Dr John Morris (PhD English 1987) launched the Revised Edition of Contemporary Creed this month.
Alumnus tackles the probability of God
Who is right, Richard Dawkins or Christians? To explore that answer, alumnus Dr John Morris (PhD English 1987) wrote the Revised Edition of Contemporary Creed, launched this month. The book serves both atheists and believers - including those who like John are willing to admit their doubts. Included in the book are twenty endorsements from a mixture of Christians, sceptics and unbelievers.
John and his wife Mary look after their grandson Daniel every other weekend and during holidays. Now aged 13, Daniel cannot walk or talk, and needs to be lifted to be moved. This experience along with 35 years as a teacher, teacher-trainer and lecturer has led John to describe his writing as “realistic, down-to-earth theology.”
He sees no conflict between evolution and God, faith and modern science and he tackles some of the big questions: Where is God? If God created the Big Bang why does he now appear to do little or nothing to prevent natural disasters, famine, children with disabilities and cancer?
John said: “I use a mix of 90% prose and 10% my own original poetry to offer reasonable pathways through the problems of Christian beliefs and ethics.
“This book is a dialogue about the probability of God, not false certainties.”
John was ordained at the age of 58 as an unpaid Anglican clergyman in 1995 and helped at three rural parishes in Hampshire while being Chaplain of Twyford School.
During his teaching career he spent nine years in Uganda. There he taught and directed in two school plays, a certain young John Sentamu – now better known as the Archbishop of York. He bought a bicycle for his young student, in order to help him travel the 12 miles to and from secondary school each day. He was one of two teachers mentioned by the Archbishop when he appeared on the BBC’s Desert Island Discs programme in 2003.
For thirteen years John has been helping manage a home and school in India, which caters mainly for orphans, in the Himalayan foothills. He also enjoys high-altitude trekking on Annapurna and to Everest Base Camp, and has slept for an hour on the top of Mount Kilimanjaro!
You can find out more on his website.
Date: 10 May 2012
