The Gospel and the Anxiety of Choice

Error message

  • Deprecated function: Return type of DatabaseStatementBase::execute($args = [], $options = []) should either be compatible with PDOStatement::execute(?array $params = null): bool, or the #[\ReturnTypeWillChange] attribute should be used to temporarily suppress the notice in require_once() (line 2244 of /home/cafechur/public_html/includes/database/database.inc).
  • Deprecated function: Return type of DatabaseStatementEmpty::current() should either be compatible with Iterator::current(): mixed, or the #[\ReturnTypeWillChange] attribute should be used to temporarily suppress the notice in require_once() (line 2346 of /home/cafechur/public_html/includes/database/database.inc).
  • Deprecated function: Return type of DatabaseStatementEmpty::next() should either be compatible with Iterator::next(): void, or the #[\ReturnTypeWillChange] attribute should be used to temporarily suppress the notice in require_once() (line 2346 of /home/cafechur/public_html/includes/database/database.inc).
  • Deprecated function: Return type of DatabaseStatementEmpty::key() should either be compatible with Iterator::key(): mixed, or the #[\ReturnTypeWillChange] attribute should be used to temporarily suppress the notice in require_once() (line 2346 of /home/cafechur/public_html/includes/database/database.inc).
  • Deprecated function: Return type of DatabaseStatementEmpty::valid() should either be compatible with Iterator::valid(): bool, or the #[\ReturnTypeWillChange] attribute should be used to temporarily suppress the notice in require_once() (line 2346 of /home/cafechur/public_html/includes/database/database.inc).
  • Deprecated function: Return type of DatabaseStatementEmpty::rewind() should either be compatible with Iterator::rewind(): void, or the #[\ReturnTypeWillChange] attribute should be used to temporarily suppress the notice in require_once() (line 2346 of /home/cafechur/public_html/includes/database/database.inc).
  • Deprecated function: strlen(): Passing null to parameter #1 ($string) of type string is deprecated in drupal_random_bytes() (line 2268 of /home/cafechur/public_html/includes/bootstrap.inc).
  • Deprecated function: Return type of DateObject::__wakeup() should either be compatible with DateTime::__wakeup(): void, or the #[\ReturnTypeWillChange] attribute should be used to temporarily suppress the notice in include_once() (line 143 of /home/cafechur/public_html/sites/all/modules/date/date_api/date_api.module).
  • Deprecated function: Return type of DateObject::format($format, $force = false) should either be compatible with DateTime::format(string $format): string, or the #[\ReturnTypeWillChange] attribute should be used to temporarily suppress the notice in include_once() (line 143 of /home/cafechur/public_html/sites/all/modules/date/date_api/date_api.module).
  • Deprecated function: Return type of DateObject::setTimezone($tz, $force = false) should either be compatible with DateTime::setTimezone(DateTimeZone $timezone): DateTime, or the #[\ReturnTypeWillChange] attribute should be used to temporarily suppress the notice in include_once() (line 143 of /home/cafechur/public_html/sites/all/modules/date/date_api/date_api.module).
  • Deprecated function: Creation of dynamic property SelectQuery::$alterTags is deprecated in SelectQuery->addTag() (line 978 of /home/cafechur/public_html/includes/database/select.inc).
  • Deprecated function: Creation of dynamic property DatabaseCondition::$stringVersion is deprecated in DatabaseCondition->compile() (line 1865 of /home/cafechur/public_html/includes/database/query.inc).
  • Deprecated function: Creation of dynamic property DatabaseCondition::$stringVersion is deprecated in DatabaseCondition->compile() (line 1865 of /home/cafechur/public_html/includes/database/query.inc).
  • Deprecated function: rtrim(): Passing null to parameter #1 ($string) of type string is deprecated in url() (line 2349 of /home/cafechur/public_html/includes/common.inc).
  • Deprecated function: Creation of dynamic property ctools_context::$plugin is deprecated in ctools_context_create_entity() (line 62 of /home/cafechur/public_html/sites/all/modules/ctools/plugins/contexts/entity.inc).
  • Deprecated function: Creation of dynamic property ctools_context::$id is deprecated in ctools_context_get_context_from_argument() (line 1197 of /home/cafechur/public_html/sites/all/modules/ctools/includes/context.inc).
  • Deprecated function: Creation of dynamic property DatabaseCondition::$stringVersion is deprecated in DatabaseCondition->compile() (line 1865 of /home/cafechur/public_html/includes/database/query.inc).
  • Deprecated function: Creation of dynamic property DatabaseCondition::$stringVersion is deprecated in DatabaseCondition->compile() (line 1865 of /home/cafechur/public_html/includes/database/query.inc).
  • Deprecated function: Creation of dynamic property ctools_context::$plugin is deprecated in ctools_context_create_user() (line 35 of /home/cafechur/public_html/sites/all/modules/ctools/plugins/contexts/user.inc).
  • Deprecated function: Creation of dynamic property ctools_context::$id is deprecated in ctools_access_get_loggedin_context() (line 1862 of /home/cafechur/public_html/sites/all/modules/ctools/includes/context.inc).
  • Deprecated function: Creation of dynamic property SelectQuery::$alterTags is deprecated in SelectQuery->addTag() (line 978 of /home/cafechur/public_html/includes/database/select.inc).
  • Deprecated function: Creation of dynamic property DatabaseCondition::$stringVersion is deprecated in DatabaseCondition->compile() (line 1865 of /home/cafechur/public_html/includes/database/query.inc).
  • Deprecated function: Creation of dynamic property DatabaseCondition::$stringVersion is deprecated in DatabaseCondition->compile() (line 1865 of /home/cafechur/public_html/includes/database/query.inc).
  • Deprecated function: Creation of dynamic property SelectQuery::$alterTags is deprecated in SelectQuery->addTag() (line 978 of /home/cafechur/public_html/includes/database/select.inc).
  • Deprecated function: Creation of dynamic property DatabaseCondition::$stringVersion is deprecated in DatabaseCondition->compile() (line 1865 of /home/cafechur/public_html/includes/database/query.inc).
  • Deprecated function: Creation of dynamic property DatabaseCondition::$stringVersion is deprecated in DatabaseCondition->compile() (line 1865 of /home/cafechur/public_html/includes/database/query.inc).
  • Deprecated function: Creation of dynamic property DatabaseCondition::$stringVersion is deprecated in DatabaseCondition->compile() (line 1865 of /home/cafechur/public_html/includes/database/query.inc).
  • Deprecated function: Creation of dynamic property DatabaseCondition::$stringVersion is deprecated in DatabaseCondition->compile() (line 1865 of /home/cafechur/public_html/includes/database/query.inc).
  • Deprecated function: Creation of dynamic property PDOException::$query_string is deprecated in DatabaseConnection->query() (line 770 of /home/cafechur/public_html/includes/database/database.inc).
  • Deprecated function: Creation of dynamic property PDOException::$args is deprecated in DatabaseConnection->query() (line 772 of /home/cafechur/public_html/includes/database/database.inc).
  • Deprecated function: Creation of dynamic property DatabaseCondition::$stringVersion is deprecated in DatabaseCondition->compile() (line 1865 of /home/cafechur/public_html/includes/database/query.inc).
  • Deprecated function: Creation of dynamic property DatabaseCondition::$stringVersion is deprecated in DatabaseCondition->compile() (line 1865 of /home/cafechur/public_html/includes/database/query.inc).
  • Deprecated function: strpos(): Passing null to parameter #1 ($haystack) of type string is deprecated in url_is_external() (line 2393 of /home/cafechur/public_html/includes/common.inc).
  • Deprecated function: str_replace(): Passing null to parameter #3 ($subject) of type array|string is deprecated in url_is_external() (line 2395 of /home/cafechur/public_html/includes/common.inc).
  • Deprecated function: ltrim(): Passing null to parameter #1 ($string) of type string is deprecated in url() (line 2311 of /home/cafechur/public_html/includes/common.inc).
  • Deprecated function: Creation of dynamic property SelectQuery::$alterTags is deprecated in SelectQuery->addTag() (line 978 of /home/cafechur/public_html/includes/database/select.inc).
  • Deprecated function: Creation of dynamic property DatabaseCondition::$stringVersion is deprecated in DatabaseCondition->compile() (line 1865 of /home/cafechur/public_html/includes/database/query.inc).
  • Deprecated function: Creation of dynamic property DatabaseCondition::$stringVersion is deprecated in DatabaseCondition->compile() (line 1865 of /home/cafechur/public_html/includes/database/query.inc).

What is the Good News in our context? There's a theory, originating from Paul Tillich, that the basic problem for Christians of the Classical Age was the anxiety of death and fate, to which the answer was Christus Victor, leading captivity captive. For medieval and early modern people it was the anxiety of guilt and judgement, powerfully expressed by Luther in his quest for a gracious God. But what is the specific issue of our time and place? Is it meaninglessness? Or is it anxiety?

If the fundamental problem of our time is anxiety, then, this session suggests, the solution might be found in the idea of Call: God's call on your life gives you a steady horizon on which to orient your life.

We spent the evening on the 21st of May 2019 thinking about exactly this. Alister then went away and reflected, and wrote it up here

And here are the slides:

Image: The calling of St Matthew Caravaggio, ca. 1597-1601.

Blog