My friend David Gatward - then a young man who is now a rather older man but every bit as irritating, infuriating, challenging, inspiring and just plain great to have around - asked me once, ‘Why are questions so much better than answers?’

The only response I could think of at the time - and for once I think I was spot on first time - was that questions open things up while answers tend to shut them down.

That of course is a generalisation and like all generalisations (including the one I’m now making) isn’t completely true, but it’ll do as a working hypothesis.

For many years now I’ve worked on the principle that if God and faith are real then asking questions can’t be dangerous - and if they’re not, then the sooner I find out and start basing what’s left of my life on something that is, the better for all concerned.

So far, God and faith have proved more than adequate to the test. They’ve both changed - or I guess in the first case my understanding has changed - but they’re both still there for me.

On a regular basis I deal with people who are suppressing questions - feeling guilty about ‘having doubts’ and at the same time finding no solace in the ‘faith’ they are being told to have, which amounts to accepting what they are told and just going along with ideas and practices they consider either pointless or plain wrong and not infrequently thoroughly screw them up.

Sometimes, asking the questions helps them find that elusive purpose in something - other times it enables them to seek something firmer and more trustworthy on which to base their lives.

You’ll find some insights into my take on spirituality on the ‘Inter-faith’ page.

Meanwhile, I’m going to get on with a bit of good old-fashioned commercialism and show you some of the things I’ve written and where to get them - well, I’ve got to recoup the cost of the domain name somehow . . .