At the outset of the series we finished recently, Why Believe, we talked about principles that had followed us right the way through the series. First we saw that we all believe in some things that we cannot prove. That the sun will rise tomorrow and that we are loved are just two examples! Most if not all of the subjects we considered had aspects to believing them which could not be proved in the literal sense of the word. There is no (unarguable) proof for the existence of God or for that matter that He does not exist. Whereas there is clear historical support for the existence of a man called Jesus, no such evidence exists for the suggestion that he was the Son of God. However in those places where categorical proof does not exist we are not condemned to step out in blind faith checking our brains at the door. There is evidence and the evidence points us in certain directions and our task is to examine that evidence and follow its directions. Lee Strobel in his book The Case for Christ says “ Faith is a reasonable step along the path that the evidence points”

Returning to the realization that- we all believed something- we also noted that, if we are wise, we are willing, on occasions, to review those beliefs in the light of the information we receive. I discovered just this truth as I prepared to speak about heaven. It was not that I did not believe in heaven but I discovered I believed very little about it simply because I had not given it much thought. As I explained in my previous blog God turned my thinking upside down to see that the hope of a bodily resurrection and participation in the New Heaven and New Earth (Rev 21:1-5… Go on read it again and get excited about it!!) makes sense of everything. This is the foundation of the hope we can share with the world. It was a shock to identify how lame my belief was, but so exciting to recognize the need to make adjustments reflecting the teaching of scripture (with some help from the writing of N T Wright “Surprised by Hope”!)

So tell me, what beliefs have you reviewed lately and did you make and changes or adjustments?

PS If you missed any of the Why Believe series or just would like to do some more thinking about what you believe, The Starting Point groups are a wonderful way to examine or re-examine fundamental beliefs with a small group of others. Sign up here and we will be sure to tell you about the start of the next group.