Activate Team Member

The Soloist

THE SOLOIST is the kind of film which members of the Activate Your Life community could go and see with a group of friends and then, over a drink afterwards, find lots of interesting issues to talk about which would easily link into the important areas of life and faith. And when the film is released on DVD – a Film Night in your home could provide a great evening of entertainment and discussion.

The following article has come from LICC (London Institute for Contemporary Christianity – www.licc.org.uk)and it gives an overview of this brilliant new film.

Whether it’s the last piece of a jigsaw puzzle we’re completing, or the flavour lacking in the meal we’re preparing, all of us are familiar with the anxious sense that something is missing. Frequently, our anxiety stems from not being able to place exactly what it is that’s missing – that one thing without which the whole seems incomplete. It’s a feeling that many experience about life in general – why, when everything seems to be present, are we still conscious of a, sometimes gaping, hole?

This is the question explored in the recent film, The Soloist.

An adaptation of a true story, originally recorded in LA journalist Steve Lopez’s award-winning book, the film records the relationship between Lopez and Nathaniel Ayers, a homeless man he encounters after hearing him playing Beethoven on a beaten-up, two-stringed violin in a city subway. Ayers clearly has plenty of holes in his life; a childhood musical prodigy, he was robbed of a promising career, and almost everything else besides, by schizophrenia. Lopez, on the other hand, being celebrated and successful, seems to be much more complete.

Near the beginning of their relationship, Lopez asks Ayers to tell of his greatest desire. ‘To find my other two strings’ is his answer, and that search sets up the remainder of the film. What might they be, those things that would enable him to play to his full potential once again, and where on earth might he find them?

Christian imagery abounds. Large illuminated crosses adorn the premises of the homeless charity. As Nathaniel struggles with the chaos of city life, he recites the Lord’s Prayer. A professional musician tries, unsuccessfully, to exert his evangelical influence, yet in a flashback, Nathaniel’s mother affirms that when she listens to him play, she hears ‘the voice of God’. All of this serves as a backdrop to an evolving friendship that is seen as being transformative in itself. At one point Lopez tries to explain to his ex-wife the influence that Ayers and his music is having on him. ‘It’s grace’, she whispers in his ear.

At the conclusion of the film, Ayers is off the streets, but any recovery is acknowledged as very fragile. Lopez, though, is profoundly changed; he seems to have found what he didn’t know was missing.

What were those strings, that which was missing yet proved to be so profoundly life-enhancing? Not so much the obvious things: the provision of an apartment, simple recourse to medication, or the trite slogans of religion; but friendship and faith, community and beauty…

Something like grace?

www.licc.org.uk

The Soloist Read More »

October Devotional – Secure in the Spirit

As my children go back to school, my youngest starting secondary, I know that troubles will come and go for them as they do for all of us. My prayer is that when troubles come, my children will be strengthened by the love of God in their lives and in the lives of others.

‘Who shall separate us from the love of Christ: Shall trouble or hardship or persecution of famine or nakedness or danger or sword? …nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord’. Romans 8:35,39 NIV.

We can all be vulnerable in our earthly existence but hope can be strengthened, by remembering the death of Jesus and the sovereignty of God. Paul wrote that ‘All true believers are the objects of God’s love’, and because of that, neither people nor circumstances can revoke our salvation. Paul asked ‘What can make Christ stop loving us?’ The answer: Nothing. He goes on to describe the various adversities that we the believer might experience – pressure, temptation, suffering, hunger, poverty, danger and death. Not one of these can separate us from Christ’s love.
Paul himself experienced much adversity in serving Christ. Those trials never broke the bond of Christ’s love for him, and no adversity will ever separate us from Christ’s love either.
Perseverance during adversity marks us as true believers because adversity refines us by increasing our love for righteousness and our hatred of sin. We are secure in life through our perseverance and confidence.
As Christians, we have every reason to be optimistic. If we don’t allow adversity to obscure God’s promise that all things will ultimately work out for good, we can believe that the Word of God will help bring joy and hope to all our lives.

October Devotional – Secure in the Spirit Read More »

Creation

The following article is taken from the Damaris website.

People are talking about God, evolution, humanity, suffering and faith because of the buzz surrounding the feature film Creation, which opens in cinemas across the UK on September 25th.

As we expected, the discussion that this film is provoking will provide marvellous opportunities to talk with people about big spiritual and moral questions. So we are delighted that we have been able to create a set of resources that will help you to make the most of this outreach opportunity.

All of our resources are available free at www.damaris.org/creationmovie thanks to the support of Icon Film Distribution. (It took the Damaris team a huge amount of work to negotiate this deal with Icon and to create these resources – it would encourage the Damaris team immensely if you would email the office to tell them what you think and how you hope to use the resources.)

Finally, as part of his contribution to the debate, Nick wrote a short press article. We have copied it below. You may freely republish this (as long as it is accompanied by the paragraph at the bottom).

Yours truly,

Nick and Carol Pollard
Co-founders of Damaris

Nick Pollard says: If atheists think Darwin killed God they are not thinking widely enough.
“You’ve killed God, sir,” says Huxley to Charles Darwin in the forthcoming film Creation (UK release date 25th Sept). “Darwin has delivered a fatal blow to religion,” says Terry Sanderson, President of the National Secular Society in a Daily Telegraph article related to the film.

They are quite wrong. Those who think that Darwin’s theory can be used to establish the non-existence of God are missing the point. Well, at least three points out of four, actually.

We are conscious human beings, living in a world full of life, within a universe of matter and energy. If someone wishes to argue that there is no God then they have to answer at least four questions about our existence (only one of which is tackled by Darwin’s theory). What is the origin of the universe? What is the origin of life? What is the origin of biological diversity? What is the origin of consciousness?

Put in this wider context we see how Darwin’s theory only tackles the third of this big series of important questions. Whether or not Darwin’s theory is a true explanation of how biological diversity might have evolved from a common ancestor, all this could tell us is something about the process by which the variety of life developed. It cannot, in itself, tell us anything about the existence or non-existence of God.

So let me lay down a challenge to such atheists and ask them to stop making unfounded assertions about God’s existence just from one particular view of one quarter of the big questions, and to consider the bigger picture, including the other three questions.

First, the origin of the universe. When we look at the universe around us we have to ask ourselves, “Why is it here at all?” Why does anything exist rather than nothing? Even if we had an established theory of the possible processes by which parts of this universe may have formed – such as stars, sandstone and even species – that doesn’t tell us why those processes happened. Even if we can establish how the laws of nature could lead to such developments within the universe, that doesn’t tell us why those laws exist. Why not another set of physical laws? Why any physical laws at all? Why does anything exist rather than nothing existing?

Second, the origin of life. When we look at the various forms of living beings that exist in this world we have to ask ourselves, “How did life begin?” Even if we had an established theory of the possible processes by which complex life may have evolved from simple life through the natural selection of mutations in reproductions, that doesn’t tell us how reproductive processes began in the first place. Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection can only work on a self-replicating system where variations in the product of the replication might be more or less fitted for survival. But how did the first self-replicating, naturally selectable organism arise? How did we get from non-replicating matter to self-replicating, naturally selectable life?

Third, the origin of consciousness. When we look at the people who live around us (and, indeed, at ourselves) we have to ask, “Where does consciousness, and all that flows from it, come from?” Even if we had an established theory of the possible processes by which the complexities of the human body may have developed, that doesn’t tell us why we have a conscious awareness, why we have such a strong sense of morality, or why we have the capacity to reason. It is interesting that Darwin himself, in the last decade of his life, began to doubt the reliability of the human brain. If, according to his theory, the brain has evolved because of survival rather than for truth, would it have the capacity to address metaphysical questions with any level of reliability? Why should we trust anything it says about the big questions of morality and meaning? And (here is a real problem for anyone who wants to argue for atheism) what is our basis for trusting the brain’s capacity for any high level reasoning at all – such as the level of reasoning required to consider the existence or non-existence of God? Perhaps, for the atheist, this question is logically unanswerable?

Nick Pollard, co-founder of The Damaris Trust. For more resources related to the film Creation (UK release date September 25th) see www.damaris.org/creationmovie

Damaris, PO Box 200, Southampton, SO17 2DL, UK. Email: office@damaris.org

Creation Read More »

Ask Alison September

What happens when the relationship you’re in looses its spark? Do you
A, walk away?
B, dig deep and hang on in there?
C, take action?

So, what did you pick? A, B, or C

Let’s look at the likely outcomes of each answer.

A-walk away

Sounds easy doesn’t it? Say you’ve been married some time and over the last few years you’ve had children, acquired a mortgage and lead pretty busy lives. The magic’s faded and life has become humdrum. Walking away certainly appears a favourable option. Wouldn’t it be great for Prince Charming to come along and sweep you off your feet, leaving behind the mundane trail of familiarity?

For a while life with Prince Charming could indeed be exciting, romantic and fairytale like. But what happens when he starts to put on a few pounds, looses his hair and has more interest in the TV or his job than you?

Would you walk away again?

B- You’re not the type to walk away but you feel powerless to do anything about your dull marriage. You believe he should be the one to make the first move, bring you flowers and take you out for a surprise lunch. He doesn’t and so you resign yourself to the fact that that’s your lot and you’ll have to make do, except winge! That’s the end of it and nothing can be done to change it. Sound familiar?

C- Take Action-

Okay. You’re not happy with how things have turned out after having such idyllic notions of wedded bliss. Cleaning toothpaste from the wash basin, picking up dirty undies off the floor and removing skid marks from the toilet isn’t your idea of a romantic life for two! So what are you going to do about it?

By taking action you are taking charge of your responsibility to make the marriage not just work, but to work well. You are taking responsibility for your own happiness and deciding to live an independent life which doesn’t depend on the actions of others- even your husband. Can you imagine how liberating that can be? No more being let down, no more unfulfilled expectations and no more if only’s.

You can steer the marriage in the direction you’d like it to go. You can surprise your husband on his lunch break, arrange a romantic night in or go up, up and away in your beautiful balloon!

Taking action means that you can lead your life instead of following and waiting for others to make the first move. You may not change the way your husband behaves but you will feel so much better about yourself and the future of your marriage. Your marriage has much more opportunity to thrive if one of you act now.

So today, what will you do? Walk away, do nothing or act on creating a rewarding relationship?

Ask Alison September Read More »

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