Category Archives: God

The Lord is here; his kingdom has come Part 2: The false secular dismissal of God An experience of the presence of God is the bedrock of faith. Without it, religion becomes simply a code to live by, a set of social conventions to guide society. Such a foundation is not sufficient to make religionContinue reading “The Lord is here; his kingdom has come. (Part 2)”

(A theological reflection in a great many parts – 16 in all. Don’t worry; it will end eventually) The Lord is here; his kingdom has come Part 1: Summary This is the essence of the Christian faith. It is not primarily a set of principles, a philosophy by which to understand the world or findContinue reading “The Lord is here; his kingdom has come. (Part 1)”

Why do I believe I am surrounded by God’s grace? Part 7: A return to grace and so to fullness of life Through turning briefly to the problem of evil, we have taken something of an emotional downturn, when we had been talking about the wonderful grace of God. However, it’s important not to hideContinue reading “Why do I believe I am surrounded by God’s grace? (Part 7)”

Why do I believe I am surrounded by God’s grace? Part 6: The problem of evil is always lurking at our elbow and must be addressed Of course, I must face the challenge of those who suffer terribly, whose lives are filled with disappointment, who are oppressed and brutalised. My initial answer is to pointContinue reading “Why do I believe I am surrounded by God’s grace? (Part 6)”

Why do I believe I am surrounded by God’s grace? Part 5: God is an additional “something extra” which is experienced within life: the fullness of grace So, my experience of the grace of God is something like this. When I am engaged in the busyness of my life, I am “too busy” to beContinue reading “Why do I believe I am surrounded by God’s grace? (Part 5)”

Why do I believe I am surrounded by God’s grace? Part 4: Somehow, those with faith experience the reality of God I don’t think we are anthropomorphising nature here – and then making nature divine. Rather, it is a reality that we experience: of course, for it seems obvious to the believer, the beauty ofContinue reading “Why do I believe I am surrounded by God’s grace? (Part 4)”

Why do I believe I am surrounded by God’s grace? Part 3: We turn to God because we feel there is “something more”. Let us turn to the core dimension of religious experience, often expressed in symbols. Two people view a stunning sunset. One says, “What a wonderful sunset! It fills me with awe andContinue reading “Why do I believe I am surrounded by God’s grace? (Part 3)”

Why do I believe I am surrounded by God’s grace? Part 2: Life without God can be wonderful; does God add anything? Life is – or can be – wonderful. We are glad to be alive. If our life is in any way sustainable, then there will be many good aspects to it. We willContinue reading “Why do I believe I am surrounded by God’s grace? (Part 2)”

(A theological reflection in 7 (rather long!) parts. This article is very much about my experience, so the word “I” appears rather a lot. There is a huge range of experience amongst Christians, so many people will see things quite differently, but I am hopeful that my experience is sufficiently understood to strike chords withContinue reading “Why do I believe I am surrounded by God’s grace? (Part 1)”

Washed up on the shores of heaven Part 2: The grace of God will bring us home I hope you can see that I am a fan of grace! So, what about this particular image? I think the meaning is that, even if we should somehow – spiritually speaking – suffer ship-wreck, whereby the wholeContinue reading “Washed up on the shores of heaven. (Part 2)”