this is an encouraging reflection on greenbelt - such a change to get away from the usual negative media portrayal of christians. occasionally it's good to realise that actually there are some things about christianity and the church that are unique and brilliant!
speaking of church just a reminder of what the church is not from asbo...
theo hobson's piece in the guardian a very english revolution is another really interesting piece, suggesting that greenbelt is brilliant but largely unnoticed. he suggests that it is not about trendy vicars trying to get in with the kids but...
it is more about the trendy kids growing up and awkwardly realizing that Christianity matters to them, despite the backward naffness of church culture. They sense that a new crossover is possible between Christianity and forms of culture that people actually like, that they themselves actually like.
he wrote that in response to the piece an athiest goes to greenbelt which he felt was unsypmathetic. i actually quite liked the piece and good to see that attending naz and co's serum was a positive experience at least. and a wonderful reminder of the power of silence and space, rare things in our culture...
oh and i am looking forward to the world cup - can england really have qualified so easily - where's the usual last minute agony?!
Theo Hobson's article is interesting but I'd suggest that he has misread GB theologically. Yes, it's social liberal but theologically it's far broader than just liberalism. i.e. Rob Bell, Alistair McGrath, etc.
Posted by: Ben Edson | September 10, 2009 at 08:53 AM
indeed i found the labeling of greenbelt as liberal or even alt. as a bit lazy and somewhat disapointing. One can't deny that within the GB movement there are strong liberal streams or pull's but to call greenbelt a alt worship event or a liberal event ends up reducing what greenbelt is to a core group of creatives/creators which I find dubiosly elitist. This does violence to great masses of people who engage with greenbelt in a number of different ways and depths but who are surely a part of what Greenbelt is even though many would not want to be labeled liberal or alternative.
Posted by: matybigfro | September 10, 2009 at 09:53 AM
Both very interesting articles they a) dispel the myth that Geeenbelt us no longer "Christian" and b) show that the festival is succsesful in creating an environment where all can think/feel beyond their theological/church boxes... I don't fully agree with either, thankfully :)
Posted by: Mark | September 10, 2009 at 10:20 AM
I think there's a big difference between traditional Liberal (capital 'L') Christianity and the liberal approach that Greenbelt takes.
In my (totally generalising, bigoted, ignorant, judgemental) view, Big L Liberalism wrestled to conform the Bible to a 20th Century mindset, jettisoning anything that didn't 'fit'. I think Greenbelt contains something a bit different, in which liberalism is not an external value-system that judges the tradition, but is seen as essential, even central to the Christian message. There are lots of people at Greenbelt who would have a very un-Liberal view of the Bible; they just believe that Jesus was a liberal kind of person...
Does that make any sense whatsoever?
Posted by: Simon | September 10, 2009 at 11:27 PM