ClearWords

In one of the online forums I visit occasionally, someone recently asked the question, "How can I believe in a God who needs to be praised?" The short answer is, of course, "You can't". What's unbelievable is not so much that the creator of the universe might be suffering deep personal insecurity and be in constant need of affirmation. That would be odd, but not a complete logical impossibility! What's unbelievable is the ridiculous notion that his insecurity might somehow be compensated by a bunch of humans constantly telling him how wonderful he is. If there is a God at all, he surely does not *need* our praise. But if what he wants from us is relationship, that would really explain where praise fits in. First of all, praise is a vital part of any healthy relationship. It's so easy to tear down and criticise each other. We also need to take time to affirm and build each other up. If God has taken toward us the relationship of father, and our relati...

Aside from the resurrection of Jesus, there can’t be many pieces of Christian dogma that have been attacked and defended with as much vigour, and sometimes vitriol, as the creation story. From the Oxford evolution debate of 1860 and taking in ten major court cases in the United States, as well as innumerable books and publications, the debate rolls on. At one extreme are the atheists, whose agenda is to write God out of the earth’s story altogether. At the other extreme, seven day creationists, promoting a completely literal interpretation of the creation story recorded in Genesis. Caught in the middle is the vast majority of scientists and people of faith, who adopt more flexible interpretations of ancient manuscripts, and accept the likelihood or at least the possibility of a creator, or are agnostic. Within evangelical Christianity, seven day creationism has been particularly forceful over the last thirty years or so, especially in North America; fostered by organisations like the C...