Author: andymoyle

For many people, “is it true?” isn’t the most urgent of questions they have about a religion. They are more concerned with image (what it looks like) or emotion (what it feels like) and often with its practical consequences, whether it does good in the world on balance, or the opposite. But surely for a religion the question of its truth or falsehood is a basic one to ask, even if the answers may be hard to know. Many of the claims made by religions are not amenable to scientific enquiry, but that perhaps only shows the limitations of scientific enquiry. Scientific evidence is not the only kind of evidence valid in this world.

I am a Christian because I believe Jesus Christ (not just in Jesus Christ) and because I believe the claims of Christianity to be true and sufficient for life here and in eternity. I do not belong to any other religion because I believe that some of their claims are false, or at least inadequate for living in the light of eternity. There are some attractive features of most other religions (as well as some ugly ones) but, unless the religion is true, I don’t want to follow it. The reasons that I believe Christianity to be true are mainly related to Jesus Himself: his words, his actions, his character, his Divine claims, above all his self-sacrificing love all have the “ring of truth” about them; so does the evidence for his resurrection.

Well, you say: You believe one thing and I another. Yes, and thank God that we are still free in this country to practise our faiths. No one should be forced either to accept or to deny any religion, either by the State or by zealots of another religion or by atheists. The State’s role with religion should not be to suppress it, but to make violence and unfair types of persuasion illegal, i.e. to be a kind of moderator, and also to use the goodwill of many religious people for the common good.

Jim Ryan

When my wife, Miriam, was asked to read a poem called The Dash at the funeral of a close friend, I learnt, that the dash referred to was the hyphen between the person’s year of birth and the year of death. The poem then asked how we spend our dash in living, loving and treating others with respect. This is more important than the mere accumulation of wealth and possessions.

In other words, it is not the years in our life that count, but the life in those years.

But another idea of  “dash” came to me. At my school sports there was an 80 yards dash for mums and dads. It was a race for pride, but one full of laughter and amusement.

At the Olympic Games the dashes or races are more serious. Victory is achieved at the expense of long years of training and dedication. Speeches made by athletes after the events thanked their coaches for advice and motivation.

At the recent Olympic Games, Usain St.Leo Bolt was the master of the dash, the winner of the 100 and 200 metres sprints. Before each race he made the sign of the Cross, declaring his Christian belief. It is a belief he lives out in his life, giving back to the Jamaican people his surplus wealth to develop education and medical facilities. Through his Foundation he gives more money to charitable causes.

The passage from St Paul’s letters (1 Corinthians 9, 26-27), that links how we can live our dash, our life, and prepare for the dash, says

Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

Our lives are relentless, it’s one thing after another, after another. The thing about life is, there’s no space to pause, there’s no room for a break, it’s not like we’re whirling around on a ride, and we manage to gasp out that we want to get off for a moment to catch our breath, and possibly be sick somewhere, life goes on, and it goes on relentlessly throwing things at us. Whether it be work, or our family life, or our school, or just the daily grind of getting up and facing each day.

Even when we take holidays it doesn’t stop, often the very act of going on holiday can be
incredibly stressful and difficulty, and merely adds to the relentless nature of life, rather than taking away from it.

Something being relentless means that it’s happening constantly, usually with negative, or how the dictionary puts it, oppressive overtones, and it’s pretty easy in our lives, in our world to focus on that negative aspect of the word. “My Boss never gives me a moments peace, she’s relentless.”, “This illness, just doesn’t give me a break, it’s relentless.” “I can’t seem to catch a break, life is just so relentless.”
The book of Lamentations in the Bible is a book of mourning, it’s a song of despair, and deals, at least in part, with the relentless nature of life. But in the midst of the book, in the midst of the suffering, homelessness, shame, defeat, and despair, there are these words from chapter 3 and verse 21 onwards: “Yet I still dare to hope when I remember this: The faithful love of the LORD never ends. His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.”
The faithful love of the Lord never ends, his mercies are new each morning. If we think our lives are relentless, if we think our problems, our sufferings, our despair is relentless, then I invite you to think on these words: The love of God is never-ending, his love, and his compassion for you, whether you know him or not, begins anew each and every morning. Each and every morning it’s just as passionate, just as heartfelt, and just as powerful to change your situation as it ever was, and ever will be…
…It’s relentless.
Kieran Woodward – Assistant Leader, King’s Lynn Baptist Church