20.11.2015
Inspirational Conversations on Faith and Culture at Rubicon 2015
“It is imperative for a follower of Jesus to be able to deeply disagree and deeply love at the same time.” This was one of the main messages from Scott Sauls, author and senor pastor of Christ Presbyterian Church in Nashville, Tennessee, and the keynote speaker at Rubicon 2015 which took place in Rathmines last weekend. He said that because of Grace, God’s reaching out to all across the lines of difference, Christians should be the most difficult people on earth to offend. Grace plays itself out through reconciliation, he added.
The annual Rubicon gathering focuses on the big questions surrounding culture and the Gospel and this year, in the wake of the Marriage Equality Referendum, much of the discussion centred around same sex marriage. Other issues were also aired including young people’s engagement with the church, reconciliation, the need for the Church to have a prophetic voice in society and homelessness.
A host of speakers included columnist Breda O’Brien, Senator David Norris, Nick Parke of the Evangelical Alliance, Fr Peter McVerry, Ruth Garvey of Vox, Philip McKinley, Sharan Kelly of Tearfund, author and research fellow Gladys Ganiel, entrepreneur Daniel Ramamoorthy, psychiatrist Dr Richard Duffy, chaplain Scott Evans, photographer David Cavan, Alison Finch and Stephen Foster. The event was organised by Greg Fromholz and Rob Jones with the assistance of a team from Holy Trinity, Rathmines.
LEARN FROM DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES
Scott Sauls told the gathering that there was a tendency towards a spirit of fundamentalism, both religious and secular, which was defined by a person’s absolute certainty that they are right and looking down on anyone who disagrees with them. He said Jesus discouraged this and advocated discussions with people who believe different things.
He said that in the US, the endorsement of same sex marriage had resulted in a lot of hostile discussion. However, he suggested that people should seek to learn from different perspectives because they are perspectives they don’t have themselves.
“Jesus welcomed all people. He communicated friendship. There is a contrast between this and the constant friction and craving for controversy,” he said. He suggested that Christians were not only the best kind of friends but the best kind of enemies. “Jesus said be kind to everyone without discrimination. Tolerance is not about not having convictions but about how you treat those who don’t agree with you,” he said.
Greg Fromholz conducted a panel discussion on human sexuality and said that the Church had been rattled on many levels by the referendum, the results of which were being carried through this week with the first marriages between same sex couples. The panel included Irish Times columnist Breda O’Brien, Senator David Norris, executive director of Evangelical Alliance Ireland Nick Parke and Scott Sauls. They spoke about aspects of the ‘yes’ and ‘no’ campaigns which preceded the Marriage Equality Referendum and how the issues and the way the campaigns were conducted affected them.
Philip McKinley, who has worked extensively in the area of integration, addressed an issue which he saw arising in post referendum Ireland. He said in an Ireland which had become increasingly multicultural, a fissure had opened up between people with different world views which often ran along ethnic and racial lines. Post referendum, there may be a dynamic of insider/outsider based on Yes/No and efforts must be focussed on reconciliation between all the stakeholders in the country, including ethnic minorities, he said.
PROPHETIC VOICE OF THE CHURCH
Sharan Kelly of Tearfund asked if faith could shape culture and if faith communities could influence society. She said she believed they could. Having attended an ethics forum organised by President Michael D Higgins who outlined his vision for a profoundly ethical and inclusive society, Sharan said people attending felt that consumerism and individuality had filled the gap left by the fall of religion. She said it was time for the people of Ireland to have an adult relationship with God.
“The world we live in is unjust and broken. Too many people don’t have the same opportunities as others… I think it is time that we reclaim, recapture and reinvigorate the voice of the Church and capture the things that the Government and the State are really struggling with. We can be prophetic in the church. It’s time to show leadership. Let’s speak into the politics and speak to societal issues and refuse to be marginalised,” she stated. She urged people to model a faith based lifestyle and said each could do something to stand together to transform communities.
RECONCILIATION AND TRANSFORMATION
Gladys Ganiel, author and Research Fellow in the Institute for the Study of Conflict Transformation and Social Justice at Queen’s University, Belfast, spoke of her research for her book ‘Transforming Post Catholic Ireland” which examines how Ireland’s historically Catholic culture is changing. She suggested that Ireland is now a place where there is a lot of choice and through her research observed that people have adopted methods and strategies to keep their faith alive outside the Catholic Church.
Her three main arguments were that the Irish religious market is increasingly diverse; extra institutional religion provides a counterbalance to traditional religion; and the practice of extra institutional religion has the opportunity to contribute more to reconciliation in Ireland than traditional churches. She said that there were many areas that people of faith could focus their energies on but one was reconciliation and suggested that extra institutional churches had a greater opportunity to contribute to change and reconciliation because they were not burdened by the same baggage as established churches.
Gladys’s advice to those who wanted to contribute to transformation on the island of Ireland was to work outside traditional religious institutions; don’t give up on tradition institutional religion but inspire them to become more flexible; focus on reconciliation between groups as well as individuals; make the case for reconciliation in secular and religious terms; and create networks of groups and individuals. The full text of her talk is available on http://www.gladysganiel.com.
“AFFIRMING PEOPLE’S DIGNITY IS AT THE CORE OF MY FAITH”
Homelessness campaigner, Fr Peter McVerry, spoke of his commitment to speak for people who are homeless and marginalised. He said for him, the link between faith and justice was dignity. “I preach about dignity on a Sunday and during the week I am struggling to affirm the dignity of people. It is what I try to do and it is at the core of my faith,” he stated. He spoke of his journey to the priesthood and becoming involved in helping people who are homeless.
Fr McVerry said that in Ireland people had switched off from institutional religion. “People still have a very strong sense of God and a strong sense of an afterlife. There is a strong sense of faith but it is not expressed in the institutional forms we have in Ireland today. The Roman Catholic Church has proclaimed the God of the law – if you obey the law there is a place in heaven. Who judges? The young people today are not interested in a God who judges. They are searching for a God of compassion who cares. Pope Francis is bringing us back to a God of compassion both by what he says and does. So when we proclaim the real God of compassion people will listen,” he stated.
He said he was angry when he saw people being marginalised and written off by society and found joy when the little he could do for homeless people meant so much to them. “One of the things homeless people have taught me is to be grateful for the gifts I have been given. When you reach out to people and help people you will experience the gifts of the Spirit. Then God is living in you,” he said.
There were a number of great contributions on how people live their faith and how their faith influences their lives and culture. Entrepreneur Daniel Ramamoorthy, psychiatrist Dr Richard Duffy, chaplain Scott Evans, photographer David Cavan, Alison Finch and Stephen Foster all spoke about their faith. Ruth Garvey of Vox Magazine also highlighted the results of their Young Adults Survey.
Videos from the day will be posted on http://www.wearerubicon.com/.
A mini Rubicon+ will take place on November 30 when Jonathan Martin, teaching pastor at Sanctuary Church, in Tulsa, OK, will be in Rathmines. The venue will be confirmed when organisers have an idea of numbers. Check
https://www.facebook.com/htrinityie/ for details.
Photo captions:
Top – Greg Fromholz, Scott Sauls and Rob Jones.
Middle – The human sexuality panel featured Scott Sauls, Nick Parke, Senator David Norris and Breda O’Brien. They were interviewed by Greg Fromholz.
Bottom – Table discussions at Rubicon 2015.