Bridge of Reason

  It was a friendly enough discussion. We found ourselves agreeing on several things. We both believed there was only one God, who is the creator and sustainer of the Universe. We agreed that God is Sovereign and that the world He had created was in a mess. Surely, there would soon come a time when God will act, a time when the righteous and the wicked will be raised to a final judgement. He was keen to point out to me that, along with Judaism, we were all ‘People of the Book.’ He said: ‘We ‘Abrahamic’ religions have much in common and we need to stick together to overcome the world.’ I liked this Muslim. He had a zeal and a passion for God with a real desire to obey the one who, according to him, will ultimately decide whether he has done enough to enter paradise. After commending him for his desire to honour God and follow truth, I asked him a question: ‘Who is Jesus?’ His eyes lit up, and he went into a frenzy of excited explanation. A PROPHET ‘We respect and honour Jesu...

  “Many writers and thinkers have tried to define Freemasonry but it really defeats definition. It is too complex, too profound in conception, to easily expressed in words. Perhaps the simplest and best definition of all is the phrase ‘the brotherhood of man under the fatherhood of God.’ Our Masonic forefathers had an understanding of human needs and human aspirations. They may never have dreamed of the mindless computer which governs our lives, or the fission of matter which threatens our lives, but they understood human nature and what motivates the spirit of man. Thus from a simple process of using stone and mortar for building they progressed to the most important of life’s functions, the building of character.” –  Louis L. Williams [1]   A few years ago, I was sharing about the dangers of cults with a Salvation Army Youth Group. Afterwards, during the question time, a girl asked me:  Can a Christian be a Freemason? This is a question often asked and many tim...

  ‘You’re a wizard, Harry’. Hagrid Arriving at school I was told by my fellow chaplain that a group of girls, who had been scaring themselves silly, were desperate to speak to us. These teenage girls had been playing with a Ouija board, and though they thought it would just be a laugh, they were shocked to discover that it worked. Why were these girls playing with a Ouija board? Where had they got the idea that it would be harmless fun? These adolescent girls told us that they had been watching TV programmes, namely Charmed and Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and had fallen for the narrative they espoused. Witchcraft can be fun. Witchcraft is practiced by beautiful young women. Witchcraft can help you get what you want in life. Add to the mix the extremely popular Harry Potter books and films, and we find that Witchcraft has become mainstream. Though this was a few years ago now, the enthusiasm for the occult has by no means abated. The choice of many is, the seemingly harmless,...

  We humans know that we could be much more than we ordinarily are. But what is this? What potential do we have that we could develop more fully? And who could tell us what this potential is? There is a body of knowledge that answers these questions. It provides theory, practice, and techniques that enable us to free ourselves from the limitations of ordinary life and achieve greater happiness, wisdom, and peace. This knowledge has gone by many names: the Ancient Wisdom, the perennial philosophy, the wisdom tradition. Because it is universally true, it is found all over the world, but it takes many different forms, depending upon the time and circumstances and the people it is addressing. One version of this Ancient Wisdom in recent times is Theosophy. [1]   The name Theosophy derives from two Greek words. Theos meaning ‘god’ and Sophia meaning wisdom, so Theosophy literally means ‘divine wisdom’. It is an eclectic mix of beliefs drawn from philosophy, mysticism, and vari...