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10 JESUS IN THE WORKPLACE to a future not of despair but of hope. It is, of course, possible to believe that the future holds nothing but an endless cycle of alternating repression and chaos. Millions have believed it. But there is another possibility. The crucified Lord has broken that cycle. I want you to believe that. That is what 'the Gospel and our Culture' is all about.

Lesslie Newbigin is author of Truth to Tell: The Gospel as Public Truth (1991). Jesus in the Workplace: Towards a Better Theology of Work John Lovatt As the Managing Director of a medium-sized manufacturing company, I must say how profoundly dissatisfying I find the existing theologies of work.

What little writing there is, appears to be a branch of creation theology, and widely accepts Genesis 1:28 (dominion over the earth) as its basis, 1 but does not explore it in depth. As a result, it has its prophetic critics: there are those, for example, who see this as a glorification of work, resulting in a pantheistic confusion of Creator and created. 2 Others are concerned that this text has been, and will be, used as a mandate to plunder the earth, 3 and that it is therefore rather inappropriate as a basic text for industry, in the face of the "green" movement. Still others can see this type of creation theology supporting "pros­ perity 4 theology" which confuses God's blessing of material gifts with a re­ ward for the righteous. But the most serious defect of this new theology of work is its almost total concentration on Creation (the work of the Father), and neglect of Redemption (the work of the Son). It is consequently not particularly Christian. It could be argued that the unemployment issue and the application of "liberation theo­ logy" particularly by industrial chaplains to structures in British industry are messianic in that they challenge the existing order. But the central Christian message of the Cross and the Resurrection is missing.

Creation Theology Creation theology is important, not because of its glorification of work, but because of the statement that "the earth is the Lord's and all that is in it" 5, and that God's creation includes manufactured products (for example, bread, wine, oil in Psalm 104:15). The modern creation theology, which affirms God's action as continuous creation, has not reached most industrial managers, who JESUS IN THE WORKPLACE 11 still have a Sunday-school Genesis God, that made the world in six days, and is currently having a long and disinterested rest. Once managers can see that new Creation arrives all the time, it is only a short step to realising that their own products are as much a new creation of God's as, for example, their own chil­ dren. From this standpoint, it is possible to look back through the production process, to show management that they are responsible before God also for the earth's resources, such as raw materials and fossil fuels, which are used to make their factory's products. The pagan "green" contention that we are only naked apes (imago dei?) attempting to dominate nature at our peril, is laugh­ able to industrial managers (and farmers) who spend their lives trying to domi­ nate and control variable natural inputs. The Christian view is that, like all forms of power and authority in this world, our control of the earth's resources is accountable to God: if we do not control them, the earth reverts to chaos; if we exploit them for selfish ends which do not further the kingdom of God, it runs forward into destruction. The authority of management also extends over other human beings. The organisation and ordering of industrial companies must be seen to be within this creation theology, so that management acknowledges that it is accountable to God in the exercise of any kind of power. An organisation is a form of crea­ tion, and its ordering and control should be such that it also does not revert to chaos on the one hand, nor speed forward to destruction on the other. It is in this sense only that the manager's authority is divine. The mistake in the doctrine of the Divine Right of Kings, and in the prosperity theology, is that because the powers that be are ordained of God, therefore Management is Right. The gift of power from God does not confer righteousness, nor is it a re­ ward for it. It is a wonder of the Creator's humility and risk-taking that human beings have been entrusted with such power of life and death over the creation and even over each other, and that this power is rained down on the just and unjust alike. 6 In what sense can we say that God and humanity co-operate in creation in industry, that God is "the genuine Counterpart" (in Karl Barth' s phrase)? 7 Barth was concerned that the worker should not be elevated to a sort of "Co- God", 8 and rightly so, since in my experience industrial managers quickly un­ derstand and appropriate the idea of their being "Co-creators". But on the other hand, Barth' s and others' correctives have been too negative. It has to be em­ phasised that the Creator is not the creature, but neither is the creature a "robot" used by God as a passive vehicle of creation. The way forward appears to be to consider the action of the Holy Spirit at creation. I have found the story of the burning bush 9 most helpful - the sign of the Spirit is that the fire does not consume. This means that the Holy Creator Spirit passes through your hands, and there is a joy in creation which does not consume or diminish you, since you are acting as a framework only. You glow, the act of creation does affect you, your efforts to bring it to birth are some- 12 JESUS IN THE WORKPLACE times painful, always exhausting; so you are participating fully in your human­ ity, and this extends to the design or product produced being imperfect In this way, Creator and created are seen to be separate, but attention is drawn to a theological truth which is most important to industry: that imperfect humanity is essential to all creation - such is the wisdom and humility of God. This brings us to the presence of the Son at Creation. It is not at all unorthodox, with scripture as well as later revelation as authority, to affirm that the Son was present at the original Creation. In John 8:58 Jesus himself states "before Abraham was, I am", and indeed to St. John it is the logos who "was with God from the beginning, and through him all things came to be" (John 1:2). Orthodox theology has always confirmed it, 10 and today it is summarised by Jürgen Moltmann as "the Father created heaven and earth through the Son in the Spirit". 11 But Moltmann goes on to state: "If Christ is the ground of salvation for the whole creation, for sinful men and women, and for 'enslaved' non-human crea­ tures, he is then also the ground for the existence of the whole creation, human beings and nature alike". 12 Again, the scriptural basis for such a statement would be Romans 8: "the whole creation groans and travails" and "was made the victim of frustration". 13 This implies that the continuous creation (in contrast to the original plan, and the future consummation) is imperfect, and is a cause of suffering to God, as well as to itself. It cannot be otherwise, if there are "enslaved" non-human creatures, as well as human beings. So it was the suffering Christ who was present at the beginning of Crea­ tion, and that suffering has continued throughout time, always involved with the creation process. In other words, Christ's crucifixion, death and resurrec­ tion have "cosmic" significance, in the same sense as the Genesis myths them­ selves do, in that they are part of a truth which is beyond but embracing all time. 14 For example, more species became extinct before humanity arrived on earth, than now exist. Did God make some mistakes? Or alternatively, was God angry with humanity's disobedience in advance of this arrival, and cursed the ground in anticipation? It should not be said that God has made mistakes, but perhaps one could say that evolution is a process of change involving experi­ ment, extinction and rebirth, a struggling towards a fuller expression of the Godhead, which will be consummated in the New Jerusalem. One must not accuse God of being vindictive, but was God not sad to see Brontosaurus go, and longs for its place to be filled in heaven? So Christ suffered with the bondage of the whole creation from the begin­ ning, took material flesh himself to make that compassion complete, rose in a physical body to release the whole creation from its frustrations, and ascended to restore it to the glory of the original plan. But what has this got to do with industrial managers? JESUS IN THE WORKPLACE 13 When it is suggested to them that God is present with them as a newly created product rolls off the production line, and that it is God's own creation, they may find the prospect exciting at first, but in due course will have prob­ lems in appropriating it to themselves, because they know that many of the products are faulty. It is all very well to stand dreaming of heaven and giving glory to God for beautiful well-made things, but the manager can be rudely awakened by the production system going into "self-destruct" and a stream of broken objects thumping onto the floor. Most of the daily grind consists in trying to keep the wheels turning, trouble-shooting and problem-solving, and often, at the end of the day, many of the products are "a haul that will not bear examination". 15 Under these circumstances, the majesty of Creation may just seem a romantic idea; instead, the manager's world-view must see Christ on the cross, agonising over His broken creation - not only saying to the manager: "I know what it's like, I've been there too", but also: "This is my loss, I am in tears over my creation, but together we will restore it, and one day in my kingdom even your production will be made perfect: nothing will be lost". The efforts now of managers to restore the creation, and bring God's king­ dom on earth as it is in heaven, extend therefore not only to personal relation­ ships, but to material things. "Designing out" production faults, improvements in the designs of our products to make them last longer, or be produced cheaper (i.e. with less use of God's other resources), better maintenance of machines so they produce more consistent products, inspiration of people so that more care and skill is used in making things, all bring God's kingdom here on earth, and actually result in happiness - more job satisfaction, and happier customers. But this "kingdom theology" must be made to relate back to the suffering servant - the effort to improve things has to be seen to come out of the times of failure, otherwise the complete person of Christ is not present. However, Christian managers also know that they will never be 100% suc­ cessful, and there still remain the reject and faulty pieces they have made, as an eternal reproach to them. This points to how important the resurrection of the body is to any theology of work. The manager's own sin, and the sin of others, in the production process are no doubt mainly responsible for the rejected products, but there is an element of what we call "bad luck" or "Murphy's Law" (that if a thing can go wrong, it will). It is not actually anybody's fault. In our frustration, we want to kick the machine or throw the telephone out of the window (as a friend of mine once did). Managers need forgiveness for their failures, and that is freely available, not from a patronising God sitting in heaven, but from a God who is suffering too in their failure. But to bring heaven on earth, we need to be in a state of forgiveness towards the natural world, as well as our neighbour, to be assured of God's forgiveness. But such forgiveness of the natural world depends on hope - the promise that the natural world can be tamed in the here and now, that one day it will behave itself per­ fectly, and that our bodies will be restored to full powers so that our work is before God in its full glory. Jesus' resurrection body is the guarantee and "first- 14 JESUS IN THE WORKPLACE fruits" of that glorious resurrection, which will free the whole creation "from the shackles of mortality and enter upon the liberty and splendour of the chil­ dren of God" (Romans 8:21). So, in the Eucharist, the glorious Sabbath Celebration, there is a foretaste of heaven; the bread and the wine are just ordinary products. It is most helpful to managers if the bread and wine are clearly recognisable as normal products, or at least "the work of human hands". Then the production from the factory can to some extent be identified with the bread and wine. We know the bread is never perfect when it comes into church, and the wine could always have been made better (sometimes much better!). But then the miracle happens: they are used, as they were at the Last Supper, to represent Jesus' own body and blood, and our weak efforts become, by God's forgiveness and love, the most pre­ cious and perfect gifts, completely acceptable to God. What an occasion for feasting! It is like the feast in Heaven, when all our work will be made part of the New Jerusalem. Nothing will be lost (Jn 6:13). This joyful reminder of our future is actually an essential part of the Creation: unless an appreciation and enjoyment of the work is done, it is really incomplete. This "Sabbath" principle must be applied also to our work as we do it, although the Eucharist Celebra­ tion draws together all our sabbaths. The big moment for the development en­ gineer is after the months of building to stand back, take a deep breath and press the green button. If it works (or rather, when it eventually works), it will of course be allowed to run for several minutes, whereas a few seconds were all that was strictly necessary. Those minutes of Sabbath rejoicing are not a luxury - they are an essential part of the creative process. There are many more examples of the Sabbath principle already in unconscious use in industry, and they should be recognised and encouraged. Farmers leaning over the gate chewing over the situation, salesmen opening the champagne to celebrate a large order, athletes releasing the tension by punching the air: all these com­ plete the process, and bring the peace and contentment which is God's gift of the Sabbath. There is a tendency to come home and slump in front of the tele­ vision, or go out and bash away in the shed, but one should consider whether it is not better just to sit down and reflect quietly over the day. A manager may want to forget about work, but maybe the work needs completion by "five minutes peace". In summary, then, management is unlikely to be connected to a Christian world-view, leading to a thankfulness and love of Jesus, and to a belief in Christ, unless and until the creative process in industry is revealed to it as be­ longing to God, coming from the Godhead and going to it, and Christ as God involved in reject work and the struggle to make physical things better.

Messianic Theology A great deal of suffering goes on in industry, not only by the workers, in conditions of noise, dirt and sweat, but by all the forms of exploitation of one another: customers cheated by being supplied with substandard goods at in­ flated prices; suppliers (particularly small ones) being made to wait for pay- JESUS IN THE WORKPLACE 15 ment until they are in financial difficulty; managers given impossible situations to sort out, by people who sit in mahogany door offices writing memos; direc­ tors sacked as "scapegoats" when there is bad publicity. There is of course the lonely Christian decision to stand out against what is perceived as evil, to say, "I'm sorry, that's dishonest", and even to resign. Such work is redemptive, in that it is a witness which attacks the conscience of the wicked, and surprisingly often leads to a change, or at least a softening of the policy. Jesus reserves the greatest joy for such people (Mat 5:12). But there are other situations where people stay, and take the blame on be­ half of the organisation. The representative or technical service engineer has to say, "I'm sorry", in the face of a customer complaining of faulty goods or late delivery. They can't say, "It's them again, at the works"; the customer rightly considers the employee to be representing the company. The only way to re­ deem the situation is to take the blame vicariously. So they are imitating Christ; He is very close to them, and through their action He is able to bring new life into an otherwise hopeless situation. Again, it is necessary, as with creation, to avoid thinking of such people as redeemers - there is one Re­ deemer. But in a similar way, because by taking the blame they demonstrate their love, Jesus lives in them (Jn 12:26) and they do experience the joy in His presence. This losing of one's life to save it also has to apply to Christian managers as regards their power and authority. Power over others is in my experience much more interesting to aspiring managers than money. Jesus' lesson on power in Luke 22:25 (who should be the greatest) at first sight seems suicidal for management, and unlikely to attract managers as a company policy! How­ ever, it is necessary to distinguish between the handling (with reverence) of God's authority, which is part of the Creation theology, and the use of it for service of others rather than our own aggrandisement, which is part of the Mes­ sianic theology. On the one hand, Jesus spoke with authority, and told Pilate, "you would have no authority except that given you by God"; 16 on the other hand, he said that the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve. 17 In summary, the rehabilitation of the doctrine of the resurrection of the body is seen as a vital necessity, so that management's ministry to the material and physical can be understood and affirmed. Irenaeus' doctrine of the cosmic Christ has been invoked to suggest that our imperfect creation in industry im­ plies Jesus' presence with us. Finally, the messianic tension between authority and service is indicated as the proper occupation of management in industry, which will result in Christ-like managers. Footnotes 1. See, for example: Alan Richardson The Biblical Doctrine of Work, SCM Press, 1952, p.24. John Paul Π, Laborem Exercens, Catholic Truth Society, London, 1981, p. 14 Gideon Goosen, The Theology of Work, Mercier Press, 1974, p.67. 2. Karl Barth, Church Dogmatics ΠΙ.4, - The Active Life, Edinburgh, 1961 esp. pp.482-483. Also drawn attention to in Philip West, "Karl Barth' s Theology of Work, A Resource for the late 1980's", The Modern Churchman, VoLXXX, No.3. 16 POETIC LIBERATION: RASTAFARIANISM, POETRY AND SOCIAL CHANGE 3. For example, see Jürgen Moltmann, God in Creation, SCM Press, 1985, pp. 13-14. 4. This phenomenon appears mostly in the U.S.A. and the Far East. A good exposure of it can be found in Gifford, "The Gospel of Prosperity", The Tablet, 3 December 1988, p. 1388. 5. Psalm 24:1 6. This raises the question of injustice due to the power structure itself. This is not strictly a "Creation" subject, and it seems more appropriate to deal with it later in this article, as part of Christ's messianic work. 7. Barth, Church Dogmatics, p.480. 8. Barth, Church Dogmatics, p.482. 9. Exodus 3:2. 10. St. Paul: Col 1:16. Irenaeus (c.l30-c.200), Against Heresies, Eds., Roberts & Donaldson, Ante-Nicene Christian Library, Edinburgh 1868) Book IV, Chap. XIX, para.l: "For with Him were always present the Word and Wisdom, the Son and the Spirit, by whom and in whom, freely and sponta­neously, He made all things". Nicene Creed (A.D.325): "By whom all things were made". St. Thomas Aquinas (c.1225-74), Summa Theologica, Part 1, Q.46, Art 3. 11. Moltmann, God in Creation, p.94. 12. Moltmann, God in Creation, p.94. 13. Romans 8:19-22. 14. This is not a new idea. As far as I can tell, it was Irenaeus, in his doctrine of the "recapitula­tion" who first suggested it. 15. T. S. Elliot, Four Quartets, Faber and Faber Ltd., 1944, "The Dry Salvages", line 78. 16. John 19:11. 17. Mark 10:45. John Lovatt has since 1972 been Joint Managing Director of his Stoke-on- Trent family business, with 150 people making industrial ceramics. A Cam­ bridge History graduate, Churchwarden and Franciscan, he has made a life­ time study of the theology of work. This article was written while participating in the "God on Monday" project at Ridley Hall, Cambridge. Poetic Liberation: Rastafarianism, Poetry and Social Change Darren Middleton A leading Caribbean academic, Denis Forsythe, has recently maintained that 'the unique significance of Rastafarianism lies in the fact that it includes the most powerful expression of the African pulsation in the Caribbean today'. 1 It is poetry and song lyric, arguably, which have become the primary cultural vehicle for the articulation of this 'African pulsation' in contemporary Rasta- farian spirituality. For the Western theologian there is often the temptation to classify reli­ gious movements in terms of 'ism's'. These seemingly imply, at one and the ^s Copyright and Use:

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