A Church of England spokesman said it was not the type of subject the Church could comment on.
Talk about spluttering into me cornflakes. I'm not sure why there was a 'no comment' answer. The CofE has reports on related subjects. Even if only referencing the studies and perhaps saying Christians believe that there are more things in heaven and earth than we currently understand and that there needs to be careful discernment of such things because of connections in some cases with mental ill-health, charlatanry and unhealthy or abusive religion. As it is, the statement will have merely reinforced a cultural prejudice that runs something like this: "The Church /Christians are not really spiritual and don't really have anything to offer seekers of spiritual experience".
I'd be interested in further comments, particularly advice to the CofE's PR people on such matters.
BBC NEWS | UK | Britons report 'psychic powers'
Filed in: beliefs, UK, paranormal, survey, psychic
2 comments:
Andii
The CofE's response to the data on the psychic is myopic but not entirely surprising. The first obstacle is that by ignoring the spiritual ferment in British culture (and across the western world) among non-Christians hinders the possibility of any robust or incisive reply.
The second obstacle is that by stating that the CofE has nothing to say, it of course highlights the paralytic nature of church officials who are out-of-touch with what the spiritual matters people are exploring, especially as a folk religosity right underneath their gazes.
So you are correct to note that this PR statement simply reconfirms to outsiders the utter moribund state and irrelevancy of Christians, and their failure to even try to understand the "religious protest" that new spiritualities and folk religions exhibit.
A better way would have been for the PR people to say, "it is interesting to see these trends and to note that people are not swayed by atheism. This yearning for the spiritual shows a deep need and hunger on the part of many people who feel alienated by the dislocation of today's 24/7 dot.com patterns of life. We identify with the aspirations of thousands of Britons today who cannot settle for life in mere material substances. Jesus taught that life is greater than material possessions and that relating to God in the here and now is what matters most to making a person, a community and a nation great. We believe though that sadly many Britons feel alienated by parts of the Church that have failed to connect them with God in the ordinary routines of life. This report concerning the appeal of psychic phenomena is indictment against a dead orthodoxy. It is time for Christian leaders to revisit Jesus' way of reconnecting people with God's Spirit to enable them in their family life and work place to experience the love and friendship of God in a practical spirituality."
Andii, my forehead has bruises after reading that. Worthy of a Monty Python skit. If only it was a joke.
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