Heretics for Jesus

Returned from Greenbelt last night, tired but spiritually refreshed. As of today I'm back at work enrolling students into the library by rote, which I'm trying not to let dampen my post-Festival enthusiasm.

Greenbelt -- which, when I was a teenager in the '80s, would tread a careful line between evangelical and liberal spirituality -- has grown and matured with those of my generation who've continued to attend it. (The other big advantage of the modern Festival over the old days is that it's held half indoors, and close to some handy and relatively cheap student accommodation, rather than being entirely confined to tents in a sea of mud.) Greenbelt is now one of the most radical-minded collections of Christians in Britain, as well as one of the largest. It prides itself on its political and charitable activism, as well as its commitment to genuinely good art (including music, the visual arts and theatre) and to experimental worship.

The talks I went to included one on the theology of comedy and one which argued (fascinatingly and rather compellingly) that Christians must also be atheists. (The speaker at the latter -- or rather his worship group, Ikon -- later led a worship session on the death of God which was equally fantastic, and one on embracing heresy which I'm sorry I had to miss.) I had a great time soaking up atmosphere, listening to music in the background and chatting with people I hadn't seen for ages.

A particular high point, as always, was the communion service on the Sunday morning, with 20,000 or more like-minded Christians crowded into a field to pray and sing. The prayers and songs were political, dealing with liberation and justice, and managed the impressive feat of being genuinely stirring without being trite. It's a fantastic experience, hearing counter-cultural radical politics preached as a necessary conclusion from the Gospels, while the Archbishop of Canterbury beams benevolently from inside his beard.

My talks on SF and the Bible in the literary venue, "Between the Lines", went very well, too. I was really pleased, as these were my first real foray into public speaking and I was frantically nervous beforehand. But we crowded out the (admittedly small) venue with audiences of 100+, all of whom seemed to be enjoying themselves. The stuff I was expounding was mildly heretical, but Greenbelt thrives on such things.

I also read an abridged version of the "Voces Populi" chapter from Of the City of the Saved... at the Subway Writers' Café on Sunday night. I did the characters in different voices, giving the Viking my best Brian Blessed. This, too, seemed to go down fairly well.

I should be updating the website in the next few days with a reading list to accompany the talks (as requested by some of the audience); and also with the short story I contributed to the anthology which the "Between the Lines" organisers produced on-site. With luck I'll be speaking again next year, perhaps in a bigger venue. I'm also seriously considering pitching a book to some Christian publisher or other off the back of my talks.

Not quite as relaxing a time as I'm used to having at Greenbelt, then, but an inspiring, renewing and nourishing experience all round. I'm already missing the smell of joss sticks.