Reasonably Religious: believing in a secular world 
Keuzevrijheid heeft echte alternatieven en oppositie nodig. Maar daaruit volgt niet dat Satan noodzakelijk was voor Gods plan. Satan had zélf al keuzevrijheid nodig om Satan te kúnnen worden. Onze keuzevrijheid komt dus niet van hem. Ze komt voort uit God.
True growth only occurs when we have the freedom to make our own choices and experience their consequences, even if they are painful. God does not act as a wish-fulfiller who takes away all misery, but as a source of inexhaustible strength that helps us turn every challenge into progress.
As a Christian, I often get the question: 'How can you believe in a good God with so much suffering in the world?' In my search for answers, I often find answers that fit my faith in surprising places. Often in science, as described in Anna Lembke's book 'The Dopamine Factor'. This book helps explain why setbacks and suffering are necessary for our growth and...
In his book “About God”, Etienne Vermeersch extensively discusses this question and gives a detailed answer, based on – according to him – pure rationality, and comes to the conclusion “no, the god of Christians does not exist”. Vermeersch has a special relationship with God. He was raised Catholic and even entered the Jesuit order...
In a blog on deredactie.be, Johan Braeckman, a well-known humanist, dissects the claims of David Dessin and Khalid El Jafoufi regarding Stephen Fry's statements. Johan aims to do this in a quasi fact-based manner, but in doing so, he overlooks certain matters that I would like to point out. For example, he states that David and Khalid can hardly make statements about Fry’s...
Liesbet Sommen, Director of Social Affairs for Minister Kris Peeters, has written an interesting column on knack.be. I think it's fantastic that she advocates for the importance of meaning, that religion can provide a connection that is somewhat lacking in our society. However, she then addresses the Church (referring, of course, to the Roman Catholic Church...
Most of our official holidays are still Catholic. Not that many people still dwell on it. A holiday is a day off for many, but most still know that this period is one to commemorate the dead in your family and circle of friends. Mormons do not celebrate All Saints' Day nor All Souls' Day (actually November 2nd is the day of the deceased, November 1st is for...
I can still be amazed at how, as a Mormon, I keep discovering things that make me think 'wow, this makes sense'. For example, I've often wondered whether a true believer can have doubts or not. Because believe me (sic), I doubt from time to time. It is simply in my nature to doubt everything and everyone. Doubt is sometimes called the mother...
This weekend I felt sorry for Rocco Granata. In Het Laatste Nieuws there was an interview, in which he spoke, among other things, about his faith and a good friend: 'I must mention Father Vanderdonckt. He was a Jesuit at Xaverius College and once my son Sam's Latin teacher. He became a kind of spiritual father to me. I loved him and now that he has passed away, I still think of him daily...'
Reasonably Religious: believing in a secular world 
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