Contemplations
This section does not so much answer questions as meditate on the implications that past and present events and discoveries may have for our attitude to life and the world we live in.
It is not our intention that such discussions should be restricted to people who see things the same way that we do. You are entitled to honestly disagree: but we expect participants to treat one another with respect and present their reasons without being gratuitously offensive: otherwise postings are likely to be cut or blocked.
N.B. This page does not yet have a “Simplified English” version.
Automated translations are based on the original English text. They may include significant errors.
Postings in this category:
- Why Wasn’t the Resurrection More Public?If resurrection is the basis of Christian faith, why didn’t Jesus display himself more publicly afterwards? And wouldn’t a more public ascension have made matters easier for doubting believers?
- Sour GrapesNot a discussion of Aesop’s fable: but a Jewish proverb complaining that God makes children suffer for the sins of their parents. Could a loving God really do such a thing?
- The Severe Face of LoveSometimes a father with an unruly child, a child that terrorizes the other children, must take strong action to stop the terror. Do you think God faces the same dilemma with us? How might those actions of defense play out? Does love, sometimes by necessity, take on a severe face?
- Why Are We Waiting?Most folk who have ever sought after God can think of times when they have cried out, “If you’re there, why don’t you show me? I’m here and I want to know!” Yet God doesn’t always show up when we think He should. And it doesn’t seem fair. So why is it?
- Our Daily BreadThe word ‘daily’ in the Lord’s Prayer occurs nowhere else in extant Greek literature. Most scholars agree that this is not the correct translation: but are divided over what it should be. Why is this?
- God Uses Flawed PeopleIf we see someone in a position of influence betray the standards they profess, most of us are not just reluctant ever to trust that person again: we even struggle with our memories of their past good deeds. Should we just write them off?
- Living with BetrayalOn a number of occasions, people I deeply trusted and admired as friends and outstanding Christians have betrayed the standards they openly avowed. The pain of it has at times been like a knife twisted in my gut. Is it possible to ever trust such people again?
- 3 Steps to TransformationJeremiah is often known as a prophet of ‘doom and gloom.’ Yet, in the middle of a passage denouncing Israel’s sins and warning of coming judgement, we find this gem of encouragement – a manifesto concerning the true source of fulfilment in life and God’s agenda for bringing us into that place.
- The ‘Connectedness’ of GodOne of the hardest things for us to comprehend is what it really feels like to be someone else. If I bang my finger, I am in agony: but if you break your leg I can’t feel it. I can only try to empathize. For us, that is probably just as well. But there is someone who can truly understand…
- Why Does God Hide?It is a question that’s been asked, not just by agnostics and atheists, but many a disappointed enquirer and even many believers, frustrated by God’s seeming inaccessibility. There’s no single answer appropriate for every case: but I’d like to offer one key thought that can help our understanding
- Finding Wisdom in Unexpected PeopleA recent discussion in LinkedIn’s ‘Books and Authors’ group raised questions about the proliferation of books and blogs, some of which are by people of very limited literary ability; and it got me reminiscing about someone I met many years ago…
- Love needs a ChampionThe Song of Solomon declares that: “Love is strong as death … Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot sweep it away.” And the apostle Paul says that it… “bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.” And yet love has an intrinsic weakness: it cannot compel; because love, to be love at all, must be a voluntary choice.
Page creation by Kevin King