whatwebelievehead Our beliefs are what define us, all of us. It is not simply enough to 'believe' in anything, because not everything can be true. We believe that Jesus is THE Way, THE Truth, and THE Life! We're proud to be Evangelical, we're proud to be Anglican, we're proud to be us. Read on to find out more of what we believe

What is Life?

We all live it - none of us can make it - what's it all about? And how do we live it to the full?

Who is God?

Nonexistent? Scary old dude with a beard? Allah? Hmmm... or none of the above...

What is the Bible?

Out of date, out of touch, full of errors and religious control-freakery? ... or the book with all the answers from a God who love you?

What we believe

Everyone believes something and chances are if you talk to 10 different people you'll get 10 different ideas of things to believe in. In fact it seems in today's world it's just fine to simply make up what you want to believe, and no one will be brave enough to question or correct.

At St Thomas' Church we don't think it's ok to just believe in anything at all. Either there is a God or there isn't - both can't be right. Either Jesus did come to save us all, or He didn't. Either we can have a personal and life changing relationship with a true, living and loving God ... or we're just barking up the wrong tree.

Here at St T's we have a very clearly defined basis of faith and a long standing tradition within the church and the parish of what is true and what is not. There remain many questions and areas of lively debate between us, but fundamentally the important stuff is clearly given in our belief in the Bible as God's perfect word to us to live by, and in our commitment to the ancient creeds of the worldwide church.

We believe in the universal problem of sin which affects everyone, no matter how good they think they might be in the world's eyes. The answer to this problem lies not with us, but with Jesus - who died to pay the price of our sinfulness, to be punished in our place. We believe that by confessing with our lips and believing in our hearts that Jesus Christ is Lord and that He died to save us then we are born again spiritually into a new life.

This faith is summarised in The Apostle's Creed, as follows:

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
the Maker of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord:

Who was conceived by the Holy Ghost,
born of the virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;

He descended into hell.
On the third day He arose again from the dead;

He ascended into heaven,
and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
He shall come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Ghost;
the holy catholic church;
the communion of saints;
the forgiveness of sins;
the resurrection of the body;
and the life everlasting.

Amen.

Encounter course

Encounter is a short course, one evening a week for six weeks, which looks at some of the fundamental beliefs of the Christian faith. There's no pressure, just simple and honest discussion, with freedom for everyone to come and chat, contribute, and debate. The idea is that you get a chance to encounter real Christians and real Christian faith in an informal and relaxed setting. 

Next Encounter course starts Jan 13th 2010. Sign up now!