Introduction to Christianity

About our Faith

Click here to see the Church of England's view on 'What it means to be an Anglican'

Why is Christian faith important today?
We are each made in the image of God. We are therefore precious to Him.. We are never going to be content until we begin to get into a proper relationship with Him

If that's so why don't more people believe?
The single most important reason is that we put ourselves before God. We want the ‘good' life and on our terms. That leads to extreme individualism. We can see some of the consequences in the increasing moral breakdown of our society.

What has gone wrong?
We have defaced God's image by going our own way (sin if you like), by putting ourselves in the place of God There is therefore a great tension in our lives between what we do and what we want and what something inside us (God) tells us that we should do and should want. This makes us discontented and that is increased because we know that everything moves on, that death comes to us all and that something (God) raises questions about what happens after death.

Isn't all that fairly depressing?
Yes. That's why so many artists, writers and intellectuals today are deeply pessimistic.

Surely you have something more positive to say?
We do. God loves us beyond our imagining. Like any creator who has had the enormous pain of seeing His creation going wrong He wants to make it good. He wants us to be able to relate to Him. He wants us to be able to live with ourselves. He wants these things so much that He sent His precious Son to become one of us.

I find the story of Jesus very moving but what has it to do with life today?
Jesus didn't only come to show us what the image of God actually looks like; what we should be like. That would be even more depressing! He came to enable us to recreate that image.

How does He do that?
The Bible tells us that Jesus came to die for us. On the Cross he demonstrated God's great love. On the Cross he made a sacrifice for my (and everybody else's) sin. Through the Cross he defeated death because death was not the end for Him. He was raised again. That is why Christians do not fear death. Beyond is something far more wonderful.

How can that help me?
The Lord Jesus Christ challenges us to turn away from our old self-centred life, to accept the forgiveness that He offers and to put our trust in Him. As we do that the image of God will begin to be restored and we will experience the presence and power of His Holy Spirit.

How can I know more?
Come and see. We do want to help you understand why the Lord Jesus Christ wants to be as central to you as he is to us. In the end God won't force you. We won't force you. It's down to you. Remember deciding to search for God (or not to) is the most important decision you will ever take! So please don't say ‘no' to Him.

Bryan Appleyard, writer, describing the 20th century:
‘ First, the bad news: the 20th century has been the worst in human history ... The facts are plain. Thanks to ... Mao Tse-tung, Stalin, Hitler and Pol Pot, our age has been more systematically cruel and murderous than any other.... . ... nobody can ignore the fact that the cruellest era in history was also the first to deny the existence of an external moral force. ... The question ... therefore, is: if, without an external moral law, we descend into barbarism ... what can we do to stop the long nightmare of the 20th century from spilling over into the 21st?' (Sunday Times, 24 October 1999)

Rhidian Brooke, novelist, describing his meeting with other Christians at a very low point in his life:
‘ For them the Gospel wasn't a prose poem, a fine methaphor, a philosophical meditation or a once-a-year top-up. It was the real thing. And I could see the connection between them believing it and being able to live it; the connection between the joy and peace in them and what the Gospel had told me.'

Rhidian then tells of the consequences of his beginning a relationship with Jesus:
'And the peace I felt when I recognized Him was my proof; the guarantee of His reality.' (Daily Telegraph, 27 March 1999)

Jesus, the Son of God, describing His Father's love for us:
‘ For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.' (John 3: 16)

Contact Simon Bessant 0114 236 0084 Send E-mail