¹⁵See that nobody renders evil for evil to anybody, but always pursue the good, both towards each other and towards everybody. ¹⁶Rejoice always. ¹⁷Pray without ceasing.

1 Thessalonians 5:15-17 – The Keys of the Kingdom Holy Bible

¹¹The greatest among you must be your servant. ¹²Whoever exalts himself will be humbled; and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

Matthew 23:11-12 – The Revised English Bible

¹³Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, ‘I will; be clean.’ The leprosy left him immediately.

Luke 5:13 – The Revised English Bible

³Leave no room for selfish ambition and vanity, but humbly reckon others better than yourselves. ⁴Look to each other’s interests and not merely to your own.

Philippians 2:3-4 – The Revised English Bible

^9bThey were terrified, ¹⁰but the angel said, ‘Do not be afraid; I bring you good news, news of great joy for the whole nation. ¹¹Today there has been born to you in the city of David a deliverer – the Messiah, the Lord.

Luke 2:9b-11 – The Revised English Bible

Christ and the leper

I sometimes wonder whether the Church of England wants to ensure that I abandon Christianity altogether! I was, as regular readers of these pages will know, utterly appalled when the Archbishop of Canterbury decided in 2020 to lock all churches and even to prevent their own priests from entering them. Shortly afterwards, the Archbishop said that it was our Christian duty to accept the so-called ‘vaccinations’, saying: “Go and get boosted, get vaccinated”, adding, cringingly, that it was what Jesus would want us to do.

Christians should, of course, accept the concept of forgiveness, but first of all, surely, there must be some acceptance of the mistakes that were made, the untruths that were trotted out, and the terrible toll that taking the Archbishop’s advice has had on so many vaccine-damaged people? Please do find the time this Christmas to visit the following site and help them if you can:

https://www.ukcvfamily.org/

Sadly, I’m not yet at a position where I can completely forgive the Church for its reaction to those events; the ball is in their court.

Then, more recently, we’ve had the scandal of the abuses by John Smyth and the Titus Trust, with which the Archbishop was personally and deeply involved. As if that wasn’t enough, the Archbishop then announced his resignation and gave a speech in the House of Lords, during which he suggested that he saw himself as a latter-day Simon of Sudbury, who was killed in the Peasant’s Revolt in 1381. If ever there was a time for humble repentance, this was it. Instead of which, we had his disgraceful self-justification, coupled with a sideways swipe at popular uprising. And his short-term replacement, the Archbishop of York, is now also mired in a different abuse scandal.

Frankly, I’ve given up on our Church Hierarchy, which I feel is now as bad as any human hierarchy; it’s no better than global institutions and big corporations. All these organisations seem more focused on their own survival and enforcing discipline and obedience, than on any desire to serve those for whom they were initially established. The decline in morality in the Church of England reflects totally the ‘woke march’ through all our public institutions in recent years, such as Government & Parliament, the Judiciary and Legal profession, Medicine, Education and Universities, Regulatory Bodies, Press & Media and countless others. In fact, I’m not sure that I can think of any exceptions.

It’s for reasons such as this that I no longer routinely attend church; I’m more comfortable worshipping God quietly and privately. But, to coin a phrase from St Paul, I pray ‘without ceasing’. My form of prayer is, as is implied by the title of this blog, ‘theological reflection.’ As a result of this, I find that my faith is stronger than ever; by doing less ‘churchy stuff’ and reflecting more, I feel that I’ve grown closer to God; it’s difficult to explain, but it’s why I continue to want to share my experiences with others, through this site. I’m hearing more and more people say that they reject formalised religion, but still have a firm faith in God. This is now my position, too; I never thought that I’d say that.

So, in this most important season of Advent, I want to share with you why it is that I’m still a Christian, maybe an even more committed one than when I was active in the Church as a lay minister. The following are some of my main reasons:

Christianity is unfashionable, counter-cultural and revolutionary

My close friends would recognise that I’m a revolutionary at heart, and always have been; it’s one of the reasons why I’ve sometimes struggled to ‘fit in’ with hierarchies. As my life has progressed, and I’ve studied my Bible more, so I’ve seen Jesus more and more as a revolutionary figure. Christian Churches of all denominations, throughout history, have tried to neuter and depower His message. It’s one of the reasons why the authorities had to kill Him; He was, in a single word, threatening and still would be, if people only bothered to study His teaching. At the start of my life, going to church was an ‘Establishment’ thing; the Church of England was considered ‘the Conservative Party at prayer.’ Now, in a world that has comprehensively rejected faith, if you believe in God, you’re counter-cultural. I now find that, as a naturally rebellious person, Christianity fits me like a glove. I feel as though I’ve come home, more than at any other time in my life.

Christianity is based on morals and ethics

It’s desperately sad that, the more people have rejected Christianity, the more immoral and unethical we’ve become as a nation and a society. I’ve said this before; we’ve created a massive hole where our Christian values used to be. Like everyone, I’m weak and sinful. But I do try to hold fast to that which I was taught. To take the closure of churches in 2020 as an example, when the people were desperate for moral guidance, were reaching out for an ethical role model to follow, and were desperate for spiritual help and guidance, the Church of England had, quite simply, nothing to offer; it simply closed its doors. It’s as if Christ, instead of reaching out and touching the leper in Luke 5 as depicted above, he’d said: ‘Keep away from me unless you’re masked up and fully vaccinated’. It’s absolutely unthinkable and it underlines the extent to which Christ’s teaching has been abandoned, corrupted and abused by those who claim to be leading the Church. I totally reject such thinking. It was disgraceful at the time, and has been made worse by the fact that there has been no apology.

Christianity offers us a reason to give thanks

I’ve been incredibly lucky during my life, even when I’ve been going through patches during which it didn’t seem that way. We’re all created with a desperate need to give thanks; it makes us more human, more understanding and more empathetic. If we’re focused exclusively on ourselves, we gradually shrink and die internally. Christianity offers us an alternative to worship of self and material possessions; it holds out relationships with God and with others as the foundation stone for a life in which we’re comfortable with who we are. Without that, we are, in the words of one commentator, chasing after more and more material possessions and: ‘Enough becomes like the horizon, always receding.’

Christianity offers forgiveness and mercy

We all need forgiveness and a relationship with a merciful God. And for those who like to point to ‘evil’ in our world, past and present, yes, there is and always has been evil. But I for one am happy to hand that dilemma over to God, to deal with in His own divine way, rather than us arrogantly claiming to be able to judge who is worthy of forgiveness and who is not. After all, if we set the bar for forgiveness at a high level, how many of us would be able to stand? Show me a person who has never felt pangs of terrible guilt for things they’ve said and done in the past, and I’ll show you someone who’s deluded.

Everyone would want Christianity, if only it was properly explained to them

If you think this is wrong, ask people without a faith what they think about Christianity. Prepare to be shocked by their answer. That’s not their fault; our Christian Church, of all denominations, has done a shockingly bad job of educating people. If you study the Bible, you become aware that Christianity is about inner peace, justice, mercy, forgiveness, help for the excluded, the rejected and the deprived. It’s about love, truth and acceptance, and many other similar characteristics. If people knew this, the reaction would be: ‘Where do I sign?’ Instead of which, we’ve focused on Church Structures, Canon Law, Finances, Public Relations and Communication, Diversity and Virtue Signalling (the last of these is, distressingly, all-consuming in the modern Church). Not surprisingly, our fellow citizens see nothing to attract them. 

Christianity offers hope in an age of Nihilism

During the last few days, one of my closest friends has died; a wonderful, warm, loving and humorous man, whom I’d known for 51 years and who brought happiness everywhere he went. He and his family have been constantly in my thoughts and prayers. But I can’t bear the thought of thinking that the end of his life was an end to everything, for dear Rupert Watts. The alternative is to believe, as it seems millions do, that nothingness awaits us after death. What a pessimistic, miserable doctrine! Christianity offers the hope of life in God’s loving presence after we die. Neither can be ‘proved.’ I don’t care. We all need to live our lives in hope, and particularly the bereaved.

Christianity (and Christmas!) offer us love, joy and hope!

It seems to me that every year, the true meaning of Christmas is pushed further and further back into our subconscious. In tradition, Advent was a period for self-reflection, meditation and yes, even repentance, so that when Christmas Day eventually came, our souls were ready for the transformation represented by that wonderful day in our Christian calendars. Now, the shops are full of jingles, tinsel and complete frippery. It’s a complete tragedy and travesty.

On Christmas Day, God Himself comes to us in total vulnerability, as a helpless baby. There could not be a more wonderful demonstration that God understands our sufferings, than the fact that he’s been here alongside us. Christianity is the only faith that offers us that glimpse of the might, majesty and awe of God, reduced to a few scraps of vulnerable flesh; powerless and defenceless and yet at the same time life and world-changing. And at Christmas, through that vulnerability, He demonstrates His love for all of us, every single one of us, whoever we are and whatever we may have done. Through knowing that we’re loved by Him, He frees us to love others, and He frees us to be comfortable within ourselves. That is the incredible offer that God will make to us on 25th December; the offer of a renewed life, the offer to love and be loved. All we have to do is to accept his offer, and give thanks.

It’s nothing short of a miracle, which is why I will always be a Christian, come what may.

For lo, the days are hastening on,

By prophets seen of old,

When with the ever-circling years

Comes round the age of gold;

When peace shall over all the earth

Its ancient splendours fling,

And all the world give back the song

Which now the angels sing.

(Edmund Sears)

Gracious, loving and forgiving God; this Christmastide we ask you to bring to us and all those whom we love, an acute sense of the love that you have for us all. Bless us, we pray, and give us the strength and hope to bring to others an awareness of the miracle that is represented by your coming to us on Christmas Day. Amen

And I wish all of you who visit these pages, whether regulars or just passing through, a peaceful, joyful and blessed Christmas and a fulfilled and healthy 2025!