The Link is published monthly at 40p (Senior Citizens 35p), and we deliver free within the parish and post copies (at the reader's expense) to those who request it. Please contact us if you would like a free copy for a trial period.
May 2005, Page 1.
Index of articles:
by subject,
by date.
In this issue:
(May 2005)
Believe in God,
Faith (song),
General Election,
Theatre.
Believe in God
Perhaps my whole job as a vicar can be summed up like this: I try to persuade people to believe in God. The real God.
There are, of course, quite a few atheists in the world today - they believe there isn't a god at all. To them the world is a closed system which is going on of its own accord, and it doesn't need anything divine to explain why it's the way it is.
A much larger number say they have an open mind on the question: they're agnostics - they don't know. In practice this means they behave like atheists.
But then there are quite a lot of people who do believe in a god. But what sort of god?
It's possible to believe in a divine force behind the cosmos, without this force being in any way personal or conscious. It's possible to believe in a thinking God who is so alien that we can never have any real idea of who he is (or do I mean what it is?). It's possible to believe in a God who began the universe and then took his hands off, so although he might see what we're up to he will never intervene. These are all pictures of God, but none of them makes a real impact on our lives. If they're true the best we can hope for is to carry on doing the best we can down here. (These views are versions of deism, and in practice those who believe them act just like atheists and agnostics.)
But suppose there really is a personal God who wants to make a difference to our lives?
In May we have three events in the Christian calendar which can help us nail down our conception of who God is and whether he can help us.
First comes Ascension, when Jesus was taken back into heaven. The ascension is a final look-back over the life of Jesus, and God's way of saying "I approve". It shows us that we can know God's character and personality, because it has been revealed to us in Jesus. It shows us God cares for humanity, because he helped and healed real people in history.
Then comes Pentecost, when God sent his Holy Spirit on the first disciples. It means we aren't on our own: God is a hands-on God who will step into our lives and give us his help for the things we face in life. It shows us that Jesus isn't just for history but he's for today.
And then there's Trinity, which shows us that although God is beyond our understanding, he isn't beyond our experience. He remains in heaven but he comes to be with us personally.
I wonder what sort of God you believe in? And I wonder whether you have made a final decision, or whether you are open to the chance that you might have more to learn?
John Hartley