I am 66 live in Warwickshire, England. I now am officially a pensioner although I still trade three days a week on a market selling new and second hand tools. I am the son of a Methodist Minister and have had a faith most of my life, with only a brief blip when i questioned everything I had been taught. By the time i reached college my faith was secure but I came face to face for the first time with Biblical evangelicals with a rigid notion about Spiritual Baptism. However i will never forget the experience of a church singing in the Spirit, it was magical if a little predictable musically.
I took all three sciences t O level, Biology and physics to A level and Biology to College, so I think i understand science and the scientific method. However, Evolution was still comparatively vague, with the general idea of single molecule through fish, amphibian, reptile, mammal and ending up with humans. Even then there was dispute about how such changes could occur but there was little doubt that science was on the right track. I read a book called Creation and Evolution suggesting that God was in there somewhere but it was only a vague notion. Until I found BioLogos in 2019 I had not found much support for it though.
I have spent most of my life arguing evolution to Biblical purists and the failings of ToE to scientists. Theistic evolution has always been consider the same as scientific evolution but with God involved. However there seemed no need to adjust the basic mechanics of survival and random mutations. It is only recently that i have really rebelled against Natural Selection as opposed to God selection.
I trained a a Lay Preacher in the late eighties and have continued leading worship and preaching ever since. My experience of Christian diversity is exstensive, from attending a Catholic ,“search” weekend while at College through Ecumenical links within Methodism, Anglican (C oF E) and currently the United Reformed Church (UK) As I mentioned earlier, I worshipped in a Free Congregational church and occasionally a Baptist church while at College I can witness to the existence of miracles and have even been a part of some of them, although I will always claim that I am not a miracle worker. Any power I show comes from God and is transient, not repeatable on demand
My one dogma is that faith is personal and therefore reject any notion of a “right” or “wrong” belief/faith. I will leave such conclusions to God alone. I will affirm my beliefs but do not expect others to agree with me.