Well, it’s sunny here in Manchester, which is more than the forecast for Bristol. Got here fine on about three gallons of coffee. So, Philip Pullman has decided Jesus wasn’t the Son of God. Now, far be it from me to suggest a qualified children’s fiction writer is not necessarily the best qualified to handle such theological concepts with depth and integrity….
What does interest me more, however, is the regularity with which stories concerning Christian faith are popping up in the news. There’s also fairly non-event story about an atheist attending Greenbelt in the Guardian. This one interested me precisely because the whole response of the article is based upon impressions, feelings and emotional re-actions to perceived evangelical Christianity. Other stories, such as Richard Dawkins’ sponsored summer camps are finding a place in the radio discussion programmes. Whatever else, it promotes ‘God talk’ in the wider community, which helps create an environment for people to explore faith in Jesus.
1 comment:
As the old saying goes, "there is no such thing as bad publicity"!! I agree with you fully. In a generation that struggles to see the relevance of Jesus, the publicity caused by people like Dawking and Pullman may just leave people asking more questions about who Jesus was.
The ad campaign that "there is probably no god" probably caused more people, to think about the issue of whether there is a God or not, than the other way round!!
Have you had time to read "Re-Emerging Church" by Roger Standing. Think that it is an excellent book looking at the issues of when people do walk back into a church, after many years away.
Post a Comment