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by Subomi Plumptre

I love sci-fi.

I believe in the inviolability of the human will.

I don’t think God can be fully understood. He doesn’t seem restricted to labels or boxes.

One thing that fascinates me about God, is his omnipresence. Just as God is developing a distinct history with me; he is chronicling another with someone in Germany or in China. All these histories and conversations are happening concurrently and rarely overlap.

Could my revelation of Jesus be completely different from someone else’s? Is Christianity a retail experience or a communal one? Or is it both?

Is one version of the Bible more accurate than the others? Is one church’s doctrine superior to another’s? Who is “righter” and who is “wronger”?

Many things have occurred in my Christian walk that make me think. I used to imagine God was a very scary being. I was terrified of him and felt he would punish me for my mistakes. Now, I have a familial and comfortable relationship with him. Did God change? Or, was it my imagination and mental construct of God that changed?

Faith fascinates me. How a force as small as a mustard seed can move mountains. Could it be, that people have been using their faith, to produce different versions of God in their minds? Or do different versions of God exist in parallel universes? Could God present himself to humans based on their level of faith or ignorance? Could God be a father to those who believe he is, yet be a task master to others who believe he is?

If Christianity becomes a private thing, how would “error” be checked? Is the Holy Spirit efficient enough to look after his own?

How do we ensure that a few leaders don’t present as doctrine, personal belief systems that are limited by education, exposure and culture?

I’ve been thinking about a few “fathers of the faith”. Once upon a time, Smith Wigglesworth was reported to believe that only the Bible was worth reading. But, the inherent contradiction is that many people learn to read in the first place, using other books besides the Bible. Then, there’s the fact that other books are worth reading, including science, poetry and current affairs. Was Wigglesworth’s statement simply the utterance of a presumably illiterate man, or were his words taken out of context?

In Nigeria, other fathers and mothers of the faith have preached about trousers, scarves, alcohol and music. Were they culturally limited too?

When William Branham asserted that women were inferior, and also alleged that Eve had sex with the serpent, was he in fact, mentally ill?

When Kenneth Hagin assumed he was called to be a Pastor and not just a teacher, then realised he was the victim of a wrong call, who made the original call?

As I think about the sacredness of human will and choice, I also think about our frailty and capacity for honest mistakes.

I think the Bereans in Apostle Paul’s days were on to something important – deploying reason, fact-checking and faith.

Perhaps all Christians begin as sheep, blindly following their shepherds, but then grow up to independently forge relationships with the Chief Shepherd. Since each Christian has direct access to Jesus, perhaps they should have our own independent conversations with him too.

One thing I’m sure of, is that the Spirit of Truth will lead his followers into all truth, as he usually does.

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