Different Way, A – A human approach to the divine

There is an urgent need for more debate and discussion in our churches because the integrity and credibility of our faith is at risk. Our integrity is at risk because it is not clear that we understand what it is that we profess. Our credibility is at risk because we seem unable to communicate it. We need to engage more actively at the intellectual level and to be willing to examine the fundamentals of our faith more critically. And such discussion must start with a human rather than a divine perspective. It is as human beings that we are embodied as persons, it is as human beings that we engage with the world around us, and it is as human beings that we form relationships with the rest of the created order. And it is as a human being that that which we understand as God was embodied in the form of Jesus of Nazareth, thereby placing humanity at the pinnacle of creation and giving humanity the responsibility for the stewardship of the created order.

After the introductory chapters, the bulk of this book consists of short chapters on a variety of virtues, beginning with the seven traditional Christian ones and then adding others such as goodness, truth, beauty and mystery. Payne writes with an easy touch. There is no theological jargon. There are lots of fascinating short stories, and biblical stories woven in with them. The language is gender-exclusive. It is a book for Christians seeking to get away from negative and other-worldly versions of Christianity and instead integrate their faith with a positive approach to life. Given how successfully hard line dogmatists have dominated the airwaves in recent decades, we need more such books offering open and creative approaches to faith. The book works best as a work of popular ethics for Christians who do not want to get into theological detail but who want an encouraging, non-dogmatic and readable account of what it means to live a Christian life. At a time when so many church leaders are agonising over declining numbers and wondering how to persuade more people to attend church services, here is someone who gets straight to the point and offers a more positive account of Christian living.--Jonathan Clatworthy "Modern Believing: The Journal of Theological Liberalism"

Following retirement from a professional career in education, Roger Payne returned to university for study and research in Theology, Christian Ethics and the Psychology of Religion. He is a Reader in the Church of England and lives in Bushey, Hertfordshire.