Tag: Christianity
-
The clergy know, but the faithful don’t want to hear it!
I’ve had many conversations with churchmen and women and discovered that many of them continue to teach the same old things about the Bible without really believing it themselves. They dare not say, though, so for fear of confusing their congregations and losing their employment. One Anglican vicar told me that, like all trainee clergy,…
-
Chinese Whispers
Nowadays if you wanted to write a biography of someone who died half a century ago, like Dr Martin Luther King, Sir Winston Churchill or President Kennedy for instance, you would search the internet, visit a library and bookstore and look for film clips and old newsreels. You could even try to make contact with…
-
Until the early 19th Century few in the West questioned the Bible’s accuracy
Until the early 19th Century few people in the Christian world questioned the Bible’s accuracy. It was considered sacrosanct. Only when the biblical texts began to be studied seriously in the early 1800s and cross referenced with other sources did a better understanding begin to emerge. As result, most Christians at that time had a…
-
Christian Baptism
Did you know there is no mention of infant baptism (Christening) anywhere in the Bible? Yet the early church took it upon themselves to interpret their prophet Yeshua’s message as they saw fit. The purpose of the christening service is, of course, to deliver another generation of youngsters into church membership as parents promise to…
-
Christianity rules – OK?
If you live in a European country, or one which used to governed by a European colonial power, the chances are that the Christian religion impacts on all areas of your life whether you are a believer or not. In the country of my birth, England, Christianity is actively followed by a tiny fraction of…
-
Is religion just a form of placebo?
Our beliefs rule our lives and help to create our experience of life. They influence us whether we are paying attention to them or not and it doesn’t matter if they are true – the effect is the same. An untrue belief has just as powerful an effect as a true belief. The world we…
-
John the Baptist and the Carpenter from Nazareth
It seems to me that John the Baptist plays a much bigger part in the gospels than he is given credit for. The gospels tell us that John was a reclusive holy man well-known for preaching that a new world order was about to be established and people had better repent and confess their sins.…
-
Non-resistance
Non-resistance is one of the greatest spiritual teachings. It is closely related to forgiveness. Yeshua bar Yehosef (later rechristened ‘Jesus’) alluded to it, but it is not unique to him – all the great religions teach the same. According to one of the gospel writers[1], Yeshua said ‘You have heard it said, ‘An eye for…
-
Heresy and Truth – Talk to Maidenhead Unity, June 2016
In the early 1980s, the newly appointed Anglican Bishop of Durham, Dr David Jenkins, said he did not believe the gospel birth stories nor that that a physical resurrection had taken place, and that such beliefs were not necessary to be a good Christian. Now you may remember the uproar in Christian circles. Many –…
-
Six Steps in the Formation of a Religion
Step One: the charismatic being Most religions can be traced back to a teacher, usually with great charisma, who either appears or claims to have answers to the deeper questions. Often they claim that G-d spoke directly to them and expect their followers to believe it. Step Two: he attracts followers The charismatic one comes…