About

The most important truth I learned as a young man was that God is good, all the time. My Christian upbringing had been stern, heavy and focussed on sin, leaving me with low self-esteem and a burden of guilt. The vast majority of my adult discipleship has revolved around the shedding of unbiblical ideas about God, and finding out that he is the most wonderful, supportive, inspiring, loving and affirming Person in existence. I believe that the Bible, when looked at through the lens of Christ, is consistently supportive of this, but religious traditions and harmful doctrine have polluted the minds of believers, robbing them of their freedoms and joy, and turning the Bible into a rod to beat ourselves up with. The compassionate heart of God yearns for all of us, calling us to understand his true nature, which is Love.

The tagline of this blog – Rethinking Faith, Finding Jesus – contains the two crucial elements of a journey out of fear-drenched, burdensome religion into true liberty and love. It is this putting off of the old and putting on of the new, that I’ll be focussing on, and which leads to freedom.

Romans 12, 2 (NKJV): ‘And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.’

Only when our minds are renewed, and we see God for who he is, are we transformed.

Hi, I’m Duncan, and I’m a writer, novelist, ex-missionary and personal development coach. In my twenties I was a wreck, physically and mentally, having driven myself to a breakdown as a missionary. In my thirties, I was recovering, inch by infinitesimal inch and in my forties, I’m flying free. It’s taken a lot of hard work, in the loving company of God, but those lessons have been valuable, and I’m here to share the best that I have with anyone who wants to receive it.

I also have four spiritual books available under the pseudonym James Bewley, for those who want to go deep after reading related articles. More will be added over time and linked within relevant articles.

How to support me: though I work hard as both an employed and freelance writer, I give at least a day a week to writing these articles. If readers feel led to support me on this journey, and want to ensure that what I write continues to get ‘out there’, you are invited to give financial support through my Patreon account by following this link and clicking ‘Become a patron’: https://www.patreon.com/duncanedwardpile

On a more personal note, I live in Derbyshire, England, with my wonderful wife, Chanel, a psychotherapist, her son Levi, who I love as my own, and our Ragdoll cat, Snowy, who is as adorable as he is vicious.

Every blessing,

Duncan