the angel. Immediately Intellect’s face became weary. “Why do you look sad when you know everything in the universe?” said Faith. “I am unhappy because there is no further goal toward which I strive” said Intellect. “Among other things I have learned that wisdom becomes folly when it seeks purely knowledge.” “And what do you crave, Faith” interrupted the angel. “Only that you shall guide me and give me, each day, that which is best for me” answered Faith. What do you crave most? What do you treasure above all things? Lets find out from the Apostle Paul what God would have us strive for.

1. The Burden of Ministry: Contending for the Church of Jesus Christ

I wonder if you have ever aspired to become a pastor or evangelist – full time? Most young believers do at some time or another. We are enthusiastic and thankful for Jesus and we want to serve him. We feel like giving up everything to serve him and become a missionary or pastor. If that is you right now, if you feel the Lord is asking you, then please come and talk to me.

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Reply to the Council of Christians and Jews

I welcome the news from Surrey Police and CPS that, having “carried out a thorough and extensive review of the material in question” they have concluded that “no criminal offences have been committed. The matter has now been closed and no further action is being taken,” a conclusion which will come as no surprise to those who know and work with me.

On 4 October 2011, I posted a link to an essay Israel’s Window to Bomb Iran, by Ray McGovern, an ex-CIA analyst, commenting on circumstances in which Israel might attack Iran. Regrettably the link that I used was not to the original website but to a different website which I now know contained scurrilous and offensive material.

I was made aware of this on 3 January 2012 as a result of an enquiry by the Jewish Chronicle. I could not find the link and assumed, wrongly, that I had removed it. I found it on 4 January 2012 and removed it immediately. I have no wish to be associated with or to encourage anyone to read some of the things that I found on the site. I have on many occasions in my ministry condemned all forms of anti-Semitism and will continue so to do because it is abhorrent to me.

Some ten weeks later, on 13 March 2012, the Council for Christians and Jews posted an article on its website entitled CCJ Statement About Antisemitic Website. The CCJ had “drawn the attention of the Surrey police to what they claim was an action tantamount to encouraging race ‘hatred’.” The CCJ said that I was “alerted to the anti-Semitic nature of the website in November and again in December, but only removed the link in January when contacted by the Jewish Chronicle.”

The article does not identify the alleged circumstances in which I was alleged to have been alerted to the link. Whatever the CCJ might think has happened I have explained here how and when the link came to my attention. It did not come to my attention before then.

Surrey Police have told me that they are not going to prosecute me because there is no evidence that I have committed any crime, which I have not.

It might have been helpful if the CCJ had asked me for an explanation before writing about me on their website but they did not.

On 23rd April, CCJ issued a second statement CCJ Statement re Rev Stephen Sizer saying “The Council of Christians and Jews has now received the advice of the Surrey Police, together with that of the appropriate legal authorities”.

The CCJ is a venerable organisation with many distinguished supporters. I hoped that, having accused me of serious criminal conduct, it would want to make it clear that the police investigation has revealed no evidence to support my prosecution. So far the CCJ has not done that.

I did not commit any criminal offence when I posted a link to Ray McGovern’s article. I therefore have no intention of resigning my living or altering my ministry in any way.

If the CCJ does not feel able to make it clear that its allegations were ill founded it will, I hope, reflect on the reliability of its informants and think very hard before naming people who might in the future be the innocent victims of ill-considered complaints.

Revd Dr Stephen Sizer
Virginia Water
1st May 2012

Jewish Rabbis, Professors, Academics, Clergy and Activists Challenge CCJ Statement

16 March 2012

From: Rabbi Professor Dan Cohn-Sherbok PhD, DD
Emeritus Professor of Judaism
University of Wales

Dear Christopher

I am writing to you about Dr. Stephen Sizer whom I have known for several years. I am very concerned about recent accusations made in the press that he is antisemitic.

Perhaps I should say something initially about my knowledge of antisemitism as well my involvement in a recent court case dealing with Jew-hatred as an expert witness for the Counter Terrorism Agency of the Crown Prosecution Service. I have written three books dealing with the topic of antisemitism: The Crucified Jew: Twenty Centuries of Christian Antisemitism (Harper Collins, 1992 ), Antisemitism: A History (Sutton, 2004), and The Paradox of Antisemitism (Continuum, 2006). The aim of the first two books was to trace the historical development of Jew-hatred through the ages, and to illustrate its evil nature. The third book was designed to demonstrate the paradoxical nature of antisemitism: although Judaeophobia is one of humanity’s greatest crimes and must be eradicated wherever possible, the Jewish people have paradoxically survived due to persecution and suffering. Our agonies have drawn us together and enabled us to endure: this may be the meaning of the concept of God’s suffering servant.

On the basis of these and other publications, I was hired by the Counter Terrorism Agency of the Crown Prosecution Service to be an expert witness in an important trial of two individuals who had disseminated antisemitic material on the internet. The trial took place in Leeds in 2009 and was dealt with by two separate juries. Eventually the two defendants, Simon Sheppard and Stephen Whittle, were found guilty of inciting racial hatred against Jews (and others) and were sent to prison. This was an important legal case because one of the central issues that was discussed at the trial was whether the Jewish community should be considered strictly a religious body or an ethnic group. This was critical because if the Jewish community is solely a religious group then the defendants could not be tried under the Race Relations Act. During the trial I attempted to demonstrate that the Jews are in fact both a religious and ethnic community–the jury eventually agreed, and this set a precedent for any further cases of antisemitic attack. During the trial the police informed me that the Attorney General was particularly interested in the case because of its legal significance.

I mention all this because I have had substantial experience with prosecution of individuals who encourage racial hatred. Given this background, I have been disturbed to read about the allegations made against Stephen Sizer. These are, I believe, completely without foundation: there is simply no evidence that he is an antisemite. It is true that many of his writings are highly critical of Israeli policy; in this respect they echo the views of a number of important Jewish historical revisionists including Professor Avi Shlaim of Oxford University and Illan Pappe of Exeter University who in a variety of publications have castigated Israel for its treatment of the Palestinians. It would be a mistake to consider their views antisemitic, as it would to construe Stephen Sizer’s political criticisms as evidence of antipathy against Jews.

What is true, however, is that Stephen Sizer is an international expert on the origins and growth of Christian Zionism. Some time ago I read his seminal study of Christian Zionism: Christian Zionism: Road-Map to Armageddon (IVP, 2004) which I subsequently quoted in my own study of Christian Zionism: The Politics of Apocalypse: The History and Influence of Christian Zionism (Oneworld, 2006). Several years later he published another significant study: Zion’s Christian Soldiers (IVP, 2007) which was highly praised by such scholars as Professor Ronald E. Clements, the Right Rev Kenneth Cragg, and Professor Gary M. Burge. This is what I myself wrote about the book:

Stephen Sizer deftly expresses the many exegetical missteps of contemporary Christian Zionists. He advocates a more just and Christ-centred alternative to the politically and ethically problematic views espoused by many contemporary end-time popularizers.

In these two books, Stephen Sizer is highly critical of Christian Zionism, yet it would be a profound mistake to interpret his views as constituting an attack on Jewry.

This week I have been in contact with Stephen Sizer regarding the issue of the website that has been referred to in the press. I asked him how it happened that this offensive website (which relates to Israel’s action) on his Facebook was not removed straightaway. He has sent me all the relevant information including the offending website material. What he tells me is as follows: He assumed Nick Howard was based in the United States and did not in fact read Nick Howard’s complaint. This was a mistake and he regrets ignoring it, but due to his active involvement in Middle East affairs, he gets criticism on a daily and weekly basis. However, once he realized the seriousness of the error of linking his Facebook entry with the offending website, he did remove it and wrote to Marcus Dysch at the Jewish Chronicle on 4 January. He states that he had thought he had done so before. In his letter to Marcus Dysch (which he put on his blog), he states that he has over the years made his position clear on antisemitism and holocaust denial. Citing material from his own website, he writes:

I have for example:

*lamented the suffering of Christians under Islamic rule
*criticized the Iranian government’s human rights record
*criticized Hamas
*repudiated suicide bombers and terrorism
*repudiated holocaust deniers
*repudiated antisemitism
*repudiated racism and the British National Party
*distinguished anti-Zionism from antisemitism
*advocated a diplomatic solution to resolving tensions with Iran
*advocated for the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by peaceful means based on the implementation of international law

He then went on to quote from his book, Zion’s Christian Soldiers:

“It is true that at various times in the past, churches and church leaders have tolerated or incited antisemitism and even attacks on Jewish people. Racism is a sin and without excuse. Anti-Semitism must be repudiated unequivocally. However, we must not confuse apples with oranges. Anti-Zionism is not the same thing as antisemitism despite attempts to broaden the definition. Criticising a political system as racist is not necessarily racist. Judaism is a religious system. Israel is a sovereign nation. Zionism is a political system. These three are not synonymous. I respect Judaism, repudiate antisemitism, encourage interfaith dialogue and defend Israel’s right to exist within borders recognized by the international community. But like many Jews, I disagree with a political system which gives preference to expatriate Jews born elsewhere in the world while denying the same rights to Arab Palestinians born in the country itself.”

I am sure Stephen Sizer is giving an honest account of his mistake in failing to read Nick Howard’s email and not removing the offending website more speedily. I hope the Church will forgive him for his mistake (Perhaps I should mention in this regard that I am in the process of publishing a book about the Middle East crisis: it is due out next week. Alongside this book, I have also written a Companion Website (which will be available online) including about 70 websites related to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. In the light of Stephen Sizer’s experience, I realize I must carefully scrutinize each website to make sure there is no offending material, and I have told the publishers that they must delay putting the Companion Website online until I have done so.)

No doubt Stephen Sizer’s detractors are acting in good faith, and I agree with them that antisemitism must be confronted. But they are regrettably misguided in their allegations about Stephen Sizer. He is in no sense antisemitic, and instead is fully in sympathy with those who seek to eradicate all forms of Jew-hatred in the modern world. Let me turn finally to the trial I mentioned in Leeds. Following the conviction of the two defendants, Bassetlaw MP John Mann, chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group against Antisemitism commented:

The conviction of Simon Sheppard and Stephen Whittle is proof that if you write, disseminate and publish antisemitic racist propaganda in the UK, or on the internet from here in the UK, the police will come after you and the courts will convict. This case sets an excellent precedent– antisemitic hate is not welcome here in the UK.

Having worked with the Counter Terrorist Agency of the Crown Prosecution Service, I am fully in agreement with such sentiments. We in the Jewish community must be vigilant to insure that our community does not suffer from attack. But it would be a travesty of justice to construe Stephen Sizer’s mistake in linking an offensive website to his Facebook and not removing it immediately as a deliberate attempt to encourage racial hatred.

Yours ever,

Dan

Rabbi Professor Dan Cohn-Sherbok

Permission to publish this letter was obtained from the author and recipient.