I believe

My friend Howard Bagby in his blog (In Purple I'm Stunning) challenge us to write down ten things we believe in. Here's my response.

1. I Believe in a creator God, in whose hands all things were created with the capacity to change and survive. That's why I don't have much time for the "Creationism vs Evolution" debate - to me, the answer is somewhere in the middle.

2. I Believe that he sent his only son, Jesus Christ, to die for our sins and allow us to be reconciled with God through him. If that makes me sound like a loonie, so be it - but I know it's true.

3. I Believe that, just as there is a creator God, there is a spiritual being that we could call the Devil, who is at the heart and root of all that is wrong in this world. When people ask "Why does God allow bad things to happen", I tend to answer "I'm not sure, but he allows the Devil to walk amongst us."

4. I Believe that everyone has the right to live the life and have the belief system they chose, within the rules of society. Note that's society with a small "s" - I'm in no position to judge them, after all.

5. I Believe, having said that, that we should accept the consequences of our own actions, and seek to help those who need help. "Do unto others" is one way of looking at this - the other is "Let me get this plank out of my eye first."

6. I Believe that to make good chili, you should only use good quality steak and fresh chillies.

7. I Believe that one day, I will have to answer for my life and the decisions I made - and I'm ready to do that.

8. I Believe that it is my privilege and right to bring up my sons to be a better person than I am - and to try to help them if they want me to.

9. I Believe that everyone has some good in them, even the most nasty of us. If that is not true, then mankind is indeed doomed, but I need to look hard to see ti sometimes.

10. I Believe that the answer and the question are not mutually exclusive - although they may seem to be.