Contents

[Cover of issue 98]

Editorial

Life

Police Brutality.

Nuclear Weapons.

Sex Discrimination.

Anglicanism.

Christis writers have never been afraid of tackling the big issues, and this issue is no exception. First up, Graham Martin clashes with the police. Not everyone will have such direct experience. But whilst some of us might not have problems with the police, we’ve all experienced people telling us what to do at one time or another. Anyone who’s ever had a problem with authority will find food for thought in the article.

Fellow activist Rachel Cavill recounts her experiences during what sounds like an exhausting summer of protest which stretched Glasgow to London and encompassed a cardboard Dalek (honestly).

Those of us who are a bit more passive might find the idea of Honouring Difference more attractive. Cowardice? Maybe, but when someone’s really making us mad, it’s often just as hard — if not harder — to try and live with them than to really tell them what we think. Finally, just as you thought you’d got to the end of all this introspection, Greg Melia asks you to consider one of life’s ultimate questions — what sort of Christian am I?

Chris Sparks

Where is the Dignity?

A Summer of Protest

Honouring Difference

What sort of Christian are you?

Belief

The Bible is a very odd thing. As a non-Christian friend of mine assures me, it is a ‘gross mistranslation of an inaccurate historical text’, and yet it is what Christians base their life around. For the aforementioned reasons the Bible is difficult to interpret as a guide to life, and there are many different views on how seriously to take it. Some call it the authoritative word of God, others a worthwile historical document and everyone else somewhere in between. James Porter reviews a talk by the Bishop of Durham, and discusses how we should view scriptural authority in the modern world, while Helen Bourne takes a look at a chapter of the Old Testament, Lamentations, and what it tells us about God and sufferiang.Another issue with the Bible is that there are many areas of life that it cannot give us any guidance on, for example, whether or not Christians should celebrate Halloween. It is very easy to confuse what is acceptable to God with what is acceptable to society. Many Christians celebrate Halloween just like their non-Christian neighbours, though in his article Johannes de Jong argues that it is intrinsically pagan and Christians should steer clear. Issues such as this are not mentioned in the Bible, so correct answers can be hard to find.

Lizzie Freear

Witches and Will o’ the Wisps

On the Book of Lamentations

Re-thinking Authority in the 21st Century

World

As I gaze in wonder over what has been my first insight in to the production of Christis I cannot help but ponder how much I have gained through the contemplation of these awesome articles. Though there is a mere two of them in the world section, they have left me wondering about multiple ideas.

In the first instance, Greg Melia’s article leads with the question of how neccesary or unnesarry the racial and relgious hatred bill is.

In the second instance, Dave Maclure compares Jesus and Guy Fawkes and how they provoke individual questions which the establishment attempted to quash.

I commend both of these to your attention and hope you get as much out of them as I have.

Peter Davis

Tony Blair, the Life of Brian and All That

Guy Fawkes and Jesus Christ

[The oxfam donkey]
Picture: www.oxfam.org.uk

Life

Belief

World

Impossible without