About
The Evangelical Liberal is a blog to explore more open and liberated ways of being a Christian, particularly for those who have struggled to find their way within the evangelical tradition. Read more-
Recent Posts
- “Up, civil unrest!” (an Easter-ish reflection)
- Still Evangelical Liberal after all these years?
- Reasons to be hopeful?
- Covid questions – 3. What kind of God would send a pandemic?
- Covid questions – 2. Is it sent by God to punish sin?
- Covid questions – 1. Is it the end of the world?
- All together at the cross
- Does light overcome darkness?
- God bless America
- The Penitent Thief – a Good Friday reflection
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Category Archives: The faith journey
Coping with our faith crises
One of the problems with the usual model of spiritual or religious development we’ve inherited is that it too often places the ‘spiritual crisis’ only in the past – ‘I was lost, now I’m found’. So we’re allowed the single … Continue reading
Posted in Dark night of the soul, Faith, Scepticism and doubt, Stages of faith, The faith journey
Tagged backsliding, doubt, faith crisis, faith journey
10 Comments
An experience of divine absence
No, this isn’t a post about Brexit, though it does feel strangely appropriate under the circumstances. In the past I’ve written about an experience of grace, a time when I felt a deep and unexpected sense of God’s goodness towards … Continue reading
Why doesn’t God magically sort out our problems?
Way back last time I was looking at miracles, and the problems both of being overly cynical about the miraculous or overly reliant on it. This follows on from a slightly different angle. First, a question. If you knew God … Continue reading
Posted in Divine intervention, Faith, Suffering, The faith journey
Tagged magic, miracles, rescue, spiritual maturity
11 Comments
Why I gave up trying to save the world
And by ‘gave up’, I don’t mean ‘throwing in the towel’ so much as giving up a bad habit, an unhealthy addiction. For many years I tried my best to save the world and my friends – with limited success … Continue reading
Posted in Evangelicalism, Salvation, The faith journey
Tagged evangelism, evangelistic techniques, friendship evangelism, mission, missionary, the gospel
29 Comments
Should we accept reality or should we fight it?
…that is the question: whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing end them? Hamlet God grant me the courage to … Continue reading
Authenticity vs obedience?
Should we do good, serve God and love others as a duty because we owe it to God? Or should we only do it if we can do it gladly, authentically and ungrudgingly, out of genuine love and gratitude? Should … Continue reading
Posted in Love of God, Religion, The faith journey
Tagged authenticity, Christian duty, Christian service, faithfulness, grace, love, obedience, ought, should
25 Comments
Stages of faith – the flight-path of a relationship
One of this blog’s central, recurring ideas is that faith has a life cycle with recognisable phases or stages (an idea originally developed by James Fowler). It’s an idea that’s helped and supported me through the experience of my own … Continue reading
Posted in Stages of faith, The faith journey
Tagged boredom, faith journey, losing the fire, marriage, stages of faith
7 Comments
The Successful Christian Life™ ?
So then brothers and sisters, are you feeling successful and victorious as a Christian? No? Well, you sure won’t get a lot of inspirational advice here. 😉 We in the modern west set a lot of store by success. Not … Continue reading
Why (not) to go to church
Having recently introduced Pete Rollins to you all, I feel at complete liberty to pinch his ideas (not that that ever stopped me before). Expressed in Rollinsian terms, the idea of this post is: “Church is the one place where … Continue reading
Posted in Stages of faith, The faith journey
Tagged apostasy, belonging, church, church attendance, churchgoing, faith communities, services, sunday school, youth group
2 Comments