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What label does your faith have?

Robert Ashton considers what it means to be a called a Christian, and what part religion should play in one’s life.

In my last blog I questioned my qualification for writing here, asking myself if I could honestly describe myself as a Christian. This started an exploration of faith that prompted a fellow Quaker to lend me his copy of Pierre Berton’s book The Comfortable Pew.

Berton was commissioned by the Anglican Church of Canada, his book first published in 1965, when it prompted something of a storm, describing the church as outmoded and inaccessible with irrelevant language and liturgy. He was also critical of what he saw as the unwillingness of the church to move with the times and adapt to increase its appeal to younger people.

He cited Gandhi as an example of how to start where the people you want to influence are, so leading by doing rather than preaching. This reminded me of a well-known and often controversial local minister who expressed horror when I mentioned that I had become a Quaker, which he saw as akin to apostasy. 

In this concluding chapter, Berton suggest that the church might do better if more priests took secular jobs, rather than devoting all their time to parish work. Perhaps, more than 50 years later, that is starting to happen, with fewer full time clergy and, I suspect, more lay readers.

Berton also makes the point that ‘many religious people are not really Christian’, and paradoxically, many for whom Christianity ‘is genuinely the clue to life and conduct, do not need what is called religion.’ This makes it harder, not easier for me to define what a makes one a Christian.

My conclusion is that religious fundamentalism of any kind, be it my Christian minister friend, who sees only one way to worship God, or the guy who recently stabbed Salman Rushdie in the belief that he was carrying out a holy fatwah, is not the answer. Our first duty is to our families, neighbours and humanity, and all religions provide useful and memorable guides that can help us to live good lives.

One of the joys of Quakerism is that we are not guided down a set path every Sunday morning, although we do have our traditions and ways. Instead we collectively and silently seek to understand and be guided by the inner light some call God.

But alas, my question as to whether or not I can call myself a Christian, and so continue to write here, remains unanswered. If pressed, I think I would ask the questioner to explain how they would define a Christian, because I might just find that I can agree!


The image above is courtesy of pixabay.com


Robert Ashton 640CFRobert Ashton is an author, social entrepreneur and Quaker.



Visit www.robertashton.co.uk
 


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