By Mauel Castells
Three independent processes came together to create the network society - using the 'lever' of the Internet:
1 Globalisation
2 Values of freedom and openess
3 Technological advances
(p 2)
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Advice for writing
- shutting the door
- sitting down
- having a pen and paper
- writing every day - "I need inspiation for my writing and I make sure at 9:00 I'm inspired."
- making connections isbeing creative...
- writing efficieny: keeping writing separate from editing
- muzzling your inner writer
- unleash your outer writer
- making a schedule
- clear goals
- keep track of work done
- reward yourself
- building habits
- try to write like a normal person
- see writing as a set of practical activities
- average acczdemic sentence is 18 words / long sentence=anything more than 40 words.
- The 'I need more time' - allot time
- read, review, analyse, describe method
- writing breads good ideas
- inspiration is rare and overated
- go ahead and write
Goals for each month
- plan and clarify goals for each month
- start a new manuscript
- revive a half written paper
-
300 words a day
Read and revise the first draft of a new paper
Re-read star text for insiration
Block
- can academic writers get writers block?
- wb means not writing...
Key lessons
- schedule and defend
- Reading and writing generate ideas
- goals
- scheduled writers don't get writers block
-
Schedule, set goals, write!
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Breaking the Mould of Christendom
Kingdom Community, Diaconal Church and the Liberation of the Laity
David Clark, 2005, Peterborough, Epworth
David Clark is a Methodist minister (laterly admited to the diaconal order). He believes that we need to choose community over chaos and that the Kingdom community is a learning community 'omnipresent throughout our world,though still to come in its fullness.' (p.xvii)
The diaconal church is the servant of the kingdom community. It is 'called to make manifest the gifts of the kingdom community within it's own life... it is called to enable humankind to discern, comprehend and receive those gifts' (p.xvii). In other words the Church is not the Kingdom but helps the World to see, welcome and embrace the life and values of the Kingdom which is already present.
Clark believes that the Christendom model holds back the diaconal church from fulfilling its call. The Christendom model therefore needs to be broken.
The laity need to be liberated so that they can serve as 'community builders' who help nurture the visible kingdom and the communities who are able to welcome it.
Clark therefore calls for a 'renewed diaconate' which will serve mainly as 'community educators' whose primary function is to equip the laity.
Interesting book. Very strong ecclesiology of Church as servant if the Kingdom. Concept of diaconate stands firmly in the Methodist rather than episcopal tradition.
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Had supervision with Zoe last week. She, quite rightly, challenged the contextual hole in my literature review. The question of ecclesiology in an ecumenical context and how this affects LSM/FX is a serious question. She's asked that I write a 6,000 word paper on the subject which I initially loathed as an idea. On reflection I think it is the key issue which needs addressing, so I'll be tackling this today...
We had a day of seminars in Cambridge today. There were papers on designing RS curiculums in Tanzania and the spirituality of older people. In the afternoon we had an introduction to research ethics.
I am left with a few questions for my own work:
Do I need to simplify my literature review so that the Gibbs and Bolger stuff is incorporated in the thematic text - must ask Zoe...
What is a paper two surposed to be? Is it a mini research project or can it be idea based?
Should I focus my research on social networks? Am tempted to write paper on network analysis and how I might investigate cognition in fresh expressions using this as a conceptual framework.
These are questions I need to take to Zoe when we meet next week...
by Robert M Grant with David Tracy
Second Edition: 1984, London, SCM
Grant observes: 'the proper place for the Bible is in the church' (p.6)
History:
Irenaeus: 'The teaching of the apostles is the true understanding of the Bible, and if anyone wishes to learn this true understanding he should read the scriptures with the presbyters of the church, with whom is the apostolic doctrine... All other interpretations have fallen from the truth.' (pp. 50-51)
Irenaeus argued that the Church had the unique right to interpret scriptures because it 'owned' scripture. (p. 74)
Tertullian (p.75) developed this argument in legal terms.
Vincent (434): 'What is Catholic: Quod ubique, quod semper, quod ab omnibus creditum est' (p.80) 'there is only one gospel, there is only one truth, and it has been handed down in the tradition of the church' (p.80)
Reformers: 'The church was not to be the arbiter of the meaning of scripture, for scripture, the word of God, was the church's judge.' (p.92)
Luther: 'scripture alone' requires more 'litoral' or rational approaches to exegesis. (p.98)
Rationalsim: Human reason rises in status against the authority of the church.
Nineteenth Century: 'Purely historical' reading rise in popularity.
Schliermacher "The holy books have become the Bible in virtue of their own power" (p.111)
Baur: 'Strongly under the influence of Hegel's theory of history, he and his followers believed in the dialectical development of dogma. Ideas came to their complete expression only gradually, through the setting forth of thesis, the opposition of antithesis, and the formulation of synthesis.' (p.112)
'Thomas Arnold refers to the Bible as consisting of human writings and requiring a rational exegesis.' (p.114)
'F. D. Maurice approved, at least tentatively, of biblical criticism - but only by those who were familiar with the ways of the Spirit.' (p.114)
Modern Protestant Interpretation: Schweitzer, Bultmann, Barth...
Grant and Tracy argue for a 'catholic' interpretation of the Bible - 'scripture is nothing but the written expression of tradition' (p.143)