Blood In My Alcohol Stream

Well, alcohol! Strong drink can arouse strong passions! From CAMRA to (not) drinking and driving campaigns to general health, all sorts of people have all sorts of opinions about what is good or (generally) bad about alcohol.

And just as much strength of opinion in Christian circles. Mainly in America, it seems, but in other places too strong opinions can be found on the subject. A lot of them insisting that Christians should be teetotal, even to the extent of arguing that Jesus didn't create wine at the wedding in Cana. Which seems ridiculous, because it actually says that the steward called the bridegroom over and said 'everyone else serves the best wine first, and when the guests have had a lot to drink, bring out the cheaper wine; but you have saved the best for last', so, clearly, he knew that it was wine and good wine at that. Guests who had been drinking and had every expectation of continuing to do so would not have been happy to have grape juice.

So, what does the Bible actually say about drinking? Quite a lot, actually - there are over 200 references to wine in the NIV, for instance. A lot of them are actually about offering wine as sacrifices; so, the one thing you can take away from that is that God was quite happy to accept wine. There are also some commands not to drink when the Israelites are in the Tent of Meeting, and the description of the Nazirite vows - which did demand total abstention. Which clearly implies that, in general, the Israelites were allowed to drink. Sounds good to me.

It has been pointed out that there are stories of unsavoury behaviour connected to wine, usually involving nudity; but, in all these cases, it is actually due to drunkenness. One of the most striking stories involving wine is of a king who gets given some wine that hasn't matured properly, which tastes awful; so he has the containers marked 'poison'. And leaves them alone. A few years later, he gets bored with one of his wives, so she decides to commit suicide and finds the 'poison'. Which obviously doesn't kill her, but the wine has matured by now, and she regains her joie de vivre and he decides he likes her again. One of those stories that really makes you wonder why it's in the Bible; but the thing that stood out to me was that God seems to like wine more than some people do.

I'll just finish by pointing out that Ps 104, which is basically one of thanks and praise acknowledges God giving 'wine that gladdens the heart' (v15) among other things that He is worth being thanked and praised for. He made it, He likes it, so let's raise a glass.

Love, Tolerance, And Polish People

If you read a lot of stuff online, you will probably see a lot of people being intolerant, all over the place. And you will see a lot of people proclaiming tolerance as a great virtue. Sometimes (often?) the same people. So how does that work?

Well, possibly because tolerance isn't actually a virtue at all. I did think about calling this post 'Tolerance Isn't A (Christian) Virtue'; but I hope to be more positive than that. I once heard of a great example of the difference between love and tolerance from someone I used to work with. I used to work in a shop wih a guy called Maciej - nice guy, very friendly, spoke English really well. Probably better than some English people I know. So, when he mentioned to me one day that he had come to this country partly in order to improve his English, I was quite surprised; I couldn't see that it really needed improving. And a bit later, someone else mentioned that he had asked him to pick him up on his English whenever he said something wrong. And I realised that that is what the difference is.

I was quite happy with his English - 98% of the time he was perfectly understandable, and because of this, I didn't pick him up on it. But, unless people did that, his English wouldn't improve any more. And he wanted it to. It's a bit like patriotism. A lot of people think of 'patriotism' as being something along the lines of 'my country right or wrong is always right'; but, really, what it should be is 'my country is great, but it could be better if we did...' - again the same difference, love or tolerance. And it also brings to mind the fact that love is hard; it requires effort. And taking the time to pay attention to people.

love is hard

So, what about tolerance, then? Well, I still work in a shop, and I think of tolerance like this. We get Polish people come in sometimes, and sometimes, when I ask them if they need any help, they say 'just watching' instead of 'looking' (as an aside, do you English speakers know exactly what the difference is? Hmm). So, obviously, I immediately pick them up on that. Or, actually, not. But, you might say, that's just politeness. Yes, exactly. Which is why I say tolerance isn't a virtue. However, love is. And respect. And even politeness. So work on those - and other virtues.

love is hard... but it is worth it

Friends And Relationships

I have had several conversations recently that have stood out to me for different reasons. Different people, different circumstances have all pointed up things I may need to know, to pay attention to.

Friday
I had a conversation with one friend about a relationship I was having problems with, and forgiveness came up. Later, I met up with another friend, and he was talking about a talk he'd heard recently, which was talking about forgiveness and how it needs to work. Which made a lot of sense, and was really helpful at the time. And another thing he said was about the blog - that my strongest posts were ones where I was talking about ideas, rather than what I've been up to. Which is something I've been trying to do more of since then.

Saturday
Work as usual was followed by a BBQ to celebrate a friend's birthday. Which was really nice - one of the nicest evenings I've had in quite some time. Chilling with a bunch of friends, and a lot of silliness was the order of the day. And I managed to have a long, rambling conversation with the person I am having problems with. Which is a very good sign.

Sunday
A nice relaxing afternoon, where I wrote a poem about the previous evening. Which is good - writing is always good. And in the evening, we had a speaker talking about Compassion UK at church, and I thought about my sponsored child, who I haven't been in touch with for a while now. I was chatting with a friend, and she was saying that she was the same, that she hadn't written to hers for even longer. So we both came away feeling that that was something we needed to attend to - I haven't done it yet. I also met someone new at church who was just sponsoring a child, and met up with an old friend who is a Compassion advocate; it was good to see her, to catch up for a bit, and to find out what's new in her life.

Tuesday
I went round to see a couple of friends in the evening. They live pretty near me, and they have invited me to come round often; but I don't often take them up on it - the last time I went round was just after my birthday. But it's always a nice evening when I do go round; and this was no exception. There was a lot of laughter, and we talked about poetry, which is always a good thing.

Thursday
Two conversations stood out today; one on Street Teams and one with a friend a bit later.The first one was with a guy called Darren, who started talking about basically ghost stories that had happened to him. He said sometimes he felt that someone or something was trying to get through to him, and I just felt this nudge to suggest he asked God to speak to him. He said he felt that was a good idea, that he used to pray, and he felt he should get back to it; and also that he wanted to read the Bible more, and asked if he could ask me if he had any questions about it. I agreed, as long as he doesn't expect me to have all the answers, and he said that was fine. So I look forward to hearing more about what he finds. And the other was with a friend, to discuss an idea I had to start a Christian publisher. He was very encouraging, and suggested the next step was to pray about a mission statement, so I've been doing that.

Sunday
Sunday morning was the celebration of the dedication of Adelaide Read, and led to lots of generally quite chatty and relaxing conversations - celebration is always good. And in the evening I was chatting to a couple who may want to get involved with Street Teams. Which would be good, as we may well be losing a few members over the next few months.

So, all sorts of different conversations that made me think in some way about (my) relationships. Relationships both show you something of who you are, and to a certain extent shape you too. And the fact that mine are so varied is almost certainly a good thing. And thinking about them has brought certain things to mind. For instance, that relationships work best when you are able to just be in each others' company. However, conversely, they only really grow when you make the effort to actually do things together, to spend time together; it doesn't just happen. But, most importantly, they are one of the things that make life worth living.

Tweeting Or Twatting!

I joined Twitter earlier this year, on God's insistence; though, to be fair, I haven't really done much with it. But I thought I'd share a few thoughts about it anyway. Recently, I read this post and an article saying how it is on the verge of disappearing, which made me think.

It's been about almost as long as Facebook, and it's essentially easy to use; so, if it is going to disappear, why would that be? For the record, I don't think it is, nor do I think Facebook will. But, what is the difference?

The most obvious difference is that, due to it's format, it doesn't appear to have any ads. Which is kind of puzzling, cos you have to wonder how they can support themselves. The other main difference is that it is both more immediate and less social than Facebook - which, if it is shrinking would probably be why.

It's obvious why it is more immediate, but not quite so much why it is less social. The reason being, because of the limits of what you can put on there, you can't exactly have a conversation. Which ends up making it very self indulgent. There's not really any way you can develop a thought; you just have to say something and get it out there. Which makes it brilliant for advertising or publicity of any kind; but not so good for building relationships.

A bit like having a conversation via text tather than an actual phone call (remember those?). Which is why it should be remembered to be very careful what you say, because not only do the people who read it only have those words to go by; you don't even know who your readers are, necessarily. So, remember, more tweeting, less twatting - and by that, I mean both not hitting people over the head with your words, and not being a twat. Though I can't stop you.

Just my thoughts and musings on the matter. So, to finish, I'll give you this joke, which took 5 years to come to fruition...

Being Frank!

Now I have an unlimited card, I have managed already to start using it properly - to see films that I might not have bothered with otherwise (and two films in about a week isn't bad, either). The first of these is 'Frank', which to be fair, I would have always been interested in; because it's a bit weird. To put that into context, me thinking something is a bit weird probably means most people wouldn't be able to take it. However, if you don't mind the odd bit of weirdness, then I definitely recommend it.

Without giving anything away, the film follows the course of a strange band working on what is presumably their first album, from the point of view of their newest recruit, Jon. I say strange, both because their music is, to say the least, unusual; and because most of the people in the band are too. And it's all based around the enigmatic Frank, who spends most of the film wearing a papier mache head.

Anyway, it made me think about weirdness and creativity; whether 'normal' is necessarily a good thing, or even a necessary thing. The people in the band didn't seem to be any more or less happy than the average (with possibly one exception), and they certainly produced music of some kind. It was certainly unusual, but not unlistenable - it just took a bit of getting used to, that's all. So, why be 'normal' when you can be happy as you are?

And then, there's the whole question of creativity. Do you have to be weird/abnormal/mad to be creative, or is it that people who are (very) creative see the world differently enough that they just seem mad to everyone else? The film doesn't really address this; except in Frank's case, where the two don't seem to be connected. As for the rest of them, who knows? Is this even a question that can be answered?

Go see the film for yourself, and see what you think? What I took away from it is that the world is a place where there is space for weirdness, and that weirdness can lead to a lot of laughter. Which is most definitely a good thing. Oh, and that I want to go to South By South West - or at least back to Austin.

Book Learnin'

I'm writing this post for two reasons. One is that I've been writing several posts on books recently (here, here, and here,), about stuff I've learned from books. Some of which I didn't know I knew until I wrote the posts. I just started talking about a subject, and saw where it took me.

I once wrote a poem called 'Books', which was about books being carriers of ideas. Any books, not just textbooks. Any and every book has ideas contained within it. Ideas which go together with other ideas; which go along with or collide with, sometimes producing totally new ideas.

So, that's just to say that I've learned more from books than I will probably ever know. Even just a few books push together and against each other, forming new shapes, new patterns; and I've read more than a few books. Literally more than I can remember, so how many different ideas have come into being and become something more, I will never know.

Fiction clashes with poetry and philosophy, and mixes with mythology and theology, all to produce a new, fresh view of the world; of the whole of creation. Ideas are dangerous things; they live and grow in directions you never thought they might. And can change everything you thought you knew.

And the other reason is that when I started writing about books, I did it because I didn't think I'd have as much to write about in the 'real world':- i.e. the one where ideas change things. But recently, I've discovered I'm reading a lot less than I was; and one of the reasons for that is that I'm doing more. More different things, out there with people. Maybe it's time to do something with those ideas...

Bank Holiday Busyness (!)

We've just had the first May Bank Holiday weekend, and, surprisingly, it was quite nice all weekend. So, obviously, I spent most of the weekend inside. And hardly saw anyone.

Not that I particularly dislike the sun as such (more that I just don't mind it), nor that I didn't have anywhere to go - things just worked out that way. I was working on the Saturday as normal, so I was quite tired; so I didn't go out in the evening either. I was invited to a barbecue, and I was told some friends had gone to the Cheltenham Jazz Festival, but I really didn't feel like going anywhere at that point. So I didn't. I stayed in and read and wrote a blog post and stuff.

And, because I'd had a couple of tiring days, I didn't get up that early on Sunday, either. I was invited out to the Jazz Festival again, but again I didn't feel like it. So I read for a bit. And then I was struck by the thought that my team was probably on duty at church that evening. But I wasn't sure. So I had to check online, and because my computer was playing up, it took me a while to find out that was the case. About 5 minutes before I was due to be there. So, what with one thing and another, I got there 10 minutes later than I should have done. But at least I now know when the next date definitely is, so hopefully I'll get to that one on time - or even early, who knows?
Church was fun - and, you know, not being ill made it much better. I ended up on the bookstall again, which kind of surprised me; and this time, I actually sold things. And met someone new called Alice, who's just moved back to Cheltenham after a couple of years in Malawi. Being on the welcome team means you might get to meet new people. And after clearing up, I went down the pub. Which was nice. Had a nice chat with a bunch of friends, and a couple of interesting things came out of that. One was that I discovered a friend is moving round the corner from us soon - she's not sure exactly when - and that led to a nice chat about theology and the like. It also came up that another friend is thinking of moving, and may well move in with us, which will be nice - he's a good guy. But the most important thing that happened was that I somehow got myself agreeing to do a sponsored walk sometime in the summer. It won't be that long; certainly less than 10 miles. It's to raise money for Hope for Justice, and it's called the Zoe Challenge. Have a look if you want to find out more; maybe you could sort out a walk for yourself as well.

Monday being the Bank Holiday, I didn't have anything to do except relax; so I did that. Then I realised I had to go into town, so I went and did what I had to do, then decided to go up and wander around the Jazz Festival. As I got there, I walked past an acoustic stage where a band was playing, so I watched the rest of their set, which I really liked; especially 'King of the Swingers', which they finished with. I then wandered around the main arena, where I met a few people I knew, including a couple called Stuart and Jade. They were with a friend of theirs, who they were trying to persuade to come on an Alpha course; and I tried to persuade them to come. I hope they do; it will be good to see them around again. I then went home via Grumpy Whiskers, where I got one of their waffles (mmhmm); and, when I got home I felt I should ask if anyone wanted to go to the cinema, now I've got my unlimited card. So I did that, and ended up going to see Spider-Man with Rhys. In 3D, which I wasn't planning on; but at least that now means I have a pair of glasses for the future. Anyway, it's a really good film, and I recommend it. And they showed a trailer for Godzilla, which definitely looks worth seeing. A good start to my year of films, I think.

40 Days Revisited

Well, I did it. Or at least I tried. I said I was going to do the 40 Acts from Stewardship, so I figured you'd like to know how I got on...

I started off better than I did last year, though I still didn't manage to do it the way it was supposed to be done. They send an email every morning, which you're supposed to read and act on; but I didn't manage that. Mainly because I don't read my emails every day - I'm doing well if I manage every 3 days. But I'm pretty sure I read them more often than I did last year - at least to start. One thing I didn't manage, though, was to put photos up; I'm really not that good at social media.

It was different from last year, which I suppose was a good thing, though not for me. I came to the conclusion part way through that it didn't really feel appropriate. I've never been good at fitting into other people's ideas, especially on a tight timescale; but the more important thing was that doing it didn't feel like it would be particularly helpful for me.

It felt like a lot of the things they were asking me to do weren't just a challenge, but pretty nearly impossible; and continuing to do things like that was just too stressful. Also, one of the things I found was that I just didn't have the resources to do some of them. It became clear that I was actually giving pretty much as much as I can, even though that isn't much in itself.

So, I guess that was one good thing that came out of it. And another was that I raised some money for a charity. Ish. What happened was that one of the first tasks was to set aside a jar, and fill it with whatever change I had during the time. I remember that about 2 weeks in, there was a suggestion that I could use that money to do something nice for someone; but, at that point, there was less than £2 in the jar. I couldn't see what I could do with that, so I decided to keep saving it. at the end of the time, there was just over £9 in there, so I sent it to Hope for Justice.

I did do better at the other challenge I set myself for Lent, which was to make an effort to look outside of myself more. By which I intended to communicate with people more, particularly those I hadn't been in touch with for a while. Mostly this was through Facebook, sending messages to people I either hadn't seen or hadn't heard from for a while, but I did actually write to a couple of people as well. Yes, that's right; write. It's not impossible to do. I also meant to get in touch with another couple of people, which I (obviously) didn't get done during Lent; but there's no reason to not do it now. So, that's one thing I will be aiming to do over the next couple of weeks.