Had an interesting chat with the manager of a London City Mission hall which has been converted into an arts centre with a halal cafe. Apparently there used to be a big cross on the outside wall, which they eventually decided to remove. While the guy was taking the cross off the wall a muslim guy was passing, and said "Oh good, I'll be able to go in there now." Lots of Christians would be horrified at the thought of removing a cross from a Christian building... but delighted that a muslim would feel comfortable coming into a mission hall! Incarnational mission is a complex thing. I guess a mission hall with no cross is a bit like a Christian who doesn't go around asking everyone they meet "Have you been born again?"
Met with my reading group today. Emily brought an absolutely fantastic poem - Aubade by Philip Larkin. He describes religion as:
That vast, moth-eaten musical brocade
Created to pretend we never die
Interesting. All societies have gods. Some people argue that man cannot live without a god and therefore invents one. Others say man cannot live without God because he was never meant to.
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