Category Archives: God

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)”

(A theological reflection in 2 parts) Washed up on the shores of heaven Part 1: We live and move and breathe within the grace of God In a recent sermon, I made this comment: “Somewhere at the centre of our souls – something that we cannot see, but that God can, is a drop ofContinue reading “Washed up on the shores of heaven. (Part 1)”

On forgiveness Part 9: The nature of God is forgiveness Why should God be so keen on forgiveness? He has no need of it for himself. Therefore, it is something that he does because he knows we need it. In this respect, it is exactly in tune with – an intrinsic part of – hisContinue reading “On forgiveness. (Part 9)”

On forgiveness Part 8: Forgiveness is a freely-given generous gift; it is not self-seeking I am still a little troubled by the motivation of us “forgiving in order to be forgiven”. It must be a good thing to do this, but it sounds substandard, in that our focus could be completely on ourselves, rather thanContinue reading “On forgiveness. (Part 8)”