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Secular versus Sacred

Feb 22, 2023
2 min read

Secular versus Sacred

In the 2021 census 37% of the UK population said they had no religion and 46% said they were Christians. Both these figures are considerably less than the 2011 census. .Are 37% of the population saying God has become irrelevant or doesn't exist?

Here are 5 points to think about:

I remember someone once saying to me ‘Thank God I'm an atheist'. He may have meant, ‘Yes there is a God but he has no impact on my life'. I suspect for most people God is irrelevant for much of the time and only becomes important at times of crisis. During difficult or tragic moments and situations people often turn to God because there's no one else to turn to.

I heard a leading Humanist say that being a humanist provides support and sustainability for living through difficult times. The Humanist argument is that people have a tremendous capacity to love and care and show compassion. I agree with them but people are imperfect. We have failings, weaknesses and limitations. Christians believe in a God who is omnipotent, full of grace and love. He is all powerful and generous and a God who knows and shares our experiences,

Christians believe in heaven and life after death. Our present life will end in death but there is life after death which according to Christian teaching is eternally perfect and free from suffering and pain.

Philosophy and science seek to understand the world, universe and life. We cannot begin to describe the enormous impact they have had on our understanding and knowledge. Science has extended millions of lives through the hugely successful development of drugs, vaccinations, transplants and treatments. However, there are still big questions still to be answered. Where and how did everything originate? What is the purpose of life? Why do some people die when they are still young? Why do miracles happen? There is so much evidence for a designer in nature and so who did the designing?