In Depth:  Mike Taylor

One of the problems in the world is the prevalence of human healers using methods which involve contact with spirits other than our Holy Creator, God.

This is not surprising as health is a fundamental human need and the right sort of medical aid is not always available. In addition to this, some forms of disease are, so far, untreatable by human ingenuity. Therefore, those who provide alternative means of healing will always be accorded privileged social status.

Recently, Channel 4 showed a documentary by reporter Jon Ronson on the Alpha course. It was called Revelations: How to Find God (1/8/09). Apparently Ronson approached 20 churches to get material for his report and the only one of these to agree was St. Aldate’s, Oxford, whose vicar is Charlie Cleverly. The result was broadcast at 7.00 pm on Sunday June 28.

Some have seen the portrayal as subtly cynical. However, I thought the report was relatively sympathetic. Ronson himself stated in a Radio Times interview: ‘This is a really gentle, human film. I wanted to make one that both Christians and agnostics would like. And I know that I’ve managed it, because we’ve shown the film both to the church and the agnostics and they’ve both really liked it. … the people who do the Alpha course are … just regular people trying to make sense of their lives and of the world’ (Radio Times, 27/6-3/7/2009, p.162).

I believe that the current movement centred on Lakeland, Florida, is not a true revival from the Lord.

Although I have not been to Lakeland, I have attended a number of UK meetings heavily influenced by ‘Toronto’ and its related phenomena, including one led by Rodney Howard-Browne at which Gerald Coates and Colin Dye were present.

Not long ago I had a conversation with the assistant Human Resources director of an NHS Trust. She was defending a course running at her hospital which was designed to promote spiritual values.

I challenged her on the grounds that the course was promoting panspiritualist religion under the guise of helping people to work better in the Health Service. My argument was that the promotion of such things is fair enough, but that it should be made explicit and not hidden behind vague terminology like ‘spirituality’.

Recently I had an opportunity to put a question to Imam Mumtaz, the Imam of Streatham mosque, regarding the Muslim view of the sinlessness of the prophets. The Imam seemed to admit that, from an absolute standpoint, everyone is a sinner. This was the first time I had had an opportunity to speak face-to-face with a South London Imam.

Unfortunately, confrontation is a frequent feature of Christian-Muslim encounter. Therefore, opportunities for such discussion in a friendly atmosphere are rare. Real communication often just does not happen.

Patrick Jean-Paul-Denis, a relatively new name in the music scene, is very frank about his Christian orientation.

His first highly professional record as a solo artiste, 'Special love', was released on June 2 last year, on Ray Hayden's secular Opaz label ('The sound of urban London'). His second record ' I will go', was released on the same label last summer resulting in television appearances and a 12-track album including these two singles is now about to be released.

Until recently, the plural elements in our society were, to some extent, glued together by a humanist metanarrative.

That is, the average British citizen shared certain humanistic assumptions with his neighbour, including the assumption that people have certain rights to freedom of expression, but also the responsibility not to harm other people.

Charles Strohmer has had an unusual life and ministry. Disillusioned with the 'American dream' in his teens, and with the 'Aquarian dream' in his 20s, he had his senses honed to the inconsistencies and failings of modernism, as well as to the spiritual deceptions of the so-called New Age movement.

Now Charles is a Christian, Mike Taylor helps us to get to know him.