So you say your son is no longer a Christian and you wonder what you can do about it. The answer is not a lot. That is if you persist in framing the question to be sure of getting that answer. But there are other ways of looking at the problem.
Can you or I or anybody cease to be the son of his father? Can any of us stop being able to ride a bike or speak English? Can we fail to look up when our name is called? Can we stop smoking? This is not to say that religious faith is a habit we can if we try hard enough drop or switch to what seems a better choice. Once we have learned to ride a bike it’s part of what we are. It goes on being a part of us as long as we live – and even if we no longer own a bike. (And as with any wheels, we shouldn’t start them up without knowing how to use the brake.)
Even when thoughtful people have renounced a faith, there remain things like Cathedral Evensong or the collects that enjoy deep respect. We have to consider the views of Richard Dawkins, the late Christopher Hitchens and Matthew Parris on such matters. We also have to weigh up the influence of what used to be called a good Christian upbringing.
So we should think of other ways of asking this question. When people came to Jesus with questions, he often answered them by raising a different question. This made them think for themselves. It also encouraged them to get into the habit of asking good questions. When hot milk is poured into a mug, how is it that a kind of flat dome is produced? We all know the answer: surface tension. When ice forms on top of a pond, how is it that all the pond-water does not solidify? Again, we all know the answer. Water contracts before it expands when freezing.
It’s important to ask the right questions in life. When travellers persisted in thinking that a metal ship, unlike a wooden ship, could not sink or when Brunel’s passengers thought they would be unable to breathe going through Box Tunnel at 20 mph, they might well have been scared. But they had not considered the evidence. They were hooked on guess-work because they were too busy asking the wrong questions.
WRITER
Rachel Mann is full-time area dean of Bury and Rossendale in Manchester but she is better known as a writer (with 11 books to her credit) and other interests which make her full-time many times over. She is an experienced broadcaster with an interest in music. Her studies in 19th century women’s literature make her the obvious person to turn to when we are baffled as well as inspired by Emily Dickinson.
EDITOR
John Challis, Rector of St Mary’s, Felpham, Bognor Regis has a strong team of supporters including Lois Thompson, magazine editor. She has a wide-ranging perspective and the current issue includes an introduction to the Ukrainian alphabet and language. There are articles on the Church of Ireland and extracts from school reports. Take this: ‘The improvement in his writing has revealed his inability to spell.’
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