As part of my book circle (I'll explain later) group I have been given a book called "School(s) of conversion:the 12 marks of New Monasticism" and it describes the 12 characteristics of New Monasticism as:
1) Relocation to the abandoned places of empire.
2) Sharing economic resources with fellow community members and the needy among us.
3) Hospitality to strangers.
4) Lament for racial divisions within the church and our communities comfuned with the active pursuit of a just reconciliation.
5) Humble submission to Christ's body, the church.
6) Intentional formation in the way of Christ and the rule of the community along the lines of the old novitiate.
7) Nurturing common life among members of intentional community.
8) Support for celibate singles alongside monogamous married couples and their children.
9) Geographical proximity to community members who share a common rule of life.
10) Care for the plot of God's earth given to us along with support of our local economies.
11) Peacemaking in the midst of violence and conflict resolution within communities along the lines of Matthew 18.
12) Commitment to a disciplined contemplative life.
Quiet challenging ideas I think.
Saturday 27 February 2010
Wednesday 17 February 2010
Why I finally took the plunge and joined a political party
Today I finally decided to take the plunge and join the Liberal Democrat Party, I have been debating this decision for a very long time and I thought it might be good for me to go through the reasons.
Firstly I feel that the are the closest to my views on British Politics. I Won't go into too much detail for each belief and opinion instead I'll just state some of them. I Believe in the view that, even if your views are right then you shouldn't force them upon anyone. I Believe that you should help out those that are less fortunate than yourself, However I also believe that this shouldn't lead to hand outs and that it should create a dependency cycle. I believe that we need to take care of our environment and that we need to promote a green economy. I Believe that our constitution should be reformed, we need a system where people feel their votes count and that they have links with their Representative, I therefore support STV system and reform of the house of lords (although in this area I do depart from the party line). I also believe in the principle that our decision should be made at the most efficent level, so I believe some powers should be given to local authorities and even organisation and in some case at a higher level such as the EU and UN.
Those are just a collection of my beliefs that I share with the Libs, there are some areas that I depart from a bit more (as mentioned House of Lords, I don't agree that wind power is the renewable way forward, and I also think that constitutional reform, although a very important issue, could be an excuss to not address other important issues (Brown's sudden conversion to AV anyone?)
I also believe that having a strong third party would be very good for Britain. At the moment, having only two parties, means that you can have the situation where you don't like the main party, but don't like the opposition either. If you have a genuine alternative then it provides a way of supporting a party you want to. It also allows the parties to focus on their actual beliefs and not just become a catch all party. With a more proportional system it would also allow more parties which would provided even more options for people and not just having to vote for the least worse option.
I also believe that my local MP, Ed Davey, has done a very good job and I want to support him further.
Finally I believe that it is silly for me to try and pretend an impartiality when I clearly haven't been for a long time. This doesn't mean that I won't give credit to the good ideas that I hear in other parties or that I won't not critise the Lib's but it just means that I will acknowledge my allegiance and try and acknowledge the biased that places on my views.
I know that some people will criticize this decision a lot, with such comments as they are a irrelevant party who will never be in power (if they really are irrelevant then why mention them?) and whilst this may be true at the moment the fact of the matter is there is that potential for them to grown and gain influence, especially with the possibility of a hung parliament looming.
Some might say that no one knows what the Lib Dem's stand for, which is interesting seeing as it is very easy to find out what their constitution is and what they stand for and what their policies are on their website (unlike the other two parties). It is also interesting as they generally are the middle way and have had their best policies adapted by the other parties for a long time.
I'm sure there are other criticism and if you feel like posting them then go ahead and comment.
Firstly I feel that the are the closest to my views on British Politics. I Won't go into too much detail for each belief and opinion instead I'll just state some of them. I Believe in the view that, even if your views are right then you shouldn't force them upon anyone. I Believe that you should help out those that are less fortunate than yourself, However I also believe that this shouldn't lead to hand outs and that it should create a dependency cycle. I believe that we need to take care of our environment and that we need to promote a green economy. I Believe that our constitution should be reformed, we need a system where people feel their votes count and that they have links with their Representative, I therefore support STV system and reform of the house of lords (although in this area I do depart from the party line). I also believe in the principle that our decision should be made at the most efficent level, so I believe some powers should be given to local authorities and even organisation and in some case at a higher level such as the EU and UN.
Those are just a collection of my beliefs that I share with the Libs, there are some areas that I depart from a bit more (as mentioned House of Lords, I don't agree that wind power is the renewable way forward, and I also think that constitutional reform, although a very important issue, could be an excuss to not address other important issues (Brown's sudden conversion to AV anyone?)
I also believe that having a strong third party would be very good for Britain. At the moment, having only two parties, means that you can have the situation where you don't like the main party, but don't like the opposition either. If you have a genuine alternative then it provides a way of supporting a party you want to. It also allows the parties to focus on their actual beliefs and not just become a catch all party. With a more proportional system it would also allow more parties which would provided even more options for people and not just having to vote for the least worse option.
I also believe that my local MP, Ed Davey, has done a very good job and I want to support him further.
Finally I believe that it is silly for me to try and pretend an impartiality when I clearly haven't been for a long time. This doesn't mean that I won't give credit to the good ideas that I hear in other parties or that I won't not critise the Lib's but it just means that I will acknowledge my allegiance and try and acknowledge the biased that places on my views.
I know that some people will criticize this decision a lot, with such comments as they are a irrelevant party who will never be in power (if they really are irrelevant then why mention them?) and whilst this may be true at the moment the fact of the matter is there is that potential for them to grown and gain influence, especially with the possibility of a hung parliament looming.
Some might say that no one knows what the Lib Dem's stand for, which is interesting seeing as it is very easy to find out what their constitution is and what they stand for and what their policies are on their website (unlike the other two parties). It is also interesting as they generally are the middle way and have had their best policies adapted by the other parties for a long time.
I'm sure there are other criticism and if you feel like posting them then go ahead and comment.
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