Work, Brain, Work!

I want to write. I really want to write. I had some thoughts last night that really made sense to me. I was finally able to put into words some of the feelings that I have been… er… feeling. But today my thoughts are just bouncing around my head in all different directions, making one hell of a racket, and it’s making even the most simple tasks quite difficult.

(Other than buying new eye-makeup and putting it all on and parading around in front of the mirror, or course. That I can do.)

I shall attempt to get this off my small but perfectly formed chest, otherwise it will just bang around making a mess in my mind and drive me up the wall.

People may have noticed that I have not really been writing much about my faith these days. In fact, some of my regular Christian commenters have upped and left, and I can understand why.

Truth is, I’m struggling a bit in that department. Me and God haven’t been exactly best friends of late. Don’t get me wrong, I still believe He exists and all that… I just don’t get it. My understanding of God is inextricably linked to my moods:

Mood goes up = Wonderful flash of insight into God, meaning of life, etc.

Mood goes down = God, where are you? Clearly you are not interested in me, and if you are then it’s only to judge me.

End result = Constant cycle of self-recrimination. My faith should be stronger. I am weak. God must heartily disapprove of me. I will just sit here with my head bowed and wait for the thunderbolt to strike.

Now I’m starting to think that this may not be the most healthy way to view God or my belief in him. However, that was as far as I got. I realised what I was doing wrong, but had no idea how to put it right. Still don’t, to be honest. It all just seems so big. Too big for me to deal with. Therefore, I have just ignored it. And the more I have ignored it, the more doubts have started to creep in.

Last night it hit me that I have to do something. Otherwise I am in danger of “backsliding” – insert horrified gasps as appropriate.

As I haven’t got to the solution part of this scenario yet, I have decided to pull back from blogging about God for a while. Off the cuff answers won’t satisfy me anymore. Particularly those nauseatingly sweet answers I am supremely capable of giving myself. Instead of attempting to provide nice, theologically sound answers, I have taken to asking pedantic, obstreperous questions – anything to stop my brain from falling back into apathy.

Shout Out

I would like to draw your attention to my blogroll for just a moment. It’s over there on the right —–>

See the one called The Dyce – How to be Rubbish? That’s my Dad! Yes indeed, he has started a blog. Actually, I set it up for him about eight months ago, and I have laid it out for him, but he has now starting posting!

Here’s a snippet of his first post:

This blog is about what it’s like to be rubbish and features rants, observations and utter perverseness in the hope that some of it will ring true with the experience of others……as well as earn me a bit of notoriety in the process!

A number of years ago a friend told me that he’d attended a conference where the speaker was giving a long and intellectual talk about various aspects of Christianity. At the end he asked the assembled audience if there were any questions. My friend shouted out, “Yeh, what about us plebs then?” This single phrase sums up for me what the rest of us, the great unwashed masses, may feel when faced with what seems like the rest of Christendom being all worthy and good when we struggle along, worm-like, always ready with a great long list of ‘sorries’ when we (eventually) get around to saying our prayers.

Go and take a look!

No thinking required here!

In other news, this is quite amusing:

"Bendy-buses with the slogan “There’s probably no God” could soon be running on the streets of London."

Catchy. Wait, it gets better. The full slogan is “There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life”. Probably no God? Way to hedge your bets. Stop worrying and enjoy your life? Almost as trite as that naff Christian slogan: “Smile, Jesus loves you”.

And who is this campaign targeting? Those people who already don’t believe in God? So that they can feel good about themselves? They’re probably not worrying about God; they’re more likely to be worrying about finances and other hardships in life. Don’t they have even more reason to worry than the religious? Who will help them out when things go down the pan? Or are they targeting those who do believe in God? Do they think that this slogan will convince them to abandon their beliefs? We don’t need an atheist to tell us to stop worrying - Jesus got there first.

Richard Dawkins says this:

“This campaign to put alternative slogans on London buses will make people think – and thinking is anathema to religion.”

Nice. Don’t forget to leave your brains at the door when you read this blog!

It strikes me that the slogan will get people thinking about God, when before they may not have done, and it might actually have the opposite effect to that which is intended…

Overwhelming Love

I have been so overwhelmed by the love and kindness that Mr. Razzler and I have been shown by the people in our church. It’s been absolutely phenomenal. Hugs, cards, prayers. Offers of help. More hugs. Mr. Razzler has said this his strength has been increased many times because of his new and ever-growing church family.

The funeral is on Thursday and although I can’t go I know that Mr. Razzler will be looked after. And a couple from church is looking after me on that day so that I won’t be sitting at home on my own. They came bounding over to me today and hugged me tight before telling me that I’m going round to their house for the duration of the funeral. Tears sprang to my eyes.

And I have had emails from church family all around the country this past week, filling me with strength and courage. How blessed we are to be so loved. It has brought home to me the realisation once more that we are a global family, not constrained by time and place, language or culture. And one day we will be together for eternity, praising the Lamb who was slain and who is alive today and forever.

The nature of things

OK, I have a few minutes to myself so I thought I’d get a blog post written.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the nature of sin. And the nature of love. And how the two go together. They always seem to be together. I’m talking here about my love for God. And my knowledge of His love for me. My love for God seemed to diminish for a while these last few months. I wasn’t on fire for Him. I didn’t think about Him all the time, I didn’t have the impulse to read my Bible. I couldn’t seem to find Him. I felt lost. I even wondered if He was even really there, or if I just wanted Him to be. Doubts, doubts.

Although I know from what I have learned that my identity is in Christ (I am who He made me to be, and Christ’s sacrifice has made me clean in God’s sight) I still compared myself to other people all the time. I have always done this to a certain degree but I reached new levels of neuroticism recently. I was constantly wondering what other people were thinking of me. I needed their approval. I was gutted when I didn’t think I received it. Other people’s opinions of me became far more important than God’s opinion of me.

A few weeks ago I started taking medication to try and control my anxiety. They took a while to kick in, and in fact I became more nervous for a while. However, during our week on holiday I was able to get some perspective. I felt my body physically relax. Towards the end of the week I was thinking more clearly. When I came back to work I was much less worried. And I started to think about how my sin pulls me away from loving God. Or how my lack of loving God leads me into sin. Which way round is it?

Red Wine Gums said recently that:

The problem when you don’t feel God in your life, when you don’t love him with all of your heart is that it’s impossible to truly hate sin.

So true. When I am feeling far away from God, that is when certain sins become acceptable to me. Like maybe having a bit too much to drink, or getting cross with somebody and moaning to Mr. Razzler about them behind their back. It just seems like it’s too much hard work to be fully committed to God. He doesn’t help me, I’m left to do this on my own, and it’s too hard. What does it matter if I don’t love this person the way I should, what does it matter if I was impatient at work today?

I got a lovely little mp3 player for my birthday. It’s great. So I spent some time walking by the river while we were away, listening to some great music. I felt calm flooding through me. I felt like I kept catching little glimpses of God. Little glimpses of who He wants me to become. But the doubts were (and are) still there. Did I really feel God or did I just think I felt him because of all the pretty trees and ducks and good music? Or because of the anti-depressants that I’m currently shoving down my throat every evening? After all, I am a very emotional person. How can a feelings-oriented person work out the difference between feelings and reality? How can I tell what is God and what is me?

Learning

What a weekend. I have been up and down like a yo-yo. I will try to express some of it here…

I had Friday off work because of a slight stomach upset. I was feeling a lot better by Saturday, which was good as Mr. Razzler and I were going to a friend’s barbeque. It was good fun. I met my friend’s boyfriend for the first time and found that I really liked him. We had a conversation which made me feel alive. We didn’t really talk about very much, just bantering really. We compared our taste in music, and we listened to Muse. Loved it. I couldn’t stay too late because I was singing at church the next morning. I told him this, which brought about a little conversation about faith. I didn’t push it – that’s not my style – but it was good.

I listened to Evanescence on the way home. I love that band. I don’t find I can listen to them all the time because their music isn’t exactly uplifting, but the lyrics sooooo expressed how I have been feeling for weeks. The evening, conversations, music and dancing all made me want to fight back.

How can you see into my eyes like open doors?
Leading you down into my core
Where I’ve become so numb
Without a soul
My spirit’s sleeping somewhere cold
Until you find it there and lead it back home

[Wake me up]
Wake me up inside
[I can't wake up]
Wake me up inside
[Save me]
Call my name and save me from the dark
[Wake me up]
Bid my blood to run
[I can't wake up]
Before I come undone
[Save me]
Save me from the nothing I’ve become

Then Sunday came along. I woke up and within minutes of getting out of bed I was struck down once again with excruciating stomach cramps. I knew there was no way I’d be able to make it to church in time to practice the songs before the service. Good thing I’d got the times wrong then, wasn’t it? We were singing at the evening service, not the morning one. I played this song over and over again, and slowly my body relaxed. I made it to church. I wanted to go, even though my body felt like it had been wrung out a few times. I was so upset. My stomach had been so much better the last week or so, and I was just terrified of starting the whole cycle again.

I had gone from relaxed and fighting back to frightened and tense overnight. That’s when I turned up to the evening service. I was singing, which was a bit of a strain as I felt worn out and bruised. The last time I had horrid stomach cramps my stomach muscles were strained and sore. This time it feels like I have actually bruised my ribcage. I mean, how is that even possible? The intestines and the ribs aren’t related! Mr. Razzler said it is probably because when I am in that much pain my whole body tenses up. I guess the aches and pains that come afterwards are only natural.

But suffice it to say, my body and my mind felt like a wound up spring. And what did the pastor choose to preach about that night? Rest. Our inheritance. Consider this:

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade—kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls. 

1 Peter 1: 3-9 

This is what we look forward to. A room in our Father’s house. An inheritance that never fades, spoils or perishes.

But we have part of this inheritance now. A deposit:

Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.

Ephesians 1: 13-14

I’m getting to my point, I promise, in a roundabout kind of way. ;) I’m not going to say much about the Holy Spirit – that would make this a very long post! But the pastor said in his sermon that we can find rest, heavenly rest, now.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Matthew 11: 28-30

This powerfully reminded me that I can look to Jesus for rest. I felt so tight. In that passage Jesus was talking to those who were burdened and weighed down by legalism. I must do this, I must do that. The consequences of legalism are guilt and frustration. I know about that. I don’t follow the rules laid out by the Pharisees, but I do put my own rules upon myself. By comparing myself to others all the time I am just making myself feel guilty. I can never live up to their example. I’m not as good as her, I’m not as funny as him, I’m not pretty, I’m not insightful, I can’t write, I haven’t got a wonderful, fulfilling job… and on and on.

Conclusion: (See? I told you I’d get there eventually!) How do we find this rest? “Learn from me.” That’s my task. To learn from Jesus and figure out what this means.

Forgiveness

I saw an outstanding but incredibly sad episode of Babylon 5 last night. It revolved around the issue of forgiveness.

There are a group of monks on the station. All are very devout Christians. The plot revolves around one particular monk – Brother Edward – who starts to experience unsettling visions, which he believes are memories. In the visions he has killed a woman. It turns out that in his past he has murdered a number of women, and his punishment was a ‘mind wipe’, which is used as a punishment for very serious crimes and is a replacement for the death penalty. Once a person’s mind has been wiped they are a new person, with new memories and a desire to serve society. Brother Edward’s memories are coming back to him and he is highly distressed. A relative of one of the women he killed is out for revenge and finds him. He is beaten up and then killed.

The captain of the station talks to one of the monks about forgiveness. He recognises that the mind wipe just doesn’t seem to provide enough justice for the loved ones of those murdered. He muses about the difficulty of forgiveness and he asks where revenge ends and justice begins.

At this point a man comes in. It is the very same person who killed Brother Edward. He has been brought to justice himself, and had the mind wipe performed on him. He comes back to the station and is welcomed by the same monks who welcomed Brother Edward. The captain just can’t greet this man – all he sees is the man who killed Brother Edward. But after being reprimanded by one of the monks he swallows this bitter pill and welcomes the new monk.

I was amazed by this storyline. When Brother Edward remembers what he did in his past he is torn apart. He can’t see how he can pray for forgiveness of his sins if he doesn’t even know what those sins are. He believes he has to atone for his crimes. Another monk reminds him that if he asks for forgiveness then God knows what his sins are. “Leave it in His hands”.

What a powerful reminder of God’s grace. We are all forgiven if we just ask for forgiveness. This gift is free for everyone, no matter what crimes they have committed.

Loneliness, Narcissism or Something Else?

Jennifer from Conversion Diary posted this post today, which I found extremely interesting. Why did God create humans? If our purpose in life is to know, love and serve God, doesn’t that mean that God is either narcissistic or lonely? Here is how I responded:

You know, I’ve thought about this question a lot. Narcissism or loneliness? According to what I understand of the Trinity, God isn’t lonely. He is in a perfect community – Father, Son and Spirit.

I used to think it was narcissism. If a human wanted all the people on the earth to serve them, to love them without condition it would certainly be a sign of narcissism: “self-admiration or self-love; a tendency to over-estimate one’s abilities and importance” See, no human deserves that.

That to me is the crux of this issue. We can’t help but look at it from a very human perspective. When I shifted that perspective I started to understand a bit better. God actually does deserve our love, service and indeed adoration.

And the other side of this (in my thinking so far) is that because we were created for this purpose, our lives are most blessed when living in that purpose. Look at the first two humans. It was only when they started rebelling against God that their lives took a turn for the worse.

God wants to bless us. To love us back. In fact, His love for us came first. It is not that if we love God then He loves us in return. Even when we do not love Him, when we actively reject Him, He still loves us. Unconditionally.

I’m not sure if this answers the question. But I find that when I can shift my thinking away from human examples, then I can start to understand a little better. And when I look at it from that perspective that God deserves my love, by virtue of all that He is, and the knowledge that He loves me in spite of all my failings, then that makes me bow before Him in adoration.

I don’t think that this is a perfect answer to the question by any means. If anyone else has any thoughts I would be delighted to hear them. It’s a fascinating topic. From my stats I know that I have a few lurkers on this blog – it’s time to come out and nail your colours to the mast! I don’t care if you agree or disagree with me. What better opportunity is there to come out and leave a comment?

Identity

I have some serious thinking to do. I’m going to try to express some of what I need to think about here.

I have been allowing myself to dwell on negative thoughts. People I can’t deal with, situations I can’t handle. I have been allowing myself to see my world as something I’m stuck in. Certain situations I have found myself in over the last few years have strengthened my conviction that we are all responsible for our own actions. We can’t blame other people, or happenings in our life for how be think and behave. We can seemingly make a go of our lives but if our thoughts are still rotten then it means nothing. This is a concept which is so important to me that I can’t even express it clearly. I see people who wallow in self-pity, who allow bitterness to eat them up inside. I so desperately want to help but I have to recognise that it is beyond me. This frustrates me so much.

And yet… here I am, wallowing. Just because I haven’t really felt like myself for a while. Just because I have had to recognise that I’m not a super-hero. I can’t solve everybody’s problems. I can’t repair this broken world. I just have to watch. Just accept people the way they are and love them anyway. I can’t do any more than that. And because I have despaired of ever making a difference I can now see that despair has seeped into my life. I can’t help so what’s the point? Stop talking to me about your problems. You just want me to be a shoulder, someone you can rant at, but you don’t want to know what I actually think about the situation. You don’t really want to change. So if you don’t want to change then I don’t want to listen. It’s too much for me. Just leave me alone.

In my last post someone left a comment asking how being compassionate is going to help me to feel better. Good question I thought. I should be taking time to out focus on myself. Have a little me time. Me me me me me. But am I not then just doing exactly that which so frustrates me about other people? Running away from the world because it’s too hard to deal with.

It strikes me that it’s odd how low self-esteem and arrogance can sometimes go hand in hand. I am so hard on myself. I demand so much from myself. I beat myself up over the smallest things, tell myself that I’m rubbish and nobody should ever like me; I seem to be constantly expecting someone to find out that I’m a fraud, that I’ve been playing the role well but it’s all just an act. And yet at the same time I am angry when other people don’t behave in the ways I deem best. When they don’t take control of their lives, when they just allow the waves of life to roll over them and then become bitter when it didn’t turn out the way they wanted. Does my head in. Arrogance and self-doubt entwined.

And here is what I need to realise. My identity is in Christ. I have been learning this for years, and just when I think I’ve got it I screw up once again. At Easter this year someone close to me really lashed out at me. I was very hurt and confused and had no idea how to handle the situation. Again there was the temptation to just run away and hide. But the fact that it happened on Good Friday may have been my saving grace. I was immersed in what Jesus had done for me. He died for me, took my sin, paid my punishment and set me free. All those black thoughts in my head, Jesus paid the price for them! The one man who never did anything wrong bore my punishment. The God who created me became a human and died for me, so that I would know… what? Well, at the time it made me realise that I have no right to punish anyone for what they do to me – God forgave me so I must forgive others. When I came to that realisation I was free again and I could begin to restore the broken relationship.

The other thing I came to realise was that it doesn’t matter what anyone else thinks of me. God loves me. What a trite phrase that has become in our society nowadays. Smile – Jesus loves you! Urgh. The reason it doesn’t matter what anyone thinks of me is because my God created me, He knows every part of me, he knows all my black thoughts and he accepts me anyway. I have been made clean in His sight. Now, I know that I am not clean. I am sinful, full of rebellious, selfish thoughts – but God has made me His own and He will not let me go. He has forgiven me.

And now, here we are, four months later and I have almost forgotten everything. I have started to judge myself harshly again. I have started to think that I am not up to the task that God has called me to – namely, to love God with my whole being, and to love others. It’s too hard! I can’t do this. How do I break this cycle? I’m a very up and down sort of person. One minute I’m high in the air, full of the realisation of everything, passionate about God – then next I’m down and anxious. I want to be able to praise God even when I’m down. I want to rest in the full assurance of who I am in Christ. I want to be able to accept this gift God has given me, the gift of salvation. I accepted this gift for the first time twelve years ago. But have I ever really known it deep down inside me? I have known it, many times, but I want more than that. Not just occasional incidents where God points out to me who I am and who He has made me to be, but a constant knowledge that is with me all the time. I don’t want to keep forgetting. Is this an attainable desire? And how do I go about getting there?

Thank you to Christy, who brought these thoughts to the fore this morning.

Questions and Ramblings

What is friendship if you can’t be yourself? If you constantly have to hold back in case what you say isn’t understood then how is that friendship?

What does it mean to be a Christian if you’re not trying to become more like Jesus every day?

What does it mean to be a Church? Are we a family? If we are a family then why do our petty grudges get in the way all the time? Why don’t we love each other more?

I don’t know the answers to these questions. I’ve had a rough day today. More stomach cramps. A small run-in with a supposed brother-in-Christ. My stupid values keep getting in the way of compassion. I see someone who behaves in a way that I consider to be unacceptable. I want to help, because that’s what I do. I always want to help. But the above questions are hindering me. I’m well aware that I’m being judgemental. And I’m trying desperately to stop that and remember compassion. But anger just keeps coming back.

I feel down. I don’t know why. None of the situations I deal with are too much to handle. I feel fine when I’m curled up at home with Mr. Razzler. I feel angry and tearful as soon as I am confronted with a difficult situation. And at the same time I feel numb. Why should I care? I want real friendship. I am sick and tired of always being the one who is the shoulder to cry on, always the one who is there to help everyone else. I am sick of being a grown-up. I want someone to come alongside me for a change. See how I am. Be willing to spend some time with me and listen. Not try to teach me anything but just to listen. To give me space and acceptance so that I feel comfortable enough to open up.

But do I really allow anyone to do that? Am I just too used to keeping people at arms length? I don’t really have Christian friends. I have one but we meet up pretty rarely. I have my church but do I really know any of them? Do they know me? I don’t think so. They see what I choose to show them. None of them see the dark, horrible thoughts that are prowling round my head right now. Very few people see these thoughts except Mr. Razzler. But the problem is that he isn’t a Christian. (Gasp. I’ve never mentioned that on here before, have I? I hope you nice Christian bloggers won’t be too disapproving) So I don’t have a more mature Christian to look to for guidance. I do this on my own. And I’m getting tired.

I’m so hard on myself. I get annoyed and irritated and then rebuke myself for it. I’m even berating myself for what I’ve written here. But I’m posting it anyway. This is my blog to write down my thoughts and these are my thoughts at this point in time. At least here I should be able to be myself without worrying what other people think.

I Believe

I believe in choice. I believe that I am responsible for my own actions and thoughts. I do not believe that I can ever blame anyone else for my own actions and thoughts. I do not believe that if I am with a person of strong faith that this will make my own faith stronger. I believe in making the best of my circumstances now. I do not believe in waiting until things change before I start living. I do not believe in allowing myself to become so absorbed in my woes that I become self-pitying. I do not believe that this is helpful. I believe in helping others who are less fortunate than myself. I believe in counting my blessings.

I believe in a God who cares passionately about me, and every other soul in this world. I believe in a God who threw Himself into such self-sacrifice that it took Him to death. I believe in a God who turns lives around; who transforms lives so much that it sends out a beam of joy that is radiant. I believe in a God who throws a party whenever one lost soul turns to Him. I believe that I have to put my own desires to death before I can truly see God. I believe that in those rare moments of clarity I know God in the deepest parts of my spirit.

I believe that when I sing, I sing to God. I believe that when I cease to care about what others think of my voice, that is when my God delights in me. I believe that this life is but a dance, and I am dancing with my Lord. I believe that He is slowly, painfully, haltingly making me more like Himself. I believe that it is slow, painful and halting because I am a fallen creature. But I believe that I have been made clean in His sight. I believe that when I finally see Him I will fall to my knees in adoration. I believe that the sadness and frailty of this life will simply pass away. I believe that my Jesus gives the best hugs imaginable.

 

The Immaculate Conception

I have recently learned that the Immaculate Conception does not, in fact, refer to the miraculous conception of Jesus. It actually refers to the conception of Mary, Mother of Jesus, in her mother’s womb, free from original sin. Interesting.

How did I not know this? I asked Mr. Razzler this morning what he thought the term referred to and he said – conception of Jesus. So at least it’s not just me who’s a total ignoramus.

According to Wikipedia (I know, I know… Wikipedia? Coz that’s never wrong… just go with it for now):

The Immaculate Conception is, according to Roman Catholic dogma, the conception of Mary, the mother of Jesus without any stain of original sin, in her mother’s womb: the dogma thus says that, from the first moment of her existence, she was preserved by God from the lack of sanctifying grace that afflicts mankind, and that she was instead filled with divine grace. It is further believed that she lived a life completely free from sin.

This seems to fly in the face of Biblical teaching (in my humble opinion). ‘All have fallen short of the glory of God’ (Romans 3:21). All. Everybody who ever lived has been tainted by sin, unable to live up to God’s standards. No-one is sinless except Christ. Mary had ‘found favour with God’ (Luke 1:30). God called her to be the mother of Christ.

The argument that Christ is sinless could be taken as meaning he is only sinless because he stems from the sinless Mary. This can not be true! Christ is sinless because ‘he is the image of the invisible God’ (Colossians 1:15).

Now, I had a conversation with my mother about this, and this is what she says:

I think that Mary could be valued more than she tends to be in Protestant churches, but to elevate her so much actually reduces Christ’s importance to my thinking.  Christ was born of a human, and an ordinary human being at that – His incarnation is all the more remarkable because of it.  And it shows how much humankind can be used by God for whatever He chooses, from the humdrum to the extraordinary.

So, if anyone who understands this doctrine even a little bit more than I do happens to come across this post then I would appreciate your input. Being from a definitely Protestant background I struggle to understand this teaching. I do not wish to condemn, that is not my place. I would like to broaden my understanding.

To Mock Or Not To Mock?

Satire: Useful tool or cruel weapon?

I listened to a programme on the BBC World Service last night. Ben Elton was criticising the BBC for not broadcasting jokes about Islam. He says the BBC is too scared of a radical Islamic backlash. The BBC, of course, denies this.

Is the BBC dumbing it’s broadcasts down, preventing the general populace from thinking for itself?

This got me thinking. It’s not only Muslims who have a reputation for disliking jokes at their religion’s expense. Monty Python’s Life of Brian caused a huge backlash from conservative Christians when it was first released, and there are still many Christians today who refuse to watch that film. I, by the way, am not one of them. The Monty Python team all said that they were not poking fun at Christianity, but rather at those who blindly follow, without thinking for themselves.

There is actually a long history of satire within Arabic literature. When I was at university I studied the works of a writer called Badi‘ al-Zamān al-Hamadhāni, a wonderful satirist from the tenth century. Is it merely a recent trend that some (emphasis on some) Muslims are so easily offended?

My personal opinion is that satire is a powerful tool for provoking people into thinking about the society we live in. Satire aimed at religion, whilst controversial at times, has allowed me to think, truly think about my faith, to ask questions, work out for myself what I believe, instead of blindly following others. This does not mean that I do not respect others’ opinions, but I have always been one to ask the questions other people won’t, even if my questions are not considered to be appropriate.

The only people who should be offended by fun being poked at their religion are those whose faith is not very strong.

Note of caution: Satire should be used with sensitivity. The purpose of satire is not to offend for the sake of offending. Offence is not the aim. The goal is to open people’s minds, to force people to think.