Apparently, 75% of the UK population claim to 'pray' at least once a week. A startling statistic it may seem for such a secular society, but I am definitely in the 25% who don't. In fact, I'm not sure I've ever prayed, or ever feel the need to pray. And that is in the more general sense of praying in a non-religious way too. I guess I'm one of those slightly demented people who talk to myself a lot in my own head, and I've never felt the need to talk or consult or ask for anything to 'someone up there'.
So the topic was a bit dull for me, but what was more interesting was how our Christian hosts have started to be a bit more assertive about directing the discussion. As mentioned before, they have usually been on the backfoot, letting the discussion wonder rather aimlessly. But this was the first week where we were directed to talk more specifically about the Christian interpretation of praying. I'm guessing this is because in previous weeks, us atheists/agnostics keep talking about how religion in general is a human phenomenon, rarely talking about what specifically differentiates Christianity from other religions.
And it may be this more directed discussion which meant I left feeling less satisfied this week. Although each topic begins with a talk, which includes reading passages from the Bible, I am starting to feel that without a more in-depth knowledge of Christian theology, and its semantics in particular, I am not really getting down to the crux of the problem or discussion. For example, in terms of prayer, Christians believe that they have direct access to the Father because of Jesus. We read from the relevant passages to show that, indeed, the Bible says this, and it is repeated several times for us, but what this actually means in layman terms is still a bit of a mystery to me. This is made all the more difficult by our Christian hosts never really giving an direct answer to anything.
But anyway, my work hours may mean that I will find it difficult to go every week from now on, so I'm not sure right now whether this might be my last post on the matter. A shame as the food has been getting better and better! This week, spicy rice with chicken:
2 comments:
For all those who were worried I started the Alpha Course in the first place, you shall be pleased to know that work commitments mean I can't go anymore! Plus I was wavering a little on whether I was getting anything out of it now they were starting to get more strict on our discussions. So no religious ramblings anymore here, back to food porn...
Was not concerned, just amused that the final word on the religious discussion was the quality of the food. Si
Post a Comment