St Mary's Church, Dymock
925th anniversary Year
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| Christianity Explained |
God, Jesus Christ, The Trinity, The Bible, Prayer, Worship, The Church
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| Who is God? | ||||
 Who is God? Virtually all religions have a supreme head or 'God' who is understood to have powers greater than humans - the Christian understanding is no different. Christians understand that there is only one God, who is a living 'being', perfect in every sense: 'Holy' (with no sin), 'Incorruptible' (not subject to death or decay) so 'Everlasting' (no beginning and no end), 'Just' (right and true in all judgments), 'Loving' (showing great care), 'Omniscient' (knowing everything) and 'Omnipotent' (with unlimited powers). (Return to top)
Is there really a God or isn't it just nature? Christians would argue that nature is the rules by which the universe operates and that God created the rules of nature as part of his creation of the universe, in order to manage its day to day operation. (Return to top) Isn't it all just coincidence? If you look at the complexity yet also the simplicity of the universe - from the vastness of the whole, to the minuteness of a single atom - it's very hard to accept that it all happened by coincidence. The most logical reason is that there is a designer, who must therefore have designed it for a purpose - Christians calls that designer 'God'. (Return to top) | ||||
| What's it For? | ||||
 Science answers the question 'How?' Religion answers the question 'Why?'Science: We are gradually learning how nature works. We can already explain many aspects of the universe, but there are still very many things we don't know. For instance, science suggests that the universe started with a 'Big Bang' when all material was created and has been expanding outwards ever since, but science still can't answer the question, "Who or what caused the Big Bang in the first place, and what was there before it?" (Return to top) Religion: Christians believe that God created the universe and everything in it when nothing existed before, beginning with space and time (the universe), the planets including our Earth, land, plants, fishes, birds, animals, and finally humanity - all to live in perfect relationship with him (Genesis chapter 1). (Return to top) |
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| Fiction, Fact or Faith? | ||||
 Because God created us to be in relationship with him, humanity has a fundamental drive to relate. Ages ago, before humanity knew about God, that drive was satisfied largely through superstition. People who didn't know any better couldn't explain the things they saw or happened around them, so they created 'gods' in charge of the wind, rain, seasons, etc. (Return to top)
Gradually, as our intelligence develops, the one true God is able to reveal himself. First in very simple ways and gradually in more detail, which he's still doing today as we are able to understand more of his superior intelligence and purpose. Never the less, elements of the early superstitions persist, so religion, if we're honest, became something of a mix of revealed fact and superstitious fiction. (Return to top) Is what has been revealed, that is our modern understanding of God, fact or is it still fiction? No-one can prove that God exists, but equally no-one can prove that he doesn't. It's just as logical to believe there is a God as to believe there isn't. (Return to top) Many people have an 'experience' of God in some form, such that they believe the facts as we understand them. Our experience of God takes many forms. Very few people hear somebody actually speaking to them, many feel a presence, still others acknowledge that things happen that can only be explained if there is a living being (God) in charge. Accepting a situation without being able to actually prove it is called 'Faith'. (Return to top) |
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| What is God Like? | ||||
 If we have faith to accept that there is a living God, then we have to ask the question "What is God like?" Because God is so much more intelligent than humans it's very difficult for us, his creation, to describe him - in fact it's impossible because we don't have the intelligence to understand him fully, nor the words in our human languages to express his characteristics properly. It doesn't seem right to call God 'it' or 'thing', but in English we only have words for the male, female, or inanimate. (Return to top)
Most Christians believe that gender (he or she) is irrelevant to God, but because of our male dominated past, it's usual to refer to God as 'He' or 'Him'. Some Christians accept that it's just as valid to call God 'She' or 'Her', but there are some who believe that God can only be called 'He'. For most of us, that has to remain a personal choice, but for convenience we will continue with the traditional male form here. (Return to top) Because our lesser intelligence means we cannot describe God and his powers adequately, Christians have to describe him as being 'like' something we can understand. This creates a danger, though. By comparing God to something else, we can accidentally reduce him in our mind to that level - too small for 'God' eg: “God is like a divine architect” can leave us thinking of him as human, so we forget he’s the all seeing, all powerful ruler of the cosmos! As we understand God’s creation better so we lose our awe of him. Maybe that’s why many today see God as irrelevant. (Return to top) There are many references to God in the Christian holy book (called The Bible)' which suggest that God is like a 'Father', a 'Son' and a 'Spirit'. The early Christians spent many years working out what these might mean and finally agreed on 'Trinity'- three persons in one God. (Return to top) |