The dangers of maths, science and philosophy

Reason is one of the greatest gifts bestowed upon humanity. Inductive and abductive reasoning allow us to form hypotheses based on experimental data, while deductive reasoning produces certain conclusions for us, once given specified axioms. This desire to spot patterns, to abstract in pursuit of acquiring knowledge, and to discern the nature of our Universe is arguably what separates us from other animals. Without it humanity would lack maths, philosophy and science.

Given I am a maths undergraduate, I hope you know that I believe in the importance of formal reason.

So why the title? Anyone who has dabbled in maths or philosophy for any serious amount of time has surely asked themselves whether there exists anything beyond formal logic. It is not inconceivable that everything can be explained by acquisition of knowledge and application of reason. Maths and science seem able to explain most strictly physical phenomena, and it is not a huge intellectual leap to presume that properties like morals, beauty and love can be similarly explained by deduction.

I was going to embark on a comprehensive ten-part blog series titled "A case for the existence of God." and had it all planned out. Definitions, epistemology, then evidence split into empirical, deductive, inductive, abductive, historical, testimonial, existential and personal. The idea was to create a solid but accessible whistle-stop tour through all of the evidence I could find to support the Christian world view.

Then I did some reasoning. If I fail then then this would clearly be a waste of time. So suppose I succeed. But the surely all I have achieved is placing a brick onto a metaphorical tower of Babel. Logic has its place, and I certainly find God tangibly present in mathematics (with the exception of suffix notation) but when the purpose of the logic is to define and hunt down God in an attempt to coerce Him into necessary existence we are surely trying to make our own way to Him.

Not that proving the rationality of believing in God would somehow grant us grace, but it certainly would make acceptance of salvation nothing more than a logical decision. We all know that we will never reach heaven by bricks and cement, nor by observation and reason. Further, in the light of this, neither should the pursuit of such a goal be our primary purpose.

The great thing about faith is the sure certainty that what we believe is true. Why would anyone worry about proving the mathematical certainty of a close friends existence? Much less should we feel anxious about the lack of proof that our Father, Lord, and Saviour whom we are in continuous relationship with actually exists.

If we ever dabble in such reasoning, it should be with the aim of discovering what we have been allowed to glimpse of Gods glory and splendour in this life. Much in the same way that one can seek out waterfalls, mountains and rainbows because their inherent beauty affirms ones view that the world was divinely created, rather than because the water, rocks and wave-properties of light themselves prove anything about Gods existence.

The danger is that reason, pursuit of truth, and science can all too easily become idols. We can place them at a higher priority than the one whom we think we are pursuing. The means becomes the end and suddenly the intellectual quest to pin God down overshadows the desire to glorify Him. The Bible warns of this distorting of priorities, with the tower of Babel being the most potent reminder that we are not attempt to reach heaven with our own strength.

What aspect of life should we boast in then, if not our achievements in science and abstract thought?
Paul has this to say in the first chapter of 1 Corinthians:

18 The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God. 19 As the Scriptures say,

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise

    and discard the intelligence of the intelligent.”

20 So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish. 21 Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe.22 It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven. And it is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom. 23 So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense.

24 But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength.

26 Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. 27 Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. 28 God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. 29 As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God.

30 God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin. 31 Therefore, as the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord.”

So mathematicians, philosophers, and scientists need to think very carefully before they brag about how much humanity knows about the world. The entirety of human knowledge is like a faint scattering of breadcrumbs leading to a banquet, and to be satisfied with half a handful of dirty crumbs is to do yourself an injustice!

Instead we should all rejoice in the amazing things we can discover in this life, but only because they show us just how incomparably beautiful the real thing is going to be. As opposed to pondering how much a particular experience or curiosity actually means as far as reasoning God into existence goes, when we gaze in awe at a sunset or at the intricacies of the Mandelbrot set, the correct response is surely to simply delight in the magnificence of God's creation!

' “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord.“And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.

For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts. '    - Isaiah 55:8-9

Quite frankly, God is not biased towards the intellectually minded. We do not need to understand the difference between inductive and deductive reasoning to be saved - thank God. Reason is not what saves us. It is neither necessary, nor often particularly helpful, when coming to believe in God. Before we received any formal education we already had been exposed to enough of Gods creation that we could know in our hearts that He exists;

' 20 For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. '  - Romans 1.

If you want convincing that God exists, why settle for a logical, historical, or scientific argument? Far more inspiring to ask God to reveal Himself to you as you explore some fractal geometry, read the Bible, or take a late night walk in the park. 

Michaelmas Term 2014

I'm back! The nine weeks of clubbing with strangers, vomiting in friends bathrooms, and nervous breakdowns in the Library are finally drawing to a close.

Okay, I'll admit the only times I have ever stepped foot in a nightclub have been when there's been a church service on, but I have spent a lot of time in the Library. And even felt nervous once when someone approached me with social intent. So all in all, a pretty wild term.

Time for a look back. What has happened? Expectations vs Reality. Helpfully I wrote a blog post about my expectations the week prior to leaving to go to University so this exercise is at least partially objective. Though said post is my least viewed blog to date. So if you could check that out. That'd be great.

Freshers week was pretty much as expected. There was less pressure to drink than I imagined, but it was also harder to decline alcohol than I envisioned, which was disconcerting. The workload definitely took a couple of week to get going, contrary to what I feared. But weeks four to six were more intense than I foresaw. Having said that, I love maths enough to find the long hours very enjoyable and it's been great to make friends with those with a similar passion to me.

I had the impression, as surely most prospective undergraduates do, that I would be actively involved in a range of societies, ranging from - in my case - chess and CU, to rowing and running. It didn't happen. Christian activities took up a good 15 hours a week and on top of that I really only had time for casual socialising (lol, jokes) and a bit of running. Oh, and I still played my geetar quite a lot.

Though I love my course, by far the most exciting thing about my "University experience" is what God is doing in Cambridge. It was so clear to everyone in my friendship group on results day that God was sending us to our respective Universities with specific plans for each of us, and that He had us where He wanted us. That has continued to ring true for me ever since then and though that has at times been hard to accept, it has given me confidence and assurance when things have become difficult.

There are so many undergraduates at Jesus college, and indeed it seems at most colleges, that are strongly rooted in Christ which is so inspiring! The talks at the inter-collegiate Christian Union meetings have been exemplary and it's been great to hear about CICCUs heritage. We had a great Jesuan turnout to the (monthly premature) Christmas service which was great to see, especially has the speaker made the point of preaching Christ crucified. Everyone seems very open to discussing "the big questions" and the academic environment appears to stimulate, rather than stifle, this curiosity.

The geographically oscillatory nature of a students life is difficult to get used to, but it is an opportunity to become resilient, adaptable and faith-filled. It also is teaching me to not take anything, or indeed anybody, for granted. Which is probably a good lesson to learn. Students (myself included) can often feel on top of the world when in reality they are simply focused on the fleeting in a destructive way, so I'll end with a brilliantly sobering passage from James 4. 

"13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes."

What does it mean to be Christian?

Christianity is the most influential religion the world has ever seen, with around 2.4 billion adherents today. When a third of the world would call themselves Christian, a natural question is: Exactly what makes a person Christian? What is it that makes this third of the world so different?

Is it the belief that Jesus is the son of God? Perhaps use of the Bible as a moral compass, or regular attendance of Christian services ? Maybe manifesting the qualities that Jesus had, or living a selfless life?

A safe place to start is usually with some etymology. Christian, meaning follower of Christ, has its roots in a word which means anointed one, with the end of the word indicating adhering to or owned by.

A cornerstone of Christianity is the idea that salvation is by grace, and not by works. This is stated pretty clearly in Ephesians 2, verses 8 and 9:

God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.


Consequently most Christians will be quick to say that being a Christian really is as simple as "saying yes" to Jesus. Once you decide that Jesus is your Lord you shall be saved and you become a Christian. Simple. However, the next verse in the chapter says this:

For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.


This passage indicates that believing in Jesus is both necessary and sufficient to receive God's grace, which in turn is both necessary and sufficient to be made new in Christ. The three events, though well-ordered, are in fact equivalent. The occurrence of one implies the others, and the lack of one negates the other two.

Therefore, although works are not a prerequisite for salvation, the lack of them certainly implies the lack of salvation, and therefore works will always (and only) follow salvation. Clearly having a vague notion of belief in Jesus is not enough.

This makes sense anyway. A belief in Jesus that does not radically change your life is clearly not a genuine belief. Surely the only sane response upon a full comprehension of the gospel and of grace is a life completely changed!

The question is: am I doing enough? If not, what is wrong? Am I not trying hard enough? Do I not really believe? Paul has this to say in 2 Corinthians 5, from verse 13:

If it seems we are crazy, it is to bring glory to God. And if we are in our right minds, it is for your benefit. Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.

So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!


Paul is saying that he is fundamentally no longer living for himself, but instead for the glory of God, having completely surrendered his life to Jesus. This is not some abstract philosophical view, but a hour-by-hour reality shift. His beliefs do not form part of his identity, rather they consume his entire life! Charles Hodge provides us with a scripturally consistent view on what it means to be a Christian:

 "A Christian is one who recognizes Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the living God, as God manifested in the flesh, loving us and dying for our redemption; and who is so affected by a sense of the love of this incarnate God as to be constrained to make the will of Christ the rule of his obedience, and the glory of Christ the great end for which he lives."


The bottom line is that it really does all come down to belief. But not in the way we usually think of belief. Believing in Jesus is not something we decide on and then continue with our lives. It is not something we decide on and make sure we go to church once, twice, or ten times a week. It is a truth which will completely change every aspect of how you view, and how you live you life.

If you think that Jesus was just a good teacher, that Christianity is the good life, and that Christians should have the least regrets if they are mistaken, think again. Let us look at the bits of Scripture often avoided when preaching about what it is to be a Christian.

Acts 14;22, Paul said, "Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom."
John 15:20, Jesus said, "If they persecuted me, they will persecute you" 
2 Timothy 2:12, Paul said, "Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted."

And finally, in Luke 14:25-33, Jesus said, "If you want to become my disciple you must hate everyone else by comparison ... and if you do not carry up your own cross and follow me you cannot be my disciple, but don't begin until you count the cost ... you cannot be my disciple without giving up everything you own."

Becoming a Christian is an altering of the way you view you life. A realisation that Jesus is sovereign and that you want Him to be in complete control of your life. A passion for His kingdom that is worth living for, and dying for. An overwhelming desire to be like Jesus, and to do everything that you do to being Him glory. 

And it will bring hardship. Paul could have hardly said that he was indifferent whether it was all real or not, because he had such a fun life, and no more could anyone else who has advanced the gospel. Living for Jesus involves laying down your life in sacrifice, not living your life as you otherwise would in the hope that being well respected will draw others to God when they see how cool/intelligent/rich/happy you are. That will never bring glory to the crucified Christ.

Being a Christian is not easy. If it is, you're doing it wrong. I certainly feel like I am doing it wrong most of the time! To an extent this may just be a case of "The spirit is willing but the body is weak" but if the most exiting thing about Christianity is anything but seeing God glorified then something is seriously wrong. 

This isn't supposed to be accusatory - or at least if it is I am speaking to myself as much as anybody else! If it all feels a bit overwhelming and impractical I hope these practical pointers from John Piper are of some use.

1. It means that whenever I am called upon to choose between anything in this world and Christ, I choose Christ.
2. It means that I will deal with the things of this world in ways that draw me nearer to Christ so that I gain more of Christ and enjoy more of him by the way I use the world.
3. It means that I will always deal with the things of this world in ways that show that they are not my treasure, but rather show that Christ is my treasure.
4. It means that if I lose any or all the things this world can offer, I will not lose my joy or my treasure or my life, because Christ is all.

Now that was the reckoning that Paul reckoned in his soul (v. 8): "I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord." Christ is all and all else is loss.

And finally we arrive at Matthew 7:21:

 “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter."

Don't be that guy.

University Life

There is a strange social dynamic in University two weeks into term. The hype of freshers is definitely a distant memory, and everyone feels fairly well acquainted with each other, but at the same time there are less things distracting us from the fact that nobody around us is a long term friend. Yet.

I regret to inform you that the workload has kicked in and I have been increasingly spending my evenings in the library rather than out with friends. This probably sounds worse than it is though; the library is very cosy and, while the workload is becoming significant, there is definitely sufficient time left over to do other things. Plus I love my subject, so the time spent working is certainly not unpleasant!

In Cambridge, undergraduates have supervisions as well as lectures. For Mathmos this involves a pair of students discussing problems sheets (which have been worked at beforehand) with a fellow of the college. They are more enjoyable and far less intimidating than I assumed they would be, completing the preparatory work for them is where most of the learning takes place.

Luckily all of my supervisors are really nice people, though once you spend time with them you start to realise that they are indeed human. The same, of course, goes for the lecturers  (the gem from today being: "so we have three 90 degree rotations. What is 3 x 90 again?!") but overall they have been very good too. At some point I'll probably do a blog about what I've been studying but probably not until the holidays; I'm doing enough at the moment without having to write about it!

There are so many interesting activities going on all the time in Cambridge. It's tempting to go to dozens during freshers week but once the work kicks in you realise that you only really have a couple of hours a day to dedicate to extra-curricular activities. So you can either focus on one discipline to excel in, or be involved in a few different things in a less committed way.

My initial plan was to get involved with the a church, CU, cycling, running, squash, chess, rowing and some kind of band. Unsurprisingly I am having to rethink; in reality I'll probably just be attending church, CU and a running club, which alone will amount to about 10 hours a week. Of course we also have quite a few compulsory social events, such as pudding and wine with the Master of the college, but these tend to worthwhile enough to justify taking an evening off from work for.

Somehow I have to bear in mind that all of this stuff - including academic work - is secondary to my walk with God. How does that work practically? I guess some things are obvious; going to church and CU meetings takes up quite a significant chunk of time, meaning that attending is showing some level of devotion to God. But we're not supposed to just be Christians in meetings. If anything, Jesus was least "Christian" when he was with the religious! He spent most of his time away from the religious scene: loving, healing and forgiving people. To follow Christ must surely mean to do this also.


"Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God" - 1 Corinthians 10:31


"Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord" - Colossians 3:23

These scriptures state that we should glorify God in all we do. That in the same way that we honour God by worshipping Him, we can honour Him by living our lives in a way that points to Him. So when we are working or studying God should be glorified through us. When we socialise God should be glorified in us. Whether we succeed or fail, God should be glorified through us.

So. I may have gone on a bit of a tangent there. Sorry about that. This blog was supposed to be about University life but hey-ho; this'll do. Please do suggest topics for future blogs. The quantity of views that the blog is receiving indicates that people are enjoying them but I really don't have a clue what to write about (as you may have been able to tell) so do inform me.
See you again soon!

The problem of evil

One day in primary school I was asked by a friend: "If God really loves me, why didn't he save my Dad?"
This sounds cliché but it actually happened. I, being nine years old at the time, had no answer. At some point in our lives, most of us will be asked a question along these lines; if God exists, why does evil exist? This will likely be asked by a very vulnerable individual who is at a spiritual cross-roads and the answer you give may well be among the most influential things you ever say on this Earth.

It is for this reason that I write this blog post. I do not wish to belittle the problem, cause upset, or pretend that I have all the answers. I don't. But I would like to explore the issue and believe that we all should.

In order to minimise offence, let us begin with some impersonal philosophy:

(1) Assume: God exists, and is all-good, all-knowing and all-powerful
(2) An all-good being would want to prevent all evils
(3) An all-knowing being would know how to prevent all evils from existing
(4) An all-powerful being could prevent evil from existing
(5) A being who knows how to, has the power to, and wants to prevent all evil will do so
(6) By assumption God exists; evil can not exist
(7) Evil exists. Contradiction; our assumption is false; God does not exist

As a Christian, this is a rather unsettling proof. Before we get too emotionally involved, it is probably a good idea to invalidate the proof. This wont be easy. In fact propositions 1, 3, 4, 6 and 7 seem rather unshakeable. We must, then, set out to disprove propositions 2 or 5, which essentially boil down to a single seemingly self-evident proposition: That the existence of evil is worse than the non-existence of evil.

We have defined God to be all-good, so it makes sense to define evil as separation from God. Why, then. is the existence of realms where God is not present better than a reality in which everything is holy? If evil did not exist then separation from God would not be possible; everything would be entirely good, and holy. Why is this better than a world full of death, poverty and abuse?

The answer that springs to mind is free will; if everything was perfectly holy - as no alternative would exist - then God would really be no better off than if He did not create anything. The trinity is entirely good, infinitely powerful and eternally self-sufficient. Adding to this realm of perfection would perhaps be meaningless. God created humans and placed them within an imperfect system so that we would choose to follow Him.

A perfect universe in which every entity was - by their very existence - entirely holy, spending all of eternity praising God is considered to be an inferior reality in God's sight. Far better is a reality in which God's creations can choose Him by choosing against separation from Him. By allowing dark patches to smear the picture, the whole canvass is more beautiful as a result. Perfection is intensified when contrasted with evil.

One last thing before we move on; is (7) as strong a proposition as we assumed it is? Does evil exist? Evil is absence of God and so in the same way that darkness does not exist, one could argue that there is no such thing as evil. Furthermore, is our notion of "good" and "evil" absolute? If so then there must be some higher power, but if not then we can hardly use the assumption in a disproof of God!

It seems that God survives the philosophical "proof".


All this philosophy will, of course, do little to console someone who has recently lost someone close to them. It goes some way to resolve the problem of evil, but does not explain why innocent people suffer; perhaps God wants us to choose between following Him and choosing sinful ways, but how does that reconcile God allowing child fatalities, natural disasters or abuse? For this we will have to look at scripture.

Firstly, there is no such thing as innocent;

"All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God" - Romans 3:23
"The heart is wicked and deceitful above all things" - Jeremiah 17:9

At the fall sin permeated every one of our natures and thus we have all distanced ourselves from God. Separation from God is punishable by eternity without Him. We don't deserve to be bullied, to live in poverty, or to be slaughtered; we deserve far far worse. It is ridiculous to claim that any suffering that we endure is more than we deserve.

But isn't that the point of grace? Didn't Jesus die so that we could prosper and be filled with everlasting joy?

Yes. But what do you have in mind when you envision joy and prosperity? Perhaps the physical health of you and those close to you. Perhaps mental and financial stability. A bigger house would be nice too...
The point is that the most joyful people in human history were all far worse off than you in these natural terms. If you have central heating then what you consider to be mere commodities are privileges unimaginable to the kings a few hundred years ago. Clearly joy goes deeper than the natural.

Let us suppose that God did save my friends Dad from dying, purely because to let him die would cause a lot of suffering. Then, in order to be consistent, He would have to prevent all equivalent occurrences causing that amount - or more - of suffering. But why draw the line at precisely that amount of suffering? To "lower the bar" by any amount would clearly have positive repercussions. So we induct and realise that it would be best if God prevented suffering from existing in the first place. This sounds familiar.

But perhaps the logic is not entirely circular. Perhaps we can have sin without some forms of suffering. Although sin inherently causes eternal suffering, as it causes separation from God, we could perhaps eliminate all other forms of suffering which are not directly caused by sin, like earthquakes or miscarriages.

A life without any physical pain sounds appealing but you would all too quickly kill yourself if you were granted this; pain is a safety mechanism to let us know that something is wrong so that we can take action to prevent damage. Spiritual suffering - a lack of satisfaction with anything but God's spirit within us - is a similar blessing which ultimately informs our choice about whether we will serve God or not.


This is quite a lot of content from the Bible here but please don't skim over it. I am not about to make points based on the scripture; the Bible puts it far better than I could hope to do myself!

"No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterwards there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way."  - Hebrews 12:11

 "We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. 

When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation." - Romans 5:3-9


We may suffer for an hour, a day, or maybe even for decades. But these times and this intensity of suffering are nothing compared to an eternity spent worshipping God! Jesus bore all of our suffering on the cross, and went through more pain than we could ever imagine just so that this option is open to us.

I'll leave you with this passage. It is a good reminder that God ultimately knows what He is doing, and that provided we give our lives to Him, He will not allow our souls to come to any harm.

“For we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” - Romans 8:28

Freshers' Week

Over the course of last week I packed most of my possessions into two large suitcases, a box and a guitar case - the latter holding my kitchen utensils. On Saturday my parents drove me to Cambridge to drop me off at the University. This day - aside from being packed with matriculation, meeting our college families, a BBQ and a "bop" - represented the start of a new era of my life; intense studying, "discovering who I am", and becoming a responsible adult. I am yet to make a start on any of these endeavours, but I have managed to find Sainsburys, lock myself out of my room, and survive almost entirely on a diet of free Pizza.

While I am yet to do any maths whatsoever, each day here has been packed with extra-curricular activities; between 9am and midnight each day we've only had two or three truly free hours. This both has been a refreshing change from the aimlessness accompanying three month summer holidays, and should  prepare me (albeit rather tenuously) for the intensity of the Cambridge terms.

What have I learnt so far? Firstly, being intelligent has very little bearing on other personality traits. The vast majority of Freshers are nice people who are keen to get involved in conversations and very few will be judgemental or unkind. Most students are nice people, but are (myself included) also quite lazy. Thus the majority of a Cambridge student's friends will end up being from their college; I have met far more second and third years from Jesus than I have Freshers from other colleges!

In my first few days at Jesus, I have had to attend a number of formal occasions. While on the whole I dislike tradition and excessive formality I have found the events neither excessive nor elitist. Perhaps surprisingly, one can usually decline alcohol without any significant social repercussions, and there will always be others around who do not want to get drunk.

In addition to getting lost whenever venturing outside of their accommodation, another duty of the Fresher is to not only sign up to the societies that they think they may enjoy, but also to every other society in sight. I assure you that in this area of Freshers life I have excelled.

Unlike the Cheer-leading and Korfball societies, one of the societies which I actually plan on actively participating in is the Christian Union. On a college level the CU have been great already, organising a "getaway" before term started, and hosting events (usually with free food) where we can pray, study the bible, find churches, encourage each other, and make many Jesus related puns. Did I mention they provide free food?! The inter-collegiate CU seem to be pretty active too, and I really enjoyed being at Kingsgate church on Sunday.

University is a great place to redefine yourself, to make some lifelong friends and to engage in the activities that you've always wanted to try out. It is a place in which you can devote yourself to the nurturing of your brain, to study what you are passionate about, and to meet like-minded people on the same journey. More importantly perhaps, it is an opportunity to strengthen your faith and become more dependant on God.

The next blog will likely come from an incoherent, sleep-deprived, caffeine-addled, deadline-swamped version of myself. Please do not judge me.

How much alcohol is too much?

As you may know, I am soon to experience Freshers week at University. While several aspects of starting University are simultaneously exciting and terrifying, the drinking culture is definitely up there among them. Recently I have been pondering the question posed in the title a lot, both individually and with friends in a similar position. Interestingly the Bible is not definitive and the subject seems to be both subjective and individual.

The Bible is clear on some things. Ephesians 5:18 says "...do not get drunk with wine".

Proverbs 23: 30-33 also condemns the actions of a drunkard;

Those who tarry long over wine; those who go to try mixed wine.

Do not look at wine when it is red, when it sparkles in the cup and goes down smoothly.

In the end it bites like a serpent and stings like an adder.

Your eyes will see strange things, and your heart utter perverse things.

Excessive drinking is undeniably addictive and in 1 Corinthians 6:12 it says:

“All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be dominated by anything."

So clearly - from a Biblical perspective at least - getting drunk is off the table. I don't think this is particularly surprising. Drunkenness is selfish fun at best, and at worst can damage you and others. People do things when they are drunk that they would never otherwise do. Self control is a crucial human gift from God and alcohol abuse compromises this. 

 From these passages one can begin to think that there is no good reason to drink alcohol.
After all, how could God approve of alcohol when, by drinking it, you are in danger of become drunk or of drawing others into temptation?

The flaw in this line of thinking is that God created wine for human enjoyment; it was probably in the garden of Eden! The existence of drunkenness does not make drinking alcohol a sin any more than the existence of gluttony, war and rape makes food, fire and sex inherently sinful. They are all gifts from God which we can enjoy and use to his glory, or pervert and use against Him for our own satisfaction.

Jesus famously turned water into wine at a wedding, which he presumably expected people to drink - and even get drunk on. The Bible even indicates that Jesus drank wine himself (Matthew 26:29) and was accused (mistakenly) of being a drunkard because he liked to associate himself with those who got drunk.

The Psalms say that wine "is a gift that makes glad the heart of men".
Ecclesiastes 9:7 instructs: "Drink your wine with a merry heart"

There is an important cultural distinctions to make here. In those days sanitised water was not always available and so it was usual to resort to weak wine when clean water was hard to come by. This sort of wine was alcoholic, but would not have been easy to get drunk from.

So is the take home message that wine is okay providing we don't get drunk? Even if we assume that we are immune to peer pressure and know our limits, I am not sure that it is so simple. To claim that non-drunken alcohol consumption is never a sin is just plain wrong. A "sin" is not a wrong action in the way we usually think of it. It is simply an occurrence which has the net effect of separating you from God.

If I drink a glass of water when I should be focussed on prayer then I have sinned by drinking the water. So certainly any alcohol consumption could potentially be sinful. The core of the problem is the same as with most "practical" Christian problems; Is what you are doing glorifying God?

Back to the context of University Freshers week; Should a Christian get drunk? No. Should they drink primarily due to peer pressure? Nope. Should they drink in order to get anybody else drunk, or to make it harder for someone else to refrain from drinking against their will? I think not.

Is it okay to drink in moderation in order to more easily form friendships, enjoy yourself, and to respect your friends by being with them for their preferred choice of entertainment? If your intention is to honour God, and to represent Christ in the spiritual darkness surrounding the pubs and clubs, then perhaps. If you are dining with a European family, or are offered home made alcohol, and to not accept would be offensive then - providing you feel comfortably secure in your own limits and conscience - feel free. If your doctor recommends medicinal values of alcohol to improve your health then go for it! Loving people and your health should be more important than worrying about unimportant theological nuances.

Will I be drinking alcohol during Freshers week? I don't know. But I do know that my primary aims are to ensure that no one around me feels pressured into doing so, and to be an ambassador for Christ in all I do. Alcohol is God's gift and he probably appreciates it when we actually enjoy it as he intended. But He would far rather we refuse his gift for sound reasons than choose to instead abuse it and cause harm.

A (hopefully not post-hangover) blog about Freshers week will come out in a few weeks, so see you then!

Why I hate Christmas

"All Christians celebrate Christmas!" my RE teacher exclaimed in an exasperated tone when I told her that my church didn't. She wasn't far wrong. Each year Christmas is celebrated by around 2 billion people worldwide and you will be hard pressed to find many Christians who don't join in.



So why do we celebrate it? Here are perhaps the common main reasons given:

(1) The Gospel of Luke describes the nativity scene and tells us to remember and celebrate Jesus' birth.

(2) It is Jesus' birthday and is an integral part of the Church calendar which we should observe.

(3) It is a great opportunity to give gifts to others, and appreciate family and friends.

(4) Everyone celebrates Christmas in some sense; it can be a good evangelistic opportunity.

No doubt most of us would be able to think of these arguments straight off of the top of our heads. Now for the counter arguments, some of which you may not have considered:

(1) Though Christmas is considered to be a key aspect of Christianity, it is not found anywhere in Scripture. 

(2) The Bible warns about additions to Scripture; see Galatians 1:8 and Revelation 22:18.

(3) Christmas was originally a pagan festival celebrated by sun and devil worshippers, adapted by Catholics in the 4th Century. "Learn not the way of the Heathen" Jeremiah 10:2.

(4) Scripture does not tell us to commemorate Jesus' birth; “Though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more” 2 Corinthians 5:16.

(5) “God forbid that I should glory in anything except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” Galatians 6:14.

(6) "So don’t let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths. For these rules are only shadows of the reality yet to come. And Christ himself is that reality." Colossians 2:16-17.

(7) We are told in Scripture that the only thing that matters is Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. That we should keep only the Day of the Lord (not his birth) holy. That emphasis on days, months, years, and worldly feasts are not consistent with resurrection life. See Galatians 4:9-11, Amos 5:21.

(8) The only two birthday celebrations in the Bible were Pharaoh's - where the chief baker was hung - and Herod's, which ended in the beheading of John the Baptist. Clearly God does not care for birthdays.

(9) Jesus was most likely born sometime in September; sheep were unlikely to be without shelter, and censuses would certainly not have been taken in December as that is the rainy season in Judea.

(10) So much of the nativity story is just plain wrong; the Bible does not mention a donkey, an inn-keeper, a stable, angels singing or Kings, Jesus may not have been born the night Mary arrived in Bethlehem, and he almost certainly did cry! 

(11) None of the traditions are Scriptural; Santa does not exist, gifts were given to Christ rather than to friends and family, Christmas trees are a pagan symbol for eternal life...

(12) Christmas sees the highest depression and suicide rates in the year, as the marginalised feel increasingly detached from society.



There is a very real danger that we just accept this festival and everything associated with it without thinking. This is dangerous because for many Christians it is absolutely central to the faith. From a social point of view Christmas is good, and it makes for great religious content. But Jesus was not remotely religious and so by definition neither should Christians be. 

I am not denying that gift giving is a positive thing, but when it is a mere social obligation - and makes us feel good about ourselves - then we have to ask whether we are really giving as Jesus taught. 

Many people attend Church at Christmas who don't on a regular basis. The argument is that this is surely better than nothing, and that they may potentially end up becoming regulars. Again, this is a good strategy if you take God out of the picture. But how many of those who attend just a few times a year will experience God in a life-changing way during - or indirectly because of - a Christmas service? If not then they may as well have stayed at home. Attending Church does not get us - or anyone else - to Heaven. 

I would like to clarify that I don't hate Christmas. I do give and receive presents and usually set aside the day to be with family, go to Church and read the Bible. The title was just irresistibly catchy! To be honest I don't know where I stand on this issue. I just think that it is not debated nearly enough, and I am worried that the reason for this is because there is a lot of money and security in the tradition as it is. Most aspects of Christmas are in good spirit. But they are not holy or Scriptural in themselves. We should not pretend otherwise.

If we can make Christmas solely about Jesus, then perhaps we will be on safe ground. Or perhaps we can make it solely about giving to those who really need it? But we can't have it both ways. Jesus can not be an excuse for gluttony and selfishness. We celebrate his birthday by stuffing ourselves full of expensive food and alcohol, putting up fancy decorations everywhere, spending money on accessories to give to those who do not need the money (in the knowledge that we will also receive presents) while the cities homeless and sidelined look on - further separated from society than ever. I'm sure Christmas makes him smile.

University Expectations

So for those who don't know I am heading off to University in under three weeks. More specifically, I am doing an undergraduate degree in Mathematics at Cambridge University. GCSEs, AS Levels, personal statements, interviews, student finance, A2 exams, university entrance exams, results day panic; all steps on the way to enrolling at University. At this point I'm really hoping that it is worth it!

In the UK it currently costs somewhere in the region of £15,000 per year including tuition fees, accommodation, and all other costs. This obviously varies significantly based on location, course, lifestyle etc, but the point is that University is very expensive! Having said that, the financial support should mean that finance should not be a reason not to go to - or to drop out of - University. But it is only worth it if you are going to get a lot out of it.

In this blog I am going to write down what I expect University to be like and what I expect that I will do there and what I will get out of it. At the end of my degree I can look back on this and see where I am accurate and where I am wildly off!

(1) Freshers Week - Freshers week will be an emotional roller-coaster. It will contain amazing moments but will be extremely fatiguing. I will be glad of the opportunities to make friends but will be glad when it is over. There will probably be too many compulsory formal events for my liking and I will leap at the opportunity to just chill with some newly made friends rather than go out clubbing every night!

(2) The University - The wealth of opportunities and experiences available will be overwhelming initially. Once I've got over the shock of it I should be able to enjoy and take advantage of them though! The sheer number of Libraries - and their round-the-clock facilities - will cause me an inexplicable amount of excitement and my colleges sports grounds will be highly appreciated. The traditions, chapels and formal ceremonies - not so much. The accommodation and independence will take some getting used to but should be bearable!

(3) The Maths - The course will be a massive step up from school work but I will enjoy the increased pace - even if it means that I struggle with the material! Because of my course, I am not expecting to be able to get anywhere near a 1st class degree but I will be disappointed if I can't manage a 2:1. In terms of hours spent working per week I really have no clue. I'd hazard a guess at somewhere in the region of 40-50 though. The lectures will probably be confusing yet worthwhile and the supervisions will be terrifying but invaluable. I reckon I'll enjoy Analysis and Differential Equations modules.

(4) Extracurricular - I will continue to cycle and play guitar, play chess and solve Rubik cubes. But whether I will compete/perform in these disciplines I don't know. I will try out rowing and squash and may continue to play regularly. Running will probably take a back seat due simply to time restrictions! Clubbing is unlikely to become a regular hobby but I may go to bars and other venues with acoustic/alternative music.

(5) Christian Stuff - Fusion have helped me to short-list a few churches already so I suspect I'll visit a few in the first term and settle down somewhere. I'd like to be actively involved somehow, be that by playing guitar in the band or setting up PA or helping running the techie side of things. The Christian Union will probably be my main source of friends and social events and I especially want to be active in my colleges CU. I am hoping that this side of things will be encouragingly fruitful!

Top 5 Biblical Moments

As requested by David Halligan, I present to you my top 5 biblical moments!
They are not exactly my "favourite", nor are they the 5 moments which I think were the most important. They are the 5 stories in the Bible that I appreciate and learn from the most. They are events rather than specific verses, and the order is - once again - strictly chronological!



(1) Creation - Genesis 1 (Specifically verses 1-5)

         In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. God saw that the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness. God called the light “day,” and the darkness he called “night.” And there was evening, and there was morning—the first day.

This couldn't really not make the list! In case you are unfamiliar with the creation story, the gist is that God created everything there is - including space and time - in six "days". In the first three verses we are introduced to God the Creator, the Word of God and the Spirit of God. Foreshadowing if ever I saw it.

What really got me into the Creation story was a talk given by Rob Bell titled "Everything is Spiritual". It goes into all of the scientific truths and poetic intricacies embedded in the story in fascinating detail, and is highly recommendable. Apart from that though, this is where God is arguably at his most creative and active! We can argue about which aspects of the story are metaphorical but the basics are clear: God existed uncreated, then created time space and matter, and set everything in motion. That's fairly awesome!


(2) Parting of the Red Sea - Exodus 14 v 21-22

Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the Lord drove the sea back with a strong east wind and turned it into dry land. The waters were divided, and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with a wall of water on their right and on their left.

As a child I loved this film called Prince of Egypt which was all about the life of Moses. He was brought up in a very strange position and was used by God constantly throughout his life. He did some incredible things but surely this was the most dramatic wonder that God did through him. I mean seriously, an entire sea was parted!

Water is pretty heavy. In fact the total weight of the water in the Red Sea today is about 233 million million tons! Obviously not all of it would have been moved anywhere but even if only 0.000001% of that water was actually shifted when the sea parted, we are still talking millions of tons of water here. That ranks this miracle pretty high on my list!



(3) Turning Water into Wine - John 2 v 3-9

When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.” 
“Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.”   
 ... Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”...  
They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. 

Firstly it is probably worth pointing out that Jesus calling his mother "Woman" was not disrespectful at all! Secondly I should probably argue my case for this passage being in my top 5 Bible moments. Why not choose a woman turning into a bag of salt, one of Samson's immense feats of strength, or Lazarus being raised from the dead?!

This was Jesus' first miracle. But I don't believe that this was his warm up act. This story contains within it the very heart of the whole redemptive story. Jesus said "My hour has not yet come." What did he mean? Was he not thirsty yet? Did he have a plan for his grand opening miracle that would be better? 

The interesting thing to note here is that every other time that Jesus says "my hour" he is referring to his death. Could he be saying that there will come a time in the future where he will provide wine for his guests? That this wedding trick is a greatly reduced version of what will happen? That, when he dies, his blood poured out for us will pay for our sins so that we can join in with the eternal celebratory feast? Where he is the host, and where the wine never runs out, because Jesus' sacrifice was ultimate and everlasting? Maybe.

(4) The transfiguration - Matthew 17 v 1-3, 9

After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus. 

...As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus instructed them, “Don’t tell anyone what you have seen, until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”

So this story has a fairly high "epicity" rating, and also accentuates the significance of Elijah, whom I feel is often underrated. But to be honest the main reason I included this event is because I really don't get it; Jesus and his mates go up a mountain, then Jesus seems to transform into his post-resurrection state. And suddenly two ancient prophets are joining them.

To make things more confusing, they aren't allowed to tell anyone - though Jesus clearly tells them that he will be raised from the dead, which is nice of him - and the text seems to suggest that John the Baptist was in fact Elijah all along. Except the disciples didn't recognise Elijah on the mountain...

If anyone can enlighten me I'd be very grateful. But regardless this story is very enchanting and deserves its place on the list. It is one of those events that I can't fathom but just know that it has some great eternal significance.



(5) The Day of Pentecost - Acts 2 v 1-4

On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. Suddenly, there was a sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty wind-storm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.

Woohoo!!!! Sorry, this passage always gets me a bit over excited...

So this is when the Spirit of God descends upon the believers. When they are anointed with tongues and with power, commissioned to go and spread the gospel. As Christians we should gather in expectation of the Holy Spirit's anointing on us before we attempt to do Gods work. If we don't we'll be relying on natural ability, and so will not be as effective. And will quite probably fail!

This passage goes on to describe the radical lifestyle that the early Christians lived; sharing all things in common - property, money, possessions, everything! This was the beginning of the most revolutionary movement the world has ever seen. It is quite possible that the speaking in tongues that started here has never ceased, and that when we speak in tongues we are simply entering into the continuous flow of the Spirit's movement in people, from across the world and through the ages!! 



So there you have it. My top 5 Bible moments. I probably share no more than 3 in common with you, so perhaps tell me which ones you would have chosen. Thanks again for reading and I'll see you again soon!