If you were to wander past many war graves, you would find this phrase on each tombstone, but why? Influential and eccentric author of The Jungle Book, Rudyard Kipling, lost his son John in the First World War and offered his services to what became known as The War Graves Commission. Despite having an eclectic […]
The sad truth is that landslides result in many deaths the world over every year, sometimes wiping out whole communities – 2000 people were killed by one in Peru in 1962. The most common cause is erosion which leads to loss of stable ground and then to a collapse just as with this cliff face.
If belief in God is likened to a cliff, what are the corrosive forces that might lead to a collapse?
Every locality has its landmarks and we all use them for navigating around our landscapes. A few like the Eiffel Tower and the Statue of Liberty are notable beyond their locality, but most only mean something to locals. When a familiar old tree is taken down or a favourite shop closes, there is a sense of loss and some disorientation. The pictured monument is probably known only to a very few readers – it is placed in heathland to mark the proximity of habitat for Wild Cranberries, the Woodlark and Nightjar. Some have creatively also used it for geocaching so if it was moved it would be confusing for dog walkers and for those searching for their next geocache answer. You will have some landmarks that mean a lot to you but little to others. Come to that, in the landscape of life, you will have people or events that are significant landmarks particularly to you. Perhaps you are a landmark for others like a cairn on a mountain walk to help them on their way.
Something dangerous can happen in the heart of a person and in that of a community when a general distrust arises. It is then that cynicism is at work and leads on to a sceptical hardening of the heart which questions everything and believes nothing.
Just as hardening of the arteries is dangerous for physical health, so creeping cynicism can be dangerous for spiritual health. It was Pharaoh’s hard heart that led to his rejection of God and the tragedies experienced in Egypt. A hard heart is a dying heart.
No stranger to doubts, troubled rockstar Steve Tyler said: ‘‘Maybe life is random, but I doubt it". Let’s face it, doubting is part of the human condition – it does not necessarily mean the absence of faith.
All of Jesus’ disciples had doubts that were recorded:
From the beginning, Christians have been persecuted for having faith in Jesus Christ. Today, Open Doors estimated that over 215 million are facing high levels of persecution. Jesus himself tells us, ‘If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also’ – John 15:20. So the oppression against Christians is no surprise to Jesus but every slight, injustice and cruelty against you matters to him: ‘Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven’ – Matthew 5:11-12.
Sadly, persecution is everywhere and is here to stay until the Lord Jesus returns – it may be subtle or flagrant but it is very real.
‘Christians are being persecuted, not just in the Middle East but here in this country’ – Wendy Long (American Attorney).
It is surprising to read that some are intolerant towards those who are ‘agnostic’ – why should it offend to be undecided? Yet here’s three commentators with that view:
The best teacher can take a complex thing and make it simple – the worst will take the simple and make it complex. So here’s what we know:
