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From my reading and studying the Scriptures I have become aware that the author of Hebrews in the New testament is unknown. However, this book or letter was written in the late A.D. 60's. During this time persecution was a real problem for the church in Rome.

Today, the way I see, hear, read and understand words for myself is different from the way I perceived things thirty years ago.

Almost everywhere I look, in the newspapers, on the London buses, trains or just walking down the street, I find it impossible to avoid an advert or promotional piece of some kind. Practically from the moment I wake up there's a jaunty jingle or a witty catchphrase permeating my consciousness. This sometimes overt, more often covert, battle for 'heart and mind' has one single, concentrated goal: to make me envious, miserable or discontented. Until I buy the latest new shiny gadget, guaranteed to bring contentment, peace and joy. This happiness only lasts, of course, until the next model is released!

These powerful writers, who write very powerful and influential news and adverts are professionals. Respect for them.



The apostle Paul's writings were 'un-sponsored' letter. They did not have full colour poster campaigns or internet web pages for further information. He was, though, compelled by a deep conviction about a passionate God. His concern was that people would not lose their direction amidst the pressures of everyday life, or when harsh tragedies came to bear upon their daily walk. Paul both reassures and reminds his readers that they are only truly made complete, not by what they own or even by what they do, but in Christ alone.

As we undertake to analyse the Power and the influence of God's word from Hebrews 4:12, 'For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart', let us remember that God's word is living.

The word of God is not simply a collection of words both in the Old and New Testaments from God, but a vehicle for communicating ideas; it is living, life changing and dynamic as it works in us. With the incisiveness of a surgeon's knife, God's word reveals who we are and what we are not. It penetrates the core of our moral and spiritual life. It discerns what is within us, both good and evil. The demands of God's word require decisions. We must listen to the word; we must also let it shape our lives.

The recent adverts on the London buses: 'There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life' illustrates the power and influence of word and everyone is talking about it. Remember, there are men and women behind these adverts. Money is flowing in to support the advertisement and I am aware that soon, the advertisement will move to other cities like Birmingham, Manchester and Bristol.

Everyone is talking about it!

There is nothing new about this kind of religious 'slogan,' 'There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life' this is a re-birth of the concept that 'God is dead' of the 1960's.

The cover of the April 8, 1966 edition of Time and the accompanying article concerned a movement in American theology that arose in the 1960s known as the "death of God". The death of God movement is sometimes technically referred to as "theothanatology" (In Greek, Theos means God and Thanatos means death.)

The main protagonists of this theology included the Christian theologians Gabriel Vahanian, Paul Van Buren, William Hamilton and Thomas J. J. Altizer, and the rabbi Richard Rubenstein.

In 1961, Vahanian's book "The Death of God" was published. Vahanian argued that modern secular culture had lost all sense of the sacred, lacking any sacramental meaning, no transcendental purpose or sense of providence. He concluded that for the modern mind "God is dead". In Vahanian's vision a transformed post-Christian and post-modern culture was needed to create a renewed experience of deity. Here we are today.

Both Van Buren and Hamilton agreed that the concept of transcendence had lost any meaningful place in modern thought. According to the norms of contemporary modern thought, God is dead. In responding to this collapse in transcendence Van Buren and Hamilton offered secular people the option of Jesus as the model human who acted in love. The encounter with the Christ of faith would be open in a church-community.

Altizer offered a radical theology of the death of God that drew upon William Blake, Hegelian thought and Nietzschean ideas. He conceived of theology as a form of poetry in which the immanence (presence) of God could be encountered in faith communities. However, he no longer accepted the possibility of affirming belief in a transcendent God. Altizer concluded that God had incarnated in Christ and imparted his immanent spirit which remained in the world even though Jesus was dead (contrary to New Testament writings like 1 Peter 1:2).

Unlike Nietzsche, Altizer believed that God truly died. He is considered to be the leading exponent of the Death of God movement.

Rubenstein represented that radical edge of Jewish thought working through the impact of the Holocaust. In a technical sense he maintained, based on the Kabbalah, that God had "died" in creating the world. However, for modern Jewish culture he argued that the death of God occurred in Auschwitz. Although the literal death of God did not occur at this point, this was the moment in time in which humanity was awakened to the idea that a theistic God does not exist. In Rubenstein's work, it was no longer possible to believe in an orthodox/traditional theistic God of the Abrahamic covenant; rather God is a historical process.

From this brief analysis, who has the last word?

From my in-depth reading of the Scriptures; the simple reflection on the 'slogan', The recent adverts on the London buses: 'There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life;' reminds me of Psalm 14:1. "The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God,' They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good."

The spiritual anger for men and women of the 1960's has produced 'radical and liberal theology'. Indeed, the damage of the past is still having an effect.

Praise God, we still have men and women who are still faithful and are well equipped to deal with 'radical and liberal theology' today. So let's talk about the 'slogan', 'There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life;' God can defend his 'omnipotence'.

Jesus is the simple answer. God in the flesh. The Word made human. Jesus proved it beyond doubt that he was from the Father, lived, worked, preached, died and rose again. He is very much alive today. We come to the Bible humbly, knowing that our own understanding can be fragile. However, we need to read the Bible, accept our need to depend on God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

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