Faith at a Time of Crisis

It is often that in the wake of disasters, such as those we have witnessed recently in relation to the atrocious terrorist acts in Manchester and London, that people will turn to God. Whoever that God might be.

It seems that whenever traumatic life-changing events occur in our lives that we turn, in despair and as a last resort, to a higher being. This could be because we are looking for answers to what are often unanswerable questions.

I had first-hand experience of this when around 9 years ago it seemed as if my whole life was falling apart. You name it, I was suffering. I had money, health, relationship and job problems, on top of which a close family member committed suicide. It was not a good period in my life.

I certainly did not look towards any of our religious leaders for support; I come from a long line of atheists, and to this day I am still the only practising Christian in my family.

For me, my faith, and the comfort it has brought me, was more of a gradual awakening. Through work I was doing teaching English to newly arrived immigrants I came into contact with Christians Against Poverty. I was sceptical at first, and not keen on the religious connection, but from the moment they became involved I felt as if a huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders. 

With their support, I was able to stabilise my financial situation and, although it took several years, I moved forward with my life in leaps and bounds. Nowadays I have the capacity to support others who feel they have nowhere else to turn, benefiting from being in a position to do so.

I raise the whole issue of faith because recent press reports have focused on Tim Farron, the former Liberal Democrat leader, who stood down over a conflict between his own faith and the progressive views of his political party, especially in relation to the right of the gay, lesbian, bi-sexual and transgender population. Rightly, or wrongly, he was unable to resolve his personal conflict.

The other political leader who has recently been leaning on her faith is Prime Minister, Theresa May, who has admitted to praying for guidance when making difficult decisions. It is something I do constantly.

Whatever our views, I believe that no-one should be hounded because of their beliefs. What I also believe is that no-one should attempt to impose their views on others.

Whilst much attention has been paid to the difficulties that different faith beliefs have brought to our communities, what has been impressive in recent weeks is the coming together of people from all faiths at a time of stress, to support one another through thousands of small gestures and kind words, without thought for race or creed.

Whilst we can hold onto this, perhaps there is hope for us all.