Q&A Corner
In the Q&A Corner we explore your questions about Christian belief and living.
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The friends we choose to hang out with will influence the way we think, what we believe and how we act. We think influence is a better word to use in this context because everyone sins and Christians are not superior to others.
Now, some people will influence us positively while others will influence us negatively. What we think you are asking in your question is how you can avoid being influenced negatively by a certain group at school. Here are a few of our thoughts…
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This is a question I've asked myself a lot. I don't know where you might be coming from in asking it but I've found myself questioning whether Jesus could love someone like me. What is there about me that would make him want to love me?
Saying that ‘Jesus loves everybody' sounds a bit corny. Even singing ‘Jesus loves me this I know; for the Bible tells me so', doesn't give a very specific answer!
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When I was at school, there was a boy in my class who was particularly gifted at creative reasoning, especially when it came to reasons his homework was not in. One excuse that stands out was for a history assignment.
"You see, the thing is Miss, I've been listening to you in class for the last few weeks, and I've come to the conclusion that you actually know a LOT about the Second World War - much more than I do. I've not done my essay because I've realised, there is nothing I could tell you that you don't already know."
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John Lennon wrote a famous song called "Imagine" that talks about a world without religion making a world where everyone is at peace.* Let us imagine for a minute that there was no such thing as "religions". What if there weren't any boxes to put yourself in - so no-one could say "I'm a Christian", or "I'm a Buddhist" or "I'm a Muslim".
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We believe this because this is what Jesus taught and we unpack two examples for you below of Jesus' teaching.
(1) No one comes to the Father except through me (John 14:6)
One of the best ways to understand Jesus' teaching on this issue is through his use of the word ‘Father.' Jesus was God's only son and he called God Father. Only Jesus knows exactly who his Father is and what he is really like, for no one else has seen God except Jesus. Jesus, therefore, is the only one who can introduce us to him. Jesus signposts us to God in a way that says, "God is like me."
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Why do wars happen? What causes poverty? Does God make them happen?
Wars and poverty happen for all sorts of reasons. But a lot of the time it's down to humans wanting what others have got (so they fight for more land) or wanting more for themselves (they want more money so they refuse to pay a decent wage). It's often about human aggression, selfishness and greed. In his love God gives people freedom and what do we do with it? Too often we fight and exploit others.
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We use analogies to help us understand and explore the mystery of the trinity. However, none of them are perfect and all of them fall down if you push the metaphorical imagery too far. My favourite analogy at the moment uses the imagery of a dance.
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Christians coined the term trinity as they sought to explain their experiences of God (and this very question) to others. This word trinity seeks to explain how God has revealed himself as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
The experiences of the early Christians of the resurrected Jesus led them to believe Jesus was God in the flesh and they began to worship him as divine. These same people then experienced the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost (Acts 1). They realised that the transformational work and empowerment they felt by the Holy Spirit was God's active presence living and working inside of them.
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As Christians we find Jesus compelling. His life, death and resurrection convince us he was God in the flesh and that we want to follow him and his way of living at all costs. Through following Jesus, we have come into a relationship with a God who, like Jesus did, we can call our ‘Father in heaven.' In Father God's presence it is like we have come home and we get to experience his love and his healing activity in our lives.
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Where do you feel at home?
There is a place or places you feel at home, relaxed and comfortable. Other places you avoid because you feel unhappy, it's not your kind of place. That might be because of the people (they're so geeky) or the way you're expected to behave (they actually enjoy watching X Factor). ‘They're not my kind of people doing my kind of thing.'