‘Sin’ is one of those odd, stuffy-sounding Christian words that nowadays means very little outside of church. Even in church I often feel like it deserves to be tucked away, collecting dust on the shelf next to the 1950s hymn books and Bibles with missing front covers. Despite my aversion to the word itself, the concept of ‘sin’ seems as real and relevant as ever. To me, ‘sin’ describes the dark side of humanity. It is woven into the fabric of our very existence.... Read more

What if the message of Jesus that is widely understood by Christians is a distorted version of his original message? What if our understanding of Jesus’ message is actually a concoction of selected quotes from Jesus and Paul, Greek philosophy, and a post-enlightenment desire to reduce everything down into a neat, scientific formula? What if in reading the Bible as a scientific text book or instruction manual we have ended up paying more attention to the writings of Paul than to the life... Read more

Growing up in church I knew the Christian message back to front. It was my reality, my Truth, my reason for living. It went like this: God created me in my mother’s womb, and loved me so much that he wanted me to have eternal life with Him in Heaven. Tragically, all of humanity had fallen and was deeply sinful and bad, and God hated sin so much He couldn’t stand to look at me. In His amazing love He sent His only... Read more

Over the last ten years my Christian faith has undergone a dramatic transformation. The beliefs that were once absolutely fundamental to my understanding of the universe and my own existence have been gradually deconstructed. It has been a confusing, unsettling and sometimes painful process, but I now feel I have in some way emerged from that confusion, and am feeling a sense of clarity, hope and excitement about my faith that I have never felt before. In the early stages... Read more