In light of the increasingly rabid ramblings of arch-Atheists like Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchins, this Saturday's edition of The Guardian has a fascinating and refreshing piece by novelist, Emily Barr, about how her mother's recent ordination as a Vicar in the Church of England has affected her attitude to faith and family.
It's refreshing because Barr's agnosticism is tempered by relationship...with her mother and others within her mother's faith community.
Emily says
"Our prejudices about the church have started to melt away as in spite of everything, it becomes a fixture in our family life"
...and
..."I began to see that it is possible to have the Church as a pillar of your life without being unbearably smug....."
Talking of her mother, she says
"She is still my liberal, accepting mother and has not magically developed a set of prejudices."
Read the article to get the whole context. There's no miraculous conversion here, indeed she says
"I know I will never believe in God",but I was impressed with Emily Barr's generous display of....grace.
There are lessons there for all of us.
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