What we believe

God is the One in whom 'we live and move and have our being'.   God is the 'incomprehensible certainty' at the centre of all life.   God is a Being who is not a being at all, a Mystery to be discovered through worship, meditation, the study of Scripture, fellowship and the pursuit of justice and peace in the world.   At best, theology, liturgy and personal belief are clues and intuitions and together represent our best rational measure and expression of the nature of the One we call God.   God is the One in whom we find wholeness and our sense of purpose and fulfilment. 

It has been said, ‘For every doctrinal headache, take paradox.’   Jesus Christ is the human image of God:  God who, paradoxically, dwells in the darkness of incomprehensibility.   Schopenhauer states, ‘Every man takes the limits of his own field of vision for the limits of the world.’   Based on critical intellectual reflection as well as spiritual and emotional openness, the Church has arrived at the view that the Eternal can be encountered, significantly and uniquely, in the life and death of Jesus of Nazareth.   His Resurrection and Ascension are theological reflections and insights into the nature of God.   H.G Wells said:   'Jesus is easily the dominant figure in history.... A historian without any theological bias whatever should find that he simply cannot portray the progress of humanity without giving a foremost place to a penniless teacher from Nazareth'. 

We grow into belief as we mature and continue on our personal spiritual journey.   That belief and journey are enriched by engagement with others who are themselves wrestling with questions of the nature of the universe and life, suffering and personal destiny as well as human brokenness.   Intellectual honesty and ethical integrity are dominant characteristics of the lifestyle of the community at Mayfield Salisbury Parish Church.