Emerging Africa

Or AfrikaBurn: Why the church should be there...

The 2nd regional Burn (Burning Man event) will take place between the 16th and the 19th October near the Tankwa Karoo National Park, Northern Cape, South Africa. Theme: Power.

Last years event was genuinely life changing for several of us. I want to spell out why this was, and to give a few reasons why "the church" - or Christians who care about mission, community, creativity, and the sacred - should be there. See the "testimonies" here, as well as some serious evangelical scholarship on Burning Man.

Last month (July 2008), evangelical Christian magazine Joy featured an article on the Emergent Church.

Graeme Codrington responded on his blog post called "Lies about truth", which I recommend, but I wanted to add my voice to his, because I think the general view as put out by publishers such as these are distinctly one sided. I feel full of hope and excitement at what the EC movement is bringing to us, and I can't watch those with the media say-so simply dominate the "debate".

Modernism: The predominant worldview of the 20th Century, comprising of:

1. The culmination of the Individual as Ideal, at the expense of Community.
   
2. A belief in "Progress": Man's indominitability and superiority in the Order of Things, as represented in his unsustainable exploitation of the Earth.
   
3. A faith in technology - abstraction from nature - to provide man's needs.
   
4. A hope in a final, universal, and therefore static, solution to mans problems.
   
5. A denial that the creative process is ongoing, and that we will forever be faced with the unknown.
   
6. An epistemology (theory of knowledge) based in rationality at the expense of emotional intelligence and intuition.

I am becoming aware of a tension between 2 strands of Emergence - the postcolonial and the postmodern.

This tension provides us not with a problem to be solved via a bosvergadering or an ecumenical council, as in politics, but rather an opportunity. I have been noting various grumbles from either "camp" towards the other; the postcolonials suggesting the postmoderns are theorists, out of touch with African issues, and the postmoderns suggesting that there is a good reason to theorise, deconstruct and analyse, as well as to take the lead of European philosophical and church movements.

We had a rather (to use a new phrase of Matt Stone's) "pluriform" representation amongst the contributors, which is what was wanted. From measured Reformed exposition, to unbridled Gnosticism, from Emergent Chaos mongering to Evangelical Order management, from Explicit Patriarchy to The New Feminine Divine, a fairly wide range of views has come into view.

And although there were as few tentatively "guilty of heresy" charges, and gratuitous use of the newly in focus "H" and "O" words, the overall tenor was conversational, not judgemental. No-one resorted to mudslinging, and everyone was at pains to "express the hope that they hold". I salute all, those posting and those commenting!

OK that’s the feel good stuff out of the way: what were the criticisms?

In the last while we have enjoyed, thanks to Stray, a virulent discussion around post modernism. As in all good discussions, it began to veer into other territory, and I felt it was time for a new post.

Aratus pointed out that the famous scripture from Acts "In him we live and move and have our being" was a quote from 2 Greek poets, (including his namesake). This is blindingly obvious, because Paul starts by saying "As your own poets have said...". But this is my point, I have thought about and celebrated this phrase as being exclusive to an incarnational faith through Christ, for many years.

I can't help noticing that the previous 2 heartfelt postings, "What does it mean to truly love God?" by Annalisa and "Original Sin and The Sinful Nature : Sex, Sexuality and Homosexuality" by Stray have not attracted any comments. Also comments made in the past months have not engendered much response.

I wanted to say something, because I felt that both Annalisa and Stray really put their hearts out there, and I just wanted to thank them for doing so.

I tune in here every few days. It's been quiet recently, apart from the cherubim "EXqCFpzPqHZp" and the seraphim "vqtQxmZcwABqspGz" but there are a few new names coming up and the curator in me can't help but wonder what's happening.

For all those who are trying to connect, looking for a new approach to spirituality, especially in South Africa, don't give up hope, just because a website appears stagnant. There IS a new thing happening, I am convinced of it. You may feel heretical, you may feel isolated, but lets use the tool given us - the internet - to connect "offline" (by which I mean "online", just so we are all equally confused) while we seek out community in our locales.

OK. Speaking for myself, there's not a lot happening here for me. I refer to many of my posts and comments but most specifically the ones pertaining to the Afrika Burns phenomonen, which has been for me the spiritual highlight of the last 20 years. For all the effort, the practical and theoretical exploration, I have experienced precious little feedback or engagement.

Why is this? Am I a smelly posthippy desert rat freak no one wants to talk to? Is this all dangerous heresy? Is it irrelevant to the mission of this website? My close ones tell me I am oblique, that every thing I say needs to be reinterpreted. I know that, I am hard work.

But is no one interested enough to say

A group of 5 intrepid journeymen headed for the desert heartland and the Afrika Burns festival at Stonehenge farm, near the Tankwa Karoo National Park this last weekend. About 6-800 others from well organised families to student slackers to trance party vets to die hard hippies to spiritual seekers to hedonists to Gaian survivalists, all thrown together for a few days of celebration of life, diversity, and giving.