I am happy to be identified as a Christian but often have to make sure that people understand - I am not a Bible-basher, creationist, trendy-vicar or Jesus-freak.
When my sons were young, from time to time a friend or relative would say about one of them 'Hasn't he grown?' It was awkward. Firstly, because the answer was 'of course'. Secondly, as it happened so slowly, we didn't notice it as much as those who visited us twice a year.
Today's stories all have this amazing 'Hasn't he grown' connection.
Any of us who were once used to putting all our clothes in the wash after a night at the pub because they smelled smoky will have noticed our cleaner public air.
Anyone who has had half an eye on technological change will be aware of how much progress we've made over the last twenty years of computer science.
We have such an eye to medical progress today that we can investigate muscle-loss by sending Bristol worms into space.
And we are far more aware of mental health issues than we ever used to be. Plus, we can fix a lot of them.
Things get better.
But there's loads to do. Smoking still kills people. Minorities are under-represented in the tech industries. Mental illness isn't going away any time soon. And Bristol worms-in-space or not, medical research takes time.
Progress is great. It's absence frustrating. The journey essential. So in my theology I am happiest being a seeker-after-truth and sharing occasional clues as to how my understanding has grown. As the late Terry Pratchett once said 'The presence of those seeking the truth is infinitely to be preferred to the presence of those who think they've found it.'
1 comment:
Although used to your sometime liberal theology Steve, I am a bit perplexed that you now say you are not a creationist. Not long to go and the whole thing falls down doesn't it?
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