Monday, December 12, 2005

Merely Pew-Fillers

I happened to be watching the inauguration of Dr John Sentamu as the 97th Archbishop of York, and was quite struck by the incisiveness of his inaugural sermon. Here’s a snippet:

The late Canon David Watson, … said twenty-four years ago, “Christians in the West, have largely neglected what it means to be a disciple of Christ. The vast majority of Western Christians are church-members, pew-fillers, hymn-singers, sermon-tasters, Bible-readers, even born-again believers or Spirit-filled Charismatics – but aren’t true disciples of Jesus Christ.

If we were willing to learn the meaning of real discipleship and actually to become disciples, the Church in the West would be transformed, and the resultant impact on society would be staggering.

He further went on to say

The scandal of the church is that the Christ-event is no longer life-changing, it has become life-enhancing. We’ve lost the joy and power that makes real disciples, and we’ve become consumers of religion and not disciples of Jesus Christ.

And it’s interesting what he had to say about how Christians should interact with other faiths:

Christians, go and find friends among Buddhists, Hindus, Jews, Muslims, Sikhs, agnostics, atheists - not for the purpose of converting them to your beliefs, but for friendship, understanding, listening, hearing.

And here's a small clip from his speech:

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Gurinder,
I have similar story to share about my conversations about religion or God with other people. One of my roommate used to tell me that I should be Christian because I will go to hell. My answer was hell and heaven exist on this earth. Above all, I can't believe in god just because I want to get into heaven. How selfish is that!!!

msingh said...

gurinder singh ji I hope you have a wonderful break / holiday / ----*. Seasons greeting to all the family, and may Waheguru keep you in chardhi kala.

I also wish to acknowledge your excellent contribution to the discussions going on in the world of sikh bloggers - always an interesting and thought-provoking read.

And don't forget, if we dont see you back by the 6th, then we'll track you down (ik singh has 'connections')....

ਵਾਹਿਗੁਰੂ
* fill in as appropriate

Anonymous said...

Bhai Manjot Singh ji,
At the end of your every post the speling of "Waheguru" have been incorrect. Please correct it and do not use it as the blogger sign. Keep it in your heart and feel it...

Moorakh...

msingh said...

Thank you for your comment anon, you are incorrect in assuming I'm Manjot Singh. It's good of you to point out the error in the spelling of Waheguru - I think I must have got confused when I found two spellings in Gurbani as follows:

ਸੇਵਕ ਕੈ ਭਰਪੂਰ ਜੁਗੁ ਜੁਗੁ ਵਾਹਗੁਰੂ ਤੇਰਾ ਸਭੁ ਸਦਕਾ ॥
Your servants are totally fulfilled, throughout the ages; O Waahay Guru, it is all You, forever.
SGGS Panna 1403

ਵਾਹਿਗੁਰੂ ਵਾਹਿਗੁਰੂ ਵਾਹਿਗੁਰੂ ਵਾਹਿ ਜੀਉ ॥
Waahay Guru, Waahay Guru, Waahay Guru, Waahay Jee-o.
SGGS Panna 1402

Further illumination on the subject by you would be most welcome.

Waheguru