EASTER

Those of you who are regulars here and who followed the God Interviews will know that I am a believer but also that where religion is concerned, I do it my way. I admit this sounds arrogant but I'm willing to be humbled anytime. The Catholic schools I attended gave me familiarity with Catholic tradition but never marked me as deeply as the sound of my father's voice praying quietly and passionately, alone behind his bedroom door. Possibly this was what shaped my conviction that a direct, open-hearted, self-stripping conversation with God is the only religion I can practice. 

Wherever it takes place - alone in a room or in a field, in a cathedral, a mosque, a synagogue, or on the street - that one-to-one dialogue between the human and the Divine is the essence of faith as I understand it. All the arguments pro and con religion are swept aside when that most intimate of connections takes place and - sorry for the cliché - you just know it's real. My culture has given Christian form to my belief and it's the basic teachings of Jesus which I find most inspiring, preferably without the Church's interpretations and adornments.

Many years ago, I did thirteen pared-down ink drawings on the life of Jesus. Here are five of them. Sad to say, I don't think I could do better now. 

WHOLLY HOLY REFLECTIONS

Where do I stand in the religion debate? It's easier to say where I don't stand.

Not in the Church of Atheism led by fundamentalist preacher Dawkins and fellow missionaries. Nor in the Church of Self-Idolatry frequented by insecure over and under achievers. Nor in the patchouli-scented New Age Temple of Anything Goes. Nor with the EveryWordWrittenHereIsTrue scripture-shouting Bible-thumpers. Nor with the spiritual-but-not-religious consumers and purveyors of magical recipes for getting everything you want. Nor with the guitar-strumming popsterising church huggy-muggers. Nor with the unbending Orthodoxydon't-ists. Nor with the mockers and takers of the Name in vain. Nor with the counters of angels on pinheads or eggheads. I could go on. But where do I stand?

If you've seen my God Interviews you've guessed that I'm a believer. But what does this mean, believer? Do I worship a balding cartoon character wearing a white t-shirt stamped "God"? Do I use humour to avoid the whole tricky issue? Maybe. I know that I believe in God and I know that this belief is not wishful thinking. I don't know why I know this. For me, 'Bible' and 'God' are not synonymous. Maybe 'religion' and 'God' are not synonymous either. I don't know whether the God I believe in features in the Bible or the Koran or the Torah or any other sacred book but none of them can either strengthen or weaken my belief. The faith I have seems not to depend on any of those traditions, including the fringe ones, which claim to have the last word on Divinity.

To celebrate this weekend, here is something I see as wholly holy inspiration. I had never heard of Donald Pass and luckily found him via a Google search for 'resurrection'.

I am very impressed by his work and have no doubt he did experience what he relates here and in this video. You can see Blake and El Greco as influences but I think it may be that they shared similar mystical experiences rather than artistic styles. More paintings by Pass are here.

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