he doxa tou theou (The glory of God)

I feel inspired to write this blog after hearing one of the most beautiful truths I have ever heard in a quote, from St Irenaeus:

"The glory of God is a human being fully alive".

Over the past few months I've been meditating and reflecting upon the meaning of faith and the nature of God. For years I was obsessed with this idea that everyone had to be converted, and it was my place to go round preaching at people, judging their actions and shouting quotes from the Bible at them.

It's only really recently that I've matured and mellowed. Or, to put it more bluntly, I've grown up, and I've calmed down. And I feel that in this state I have, for perhaps the first time, begun to really sense the nature of God more fully. Obviously the Almighty is far too complex and above our understanding, and I wouldn't ever profess to have the confidence to grasp him/her. But what I feel the Divine has conveyed to me repeatedly is the crucial importance of love. Love for God is love for humanity. Love for God isn't preaching at people and telling them they're damned for eternity for not believing what you believe. Love for God is loving your parent, your partner, your friend, and no less your enemy, your persecutor, the stranger on the street, the stranger you may never meet.

What I pray is that I may one day glimpse how God sees His creation; seeing every person, woman, man, adult, child, black, brown, white, gay, straight, happy, unhappy, Hindu, Christian; as his beloved child. And I pray that I may always remember, whenever I see another human being, that the glory of God really is seen where a human being is fully alive.

Not worthy of funding

A report endorsed by Dr John Sentamu, Archbishop of York and co-written by the Rt Rev Stephen Lowe, Bishop for Urban Life and Faith, has accused the government of an unjustified prejudice against Christianity when considering funding applications.

I'm glad that, finally, someone has spoken out.

The prejudice here is not just a financial issue - it represents a far deeper issue. The issue that Christianity, being a majority, is left to struggle on its own with no defence, whilst the government bends over backwards to support and defend 'minorities', is an issue which has been present for decades.

It is the issue of a lack of equality among faiths. A century ago Christianity would have been considered more important than other faiths. This, of course, is wrong.

However, what the powers that be seem infinitely incapable of comprehending is that the way to gain equality isn't by making the former majority subordinate. All one achieves then is shifting the balance - so that the majority becomes the least important, whilst, conversely, the minority becomes the priority when giving support and protection.

Prejudice of all kinds is wrong. But it does not become resolved when the former advocates of such prejudice become the victims. Christianity has the right to be treated equally with other religions: not with favour, nor with disregard. Similarly, all races should be treated equally: the horrors of apartheid were not resolved by treating white citizens as inferior but by treating all citizens as equal. Genders ought to be equal; feminists cannot resolve decades of female subordination by turning the tables and making men subordinate, but by ensuring society accepts total equality. And the LGBT community must not aim to make such people take priority over heterosexual people, but instead to aim for the equal rights of people of all sexual orientations.

However, the government prefer instead to pussyfoot around with political correctness. It never ceases to amaze me how seemingly intelligent people with superb educations end up in the cabinet, and yet end up behaving like buffoons.

Maybe one day they'll get it.