-
by
Bishop Graham
—
last modified
06 Oct, 2011 01:52 PM
Previously Gryphon School wrote:
Do we need to sin to learn? Through sinning we experience God's forgiveness and this brings us closer to God therefore we should all sin. Do you agree?
Thanks. Great question - which was anticipated by St Paul is his letter to the Romans, chapter 6. 'Shall we sin so that grace may abound?' and answers it: 'God forbid.' We do indeed learn from our mistakes and our sins, but that should not lead to a deliberate strategy to make mistakes - certainly not in A levels...
Located in
Discussions
/
Grill a Bishop
/
Eleventh live discussion Wed 28 September 2011, Gryphon School, Sherborne, Dorset.
-
by
Bishop Graham
—
last modified
06 Oct, 2011 02:05 PM
Previously Gryphon School wrote:
Why do you think so many people are athiest today? Could it be linked with natural disasters and suffering?
Thanks. Taking the whole world in view, most people in the world pray and aren't atheists. It may seem to us that there are so many atheists, but on a world-wide scale, there aren't. If people become atheists - and I don't reckon you are born an atheist - it is indeed often because of the awful problem of innocent suffering.
Located in
Discussions
/
Grill a Bishop
/
Eleventh live discussion Wed 28 September 2011, Gryphon School, Sherborne, Dorset.
-
by
Bishop Graham
—
last modified
05 Oct, 2011 11:04 AM
Previously Gryphon School wrote:
What is the solely most important thing you have learnt from Christianity?
Thanks. That Jesus of Nazareth is alive. From that follows many, many wonderful things eg life is much bigger, wider and more exciting that I ever imagined; we can relate to God deeply and personally; the beauty and delight of the universe begins to make sense; the pain of people in different parts of the world need understanding and helping etc
Located in
Discussions
/
Grill a Bishop
/
Eleventh live discussion Wed 28 September 2011, Gryphon School, Sherborne, Dorset.
-
by
Bishop Graham
—
last modified
06 Oct, 2011 01:48 PM
Previously Gryphon School wrote:
Why is it that most people who have a faith are old and closer to death? Do you think its right that when people are closer to death they turn to Christianity to get to heaven?
Thanks. In England that may be the impression (!), but throughout the world there are millions of young Christians - and in many churches in England there are enormous numbers of young people who believe. Some people may be 'cramming for their finals', as a friend once wryly descibed it to me, but wisdom also comes with maturer years and the greatest wisdom is found in Christ. When approaching death - in an accident or as a soldier or as an older person - things do get focussed.
Located in
Discussions
/
Grill a Bishop
/
Eleventh live discussion Wed 28 September 2011, Gryphon School, Sherborne, Dorset.
-
by
Bishop Graham
—
last modified
06 Oct, 2011 12:40 PM
Previously Gryphon School wrote:
As a christian how would you react to Epicurus incosistent triad?
Thanks. I assume you are refering to what has been called 'the problem of evil'. Epicurus is often credited with first coming up with: God is all loving. God is all powerful. Evil exists. This looks like an inconsistent triad. Whole books have been written on this problem... in short I follow Augustine's defence which is based on free will. Yes, evil exists. Yes, God is all loving. Yes, God is all powerful, but he deliberately limits his power to allow space for free will amongst humans, without which we would be puppets in his hands and merely manipulated by him.
If God intervened with a bolt of lightning killing dead everyone who was about to do an act of evil, then it would be chaos in the world and people would not have free will.
John Hick, in his book, 'Evil and the God of Love', tends towards Irenaeus's concept of the world being a 'vale of soul making' ie we learn from the awful events that happen in the world and grow through exercising our muscles working against wrong and evil.
Amazingly, God in Christ, suffered evil being perpetrated against him on the cross. He absorbed that evil in his body, not passing it on, and took it out of circulation. I don't have, and no one does, have an answer to the problem of evil - I can only give pointers, and these focus on the cross of Christ. Some say, God made the world and he should pay for the awfulness in it. We can only point to the cross and say: Yes, and he has.
Located in
Discussions
/
Grill a Bishop
/
Eleventh live discussion Wed 28 September 2011, Gryphon School, Sherborne, Dorset.
-
by
Bishop Graham
—
last modified
04 Oct, 2011 10:28 AM
Previously Gryphon School wrote:
Do(es) atheists/atheism frustrate you if they don't give time to reflect on your beliefs? (For example Richard Dawkins)?
Thanks for all your great questions! Apologies for the technical problems and delay in replying. I have time for one answer now before further meetings today and will try to answer more this evening.
Some atheists seem to shoot from the hip in quick reactions, others, however, are much more thoughtful. I prefer the thoughful ones. Here is a very good review by David Atkinson of Richard Dawkins' 'God Delusion' - who tends to shoot from the hip...
http://www.fulcrum-anglican.org.uk/?147
Here is another review which I have found helpful from the London Review of Books by Prof Terry Eagleton
http://www.fulcrum-anglican.org.uk/?148
Terry Eagleton's opening sentence is pretty devastating and has become famous.
Imagine someone holding forth on biology whose only knowledge of the subject is the Book of British Birds, and you have a rough idea of what it feels like to read Richard Dawkins on theology. Card-carrying rationalists like Dawkins, who is the nearest thing to a professional atheist we have had since Bertrand Russell, are in one sense the least well-equipped to understand what they castigate, since they don't believe there is anything there to be understood, or at least anything worth understanding. This is why they invariably come up with vulgar caricatures of religious faith that would make a first-year theology student wince. The more they detest religion, the more ill-informed their criticisms of it tend to be. If they were asked to pass judgment on phenomenology or the geopolitics of South Asia, they would no doubt bone up on the question as assiduously as they could. When it comes to theology, however, any shoddy old travesty will pass muster.
Hope this helps.
Located in
Discussions
/
Grill a Bishop
/
Eleventh live discussion Wed 28 September 2011, Gryphon School, Sherborne, Dorset.
-
by
Bishop Graham
—
last modified
05 Oct, 2011 11:18 AM
Previously Gryphon School wrote:
Where does free-will end and God's plan begin?
Thanks. Free will and God's plan begin and end together. How? I don't know...Both are clearly shown in the Bible and in particular in the cross of Christ. We are not robots manipulated by God. The world is not hurtling meaninglessly along. We have been given the great gift of free will by God and he has an overall plan for the whole universe, which centred on Christ and will be summed up in him. Have a look at Paul's letter to the Ephesians chapter 1, especially verse 10. Amazing.
Located in
Discussions
/
Grill a Bishop
/
Eleventh live discussion Wed 28 September 2011, Gryphon School, Sherborne, Dorset.
-
by
Bishop Graham
—
last modified
06 Oct, 2011 01:09 PM
Previously Gryphon School wrote:
If one ignores religion and politics, is Israel ethically right in its actions in Palestine?
Thanks. Not sure we should ignore religion nor politics for they provide the context for any ethical decisions, and in particular on this issue. Did you see the Channel 4 film series (over four weeks) produced by Peter Kozminsky called 'The Promise' ? It was brilliant and involved a young naive gap year girl becoming aware of these issues. Jews have been appalingly treated throughout the centuries, culminating in the holocaust. Israel has been under threat of extinction by extremists in the Middle East for years. Their fear and need for protection is understandable. However, many of their treatments of the Palestinians by past and present Israeli government have been woefully below the standards in their own Holy Scriptures and, I believe, are indefensible eg the well documented use of phosphorus. Palestinians do need their own homeland. Israel needs assurance of their own continued existence. Let us continue to pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
Located in
Discussions
/
Grill a Bishop
/
Eleventh live discussion Wed 28 September 2011, Gryphon School, Sherborne, Dorset.
-
by
Bishop Graham
—
last modified
06 Oct, 2011 01:41 PM
Previously Gryphon School wrote:
Life after death?
thanks. Yes - and before it too. Someone has come back from the dead and witnessed to life beyond the grave. Ultimately, I believe in life after death because of the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth.
Located in
Discussions
/
Grill a Bishop
/
Eleventh live discussion Wed 28 September 2011, Gryphon School, Sherborne, Dorset.
-
by
Bishop Graham
—
last modified
05 Oct, 2011 11:21 AM
Previously Gryphon School wrote:
Most religions have an ethical code similar to Christianity - would these allow them to be deemed good by God or would their faith bar this?
Thanks. I've tried to look at this vast subject in this article 'Jesus Christ, Salvation and People of Other Faiths':
http://www.fulcrum-anglican.org.uk/?3
Located in
Discussions
/
Grill a Bishop
/
Eleventh live discussion Wed 28 September 2011, Gryphon School, Sherborne, Dorset.
