How is creativity at work boosted by Christian beliefs?

Is it notable that key contenders for the leadership of the UK Conservative Party (and hence becoming Prime Minister of the UK post Brexit) had public profiles with strong Christian leanings?

If not, then it should be.

We saw in the blog entitled “Beliefs: a Pandora’s Box of repeating elements?” that many faiths had something to say about creativity (for refresher, see here... http://mb-metisa.blogspot.co.uk/) Indeed, the Christian tradition displays a particularly powerful connection with creativity. And that is a good sign for the leadership of change both in the UK and in the UK’s sponsoring of the reformulation of a new Europe post Brexit.

Sadly, however, the mainstream Christian churches in the UK are ill-equipped to educate their flocks in the underpinning merits of a tradition to support creativity at work, despite their progressive stance in other spheres. Worse, the Greek Orthodox Church as founding members of Christianity are more focused on "broadcasting" than listening to new ideas from their congregations even in the glorious island of Crete, the subject of St Paul's Letter to Titus in the New Testament of the Bible.

To illustrate, consider the theological Package A below which illustrates one extreme of the Church’s thinking today

PACKAGE A

The present world is basically hostile to human beings and detrimental to    their well-being or salvation. God, whose Kingdom is not of this world, calls people to forsake the world and to seek their salvation in the life above. God's sole agent of salvation is Jesus Christ, who comes from above to redeem his own and returns to prepare a place for them in their "proper" home. As Holy Spirit God is active in the Church, which is the company of those who have responded to the call above and are preparing themselves for their heavenly destiny. Their mission is to rescue others out of the world. To have faith is to believe in the promise of heavenly fulfilment and to answer the call to it by joining the Church and separating oneself (as far possible) from the world and its contaminating influences.

There is little that relates to “work” in Package A. In contrast, another view which has more or less co-existed throughout the Church’s history is shown in Package B following in which three phrases, highlighted, relate to “work.”

PACKAGE B

The present world though imperfect does provide a setting in which human beings find a measure of fulfilment or salvation. God, whose kingdom is on earth as well as (though not yet as completely as) it is in heaven, is active in the world bringing about human salvation. Jesus Christ redeems his fellow human beings so that they may be his co-agents in establishing God's kingdom on earth. The Church comprises those who have recognised, and seek to respond to, the activity of God's Spirit in the world. Their mission is to be fellow-workers with God in transforming the world. To have faith is to see the hand of God in worldly events and to join with others who "see” (not just Christians) in ever-deepening involvement in the world and its concerns

Putting the two packages side by side, we can see how their differences play out more clearly.

PACKAGE A

PACKAGE B

The present world is basically hostile to human beings and detrimental to their well-being or salvation. God, whose Kingdom is not of this world, calls people to forsake the world and to seek their salvation in the life above. God's sole agent of salvation is Jesus Christ, who comes from above to redeem his own and returns to prepare a place for them in their "proper" home. As Holy Spirit God is active in the Church, which is the company of those who have responded to the call above and are preparing themselves for their heavenly destiny. Their mission is to rescue others out of the world. To have faith is to believe in the promise of heavenly fulfilment and to answer the call to it by joining the Church and separating oneself (as far possible) from the world and its contaminating influences.

The present world though imperfect does provide a setting in which human beings find a measure of fulfilment or salvation. God, whose kingdom is on earth as well as (though not yet as completely as) it is in heaven, is active in the world bringing about human salvation. Jesus Christ redeems his fellow human beings so that they may be his co-agents in establishing God's kingdom on earth. The Church comprises those who have recognised, and seek to respond to, the activity of God's Spirit in the world. Their mission is to be fellow-workers with God in transforming the world. To have faith is to see the hand of God in worldly events and to join with others who "see” (not just Christians) in ever-deepening involvement in the world and its concerns

Sadly, the Christian Church’s thinking has been dominated by ideas reflected in Package A. This greatly inhibits the scope for collaboration between religions. An opportunity to frame an empowering “strategic intent” is missed. An opportunity to defuse evil in some fundamentalists in other religions is goes unexplored.

It is salutary to reflect that 2,000 years ago a young Jew, Jesus the Nazarene, - one whom the Greeks named "Christos" for his pains - inspired the transformation in meaning of ancient scriptures by subsequent writers some 50 years and more after his death into a New Testament History attests to his existence, although current opinion is clearly divided on the issue of His resurrection and "reappearances" and the subsequent formulation of the concept of the Trinity (referred to in the blog also here http://mb-metisa.blogspot.co.uk/ entitled “The Trinity Challenge”)

was fraught with difficulties.

But the force powering the writers of those documents now in the New Testament is clearly evident. A question arises:  can this force (freely) be harnessed still in creating a new world order - even post Brexit?

Where to begin? An excellent start for theologians, and practitioners on the ground alike, is to study an unpublished work by David Welbourn, a retired Industrial Chaplain called "Second Creation" from which the above tables and some text were extracted. The forward to the work by the former Bishop of Oxford, and Professor at Gresham College, London, now Rt Revd Lord Harries of Pentregarth, contains the words," One of the many tragedies of our church is that it can become one more leisure pursuit among many, rather than a crucible of creative transformation both in our own lives and in the life of our world…. He gives us all valuable tools with which to enter afresh that most difficult of mission fields... our daily work.”

Anyone embroiled in the daily grind and challenge of “work” who seeks purpose and inspiration and prepared to forego social networking activities for a few hours (apart from reading this!) can benefit from scanning “Second Creation.”

For your copy of "Second Creation," see here

Composed by Metisa .... www.metisa.net

Published on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-can-creativity-work-boosted-christian-beliefs-david-meggitt?trk=prof-post