My Great Awakening

[AussieMick]

Taking him out of context, John wrote "Belief is not a matter of volition; it is a matter of faith and conviction."

I'd agree with that.

I certainly do not take everything that is in the Bible as being the literal truth.

I find it difficult to believe the tenets of the Catholic faith. That Mary was a Virgin. That a priest can transform a piece of bread into God. (Do I dis-believe them? No. Because if there is a God, then surely all things are possible)
I do have difficulty accepting that God would allow children to suffer pain, even though I think I could write pages on why a loving God would. (The quote below from Madeleine L'Engle goes some way to doing so)

I find it impossible though to believe that the love that human beings have shown for each other is coincidental or something that results for evolution. Its been said that humans are the only specie that kills its own kind for no real purpose. But humans are the only ones that devote their lives for altruistic purposes or even give up their lives for others.

"I will have nothing to do with a God who cares only occasionally. I need a God who is with us always, everywhere, in the deepest depths as well as the highest heights. It is when things go wrong, when good things do not happen, when our prayers seem to have been lost, that God is most present. We do not need the sheltering wings when things go smoothly. We are closest to God in the darkness, stumbling along blindly." Madeleine L'Engle