Why am I still trying to publish books, and why am I still studying and thinking about the gospels as if I had to preach again this week. I love the church, my faith is the most important event of my life, but the beliefs that it peddles I find get in the way. We drag behind us 2,000 years of theological baggage. Its time we came clean. I don’t believe the Ascension ever happened. I’ve said it to six men sitting round a table faced by their bibles. Their faces first registered a mix of horror and surprise, then smiles. I asked them if they believed the story of the Ascension of Jesus rising up into the clouds, (Heaven) and disappearing. They sheepishly admitted they did not. We spent the next hour discussing why the story was told and finally understood its genesis. Once we did this we did not need to throw it away. Belief is the enemy of faith, but understanding is its handmaid.