Search results

Leaving allegations of corruption aside, there is the issue of sheer human fallibility. I should prefer to leave such final judgements to an omniscient, omnipotent God. Best wishes, 2RM.

I, too, have been there and done that. But I find in my experience as an atheist a rich mine of truths to assimilate into the Christian religion and my personal faith. God is good, truth is good, God is truth. But even atheists may speak truth, and when they do, perhaps they are not so far from...

Have you read Dawkins' The God Delusion? Ultimately, I find it unconvincing, but on the way through, he does make some good points, and I found it enriched my faith as I grappled with them. You might - or might not - have a similar experience. For balance, you might like The Dawkins Delusion, by...

The phrase: 'With all due respect...' generally means: 'With no respect at all.' And to the best of my knowledge, Professor Dawkins is still alive. Perhaps you could try and convert him! Best wishes, 2RM.

Even atheists, perhaps, especially atheists, given they are unencumbered by 6000 years of the accretions of religion, may speak the truth that others have missed. And neither Darwin nor Dawkins are fools, whether we agree with them or not. But you may read as you will, and will not. It is not...

To quote Aunty Jane, 'I have a very different perspective on that.' The Bible is the story, in my opinion, of some 4000 years of gradual human philosophical and theological development, 'til we hit the revelations of Jesus. Then we really start to make progress. I am so looking forward to God...

I have a theory about this. Seems to me God does not test us beyond our ability to cope. And though that coping is sometimes very hard, it provides us with the opportunity to develop and grow in the virtues, recognise those virtues in others, and appreciate them and the struggles they cost. And...

Seems to me it's not an "either/or" question, but a "both/and" thing. In our age, God works His tests of faith through natural phenomena. And you are allowed to doubt, it is a perfectly reasonable state for humanity. As a bishop I once heard said: the opposite of faith is not doubt; it is...

I am so sorry for your losses. But the entire world seems to me to be an enduring test of character. All we Christians can do is show, by our example, the nature of virtue and the meaning of love, whatever might befall us. Best wishes, 2RM.

I think you're right. Nevertheless, there are many Christians who think that salvation is by faith alone, and deliberately elide faith and righteousness. For what it's worth though, my own belief is that salvation is an ontological and ethical matter, rather than an epistemological one. In other...

Interesting. Do you consider, then, that belief and righteousness are synonymous, and similarly unbelief and wickedness? Best wishes, 2RM.

Why does God allow this? Because He places a higher premium on our freedom than on our shaky grasp of morality. Or so it seems to me, anyway. Best wishes, 2RM.

Jesus was, if nothing else, the personification of a redeeming God. We should take that as God's way of revealing His nature, and copy that. You cannot redeem those you have put to death. Best wishes, 2RM.

Yes. I know it is written so into scripture. However, I find it a misanthropic view of us all, and I do not think it to be an accurate picture of humanity, a species which is capax universi, capable of everything. Just because one is not perfect it does not mean that one is bad, whatever it...

Universal atonement is only one theory of the meaning of Christ's crucifixion. My own preference as regards the cross is that Jesus' life, and the manner of His death, were to set us an example of loving sacrifice, which we should emulate so far as we can, and to prove His commitment to His...

Hmmm. Sometimes I read a post that is so obviously so far from the truth of the matter that it isn't worth a reply. Fact is, most people, most of the time, live blameless, decent lives. If they didn't, societies couldn't cohere. The majority of them worship differently to us, but still don't...

Christianity is most certainly a religion. With it's own ideology and containing it's own set of ethics. I happen to think it the most accurate religion so far devised, but that is my personal conviction, and I'm quite content to leave it that way. Best wishes, 2RM.

Well, I'm talking ethics. You're talking religion. They are not synonymous conceptions. Which is fine, and it means one can pursue neither, either, or both. Best wishes, 2RM.

Wrinkle 1) You are to imagine you are a doctor. You have four patients. Patient 1) needs a heart and lung transplant. 2) needs new kidneys. 3) needs a new liver. 4) needs a pancreas. A perfectly fit individual arrives for his annual flu jab. Tissues all match. According to 'the greatest...

Yup. So far as I am concerned, my sins are my sins, not Jesus', and I expect to have to atone for them. Jesus' crucifixion makes it possible for us to atone, but only I can undergo this transforming psychological process on my behalf. It's something we have to do for ourselves. Best wishes, 2RM.