Are you joining us for The Big Read 2012? Look for today’s reading in the book, or sign up for daily emails from 12Baskets. Here’s today’s thoughts:
Bible Reading
FRIDAY AFTER ASH WEDNESDAY: Mark 2.1-17, focussed on 2.13-17
- Read on Bible Gateway
- Read on YouVersion
- Listen on Bibleis
Discussion Point
- #BigRead12: Jesus says ‘Follow Me’. Who do you follow? Give a #FF for someone who challenges your thinking.
Actions
- Tear Fund Carbon Fast: Pass it on. Tell a neighbour or friend about the Carbon Fast and suggest one action they could do.
- Christian Aid: Tax dodging by some unscrupulous companies means developing countries lose more money annually than they receive in aid. Give 50p if you have benefited from a tax-funded service in the last year.
- 40 Acts: Check out today’s act.
From 2010–2015, the BigBible Project sought to host conversations about the Bible through local reading groups & online conversations. Since 2016, the project has taken a slightly different focus, hosting discussion from experts on Biblical Literacy and Biblical Reception in a Digital World. 
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i really like this site but i wish you’d keep the political aspects out of it; as a christian who believes the anti-carbon rhetoric is actually quite misguided and even detrimental to our world, as well as someone who thinks that companies seeking tax havens are doing the best for their stockholders, this is really throwing me off of your site. we can come together during lent without you preaching outside of the bible — and quite misguidedly, I believe.
Hi Anne. Really glad you like the site, and hope that you can continue to work with the bits you enjoy. It’s good to be challenged about what we’re doing, but I have to say that I believe that it’s impossible to disengage politics from our whole lives, and this site is drawing upon ideas of whole life discipleship. We’re also keen to promote conversation, and so that involves a range of viewpoints, and in some places we may have to agree to disagree with others. A range of inputs have made me think that these kind of issues are (Biblically) important (e.g. sermons, Greenbelt talks) – and it would be interesting to see the issue from a different perspective. A good friend of mine (a non-Christian scientist) is not convinced by global warming, etc but we sometimes talk about that, and about faith. All in all, I think that looking after our world, and looking at ways that we can make best use of resources cannot be a bad thing? Thanks for your input. Bex
Hi again Anne, just to say that I don’t agree that post like this one and mine are preaching outside of the Bible, in the slightest. Micah 6:8 says “pray, reflect, act” – taking action is a part of our calling. It also says “love your neighbour” so taking action for the poorest is part of what it means to be Christian for a lot of people. Sites like this are brilliant for engaging in debate about the social justice part of faith, no one is preaching I wouldn’t have said!
Hi Anne – I agree and disagree with you, which is a slightly odd position to find myself in! I do think that we should come together with a focus on what really matters – the gospel of Jesus Christ – and what better time than at Lent and Easter? I don’t think anyone here has said that environmental issues are more important than the Cross, and rightly so!
That said, I can’t agree that we should keep quiet about politics. As Bex has said, ‘it’s impossible to disengage politics from our whole lives, and this site is drawing upon ideas of whole life discipleship’. I think politics is one area we have freedom to disagree as Christians. We shouldn’t make anyone feel less of a Christian because of the views they hold, but nor should we pretend that there are no differences to talk of. I think Paul’s wisdom in Romans 14 is relevant here: don’t cause brothers or sisters to stumble, but be fully convinced of these judgments in your own mind. He’s not saying that we keep quiet, but rather that we keep them in perspective.
Thanks for your comment, then: I hope it’ll remind us of those things on which we all be of one mind, and other areas of discipleship where people might disagree on what a biblical response would look like in our lives. But let’s have those conversations, not shut them down!