Editorial
April 08
A little more conversation
In an internet age it might seem perverse to talk about the need for any group of people to express their opinion. There is now no shortage of arenas in which ideas can be conveyed. Anarcho-syndicalist cat lovers? Here’s a blog. Whiggish pigeon fanciers? This way to the chat forum. The question is whether anyone’s listening.
In any case this individuation of ideas can be dislocating for a people whose quest for the Kingdom of God is – or should be – an enterprise undertaken in unity. The virtual environment is a lush seedbed for subcultures, it is not always a collective experience. Not, at least, for a people who cannot repeat their key prayer as individuals. My father is in heaven, but it is to ours that I pray.
It is where indpendent ideas meet community that Third Way best operates. We want to provide a place where a range of Christian voices can discuss a range of subjects. That discussion may sometimes be frank but we will endeavour to fulfil the remit set out for us by our late patron David Shepherd: to criticise what we love and love what we criticise. We declare no theological position save a love of the Gospel. Some will claim that this makes us evangelical, others will dislike the label.
And this discussion should take in the whole of life, from the steeple to the gargoyle as Malcolm Muggeridge once had it. Too often our considerations of faith and the world are separated out, or dropped into neat, worthy boxes. We believe Christians think about film and music as well as global poverty and the origins of the universe; the world articulates itself through its arts as much as it does through its political parties and protests.
There are changes to the magazine where these aims are explicit – our new commentary pages, for example, present a conversation about a text rather than one fixed view. Equally, the new ‘Agnostics anonymous’ and ‘A-Z of ideas’ columns should show that we are engaging with people and ideas outside narrow church confines. A welcome, too, to new columnist Jude Simpson, an entertainer by trade. We like her and we’re sure you will too. Do write and tell us what you think, for publication or otherwise. This conversation is yours too.
Finally, my thanks to all those who have made this relauch possible. To the chaps at Surface Studio, to our new printers and to the Church Times for its familial and generous interest. We hope you’re proud.
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