speaking of faith...

Prince Charles announced some time ago, that when he is crowned King, he wants to be the "defender of faith" not (as it has been since Henry VIII invented the concept) "defender of the faith".
On one hand, I agree with him, we need greater understanding and respect between different religions but I also feel that respect for those who believe something different from oneself should not "water down" what one actually believes. As Christians, we actually lose the respect of other faiths when we alter tenants of belief so as not to offend others.
If we are a Christian country it is logical to assume that the head of our country should be Christian and a defender of the faith. If we are a Christian country that is home to many other religions then we need that defender to be a man (or woman) of tact and diplomacy, one who walks upright before the Lord and the people (s)he serves and who can accommodate and welcome other faiths without undermining our own.
Of course, the crux of the matter is, are we indeed still a Christian country?
Upon learning of a recent bus campaign in London, I throw my hands in the air and wonder!
There is nothing comforting in propagating the idea that God doesn't exist and that somehow that makes life less worrisome and easier to live.

There would be nothing comforting for me, if at the end of my life, I were to lie dying and think that there was nothing else to come. That's all folks, thanks for playing! B'Bye now!
Really, who would honestly want that?
I'm sure I would take more comfort in the idea of coming back as an ant and working my way back up some celestial ladder than I would in "nothing".
Of course, I speak from a priveledged postion. I hope that when I get to the end of my life I can be a combination of happy and excited for the next part of the adventure to come; having (hopefully) lived a good life I hope that I will feel a sadness at leaving loved ones behind, yet take comfort in the great sealing promises; I also hope that I might be as Henry David Thoreau who was asked just before he died, if he had made peace with God. He replied, “I was not aware we had ever quarreled”. Now that is a comforting thought!

What a comfort it is to know that God lives! That life isn't an accidental happening, that it was planned that we come to the earth and that being here fits us for heaven. We have one life, one eternal life, and it goes on - in both directions; mortal life is but a heartbeat and "the best is yet to come".