Posts tagged God
The state of religious belief in Britain
Linda Woodhead, The Guadian:
According to British Religion in Numbers, belief in “a personal God” roughly halved between 1961 and 2000 – from 57% of the population to 26%. But over the same period belief in a “spirit or life force” doubled – from 22% to 44%. And 41% of us now believe in angels, 53% in an afterlife and 70% in a soul – that’s much higher, often double, than when the records began. And you can’t just say this is a growth in superstition – because belief in fortune-telling and astrology has not risen…
…Those who have even noticed the shifts have tended to dismiss them by saying that real dogmatic religion has been declining, leaving people with a muddled and fuzzy residue. I think the exact opposite is true. Turn it on its head and you see it the right way round: real religion – which is to say everyday, lived religion – is thriving and evolving, while hierarchical, institutionalised, dogmatic forms of religion are marginalised. Religion has returned to the core business of sustaining everyday life, supporting relations with the living and the dead, and managing misfortune. That’s why angels, cathedrals, pilgrimages and retreats are all doing well. And why mind, body, spirit has taken over from theology in the bookshops.
This is really interesting. And probably doesn’t make for happy reading for either the established church or the New Atheists.
John Piper says the fierce tornadoes in the US are the finger of God
John Piper:
Why would God reach down his hand and drag his fierce fingers across rural America killing at least 38 people with 90 tornadoes in 12 states, and leaving some small towns with scarcely a building standing, including churches? …
We do not ascribe such independent power to Mother Nature or to the devil. God alone has the last say in where and how the wind blows. If a tornado twists at 175 miles an hour and stays on the ground like a massive lawnmower for 50 miles, God gave the command.
Ugghh. John Piper seems to end up going further and further down in my estimation every time he opens his mouth (or writes a tweet or blog post) lately. It’s sad to see such a respectable church leader seem to be doing everything he can to undermine his reputation.
Does prayer change things?
Dean Sharp:
Prayer changes things.
In my mind this is an incontrovertible fact.
You may call it supernatural, or psychological, or an electromagnetic field distortion, or focused intentionality, or quantum entanglement.
Its influence may be transcendental, or physical, or purely internal, or proximal, or utterly non-local.
But prayer changes things.
Except perhaps the mind of God. Let’s hope his intentions are not that easily influenced.
This is from a Facebook post by my friend Dean. It’s well worth clicking on the link to read the conversation that it’s triggered. Very thought provoking.
Mere Apologetics: How to Help Seekers and Skeptics Find Faith
Any book with the word ‘apologetics’ in the title is not one I’m usually drawn to. If you were to ask me why, I’m not sure I could give you a completely satisfactory answer. I guess I associate it with an excessively defensive approach to the Christian faith coupled with an over-emphasis on faith as being something that is primarily or solely built on an intellectual foundation.
Of course, I recognise the need to defend the Christian faith from false interpretations and I also recognise that there is - and should always be - a healthy intellectual foundation to our faith. But there is so much more to faith than these two aspects and because of my view of apologetics being too deeply attached to just these aspects, I’ve never found apologetics to be a particularly inspiring subject.
It took a blog post by Scot McKnight to draw my attention to a new book by Alistair McGrath and lead me to want to read it.
I downloaded a copy to my iPad last week and have been making my way through it. I still have some way to go, but I’ve found it a really enjoyable and insightful read so far. And it has undoubtedly given me a greater appreciation for the role of apologetics and has deepened my understanding of what - at its best - it is truly about.
If I was to summarise my understanding of apologetics now, I would probably say that it is about clearing out the clutter and barriers that can be hinderances to people finding faith and encountering God. These may be intellectual barriers, but they are not necessarily so. I find this broader take on apologetics much more appealing and I can appreciate the need to be equipped to be able to do this well.
It was helpful too to see how McGrath doesn’t try and suggest that there is a simple array of truths that we should impress upon everyone. Everyone is unique and has there own questions and obstacles that can hold them back from discovering God. As followers of Christ we need to listen and learn and respond accordingly. And, of course, this is abundantly clear from the Book of Acts in the New Testament. The way Peter addressed the Jews was very different from how Paul addressed the Greeks.
All in all, I think there is much that would benefit many in this book. It’s not rocket science, but I’m finding it a helpful and thought-provoking read. And for those in particular who are wondering how best to respond to some of the challenges of the so called ‘new atheism’, there are some helpful thoughts on that front too.
Can we opt out of heaven for the sake of a loved one?
My friend Lon Wong ponders whether we could choose to opt out of heaven in exchange for getting a loved one in:
I know I’m nothing like Jesus, but would it hurt if I tried? Could we opt out of heaven for those that we love?
Would God honor our request? Could we joyfully stay in heaven if he didn’t?
Interesting questions! I - of course - know the answers but am sworn to secrecy. Feel free to pontificate about your own ponderings though! :)
(I do have one issue with the framing of Lon’s question: Heaven is not the ultimate future destination for humans part of God’s kingdom - the new/restored earth is. We keep getting sucked into talking about the future in the language of heaven or hell and the more we use that language, the more we reinforce misunderstandings about what the Bible actually describes about the future.)
Religious belief is part of human nature
Richard Allen Greene interviews Professor Roger Trigg on the findings of a massive new study by Oxford University:
The blockbuster study may not take a stance on the existence of God, but [religious belief being part of human nature] has profound implications for religious freedom, Trigg contends.
“If you’ve got something so deep-rooted in human nature, thwarting it is in some sense not enabling humans to fulfill their basic interests,” Trigg said.
“There is quite a drive to think that religion is private,” he said, arguing that such a belief is wrong. “It isn’t just a quirky interest of a few, it’s basic human nature.”
“This shows that it’s much more universal, prevalent, and deep-rooted. It’s got to be reckoned with. You can’t just pretend it isn’t there,” he said.
The Archbishop of Canterbury plays God and answers a six-year-old girls letter to God
From The Telegraph:
‘Dear Lulu – Nobody invented me – but lots of people discovered me and were quite surprised. They discovered me when they looked round at the world and thought it was really beautiful or really mysterious and wondered where it came from. They discovered me when they were very very quiet on their own and felt a sort of peace and love they hadn’t expected.
Then they invented ideas about me – some of them sensible and some of them not very sensible. From time to time I sent them some hints – specially in the life of Jesus – to help them get closer to what I’m really like.
Sweet. And love the reply.
