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11/10/2009

Thinking about God

[Spirituality] [Discussion Group Autumn 2005]

Between Easter and the beginning of Advent 2003 a series of sermons discussed theology: thinking about God and our relationship with God. Each of these pages reflects one of those discussion sermons.

But "the best laid plans o' mice and men gang aft aglay". The closure of St Albans Church in the middle of this period and one or two other things meant that after a strongish start this project ran into the sand. So I've left on this site the first group of discussions 'What can we say about God?'

	Title	Summary
	Introduction
1.What can we say about God?
1.A	How little can we say?	We must be very cautious with what we can say about God - our vision is so limited.
1.B	What are the sources of our knowledge of God?	Within these limitations, we have rich sources of knowledge of God.
1.C	What we can say about God from the Bible?	There are many pictures of God in the Bible - some widely differing from others. How do we make sense of this diversity?
1.D	What can we say about God from our own experience?	God's consistency and faithfulness is central: but God also disturbs.
1.E	What can we say about God as shown by Jesus Christ?	While Jesus shows the closeness of God there are several unanswered questions.

It's all been done before:

"One parish priest who endeavoured to correct this [people's silence at the Parish Meeting] by announcing that instead of a sermon there would be a discussion in church the following Sunday night, found the church empty, and later overheard the remark that 'he was paid to preach'."

Alan Ecclestone, The Parish meeting at Work, (first published, SPCK, 1953) in Firing the Clay, Articles and Addresses by Alan Ecclestone, compiled by Jim Cotter, Cairns Publications, Sheffield, 1999, p. 95

A much more systematic and careful approach to theological discussion has been taken by St John in the Wilderness Episcopal Church in Minnesota. Highly recommended for further study.

Daily meditations (brief and manageable) on bible readings may be found here.

Some thoughts on spirituality are here, and reflections for Lent 2004 are here.

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