Category Archives: The faith journey

Stages and streams of faith

Coping with our faith crises

Posted on August 11, 2016 by

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 , , , | 8 Comments

An experience of divine absence

Posted on June 24, 2016 by

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 →

Posted in Atheism/agnosticism, Dark night of the soul, Scepticism and doubt, The faith journey | Tagged , , | 15 Comments

Why doesn’t God magically sort out our problems?

Posted on May 23, 2016 by

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 , , , | 11 Comments

Why I gave up trying to save the world

Posted on May 15, 2015 by

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 , , , , , | 29 Comments

Should we accept reality or should we fight it?

Posted on November 3, 2014 by

…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 →

Posted in Faith, Prayer, The faith journey | Tagged , , , , , , , | 21 Comments

Authenticity vs obedience?

Posted on June 24, 2014 by

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 , , , , , , , , | 25 Comments

Stages of faith – the flight-path of a relationship

Posted on May 22, 2014 by

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 , , , , | 7 Comments

The Successful Christian Life™ ?

Posted on April 25, 2014 by

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 →

Posted in Money and marketing, Spirituality, The faith journey | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

Why (not) to go to church

Posted on April 8, 2014 by

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 , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments