A Dilemma of Faith

What kind of dilemmas do you – do we – face which are prompted partly or fully by faith? By the end of November, I hope to be in Myanmar – Burma: for two weeks, I will be a guest of the Presbyterian Church of Mayanmar, working alongside colleagues there. The hope, the expectation is that a Burmese pastor will be able to work alongside me in Birmingham for a similar period at some point during 2010. At present, the trip is going ahead: Foreign Office suggests that it safe to do so; my passport is at the Burmese Embassy, awaiting the necessary visa; flights have been booked…but the plug could still be pulled at the very last minute.

As ever, you have been gracious enough to allow me to share fully in the experiences afforded by our belonging to the World Church. Yet this was not a straightforward decision. Yes, the Presbyterians in Myanmar are very keen to welcome Christians from other parts of the world: the invitation was warm – and the levels of expectation are both humbling and exciting. Profound concerns continue over the political regime in Myanmar, however: you will be as aware of this as I am – is any visit to the country therefore to be construed as support for an unacceptable system? Our preparation meeting for the trip included a necessary discussion on the ‘ethics of lying’, since members of our group cannot enter the country as ministers of religion. This in itself caused discussion…problems, even.

So – am I right to go? The fact that I am going does not mean that the issues are clear cut in my mind, even now. You may well feel also that such a visit can only go ahead with a degree of ambiguity. Tensions persist in the Christian life, however; Christ is not always the Christ of tidy answers – working through, with tensions openly and thoughtfully is one way in which we grow as Christians.

Naturally, there will be much to say when I return!