The Archbishop’s
embarrassment concerning the Church Commissioner’s investment indirectly in
Wonga helps to clarify ideas about sin, purity and holiness. In particular it
reveals the extent to which sin is communal and interconnected. The Archbishop
talks about a complex world which we all have to live in. He is right, but it
can be put more theologically than that. The in-depth discussion around the
Charity Commissioner’s investment portfolio and its tolerance of say up to 3% in
companies (perhaps a hotel chain) that sell pornography reveals the way in
which it is probably impossible to exist in perfect holy isolation. Nobody is
perfect in and of themselves because we exist inter-dependently of one another.
That is why sin is so corrupting - the wide effect of the pornographic industry
not just on those who make it and buy it can be charted. That is why, when God
made Himself known to the Jewish people as YHWH, that he started a covenantal
relationship not just with a few individuals but with a community. Moreover
that is why to speak of individual salvation is to entirely misunderstand the
nature of human existence. How can one individual be saved in isolation if we
are so interconnected that none can be innocent or entirely free from sin?
When we consider the
search and desire for holiness in Christianity monastic living shines out as
being a way of life that accords most particularly with Christian values.
People set themselves apart and promise to live lives of holiness, chastity,
obedience, poverty and charity for example. Their witness reveals the degree to
which Christianity requires self-sacrifice and it is the sort of witness that
society is hungry for. John Humphry expresses this in his interview with the
Archbishop when he suggests that the church has to offer, does it not, the
perfect moral standard?
Not to let the church off
the hook, nor to avoid difficult questions around investment portfolios and
capitalism, but living in and of the world, as the Archbishop articulates means
living with the reality of day to day sin both personal and communal.
Christians can act as salt and light if they do identify and name sin whilst at
the same time being humble enough to recognise their own contribution to it. In
that way, maybe we can start to reform society, with others, not in holy
isolation. We can remind one another that every single individual action that
we take has a profound effect on our neighbour. How do we love our neighbour?
By recognising our interconnectedness to them and putting our neighbour’s
well-being at the core of how we act and behave. For even a monastic community in accepting a donation from a stranger may be the 'innocent' receiver of dirty money.