Ten virtues for atheists

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Good for philosopher Alain de Botton, who has challenged atheists to consider what virtues they think might add up to a ‘good life’.  That’s better than worrying about how to be wealthier, or more attractive.

He has come up with a list of ten:-

  1. Resilience
  2. Empathy
  3. Patience
  4. Sacrifice
  5. Politeness
  6. Humour
  7. Self-awareness
  8. Forgiveness
  9. Hope
  10. Confidence

Problems?  Yes, I think there are some problems with this approach.

First, there is the problem of definition.  Sacrifice? – of what, to whom? …

Judgment according to works

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Recent re-thinking about the doctrine of justification throws up a related question about the final judgment:-

Are we warranted to say that we are justified by faith, but are judged by works?  The very idea seems to undermine the grace of God and to take away with one hand what has so freely been given with the other.

N.T. Wright on ‘Justification by Works’

‘Here [in Rom 2:1-16] is the first statement about justification in Romans, and lo and behold it affirms justification according to works!

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‘Unapologetic’

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Scintillatingly good, embarrasingly bad.

This recent (2012) book by Francis Spufford seeks to introduce the Christian faith from a fresh angle.

It’s certainly different.  Spufford says that he’s not opposed to evidential apologetics, but thinks that there’s plenty of that kind of material around.  But, on the other hand, he claims that no-one can know whether Christianity is true or not.  Shades of ‘a leap in the dark’.  What he has attempted, then, is to show ‘why, despite everything, Christianity can still make surprising emotional sense’

As anyone who has read it will tell you, it’s wonderfully, sometimes hilariously, written. …

Must God punish sin?

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Few Christians are willing to do any sustained thinking about sin.  Of course, evangelical preachers will mention it from time to time.  After all, they need to convince their hearers that they are ‘sound’.  But they will feel under intense pressure from those same hearers to move quickly and as smoothly as possible from anything to do with sin and judgment to a positive and uplifting message about God’s love.

The fact is, that for most modern Christians the doctrine of the love of God has become the one great ‘givens’, the unargued and unarguable axiom. …

‘The Ten Worst Verses of the Bible’

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I think it was back in 2009 that the Ship of Fools website reported on its poll to find the ‘worst’ (that is to say, the most unpopular) verses of the Bible.

For a supposedly satirical website, the SoF had a surprisingly po faced aim.  They wanted, apparently, to rescue the Bible both from its enemies, who think that it’s a complete pile of rubbish, and some of its friends, who suppose that it’s a ‘textbook of infallible information and unbreakable laws’. …

Quotes on God’s existence

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God’s existence not only cannot be proved, it should not be attempted. (Os Guiness)

God is not for proof but proclamation; not for argument but acceptance.  (Robert Horn)

One of the great needs of today is a profound conviction that God is. (W. Holloway Main)

At bottom God is nothing more than an exalted father.  (Sigmund Freud)

If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent him.  (Voltaire)

The evidence for God lies primarily in inner personal experience. …

What can the Puritans do for us?

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A major publishing event has recently taken place.  A Puritan Theology: Doctrine for Life is a large-scale work by Joel Beeke and Mark Jones.  In 60 chapters, it summarises Puritan teaching on Christian truth, from principles for Biblical interpretation to ‘theology in practice’.

Beeke and Jones were recently asked to highlight those aspects of Puritan teaching that might be most helpful for today’s church.  They mentioned the following:-

  1. The glory of God.  Many of the problems in the contemporary church arise from our losing sight of God’s glory. 
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Spiritual, but not religious

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According to a recent article on the BBC News Magazine website, about one fifth of the UK population would describe themselves as ‘spiritual, but not religious’.

Recent research by Prof Michael King from University College London suggests that this group may be more prone to mental health problems such as anxiety or depression, compared with the conventionally religious, or even compared with those who would describe themselves as agnostic or atheist.

‘Spiritual, but not religious’ describe, of course, a very broad church, ranging from neo-paganism to devotees of healing crystals, and much else besides. …

The Church’s failures

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In any account that we might give of the Christian Church, we must honestly acknowledge its failures.  There have been occasions – too many occasions – when it has accepted the world’s values and priorities, and accommodated itself to the prevailing culture, and rationalised its own unfaithfulness.

Among its most notable failings we must mention:-

  • Its approval and even glamorisation of the medieval Crusades, when European knights rode forth to recover the holy places from Islam by force.
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Quotes on justice

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‘I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just.’ (Thomas Jefferson)

‘Truth is justice’s handmaid; freedom is its child, peace is its companion; safety walks in its steps; victory follows in its train; it is the brightest emanation from the gospel; it is an attribute of God.’ (Sydney Smith)

Injustice, suave, erect, and unconfined, Sweeps the wide earth, and tramples o’er mankind, While prayers to heal her wrongs move slow behind. Homer

‘By largely ignoring the central biblical teaching that God is on the side of the poor, our theology has been profoundly unorthodox.…