Robert Banks on Christian Living

Ten worrying ways in which the gap between belief and everyday life shows in our churches:

1. Few of us apply or know how to apply our belief to our work, or lack of work.

2. We only make minimal connections between our faith and our spare time activities.

3. We have little sense of a Christian approach to regular activities like domestic chores.

4. Our everyday attitudes are partly shaped by the dominant values of our society.

5. Many of our spiritual difficulties stem from the daily pressure we experience (lack of time, exhaustion, family pressures, etc).

6. Our everyday concerns receive little attention in the church.

7. Only occassionally do professional theologians address routine activities.

8. When addressed, everyday issues tend to be approached too theoretically.

9. Only a minority of Christians read religious books or attend theological courses.

10. Most churchgoers actually reject the idea of a gap between their beliefs and their ways of life.