Open Writing

In a colour spectrum there is not a clear division between each colour. They fade in and out of each other. It is difficult to say exactly when red becomes orange and yellow becomes green.

Many things in life exist on a spectrum. People on the autism spectrum will tell you that it is not the case that you are autistic or not autistic. At one end of the spectrum folk have very slight autistic traits, and at the other, individuals are so autistic that they can not use language.

When we talk about Christian beliefs it is often, but not always, helpful to think that they also sit on a spectrum.

Some Christian beliefs are non-spectrum. To be a Christian you must believe that God came to us in Jesus, that Jesus was killed and that he returned to life to save humankind. The mechanics of exactly how his return to life saved humankind is a spectrum belief that we will be looking at on this blog later this week.

The Communion, also known as the Eucharist, is another spectrum issue. Christians have the Communion in church services because at the Last Supper Jesus told the disciples to break bread and drink wine in remembrance of him. Some Christians celebrate Communion as an actual sit down meal. Most others have a symbolic meal consisting of a wafer (bread) and a drop of wine or non-alcoholic substitute.

Within the Church of England there are Christians who believe that Communion is a symbolic act of remembrance. There are also many in the Church of England who believe that Communion is an almost tangible spiritual act that is literally a real meeting point between human beings and the Holy Spirit of God.

One of the most important spectrum beliefs in Christianity is the degree to which you believe that God changes events in the physical world. It is very difficult to measure who believes what, and beliefs may change depending on what is happening in the person's life.

All human beings are inclined to believe that external factors - lady luck, fate, destiny, serendipity, spirits, household gods, the ancestors, the stars etc ... - have control over their lives. It seems to be something biological within us. So it seems quite natural to believe that God has a heavy influence on the events of each day.

Some people believe that God is constantly tinkering in their daily lives. If they lose out at a job interview it is because God wants them to be somewhere else. If they survive cancer it is because God helped them. Other Christians hold these beliefs to varying degrees.

You will also find many Christians who are strong believers in science and are reluctant to say that God influences very much at all. They will say that cancer survival depends on the patient's bodily makeup, on their state of health and on the medical treatment they receive. If they lose out at a job interview they will say it is because they did not present themselves very well or that they did not have the right experience for the position.

All Christians believe that God meets with us in prayer and that there are times that we can feel his presence giving us peace, strength, comfort or joy. Christians who have a very logical, scientific view of the world will also say that God influences events in the way that he meets with people. When a person has an overwhelming sensation of the love of God and then goes out to feed the poor, that is God interfering directly in the world.

This particular area of belief can make people in Western secular culture reluctant to convert to Christianity.

In the secular West we very much believe that humankind is in control of its own destiny. When bad things happen it is because we caused them or because of natural physical forces and chance. The idea that God cures some people of cancer and lets other people die, or that he sends earthquakes to punish people or that he decides who gets a job and who doesn't, is ridiculous and even offensive to many people in secular culture.

(We must not forget that many people believe in God but do not have a religion. So there are secular folk who feel that they are defending a God that they know and love when they object to the idea that he sends earthquakes.)

When new people come into Christianity it is important to let them know that this area of belief is a spectrum of different thoughts and ideas, and that over time through the experiences of their own lives, they will be able to decide where they stand on the issue.

They should also be told that throughout their Christian lives they will worship alongside folk who hold radically different views on this subject and many others. This won't always be easy for them, but it is the way that things are.