Cross Examination Conference

with

Canon Tom Smail

22nd to 24th September 2000.

at St. Ninians Prestwick
.

Over 50 people attended an encouraging and gentle week end of teaching and workshops based round the theme of Cross Examination.
a) Villains and victims of the cross.

b) The Trinity and the Cross

3) The Kingdom and the Cross
Tom used the word theodicy to illustrate the increasing tendency today to cross examine God, for example as to why He allows the innocent to suffering and the word Atonement to point to the prevailing New Testament view of human nature as in need of forgiveness and restoration.
It was good to hear some of the stuff I was brought up on in the halls of New College, Edinburgh presented in such an accessible and succinct manner. I really felt I understood it this time !

Perhaps a couple of observations will help you to know the feel of the weekend. One person observed that they had never heard anyone speak with such obvious authority before without feeling they had to back up what they were saying with constant reference to the scriptures.( When I mentioned this to Tom said " Oh I've got all the references it just seems to slow everything down if people are continually looking up passages to see if what I am saying is actually there on the page.)

The other factor was the intense sense of humility and 'freedom from nonsense'. He wants he says to hear the stories of failures as well as success in the renewal. It all sounds a bit too good to be true at times to be any earthly use, and Tom consistently has challenged leaders in renal over the years to have integrity over the stories they tell.

Tom's book "Windows on the Cross " provided the framework for the Art and Prayer workshop led by Melitta Bosworth and I took a workshop on International Haiku poetry for beginners. Both seemed to be well received.

For speaking from notes Tom wears not bi-focal but tri-focal lenses, which provoked the following haiku observation....

trinitarian spectacles

helps both speaker and listeners

to see more clearly


Tom is the author of five books, a Senior Visiting Research Fellow of King's College, London and for the first half of the year 2000 he has been Visiting Professor of Preaching at Fuller Theological Seminary in California, USA.

As a postscript here is a Haiku written by Tom in a e mail a couple of days after the conference.

Even with a hard prest-wick,

the candle still burns

by the Ayrshire shore.

 

Thank you Tom.

"the unassumed is the unhealed" Gergory Naziansus

 

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