02.10.2015
Book by Former Archdeacon of Dublin Spurs Readers to Think Anew on Faith and Life
A new book featuring a selection of Irish Times columns written by former Archdeacon of Dublin, Gordon Linney, was launched yesterday evening (October 1) by the Catholic Archbishop of Dublin, the Most Revd Diarmuid Martin. Thinking Anew – Faith in a World of Change and Doubt is published by Columba Press and contains just some of Archdeacon Linney’s popular Thinking Anew articles from the last 10 years which seek to highlight the connections between life and faith. The royalties from the book will be donated to the Laura Lynn Children’s Hospice.
Launching the book, Archbishop Martin said that the title could be seen as an agenda for the future of all Churches. “One of the big challenges that believers and Church institutions must ask themselves today and even more so in the future, is precisely the question about ‘faith in a world of change and doubt’,” he stated.
The Archbishop said that faith was not about regurgitating perennial certainties but about perennially having the capacity to think anew within a rapidly changing world, being challenged to doubt but coming out facing in the right direction rather than “the non–direction of entrenchment in a past which seemed secure but may never have existed, but in renewed thinking which generates renewed optimism and renewed faith”.
Speaking of his attendance last week of the celebration on family life led by Pope Francis in the United States, Archbishop Martin said that his dominant impression of the Pope was his abounding energy, both physically and in the alertness of his thought. He also highlighted his ability to challenge established wisdom and say things in a different way. He said this upset some Catholics who found it hard to accept that in challenging accepted wisdom the Pope was actually enhancing it.
The Archbishop said people were often angry and unsettled by change but said he realised that the Church had made them like that. “We created a climate around faith which generated scruples and failed to free people and give them an experience of a Jesus who liberates us from entrapment and who is there with his mercy to free us once again from entrapment when we fail,” he stated.
“Godon Linney’s book is an example of someone who never allowed change and doubt to prevent him from thinking anew and expressing that new thinking through the medium of a secular newspaper. His thinking anew was not thinking angrily out loud. It was thinking anew which spurred his readers on to reflect on how faith can interpret and enlighten events of the day,” he added.
CEO of the Laura Lynn Children’s Hospice, Sharon Morrow, highlighted the work of the organisation which provides palliative care for children with life limiting illness. They provide respite care, end of life care and crisis care and recently added Laura Lynn in the Home to their range of services. She thanked Archdeacon Linney for his donation and said it was generosity like his which enabled them to continue their vital service.
Gordon Linney thanked everyone who had helped with the publication of the book and those who had facilitated the launch in St Paul’s Parish Centre in Glenageary. The book is dedicated to the memory of his wife, Helen, and he thanked everyone who supported them over the 22 years of her illness. He also thanked the Irish Times who had given him the privilege of writing the column every second week for 10 years.
He said that the book had a very simple aim – it was not just him thinking anew but thinking aloud of the connections between life and faith and encouraging people not to give in to secularism which he said took away but gave nothing back. “Secularism is a spiritual desert. The simple answer is, if Churches all disappeared tomorrow, the spiritual questions would remain – who am I? What is the purpose of my existence?” he stated.
The forward to the book is written by the Revd Olive Donohoe, Rector of Athy. She concludes it by saying: “Gordon Linney has an eye for the great saints and heroes of our world, and is effortlessly able to distil the wisdom of seemingly disparate groups including theologians, philosophers, scientists, thinkers and commentators in a stimulating and accessible way. The clear, unambiguous writing style, in a language that speaks clearly and courageously to the issues of the day, of our day, is very appealing… Let me end with a fervent prayer: Thank you God, for the sheer pleasure of books such as this, books which we can treasure, books which we can hold in our hands, keep on the bedside table, share with our families and give to our friends as gifts! Amen.
Photo Captions:
Top – Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, Archdeacon Gordon Linney and Sharon Morrow of the Laura Lynn Children’s Hospice.
Bottom – The Revd Olive Donohoe and Archdeacon Gordon Linney.