Dear Kim,
This is what I believe....
| Explaining Christian Faith Today | by Bill Loader |
| What about God? | I wrote this book because people in my family and among my friends
have often asked me: "Bill, what do you believe?" about so many aspects of
Christian faith. My niece, Kim, was one of many of all ages. As a
biblical scholar and theologian it would have been easy for me to take a deep breath,
survey all the complexities and begin a long explanation which would have covered all the
bases, shown fine academic balance, earned respect as profound exposition from my peers,
but which would have left Kim and others yawning. So I decided it would be a good idea if I wrote simply what I believed about some of the key aspects of Christian belief without trying to meet all those other worthy goals. Can I say it plainly and simply? I have tried in this book to do so. It has worried me that too few people write like this and that many who do so produce not something that is simple and straightforward but something that is simplistic. I have tried instead to share openly what I think. I am not wanting to imply that others should think as I do. Some people like to be told what they should believe because some high authority declares it to be right or 'because the Bible says so' or because they believe themselves to be the authority. This book is not for them. It is for people who want to think critically about their faith and want to find a way of making sense of it so they can live from it in today's world. An earlier form of the book appeared in hard copy as Dear Kim, this is what I believe. Explaining Christian faith today, published by Uniting Ed., Melbourne. It has now sold out, so I have taken the opportunity to revise it and put it on the web to make it accessible to a wider range of readers.
Downloadable pdf. versions:
1. sequential pages Dear Kim (thanks to Darren
Wright) |
| Would you like to copy and use this material in this electronic publication? You are welcome to do so. I ask only that you acknowledge its source, let me know (w.loader@murdoch.edu.au) how you are doing so and where, and, if you think it would be of interest to me, send me a copy of what you produce. | |