Category Archives: Faith

What is faith? (An exploration in 3 parts) What is faith? Part 1: A verb, not a noun, active and purposeful It is a way of looking at the world, of understanding reality, of understanding yourself and all your relationships – with other people, but also your inner relationship with yourself. It is a setContinue reading “What is faith? Part 1”

Part 3: Learn to see through the false and hold on to what is true New understandings that I think will help me are:- So many things in the world we live in are false. They trick and dupe and lure us by taking something that is true and good and pure and lovely andContinue reading “A cord of 3 strands is not easily broken. Part 3”

Part 2: Faith is like a beating heart, not a bar of gold. I accept that I have fluctuated like a weathervane when I need to be like a hand on the rudder of a boat, not shifting with every breeze, but holding a steady course in the direction I have chosen. I have regardedContinue reading “A cord of 3 strands is not easily broken. Part 2”

A cord of 3 strands is not easily broken (A theological reflection in 3 parts) What are the 3 strands? Always stay true to God and move towards him Don’t be fooled by false alternatives Accept you have weaknesses, but use the strength of your faith to work through to your goal Part 1: IContinue reading “A cord of 3 strands is not easily broken. Part 1”

A note to readers about Pluscarden Abbey The other week I had one of the most unusual and interesting weeks of my life, when I visited Pluscarden Abbey in the Highlands of Scotland. I thought I should mention it in case anyone starts to wonder about the sudden increase in the number of references toContinue reading “A note to readers about Pluscarden Abbey”

The importance of believing in God Part 5: We are free to choose to believe in God I am keen to give all due respect to the inner life of secular minded people. Although I’m tempted to, I must not deride the quality of the inner, spiritual life, which is a facility we seem toContinue reading “The importance of believing in God. Part 5”

The importance of believing in God Part 4: It’s not an easy call, but our human nature tips us towards our need of God On a more positive note for secularists, we must be fair and say that they are able to marvel at the wonder of life just as religious people do. As weContinue reading “The importance of believing in God. Part 4”

The importance of believing in God Part 3: Dawkins’ vision is a popped balloon We may feel that “the Dawkins’ approach” wins out on the issue of not being troubled by the, “But is it true?” question. IF religious people are right in believing in God, then I think it’s clear that their approach isContinue reading “The importance of believing in God. Part 3”

The importance of believing in God Part 2: Maybe secularism can give a decent account of itself after all. It’s difficult to see how secularism can give me anything like as satisfying a psychological package as belief in God can. But we will try. Richard Dawkins, among others, has given us an inspiring vision thatContinue reading “The importance of believing in God. Part 2”

The importance of believing in God A review of what belief in God gives, compared with the alternative that secularism can offer. If God is not real, how do we manage without what God has offered? Can we compare the two offers? (In 5 parts) The importance of believing in God Part 1: God givesContinue reading “The importance of believing in God. Part 1”