I have just returned from Greenbelt. As always a wonderful experience which involved catching up with and being enriched by old and new friends (Ian Mobsby, Jonny Baker, Kester Brewin, Andrew Jones, Mark Berry, Cherl, Gilo, Rose, Gareth, Erin etc. etc.).
Anyway, Ikon put on another experiment in theodrama, this year it was called Fundamentalism. It was humbling to see so many people come along to experience our gathering (around 1000 people), although it may have helped that a group of protesters had gathered outside the venue shouting things like “Ikon is a con” and holding signs with slogans such as, “intellectual babble”, “not dangerous, just pretentious”, “Jesus wept”, “blasphemy is blasphemy no matter how cool the music is”, “heretics” and “it won’t be so cool when you are burning in hell”. I should perhaps mention that this was all part of the immersion experience we were creating (although the police where almost called and one Baptist Minster did ask if he could join the group).
Some people have asked for me to make a couple of comments on the background of the service as its structure was somewhat unorthodox. While I cannot give an exhaustive commentary on it (and would not wish to), I will make a few observations.
The experience we created was designed to be visceral and overpowering (starting from the moment when people began to queue outside to the closing melancholic melody sung by Padraig at the end) rather than straightforwardly understandable. Indeed the nature of the service was such that any question as to what exactly was happening at any given point would be difficult to answer. Rather we endeavoured to create a saturating experience related to the theme of fundamentalism, one which could not be reduced to a simple message. But why?
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Very simply we wished the gathering to act as a kind of revelation. To understand this it is important to note that revelation is made manifest in epistemological incomprehension, experiential bedazzlement and existential transformation. In other words revelation is fundamentally experienced as a rupture, as that which enters the world of our experience but which overturns that world.
Firstly, a revelation is epistemologically incomprehensible because it cannot be reduced to understanding but rather places all our understanding into question. Secondly, a revelation is experientially bedazzling because we can’t integrate it into our emotional world, we feel a type of anxiety, which is a way of saying that we experience a radical uncertainty as to how we ought to experience what is happening. Thirdly, a revelation causes existential transformation insomuch as we are changed as a result of its incoming (all this is of course very different to the modern understanding of revelation as unconcealment).
As an example of this let us take the idea of a young conservative Protestant who believes that a Catholic cannot be a true follower of Christ. However, over lunch one day, they discover that someone who they have respected greatly because of their love, faithfulness and spirituality is a practising Catholic. What happens? This is a revelation insomuch as the young man does not have the co-ordinates to know what to make of this new information, or to be able to integrate it into his experience: it comes as incompressible and bedazzling. More than this the experience can be transforming, making him rethink his presuppositions.
This is why Fundamentalism was structured in the way that it was: it did not simply carry a message or revelation but rather endeavoured (successfully or not) to be one.
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Posted at 16:28 |
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Comments:
Pete, so wish i could have been there to experience this service. I am reading a book, "Rescuing the Bible from Fundamentalism" By Spong. I have really been enlightened and made to rethink my presuppositions once again. As i don't agree with everything i have read thus far, i do agree with much and am praying through it. As always, Ikon is controversial, eh??!!! GREAT JOB at challenging people as usual! WE NEED IT HERE IN RICHMOND IN NOVEMBER!!!!!! Adele
Posted by: Existential Punk
on 01/09/06 at 03:56
I loved the '50 things I believe' wondefully controversial and thought provoking - a brilliant twist at the end. The worship song moment was so raw and brutally honest - how refreshing and humbling to hear what he had to say, and of course Dukes special was a real coup!!! Surely next year you must do mainstage!
As always greenbelt was awesome - Definately the BEST festival on the circuit!!! Of course - I could be wrong! ;)
Posted by: martin
on 01/09/06 at 18:52
Pete, I'm a great admirer of Ikon's worship style and your own thinking, as I've encountered them at Greenbelt over the past two years and currently in your How (Not) to Talk about God .
I've been wondering -- what was the passage read during this year's Fundamentalism worship, first by one of your own members and then by a recording of Ian Paisley? It felt faintly familiar, but that may have been illusory. I'd be really interested to know, though.
Posted by: Phil Purser-Hallard
on 04/09/06 at 13:33
Hey there. Due to problems with the site I was unable to comment for a while. Thanks for the warm feedback Phil. The passage was taken straight from an Ian Paisley sermon, so I think it is his and his alone. Here it is,
Mr Spurgeon said, think of the great Jehovah singing. Can you imagine it? Is it possible to conceive of the deity breaking suddenly, bursting into song?
Father, Son and Holy Ghost - all singing together! God is so happy in the love, which He bears to his people that He breaks His eternal silence. He never sung before, until He saved men.
And now the sun and the moon and stars stand in astonishment because they hear the Holy Trinity chanting a hymn of joy.
Spurgeon said, ³I tremble when I speak of such things, lest I should say a word that should dishonour such a matchless mystery.²
But still we are glad to note what is written. And we are bound to take comfort from it. Let us rejoice! That Jesus has a special service of song for all his peopleÅ
And let us listen intently with our ears to the open door of heaven, that we might hear that song.
What sweet singing.
What melody.
What verses.
What a message.
And what a song!
Posted by: Peter
on 05/09/06 at 14:08
Many thanks for that, Pete. It's lovely. And it hadn't even occurred to me that Paisley might have written it himself, so full marks to Ikon for challenging my assumptions.
Posted by: Phil Purser-Hallard
on 08/09/06 at 10:07
Hey. Jonny Baker has linked to this excerpt from my blog so I thought I ought to outline some aspects of the gathering to help remind people of what went on. Basically the evening was made up of the following parts,
Protest outside as people queued
People inside creating lines around and between people with tape throughout the gathering
Video screens showing a bible being edited and being recreated from fragments
Some chairs are set up to resemble church pews
Religious tracts scattered around the room and pages from the bible rolled up to resemble stones
Worship song sung at the beginning
This dies down and the words of the song, which are being projected up, turn to a bible verse about Jesus being the way the truth and the life
The projection begins to turn sinister (with claims that one much be our friend and not our enemy)
Someone reads a list of 50 things they believe (the last one saying that they believe they are wrong)
The worship leader at the beginning tells us how he became and remains an atheist
A woman stands speechless for some time (with a bible verse about woman remaining silent eventually appearing on screen)
Another woman gives a small, and quite beautiful sermon; we then hear the same sermon spoken by Ian Paisley with a DJ playing over the top
A man gives a brief reflection on truth
We have a ritual in which we a given the words "I beLIEve" on rice paper and give them to one another as a sign that our beliefs should nourish others or they are nothing but lies (as this happens a hymn is sung without accompaniment)
We finish with a song written by someone within Ikon
As people leave they are given a fragment of an edited bible to wear as a reminder of the gathering (which was part of the video projection)
Posted by: Pete
on 14/09/06 at 00:36
I found the Ikon service at Greenbelt an extremely stimulating and challenging piece of work. It did something to me that I very rarely experience at church: it gave me no spon-feeding, no answers, but just a few hints. I was brought up in the exclusive brethren, so the woman's 'silence' for me was direct and hard-hitting. I admired the courage and sheer guts of the singer at the end; his honesty was breathtakingly refreshing. I went to Pete Rollin's seminar the following morning and it helped a little to figure out where Ikon where coming from. What struck me was Pete's humility and openness, as well as a real grappling with some complex philosophy and theology. Not exactly room 101 sunday school stuff! It started to make sense, but I was still working it out... I've since started reading 'How (not) to speak of God' - which is not easy (i have to re-read most sections just so I can make sure I've understood them), but some of it is sinking in. I will have to take some time out to get my head around some of the concepts in the book, but I am sure of one thing: it will help me move forward. Keep thinking and challenging - and not explaining!
All the best, Peter Barrett.
Posted by: peter barrett
on 16/09/06 at 21:30
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