Steven Colborne's Blog, page 12

Why Don’t I Commit to either Christianity or Islam?

A few months ago, a friend and reader of this blog suggested I was ‘sitting on the fence’ spiritually. In other words, the fact that I don’t commit wholeheartedly to Christianity or Islam troubled him, or at least that’s what I inferred from certain comments he made.

The position that I find myself in is that there are some important theological matters dividing the Qur’an and orthodox Christianity that I have been unable to resolve. The most significant of these is the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, and specifically the supposed deity of Jesus Christ.

Please understand that I take the idea of hell very seriously. So when I listen to or read the Qur’an and hear warnings that joining partners with God is punishable with hell and that Jesus was merely a man — a prophet — it causes me to hold back from participating in Christian worship that deifies Jesus.

The reason why I haven’t become a Muslim is simply because God tells me that this is not His chosen path for me. It is not out of any kind of fear that I haven’t become a Muslim, I believe the Qur’an is a divine revelation and the clearest guidance humankind has been given concerning matters of religion. But even above Scripture I trust in the things God says to me, and when I ask God whether I should go to a mosque and start performing the ritual Muslim prayers, He always tells me ‘no’. Instead He tells me that I am entirely free to do whatever I wish with the remainder of my life and that my past, present, and future sins are entirely forgiven.

It’s not easy for me living without a community or spiritual home. I get very lonely at times. But I haven’t felt comfortable sitting or kneeling in church and reciting liturgy that could, if the Qur’an is to be believed (and I do believe it is truly a divine revelation) be blasphemous. Religion, for me, is not about simply picking a side and sticking to it, which is what some of my Christian friends who reject the Qur’an seem to be doing. What matters to me is that I am right with God, who has the power to make me suffer. Most of the people who argue that Jesus is the only way to salvation haven’t even read the Qur’an, so they are in no position to argue that Quranic teaching about Jesus is in error.

Why would God tell me that I can do whatever I like and that I don’t have to be concerned about practising a particular religion? It’s because I have lived a deeply troubled life and God wants to reward me both for my suffering and for the devoted spiritual efforts I have made. As hard as I find it to accept, it seems that God wants me to simply enjoy life. It’s surprising to me that God would relax what He demands of me and give me this kind of freedom, because ever since I read the Bible properly for the first time around fifteen years ago my whole life has centred around serving God. But I think God’s plans involve me marrying and taking it easy, in the short-term at least.

Some people reading this may think that when I say I hear the voice of God I am deluded. Believe me, I have wrestled with this wholeheartedly. I do believe that when God speaks to me it truly is His voice and not the voice of Satan or some kind of brain disorder. I don’t believe brains cause thought; I have a detailed explanation of my views on this in my book God’s Grand Game. And I don’t think Satan would be wanting me to listen to the Qur’an and read the Bible and pray fervently to God, which I have been doing on a daily basis. So I feel it’s unlikely that every time I hear God’s voice it is actually Satan or some other demonic entity deluding me. And other people have told me that God talks to them, so I know I’m not alone.

What I always return to is my high view of the sovereignty of God. Everything that happens is willed and directed by God. The only way to truly discern the will of God is to see what transpires in reality. Once something happens, we know that that was God’s will. Until then we can speculate and argue about which of God’s revelations is more truthful, but God does whatever He will, He always has total control and total freedom.

Funnily enough, the most intuitive place I feel I would want to go to try and meet a future spouse is a church or a mosque. I have met girls that I would like to marry, but it seems God has always had other plans. I don’t know how I’m going to get married outside of socialising, but I’m not really accustomed to getting drunk and partying these days. Perhaps you could pray for me in respect of this. I was in the process of organising two events to bring together like-minded people in London but these plans have stalled, unfortunately. I joined a litter-picking group at my favourite local park, but it’s mostly older people doing the picking so I don’t know whether I’ll meet someone there. I could try dating apps again, I suppose.

But forgive my digression into matters of the heart!

In closing, I will just mention that I’ve given Perfect Chaos a redesign. I hope that you like the minimalistic approach I have taken.

Glory to God in the highest!

One Creation Under God

Hello everyone. Today is a special day for the UK, as many people celebrate the coronation of our new monarch. I don’t know whether or not King Charles III will be able to sort out the ills of this world, but I sincerely hope he is a prayerful person in private and acts with good conscience. Long live the king.

My own concerns at this present time are my attempts to reach people with the message that there really is a God — one God over all creation — and to share the insights that God has given me surrounding matters of philosophy and religion and the way in which God acts as the sustainer and animator of all things.

God was saying to me recently that if anyone were to take on the task of reading all of my books with an open mind, they would be completely transformed. God says my writing has the potential to change the world for the better. I hope so.

Of course, the world is changing at a rapid pace, and the recent popularity of the message that artificial intelligence is now developing unstoppable abilities is both dangerous and worrying.

I personally cannot see the benefit of giving more and more power to machines, as I made clear in my song Machines Taking Over the World, which I wrote in 2018 with these worries in mind. I am of course not anti-technology, but all things should benefit the worship of God and I’m not certain how AI control over humanity would achieve this.

The goals of humanity should be quite simple. We all need to eat and drink. We each need to be able to express our uniqueness, for the benefit of all. We need to work together as a race with peace in mind. And above all, we need to be dedicated to the worship of God, because this is the primary reason why we were created.

Interfaith dialogue is a pressing concern for our age, and I was disappointed recently that the events I was hoping to organise in London bringing together different faith traditions could not go ahead due to security concerns. Perhaps events will unfold in favour of such activities in the future, I don’t know. What I do know is that God is in control of everything that happens and no one can thwart His will.

Friends, do not be disheartened by the state of the world. We have been gifted the Holy Scriptures which are overflowing with hope and goodness. Let the disbelievers be. Let them be for a while. They will soon see.

By the way, whenever I type ‘King Charles’, I seem to write ‘Kind Charles’ instead — let’s hope this is a good omen! God bless you all and thank you for reading.

Just Let Go

The power of surrendering is quite amazing. Sometimes, even though we may not realise it, we are fighting an internal battle as we go about our day.

Perhaps we are driven by ambition, perhaps we have certain responsibilities that are causing us stress. Whatever the situation, it is possible to let go, cease struggling, and accept. This brings peace.

A Brief Update

Me again. I wanted to share a couple of things quickly. Firstly, I wanted to mention that AI-narrated audiobook editions of my books The Philosophy of a Mad Man and An Almighty Predicament are in existence! You can listen to the latter for free, and the former for a few of your hard-earned pennies/cents. They are available exclusively on Google Play. If you do listen, let me know what you think.

Also, I’ve updated the cover art for An Almighty Predicament because the previous cover was really bland. Here’s a ‘before and after’:

BEFOREAFTER

That’s a baptism font on the cover by the way! Could you tell? Or did you think it was a communion cup?! I hope it’s clear what it is. If you’re interested in reading the book you can find it at all the usual retailers including Amazon, Apple, Google, Kobo, Barnes and Noble, and others.

That’s me done for the day. It’s 1:40am in the UK and I must sleep soon because I already stayed up the whole night last night working on book related updates.

See you all soon!

Sober and Spirited

Sober and Spirited is the name of a blog by a lady called Jessie, who is struggling at the moment. She has achieved an incredible 74 days of sobriety, but is feeling pulled towards the alcohol largely due to the loneliness that comes from not drinking. So please, lovely bloggers, do me a favour and go over to Jessie’s blog and leave her at least a like (and preferably a comment, subscribe), I just know it will lift her spirits!

This is the post Jessie just published:
https://soberandspirited.wordpress.com/2023/04/30/uncertainty/

I think she’s a really good writer — in my view good writing is often simply honest writing, and Jessie is very good at that. Show the girl some love!

Work, Events, and Large Print Books

I realise most of my blog posts in recent weeks have been more of the journal entry kind than the philosophical theology kind. This is just a reflection of what’s been happening in my life, I hope you don’t mind and that you find my more personal posts at least mildly interesting.

In a recent article I mentioned my thoughts around working now that I’m out of hospital and living back in the community. What I’ve decided to do is spend Monday to Wednesday working on Tealight Ministries (the charity I’m setting up), Thursdays doing freelance work, and Fridays working on book promotion. I have been experimenting with scheduling my time in a very regimented way and this has been working well — I’m happiest when I’m busy working on projects that make me genuinely enthused.

I did have to cancel a Worship Party I was organising, even after booking the venue, due to safety concerns. But this is a minor setback and I’m already working on another event which will be an evening of interfaith spirituality featuring a debate around the question, “Is God three persons?” I’ve made some enquiries in local churches and a local mosque to try to find speakers for the event. I’ll keep you posted.

I do have one bit of news which may be of interest to some of you. I have a friend who has problems with her eyesight and we discussed large print books recently. Our conversations spurred me into action because I have been meaning to create large print editions of two of my books for some time. I’m glad to say that large print editions of God’s Grand Game and Christianity, Islam, and the One True God are very close to being published — you should be able to find them on Amazon from next week.

But how are you, anyway? Yes, you! Leave me a comment and share something with me. I know we’re living in dark times and so many people are broke, depressed, and anxious about the future, but there is always light around and there’s some good in every day. So we must be ever-thankful to God and count our blessings. Why not leave a comment and let me know how you’re feeling today?

Work, events, and large print books

I realise most of my blog posts in recent weeks have been more of the journal entry kind than the philosophical theology kind. This is just a reflection of what’s been happening in my life, I hope you don’t mind and that you find my more personal posts at least mildly interesting.

In a recent article I mentioned my thoughts around working now that I’m out of hospital and living back in the community. What I’ve decided to do is spend Monday to Wednesday working on Tealight Ministries (the charity I’m setting up), Thursdays doing freelance work, and Fridays working on book promotion. I have been experimenting with scheduling my time in a very regimented way and this has been working well — I’m happiest when I’m busy working on projects that make me genuinely enthused.

I did have to cancel a Worship Party I was organising, even after booking the venue, due to safety concerns. But this is a minor setback and I’m already working on another event which will be an evening of interfaith spirituality featuring a debate around the question, “Is God three persons?” I’ve made some enquiries in local churches and a local mosque to try to find speakers for the event. I’ll keep you posted.

I do have one bit of news which may be of interest to some of you. I have a friend who has problems with her eyesight and we discussed large print books recently. Our conversations spurred me into action because I have been meaning to create large print editions of two of my books for some time. I’m glad to say that large print editions of God’s Grand Game and Christianity, Islam, and the One True God are very close to being published — you should be able to find them on Amazon from next week.

But how are you, anyway? Yes, you! Leave me a comment and share something with me. I know we’re living in dark times and so many people are broke, depressed, and anxious about the future, but there is always light around and there’s some good in every day. So we must be ever-thankful to God and count our blessings. Why not leave a comment and let me know how you’re feeling today?

Free eBook Bonanza 🌟

If you’re interested in reading one of my books but haven’t yet found a suitable opportunity to do so, I’m delighted to offer you a special opportunity in the form of an exclusive promotion on my eBook store at TealightBooks.com.

Today only, the books listed below are priced at $0 / £0 / €0 in their eBook editions. Simply click a title to visit that book on TealightBooks.com and go through the checkout process. You will pay nothing and will be emailed a link to download your eBook in whichever digital format you choose — there’s even free technical support if you get stuck.

Big Ideas from Ancient Greece

This is a 55-page book profiling twelve philosophers from ancient Greece and a big idea that each philosopher contributed to the history of thought. Each chapter contains some biographical info, a big idea, and my reflections on that idea based on my own philosophy.

An Almighty Predicament: A Discourse on the Arguments For and Against Christianity

This is a 70-page essay in which I set out what I believe to be the most compelling arguments for and against the Christian worldview. Expounding testimony and citing Scripture, I present arguments explaining why the teachings of the Bible are convincing, but also discuss the reasons why Christianity can be seen as absurd and illogical.

Thanks Be To God: A Selection of Christian Scriptures for Spiritual Seekers

This 60-page book contains a selection of passages from the Bible chosen to assist spiritual seekers with their understanding of the Christian faith. Each passage of Scripture is followed by a short reflection that I have written to offer context and insight into the text.

Discovering the Qur’an

This is an 80-page book in which I offer a series of theological reflections following my experience of reading the Qur’an in its entirety for the first time. The themes covered in the book include the nature of Jesus Christ, the oneness of God, resurrection and judgement, and various other discussions concerning the similarities and differences between the Qur’an and the Bible.

God Willing: Bringing Divine Sovereignty into Everyday Conversation

In this 85-page book, divided into fourteen short chapters, I present a series of reflections describing how our use of language might evolve to better reflect the reality of God’s sovereignty over all events — an idea at the heart of my philosophy.

Finding Your Balance: The 10 Key Ingredients of a Happy Life

This is a 55-page book in which I delve into the world of psychology and offer some advice, based on life lessons I’ve learned, concerning how to live a fulfilled and happy life. The ‘key ingredients’ discussed in the book include our relationship with God, doing meaningful work, contributing to society, looking after our physical and mental health, and much more.

The Only Question You Ever Need Ask

This 80-page essay represents the culmination of a theological predicament that I have wrestled with ever since I first began to take the Christian faith seriously. In the book, I describe the single question on which I believe faith in the Christian worldview hinges, and I explore and answer that question with reference to Scripture and renowned theologians.

The books will be returned to their regular list prices tomorrow.

God bless you and I hope you enjoy.

Steven

Interfaith Songs?

Greetings, friends, and glory to God! I hope you are all in good spirits and enjoying the weekend so far.

As part of the charity work I am intending to do, I’m hoping to organise some worship parties here in London. I’m trying to find songs (in any genre) that would be suitable for events that brings together people who are adherents to any of the three major Abrahamic faiths (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam), as well as people who believe in God but don’t necessarily affiliate with a particular religion.

I realise this is rather challenging because of theological differences, but nevertheless, I think there must be music in existence which would be suitable. I have already found a few songs that I think would work.

Please let me know if anything comes to mind. Consider the commonalities among the Abrahamic religions, for example, monotheism, repentance, righteousness, the resurrection and judgement, prophecy, the golden rule, etc.

Thank you in advance for any recommendations — please leave a comment or email me!

Moving Forward

I suppose it’s natural that now I’ve been discharged from a relatively lengthy hospital admission I’m thinking about the future. My sole ambition is to live in a way that is pleasing to God and so I’m pondering how best to do that.

One consideration is that I need to get out of debt. So working seems wise. I am experiencing some quite troublesome effects of the medication I’ve been prescribed, which could make working more challenging than it would be otherwise. I would like to focus entirely on promoting my books, but the publishing industry doesn’t make it easy for authors to earn a full-time income. More sensible, I feel, would be to undertake some freelance work while also leaving some time each week to focus on book promotion.

Another consideration is that over the last few years I’ve had a vision for certain long-term ambitions. These ambitions draw upon my life experience and they excite me more than the idea of freelancing. However, they offer a harder route towards a stable income. I’m talking about Tealight Ministries, which is a charity I would like to establish with four ‘arms’ — publishing, counselling, music, and interfaith dialogue.

A couple of years ago, I put together a strategic planning document for the charity with the help of several other people, and we got to the stage of drafting (but not finalising) a charity constitution, which is the legal document that would govern the charity’s structure and activities. I still have this document, though it may need some tweaks due to the passing of time.

What I’m thinking (as I’m typing!) is that I could in theory do all three of these things: Book promotion, freelancing, and setting up the charity. But maybe that’s ridiculously over-ambitious, considering the medication and everything. If it is overly ambitious, then my instinct is to focus on book promotion and the charity and leave the freelancing. This is because I want to spend my time pursuing those things I’m most enthusiastic about, if my finances allow.

Although I’m in debt, I am receiving some government support with rent and living costs so can afford the essentials each month. There is also a food bank not far from where I live. I would probably be able to get by without the freelance work if I am very frugal, and who knows, maybe book sales will pick up (with hard work) and the charity may receive a grant (or grants), which is part of the plan for that.

Perhaps I could dedicate Monday and Friday to book promotion and the rest of the working week to setting up the charity. That feels achievable and a nice balance. Or maybe I should actually keep freelancing in the mix, because it’s unlikely that even a small portion of charity funding could be used for the purpose of clearing my overdraft.

I’m still experiencing a kind of floaty elation from being out of hospital. It was really hard at times, I don’t think I’ve ever felt so angry and frustrated as I was on that ward when, week after week, I was not discharged. But God is most merciful and there were abundant blessings every day in hospital. I’m very grateful that I wasn’t kept confined for longer.

Feel free to offer any words of advice and/or encouragement that come to mind in the comments section below, and as they say on YouTube, I’ll see you in the next one!