tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16042668012165613222024-03-18T07:13:54.361-07:00Wychwood CircleWychwood Circlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10156906067880355744noreply@blogger.comBlogger158125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1604266801216561322.post-6738895841185663262020-09-03T05:54:00.011-07:002020-09-03T07:24:40.119-07:00New Testament Greek<p>We'll be restarting our monthly meetings soon, on Zoom and then in Milton Village Hall when the time is right (more details to follow soon), but meanwhile you may be interested in a new group that's starting this month in St Mary's Charlbury:</p>
<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ARr1HvDdQyI/X1DvJIgTv9I/AAAAAAAAANU/zeHtxfLEEtcdpyOzMgux5QoJaegMQ6aeQCLcBGAsYHQ/s842/NT%2BGreek.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="842" data-original-width="595" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ARr1HvDdQyI/X1DvJIgTv9I/AAAAAAAAANU/zeHtxfLEEtcdpyOzMgux5QoJaegMQ6aeQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/NT%2BGreek.jpg" /></a></div><div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>Click on the poster to see a clearer image!</i></b></div>PJohnPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06611573458513792939noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1604266801216561322.post-11597079410997870072020-06-27T05:24:00.001-07:002020-06-27T05:29:11.921-07:00MORALITY, MONASTIC STEPS, AND MINDFULNESS <div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Two fascinating books have, thanks to the generosity of friends, come my way as I stood back from Wychwood Circle: </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">How The World Thinks</i><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> (Julian Baggini) and </span><i style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The Righteous Mind</i><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">
(Jonathan Haidt).</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The first expands
one’s horizon by looking at the vast array of alternative views of the
world, from Japan to India and from enlightenment France to the Middle East. It
feels all-encompassing and quite a tour de force, and it leaves you with a
strong sense of the deep connections between philosophy and culture.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The second might best be
approached via the chapter on ‘WEIRD morality’ which can shake your complacent,
culturally conditioned approach to politics and religion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Haidt pulls you up short – if your culture is
typically ‘Western, educated, industrialised, rich and democratic’ – with the
observation that there are more foundations for basing your morality than the
common liberal one of avoiding harm to others but otherwise just getting on
with your life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In other cultures you
might balance your ‘ethic of autonomy’ with an ‘ethic of community’ or even ‘an
ethic of divinity’. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Moral foundations</span></span></h4>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Or you could re-examine the
basis of your morality altogether by considering a range of foundational intuitive
factors, ranging from the desire to avoid harm and to seek fairness (however
defined); through the instinct to resist oppression; <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to the goals of respect for loyalty, authority
and, finally, ‘sanctity’ (or avoiding degrading ourselves or others). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Haidt examines all these foundations in fascinating
detail before looking at their implications for politics and religion. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">One of the earliest
discussions at Wychwood Circle was based on <i>Finding Happiness – Monastic
Steps for a Fulfilling Life</i>, by Abbot Christopher Jamison.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those monastic steps, it turned out, could be
applied to any of us – that is, as long as we are as interested as the Abbot in
what might be called an integrated ‘interior life’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If we are, then we might find that we need to
look at our ‘spiritual hygiene’ in the same way as, with our basic familiarity
with modern medicine, we have been brought up to observe physical hygiene. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<h4 style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Freedom of spirit </span></span></h4>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Jamison’s starting point is
that the phrase “Blessed are the pure in heart” could be construed in the
modern mind as [my form of words] ‘blessed are those who seek interior, and not
just, exterior freedom’:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>his argument is
that happiness or fulfilment depend on choosing that interior freedom, that
freedom of spirit. His belief is that the urge for that monastic wisdom is
present in every ‘spiritually healthy adult’ in the form of ‘the contemplative
urge, the desire to step back, be still and look inwards, the desire to find
sanctuary’. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The outline of the book, as
some of us will recall, is the Eight Thoughts of that early ‘desert father’
John Cassian (b 360 AD), soon to be taken up by St Benedict and others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The purpose of examining these Thoughts – beginning
with ‘Acedia’, or spiritual laziness or apathy, and going on to the
better-known ‘deadly sins’ of gluttony, vanity, lust etc – is to increase
self-awareness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cassian would urge us,
in this way, to ‘freely choose purity of heart at every moment of the day’,
says Jamison. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The way to do that as a monk
may be to pray, which includes contemplation and reflective reading;<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>some in 2020 may be more likely to turn to
meditation and some specifically to mindfulness meditation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One meditation textbook describes how our
unconscious conditioning ‘can be purified by the illuminating power of
mindfulness’. A definition of mindfulness might be the practice of cultivating
‘spacious, appreciative awareness’ and in 2016 we were fortunate to have the
guru of British mindfulness, Mark Williams, to speak to a packed village hall,
followed in 2019 by author and trainer Tim Stead. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mindfulness meditation helps us to get to know
our minds, beginning by noticing our thoughts and sensations coming and going
and deciding whether we want them to define us, choosing to respond rather than
react, and so on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I imagine Cassian
would have been happy with that.</span></span></div>
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<h4 style="margin-left: 36.0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Not doing harm to others? </span></span></h4>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Our attitudes are shaped by
our thoughts: as the Buddha said, ‘what we incline the mind towards is what the
mind becomes’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Jamison stresses that
self-awareness is not just about a private world of introspection, but
‘attentiveness to my way of relating to people and things’ and this brings us again
to Jonathan Haidt’s eye-opening and seminal book on moral psychology and its
interface with religion and politics.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our
interaction with the world includes our attitudes as well as our actions, says
Jamison, an approach which denies the belief (which Haidt emphatically
challenges) that ‘something is good so long as it does no harm to others’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">My inner world can do harm
as well as good, to me as well as to others.
The examined life (to misquote Socrates) might indeed make life far more
worth living. And then we might better understand
others too. </span><span style="font-family: "candara" , sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Post by David Soward</b> </span></span></div>
<br />Wychwood Circlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10156906067880355744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1604266801216561322.post-7606065610550765992020-03-16T13:22:00.002-07:002020-03-16T13:25:04.408-07:00News from the Planning MeetingThank you to all those who took the trouble to join us for this.<br />
<br />
It was agreed that the current format of meeting monthly, usually on second Sundays at 7.00 pm in Milton library or village hall, was a good pattern; and we discussed the sorts of topics and speakers that we would appreciate.<br />
<br />
I'll apply myself to devising a programme and will contact members (and post details here) as it takes shape.<br />
<br />
Next month is of course Easter, and so our next meeting (pestilence permitting) will be on May 10th -- book the date!PJohnPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06611573458513792939noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1604266801216561322.post-45550754462063902692020-02-27T12:17:00.001-08:002020-02-27T12:18:47.618-08:00March meeting<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r3OC0y4ByxE/XlgjkFNQIXI/AAAAAAAAAJA/pSQ7zFt22E0MHiQYAg9xd56HlVO-x97tgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/March%2Bposter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="842" data-original-width="595" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-r3OC0y4ByxE/XlgjkFNQIXI/AAAAAAAAAJA/pSQ7zFt22E0MHiQYAg9xd56HlVO-x97tgCLcBGAsYHQ/s640/March%2Bposter.jpg" width="451" /></a></div>
PJohnPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06611573458513792939noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1604266801216561322.post-496928526512759242020-02-27T11:16:00.000-08:002020-02-27T12:21:38.178-08:00Many thanks ..<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">.. to David Soward, who has been convening the Circle for several years now. David stepped back at the end of 2019, and John Partington has agreed to take on the role.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The Circle consists, of course, of its attenders – John is only the co-ordinator. Be sure to come to our next meeting (7.00 pm on Sunday 8 March in Milton Village Hall) to share opinions and ideas about our programme in 2020 and beyond!</span>PJohnPhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06611573458513792939noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1604266801216561322.post-47035197319971044522019-11-29T01:04:00.003-08:002019-11-29T01:07:28.734-08:00WHY IS CHRISTIANITY FAILING? <div class="gmail_default" style="font-family: "trebuchet ms", sans-serif;">
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vskdp0219bw/XeDe7M5bzXI/AAAAAAAAFzE/IaPZMY3bwLQ7gozPDA-fZFdFV6adr7iEgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Mark_Vernon%2Bpic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; font-size: large; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="492" height="182" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vskdp0219bw/XeDe7M5bzXI/AAAAAAAAFzE/IaPZMY3bwLQ7gozPDA-fZFdFV6adr7iEgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Mark_Vernon%2Bpic.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: medium;">MARK VERNON, </span><span style="font-size: medium;">whose book </span><i style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/42789435-a-secret-history-of-christianity">A Secret History of Christianity</a></i><span style="font-size: medium;"> came out earlier this year, has been </span><a href="https://www.markvernon.com/talks" style="font-size: large;">touring</a><span style="font-size: medium;"> the country with talks and discussions in recent months. His interest recently has evolved around <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/obituary-owen-barfield-1289580.html">Owen Barfield</a> and the concept of 'participation' in the evolution of consciousness - as we heard last time he visited us. <a href="https://www.markvernon.com/" target="_blank">Mark </a>joins Wychwood Circle on December 8th to talk about '<b>Why is Christianity failing?</b>' A clue to his answer may lie in the quotation which a longer title might have alluded to - namely Karl Rahner's words: 'The Christian of the future will be a mystic or he will not exist at all.' </span><br />
<span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-size: medium;"><b>Join us at Milton Village Hall on Sunday, December 8th at 7pm - or earlier for refreshments. Contributions (£3-5) towards the costs of speaker and hall will be invited. </b></span></div>
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Wychwood Circlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10156906067880355744noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1604266801216561322.post-33247647593870402292019-10-27T04:55:00.001-07:002019-11-29T01:08:15.472-08:00'TO BE A PILGRIM'? A NON-BELIEVER'S WALK TO JERUSALEM<h2>
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">MENTAL HEALTH, IMAGINATION AND SPIRITUALITY</span></span></h2>
<div>
<span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">Anyone interested in mental health as well as spirituality may
have spotted some interesting speakers at Wychwood Circle this autumn.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After mindfulness in September, this Sunday, November 3rd, we have author Guy Stagg who has suffered with serious mental illness and who,
as a non-believer, decided to undertake the 5,500km ‘pilgrimage’ from
Canterbury to Jerusalem:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>he hiked on
foot, alone, on ancient paths and busy routes, relying on the generosity of
strangers all the way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The result is ‘<i>The
Crossway</i>’ (Picador 2018), which mixes travel and memoir and where Guy Stagg
(</span><a href="http://www.guystagg.co.uk/" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">guystagg.co.uk</span></a><span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;">) tells of his walk towards recovery and – a big question for
us – ‘asks whether religion can still have meaning for those without faith’.</span></div>
<div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">You can see Guy in interviews and conversations </span><a href="https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=share&v=uHNO1DNRKEU" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;" target="_blank">here</a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> and </span><a href="https://www.theosthinktank.co.uk/comment/2019/02/08/nick-spencer-in-conversation-with-guy-stagg" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;" target="_blank">here</a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><b>Join us at Wychwood Library at 7pm on November 3rd. </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">After over 7
years of regular monthly meetings Wychwood Circle will take a break in 2020 but
before that we have a third visit from <a href="https://www.markvernon.com/" target="_blank">Dr Mark Vernon</a>, a</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XPdq0vTukBQ/XbWDVufLrPI/AAAAAAAAFxs/dGCrztzUGj4T13POF0Af8afb6xf8c5LNgCEwYBhgL/s1600/Mark_Vernon%2Bpic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="281" data-original-width="492" height="182" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XPdq0vTukBQ/XbWDVufLrPI/AAAAAAAAFxs/dGCrztzUGj4T13POF0Af8afb6xf8c5LNgCEwYBhgL/s320/Mark_Vernon%2Bpic.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">psychotherapist </span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">and the author of ‘<i>How to be an Agnostic’</i>, ‘<i>Wellbeing’,
</i>and, just published, ‘</span><a href="https://wpf.org.uk/book-of-the-month-october-2019/"><i><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;">A Secret History of Christianity</span></i></a></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">’. His new book is largely about Owen Barfield – fellow Inkling and friend of JR Tolkien and C S Lewis – and focuses on the importance of
imagination within the evolution of consciousness over the centuries, and
thereby to the place of poetry as well as spirituality in a fully-rounded
appreciation of the world. His critique
of contemporary Christianity is that it has lost touch with the mysticism which
should be at its centre. The new book
has just been endorsed by WPF Therapy in London (where Mark trained as a psychotherapist) as their October 'book of the
month' (click on the link from the book title above). </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Join us on December 8<sup>th</sup>,
7pm at the Village Hall.</b></span></span><br />
<br /></div>
Wychwood Circlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10156906067880355744noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1604266801216561322.post-84983869680064664802019-09-05T08:12:00.000-07:002019-09-05T13:44:52.873-07:00AWARENESS, COMPASSION, EASE OF BEING<h3>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Can Mindfulness be a form of spirituality for the non-religious?</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://timsteadmindfulness.wordpress.com/about/" target="_blank">Tim Stead</a> has gone from engineering to being a vicar at what was once C S Lewis' church at Headington Quarry, Oxford, to being a mindfulness teacher on the eight-week Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) course at the famous Oxford Mindfulness Centre.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LUbiCKtT9v8/XXEgDBXweeI/AAAAAAAAFuM/tdpIjLSvTjoIKXctlgdKSJxCOtlSH7hDgCLcBGAs/s1600/DSC06359%2B%25281%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LUbiCKtT9v8/XXEgDBXweeI/AAAAAAAAFuM/tdpIjLSvTjoIKXctlgdKSJxCOtlSH7hDgCLcBGAs/s320/DSC06359%2B%25281%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">One of the founders of that Centre and</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">the man who, some might say, 'wrote the book' on mindfulness </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">(subtitled 'Finding Peace in a Frantic World') </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">was a previous guest speaker of Wychwood Circle, in 2016 at Milton Village Hall: Mark Williams. Professor Williams wrote the Foreword to Tim Stead's book <i><b>Mindfulness and Christian Spirituality</b> </i>(2016), with the recommendation:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>'You can read this book in a day; but take it to heart, and it will last a lifetime.'</i></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Since then Tim has left the employment of the Church of England and set up as a freelance teacher and spiritual guide. His more <a href="https://timsteadmindfulness.wordpress.com/books/" target="_blank">recent book</a> is called <i><b>See, Love, Be</b></i> and has the subtitle quoted in the heading above. You can read all about it on <a href="https://timsteadmindfulness.wordpress.com/" target="_blank">Tim's website</a>. As he says there, his main interest is:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>'... what might be called Mindful Living, i.e. actually living it all out. How do we live a life marked by awareness (SEE), compassion (LOVE) and ease of being (BE) in this modern (in my case urban) world? </i></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>Practising some form of meditation will be part of it but we are not here to become good meditators but good humans. And there are many facets to being a good human with all its shades of light and dark all of which are equally valued parts of the picture. </i></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>Mindful Living will be about how we spend our time, what food we eat and how we travel as well as our engagement with the rest of humanity and the rest of nature. I am interested in it all.'</i></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">We look forward to his exploration of the topic agreed for his visit to the Wychwoods, namely how mindfulness might fall into that gap between conventional religion and modern spirituality. His talk will include some opportunities to practise and to discuss as well as an open forum for questions and answers. </span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Join us on Sunday, September 8th, at the Village Hall (Shipton Road, Milton under Wychwood) for a 7pm start - refreshments served from 6.40pm. Retiring collection. </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>Wychwood Circlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10156906067880355744noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1604266801216561322.post-64561282142393816472019-07-13T11:44:00.002-07:002019-07-13T11:45:17.607-07:00AUTUMN SERIES 2019 <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-y-uMEw63tiU/XSomE7Wo2CI/AAAAAAAAFrs/myE1JtoawSsszVdgx6tA4m96HvWUVzglgCLcBGAs/s1600/Autumn%2B2019%2Bseries.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1132" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-y-uMEw63tiU/XSomE7Wo2CI/AAAAAAAAFrs/myE1JtoawSsszVdgx6tA4m96HvWUVzglgCLcBGAs/s640/Autumn%2B2019%2Bseries.jpg" width="451" /></a></div>
<img height="16" id="7r3i2wdj78l0" src="data:image/gif;base64,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" width="16" />Wychwood Circlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10156906067880355744noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1604266801216561322.post-82530290095874270442019-06-05T11:55:00.005-07:002019-07-13T11:34:10.729-07:00WHY SHOULD WE BE MORAL?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ci4NGhJc_nM/XPgQIyQv-MI/AAAAAAAAFo4/P2sRKKI7XoceMfXfY3u5K7H5iUzggTAjgCLcBGAs/s1600/Why%2Bshould%2Bwe%2Bbe%2Bmoral%2B-%2BStephen%2BPickering.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1132" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ci4NGhJc_nM/XPgQIyQv-MI/AAAAAAAAFo4/P2sRKKI7XoceMfXfY3u5K7H5iUzggTAjgCLcBGAs/s640/Why%2Bshould%2Bwe%2Bbe%2Bmoral%2B-%2BStephen%2BPickering.jpg" width="452" /></a></div>
<br />Wychwood Circlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10156906067880355744noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1604266801216561322.post-41818383607079703222019-04-30T10:10:00.002-07:002019-05-31T02:15:23.316-07:00TRUTH, TRIBES AND RECONCILIATION <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The phrase 'Truth and Reconciliation' is associated most strongly with so-called Truth Commissions or Truth and Reconciliation Commissions (etc) which have been established historically in countries from Canada and Congo to Peru and Yugoslavia - and famously in South Africa post-apartheid. Such commissions have often had the job of uncovering the truth about past wrongdoing in situations of serious conflict, in particular violations of human rights, violence, disappearances, and so on. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HCpeB3RvwBY/XMiBdQd47vI/AAAAAAAAFnc/dUxhK2iSbEwoA50QeiHzyjxSB91Y9TmDACLcBGAs/s1600/Peter%2BSilva%2BJune%2B2019%2Bposter%2Bjpg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1132" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HCpeB3RvwBY/XMiBdQd47vI/AAAAAAAAFnc/dUxhK2iSbEwoA50QeiHzyjxSB91Y9TmDACLcBGAs/s640/Peter%2BSilva%2BJune%2B2019%2Bposter%2Bjpg.jpg" width="452" /></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So the phrase should perhaps not be used lightly. Yet truth has been at a premium in both the USA and the UK in recent years, as we have previously debated at Wychwood Circle, and a potential UK prime minister is at this moment being taken to court for lying in the EU referendum - with some critics arguing that this is no place for the judiciary to get involved since 'politicians always lie' while continental diplomats cannot foresee doing any deals with a future prime minister who is known for his 'mendacity and duplicity'. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When Peter Silva's talk was planned the expectation was that the Brexit debate would have led to some sort of constitutional conclusion, however messy, leaving the UK (in or out of the EU) riven and polarised. We still await an outcome - if indeed one is possible given the degree of polarisation - and there are suggestions that we may just have to stay in semi-permanent limbo. Meanwhile, there might or might not have been wrongdoing or violations of human rights - and only one public and political death - but a crucial task of any future government will be to try and effect a reconciliation in our divided society. It's hard to see how. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So, with or without a commission, both truth and reconciliation must be high on the agenda in our political and moral climate for years to come. Peter Silva, who now lives in Chipping Norton, knows at first hand what life in South Africa was like before and since their TRC and he has also just visited the USA, where the political and social divisions are also great. He comes with both academic and life experiences to provoke our thoughts and many who have heard Peter before will know that his engaging style of public speaking will both inform and challenge us. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>Join us at the Village Hall on June 9th at 7pm, or earlier for refreshments. Retiring collection (£3-5 suggested). </b></span>Wychwood Circlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10156906067880355744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1604266801216561322.post-51241846717664270062019-04-30T10:02:00.001-07:002019-04-30T10:02:45.994-07:00PEOPLE LIKE US: WHY WE ARE NOW TWO TRIBES<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<img height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ydu4QjMz4-I/XKsj_EZZ6XI/AAAAAAAAFmM/ZiIAMZZ24ykQdcwy3bi7KPFIWtkPiYzDgCLcBGAs/s640/Angela%2BTilby%2BMay%2B2019%2Bfinal.jpg" width="451" /></div>
<br />Wychwood Circlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10156906067880355744noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1604266801216561322.post-42114578276580027842019-04-08T03:36:00.000-07:002019-04-30T10:01:32.375-07:00FLUNG TO TWO OPPOSING POLES <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">It hardly needs stating that we live in turbulent
times.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As yet another deadline comes and
goes and the UK increasingly becomes the focus of incredulity, hilarity or pity
across the world, it is opportune that Wychwood Circle has two speakers in the
next couple of months to help us think through a moral (and inevitably
political) stance on the Brexit divisions. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The Times journalist Janice Turner wrote recently that<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>Brexit has flung 65 per cent of the population, according to research by BritainThinks, to two opposing poles. ... So the minority in the centre, what I call "Brexit non-binary", ... have endured three years of roiling, upset guts.</i></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>It has been hard hearing our communities caricatured as duped and bigoted. ("I'm glad my constituents aren't as stupid as yours," said a Remain area Labour MP to another with a Leave seat.)</i> </span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I don’t believe that non-binary minority are alone in having
had their digestion or even their psychological stability upset by the madness
of this recent period.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Commentators
(including our next guest speaker) have written about underlying anxieties, families
divided, mental health damaged (64% reported this in the same survey), vital
decisions postponed, non-British EU nationals struggling to confirm their ‘settled
status’, etc. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And all this on the basis that
37% of the electorate voted one way in a Yes/No referendum three years ago! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<h4>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">TRIBES, TRUTH ... AND RECONCILIATION?</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Broadcaster and columnist (and former Canon of Christ Church,
Oxford) Angela Tilby was one of the first to speak out about the division of
the country into ‘two tribes’ – and that was a year ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It seemed slightly exaggerated at that time
to ask our second speaker, South African academic and priest Peter Silva, to
speak under the title ‘Truth and Reconciliation’.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One year on, it seems anything but extreme to
imagine we might have to hold some sort of similar process to try and bring the
country together again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Archbishop
of Canterbury has suggested that church people invite those of opposite views
to tea on a Sunday afternoon;<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>it may
take more than that. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><u>Angela Tilby</u></b> will join us on May 12<sup>th</sup> in Milton Village
Hall to speak about <b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">‘People like us’: are we now two tribes? </i></b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><u>Peter Silva</u></b> will speak at Wychwood Library on June 9<sup>th</sup>
on the topic <b><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Truth and Reconciliation</i></b>, including a survey of the South
African experience and its relevance to the UK and US today.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<br />Wychwood Circlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10156906067880355744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1604266801216561322.post-76920645875686825122019-03-09T09:46:00.004-08:002019-03-09T09:55:05.931-08:00BY WAY OF THE HEART - with SUE LEIGH<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Sue Leigh’s new collection of poems, <i>Chosen Hill</i>, is out now from Two </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Rivers Press. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">She has won the BBC Proms Poetry Competition and </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Carol Ann Duffy’s Shore to Shore competition and her work has been </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">published widely in magazines and journals including the Areté, Oxford </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Magazine, The Spectator and the TLS. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Living in rural Oxfordshire, she </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">reviews regularly for PN Review and teaches at Rewley House, Oxford </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">University’s Department for Continuing Education.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-B3JHYTPpQZY/XIP75ZeKcZI/AAAAAAAAFkU/dX3Cbfeh1I0yLpax50Zx8rgVO3k-Bu6AgCLcBGAs/s1600/Sue%2BLeigh%2B-%2BBy%2Bway%2Bof%2Bthe%2Bheart%2Bposter%2Bfinal%2Bjpg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1132" height="640" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-B3JHYTPpQZY/XIP75ZeKcZI/AAAAAAAAFkU/dX3Cbfeh1I0yLpax50Zx8rgVO3k-Bu6AgCLcBGAs/s640/Sue%2BLeigh%2B-%2BBy%2Bway%2Bof%2Bthe%2Bheart%2Bposter%2Bfinal%2Bjpg.jpg" width="451" /></a></span></div>
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<br />Wychwood Circlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10156906067880355744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1604266801216561322.post-54422396571829647172019-02-11T03:42:00.002-08:002019-02-11T03:44:49.729-08:00GENDER and THEOLOGY - Professor Daphne Hampson<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YveAsCeQ3TI/XGFfluHcczI/AAAAAAAAFjc/6ctG114WqtEjS79NsZ0iF2-MKp_uIEB0ACLcBGAs/s1600/Mar%2B2019%2BDaphne%2BHampson%2Bposter%2Bjpg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1132" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YveAsCeQ3TI/XGFfluHcczI/AAAAAAAAFjc/6ctG114WqtEjS79NsZ0iF2-MKp_uIEB0ACLcBGAs/s640/Mar%2B2019%2BDaphne%2BHampson%2Bposter%2Bjpg.jpg" width="451" /></a></div>
<br />Wychwood Circlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10156906067880355744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1604266801216561322.post-79416646741511279272019-01-21T02:19:00.000-08:002019-02-11T03:45:52.786-08:00LANGUAGE, TRUTH AND SLOGANS<br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Wychwood Circle has always been about breaking down
barriers and exploring reality.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">From our earliest days we met
monthly in Wychwood Library, sharing the space and talking openly about our
differences.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Some of us were keen to
resist the dualisms which suggest that you must be on one side of the debate or
the other; we refused to accept what Nick Baines has called ‘the polarising
premises that the ideologues represent as the only options’.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In June in our remote Cotswold village, we will be
discussing ‘Truth and Reconciliation’, a phrase associated with post-apartheid
South Africa but not without its resonances in contemporary Britain (or the US
or Hungary or the Philippines …).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To
help us do so will be someone with personal experience of violence in South
Africa, of the sort which some are threatening in our own divided country if
they do not get their way. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<h4>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The devil has the best tunes; do the populists have the best slogans?</span></h4>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">One wonders what happened to civilised discourse and
moderate opinions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is it all about
resentment of inequality, distrust or even fear of big business and/or
politicians, of national and international structures such as ‘the world order’
which originally grew out of half a century of global conflict? And is it partly a matter of language, the language of division and extremes, of soundbites and slogans? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Referring to some well-known populists from Trump to Viktor Orban
(and some much closer to home), <a href="https://nickbaines.wordpress.com/">Nick
Baines</a>, Anglican bishop of Leeds, suggests some answers when he says: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">“Language is key, fear is fundamental, and hope is reduced
to instant gratification of visceral demand.”</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">H<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">e</span></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> quotes Rabbi Sacks who has written that, to gain traction,
“populism has to identify an enemy” and then amplifies its claims of victimhood
at the hands of that enemy, using language to dehumanise and disrupt. </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Nick Baines goes on:</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">“Reality and rationality are dispensed
with on the altar of visceral emotion, as the populists set themselves up
against those they decry.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">They are ‘the
people’; their opponents are – what? Identity politics is not neutral here.”</span></blockquote>
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<h4>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Identity, economics and gender</span></h4>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">As thinking, concerned individuals in our small community, some
Christian, some of no particular faith or organised religion, some definitely
atheistic, we cannot ignore politics, however uncomfortable it may seem.</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>However, we try to go below the headlines and
the slogans and in the next couple of months we will consider identity at a
local level (including daily violence in Northern Ireland in the Troubles)
through <a href="https://themanbookerprize.com/books/milkman-by">Anna Burns’
Milkman</a>; an alternative to the established economic system which some would
say has played a big part in the situation we are in (Kate Raworth’s <a href="http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/2018/05/21/book-review-doughnut-economics-seven-ways-to-think-like-a-21st-century-economist-by-kate-raworth/">Doughnut
Economics</a>); as well as the big issue of gender, relating it specifically to
theology and the male-dominated version of religion which has dominated history
to date (March 3<sup>rd</sup>, <a href="https://www.theology.ox.ac.uk/people/dr-daphne-hampson">Daphne Hampson</a>).
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Join us at the February 10th discussion of three books (see below). </b></span></div>
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<br />Wychwood Circlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10156906067880355744noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1604266801216561322.post-18336735614914078642019-01-14T01:13:00.000-08:002019-02-08T11:34:29.500-08:00FEBRUARY BOOKS FOR DISCUSSION<h2>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">FEBRUARY 10th - Book Discussion</span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Next month we revert to our original practice of basing our discussion on some reading. However, to save you having to read them, some kind volunteers have agreed to present three books which can then be discussed up to a point. Some do choose to read the books in order to be fully informed and this enlivens the discussion. The books are as follows (with links to reviews):</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://themanbookerprize.com/books/milkman-by" target="_blank">MILKMAN</a>, the Man Booker prize-winning novel by Anna Burns (2018)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/lsereviewofbooks/2018/05/21/book-review-doughnut-economics-seven-ways-to-think-like-a-21st-century-economist-by-kate-raworth/" target="_blank">DOUGHNUT ECONOMICS</a>, a radical approach to economics by Kate Raworth (2017)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/book-reviews/view/9508/full-catastrophe-living" target="_blank">FULL CATASTROPHE LIVING</a>, a book on Mindfulness Meditation by one of its original proponents, Jon Kabat-Zinn (1990)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif; font-size: large;">Please do join us - and bring a friend - on February 10th at 7pm in Wychwood Library. </span></div>
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Wychwood Circlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10156906067880355744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1604266801216561322.post-9066842633536589612018-12-29T03:58:00.003-08:002018-12-29T04:02:40.805-08:00SEEKING THE COMMON GROUND<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Wychwood Circlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10156906067880355744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1604266801216561322.post-41421882104059181742018-11-12T01:59:00.000-08:002018-12-29T03:59:12.383-08:00WHAT MATTERS MOST? IS A CAUSE EVER WORTH DYING FOR?<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Our next event, on December 9th, is a talk entitled 'GOD OF THE GULAG - IS ANY CAUSE WORTH DYING FOR?' which will consider martyrdom both in Eastern Europe and in our own wider context - not least the theme of this year's events: What matters most? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">We are delighted to welcome Charlbury resident Jonathan Luxmoore to address this topic, the subject of his much-acclaimed two-volume study published in 2016. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">JONATHAN LUXMOORE has been Europe correspondent in Oxford and Warsaw for Catholic News Service (Washington/Rome), Ecumenical News International (Geneva) and The Tablet (London) since 1988, as well as a staff commentator for Polish Radio's First Programme and freelance writer for newspapers and news agencies in Europe and the US. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">He was based in Poland full-time from 1988 to 2001, and his coverage of religious affairs during the transition to democracy in Eastern Europe won five Catholic Press Association awards, and the Silver Award from Worldfest Houston for the ABC TV film "A Time to Build" (ABC and PBS TV 1992). More below. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">He read Modern History at the University of Oxford (1976-1979) and studied International Relations at the London School of Economics and Political Science (1986-1989), and has been a member of the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House), the Churches East-West European Relations Network (CEWERN) and the International Editorial Board of the journal <i>Religion, State and Society.</i> He was also a co-founder in 1996-98 of the Polish chapter of Transparency International, the world's largest anti-corruption NGO. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">His books include <i>The Vatican and the Red Flag: The Struggle for the Soul of Eastern Europe</i> (London/New York 1999), <i>Rethinking Christendom: Europe's Struggle for Christianity</i> (London 2005), and <i>Szepty Boga </i>(Krakow 2016 - in Polish). His two-volume study of communist-era religious persecution - <i>The God of the Gulag: Martyrs in an Age of Revolution</i>, and <i>The God of the Gulag: Martyrs in an Age of Secularism</i> - was published in 2016 by Gracewing. </span><br />
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<b style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">Please join us at Wychwood Library on Sunday 9th December for this special event. </b></div>
Wychwood Circlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10156906067880355744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1604266801216561322.post-83337665231960601392018-10-23T09:24:00.002-07:002018-10-31T01:54:38.986-07:00Ugly populism, and rationality threatened by emotion? THE POST-TRUTH ERA<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The subject of Evan Davis' book on Post-Truth came up <a href="http://www.wychwoodcircle.org/2018/01/truth-post.html" target="_blank">earlier this year</a> on this blog and on November 11th we will explore his ideas more fully. Not everyone will have read the book but it will be presented to the group prior to a discussion.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The expression 'post-truth' seems to have arisen in 1992, though George Orwell would tell you that there was a strong premonition of the phenomenon as far back as the 1930s ('Looking back on the Spanish Civil War', 1942). According to Matthew D'Ancona, 2016 was the year which definitively launched the post-truth era. The word was Oxford Dictionaries' word of the year in 2016, defined as short-hand for '<i>circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion or personal belief</i>'. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The Victoria and Albert Museum has an exhibition "The Future Starts Here" and among the exhibits is a leaflet produced for the 2016 referendum. It carried the NHS logo - though it was neither produced nor sanctioned by the NHS - and it encouraged people to vote Leave "to help protect your local hospital". The curators of the exhibition have headed the leaflet as 'post-truth propaganda'. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Hot on its heels seems to be the concept of 'fake news', which handy term seems to allow anyone to say anything for political ends without fear of being shown to be wrong: the facts will just be dismissed as 'alternative'. Lord Hall of the BBC said recently that the expression has "given street cred to mass disbelief". He said: "It threatens people everywhere. For democratic government to be legitimate, it needs not just the consent of the people, but their informed consent." </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Another scary word is 'disinformation', which Pope Francis has described as 'snake-tactics' (referring to the serpent in the garden of Eden), "that sly and dangerous form of seduction that worms its way into the heart with false and alluring arguments". Not just in politics or on social media but even at the heart of academe, fears have been raised that the quest for truth is being undermined. Earlier this year, British universities were challenged by a pro-Brexit MP to reveal the content of their lectures, lest a good word might have been said for the anti-Brexit case. George Orwell must have felt distinctly restless in his grave. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Matthew D'Ancona, a former editor of <i>The Spectator</i> who beat Evan Davis to it with his own 2017 book,<i><a href="https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/111/1114599/post-truth/9781785036873.html" target="_blank"> Post-Truth: The New War on Truth and How to Fight Back</a> </i>is worth quoting in this context: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>We have entered a new phase of political and intellectual combat, in which democratic orthodoxies and institutions are being shaken to their foundations by a wave of ugly populism. Rationality is threatened by emotion, diversity by nativism, liberty by a drift towards autocracy. </i></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">What this all adds up to is a basic mistrust across our society and D'Ancona argues that 'powerful counter-narratives' will be required to defend the truth. Some have hoped that these false narratives will be counteracted by a deeper, powerful narrative (Bishop Michael Curry offered one such at the royal wedding in May) so that we can somehow counter the destructive culture of post-truth. What would be your counter-narrative? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Do join us on November 11th at Wychwood Library as we discuss this topic along with two others suggested by books which participants will bring along and introduce (see previous post, below). </b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span>Wychwood Circlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10156906067880355744noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1604266801216561322.post-19319993382497273202018-10-07T09:15:00.000-07:002018-10-31T01:52:42.598-07:00'POST-TRUTH', 'A HUMAN HISTORY OF RELIGION', & THE TWO HALVES OF LIFE<h3>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">BOOK DISCUSSION ON NOVEMBER 11th </span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Wychwood Circle started out as a monthly discussion based on some agreed reading and occasionally we return to that format. This time, as a departure from the norm, we are selecting several books and inviting people to come and present them - which we hope will nevertheless give rise to some interesting discussion. For those who prefer to come forearmed the 3 books under discussion will be the following - click on the title for a description and/or review: </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/takeandread/2011/06/falling-upward-a-review-of-richard-rohrs-new-book/" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;" target="_blank">FALLING UPWARD: A SPIRITUALITY FOR THE TWO HALVES OF LIFE</a> </span> <br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">The author is Franciscan priest </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">(with more than a passing knowledge of psychologist Carl Jung) </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">and founder of the Centre for Action and Contemplation </span><a href="https://cac.org/richard-rohr/richard-rohr-ofm/" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Richard Rohr</a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34101725-god" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">GOD: A HUMAN HISTORY OF RELIGION</span></a> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Described by Huffington Post as '<i>timely, riveting, enlightening </i></span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>and necessary</i>', the book is by </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">American-Iranian </span><a href="http://rezaaslan.com/" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;" target="_blank">Reza Aslan</a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">. </span></div>
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<a href="https://www.evandavis.co.uk/post-truth/" style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;" target="_blank"><span style="font-size: large;">POST TRUTH: WHY WE HAVE REACHED PEAK BULLSHIT AND WHAT WE CAN DO ABOUT IT</span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">by economist, journalist and broadcaster <a href="https://www.evandavis.co.uk/biography/" target="_blank">Evan Davis</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Intimate knowledge of these texts will NOT be required. Someone will describe the main ideas. But you may wish to dip in ahead of November 11th in order to be as well informed as possible. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>Wychwood Library 7pm - 9pm November 11th 2018</b></span></div>
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Wychwood Circlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10156906067880355744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1604266801216561322.post-15744999295822544752018-09-11T07:41:00.002-07:002018-09-11T07:42:02.031-07:00WELLBEING (2) : THE SOCIO-POLITICS OF WELLBEING<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Wychwood Circlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10156906067880355744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1604266801216561322.post-47649406442866308822018-08-10T01:28:00.000-07:002018-08-10T01:31:28.662-07:00WELLBEING (1) : PSYCHOTHERAPY AND SPIRITUAL LIFE <span style="color: #073763; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">We are delighted to welcome Mark Vernon again - he spoke last time to an enthralled audience about Plato and Freud.</span><br />
<span style="color: #073763; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">More about writer, philosopher and psychotherapist Mark Vernon <a href="https://www.markvernon.com/" target="_blank">here</a>. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>Wychwood Circlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10156906067880355744noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1604266801216561322.post-47674174363124316692018-07-09T04:53:00.000-07:002018-07-09T04:57:30.602-07:00WHY I WAKE EARLY<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>Hello, sun in my face,<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>Hello, you who<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>make
the morning<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>and spread it over the fields<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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into the faces of the tulips<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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the nodding morning glories,<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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into the windows of, even, the<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>miserable
and the crotchety –<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 108.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>best
preacher that ever was,<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 108.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>dear
star, that just happens<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 108.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>to
be where you are in the universe<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 108.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>to
keep us from ever-darkness,<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 108.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>to
ease us with warm touching,<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 108.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>to
hold us in the great hands of light –<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 108.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>good
morning, good morning, good morning.<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0cm; margin-left: 108.0pt; margin-right: 0cm; margin-top: 0cm;">
<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>Watch,
now, how I start the day<o:p></o:p></i></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><i>in
happiness, in kindness. </i></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">This was one of the poems which was read at our July meeting. It is by American poet Mary Oliver and seems particularly appropriate in the UK just at the moment. </span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>We resume our calendar of events at Wychwood Circle on September 9th with a second visit from Mark Vernon, writer, philosopher and psychotherapist. </b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>Wychwood Circlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10156906067880355744noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1604266801216561322.post-58535735784377940562018-06-14T02:39:00.003-07:002018-06-14T02:39:57.309-07:00TURNING TO POETRY 2 <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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