Can we find God in a pandemic or has organised religion as we now know it had its day?

Or to put it another way, in another old question, if God didn’t exist, would man have to invent him simply to meet a need?

Imagine there was no church – we wouldn’t have that sense of belonging, or Christian festivals to punctuate our year, and enjoy the celebration of festivals.

Sometimes it seems to us people of faith that there is a greater disrespect for God and religion now than ever, with people sneering at the idea of worshipping a greater power.

But considering Nietzche lived in the 19th Century, human beings have been puzzling over these things for a very long time; indeed, even the Bible referred to “The fool has said in his heart there is no God.”

That doesn’t mean, of course, that Christians believe atheists are stupid and unintelligent, but the intellectual discussion over its meaning is for another day.

I once posted on Facebook a story I’d seen about the cruel treatment of a young girl in Auschwitz Concentration Camp, and someone replied mockingly “And you believe in God?”

I find it tough to find easy answers as to where God was as such evil went on.

The same person often posts other strong stuff which suggests an anger about belief in God, and I often find it ironic that someone is so angry about a God they don’t believe even exists.

I just have to respect their right to believe what they believe, and hope they respect my right to hold my belief.

We have to accept that over centuries, people have done some horrible things in the name of religion, but it’s also often ignored that people of faith who have a morality have also done a lot of good for society.

The difference comes when they follow their teaching faithfully for the greater good.

The big challenge for all faith is the question of whether organised religion has had its day.

Even in Northern Ireland – which has a history of regular church going – attendances are dropping, especially among young people.

At the last Census in 2011, people who ticked the “No religion” box, or who didn’t identify with a religion, accounted for almost 20 per cent.

Ten years on, when we filled in our Census form a few weeks back, most predictions are that far more will opt for “No religion” this time around.

In places such as Britain and Germany, there’s a far sharper decline. One survey in England found that church membership was at 47 per cent – the first time that the so-called Christian country saw it fall under half.

In a sense, the pandemic lockdown has put further pressure on the situation, with church services being badly hit.

On the one hand, many people are out of the habit of going to church, and because we’re creatures of habit, some may not return.

On the other hand, of course, it times of crisis like this, people of faith find comfort and strength from their God, and the formality and community of fellowship is particularly important at a time of loss, for example.

In a sense, this debate focuses on the church as a building, whereas true faith is about a personal relationship with God.

I wonder how often people go to church without thinking why they’re there, and recite prayers without thinking?

As Shakespeare wrote, “My words fly up, my thoughts remain below. Words without thoughts never to heaven go.”

In a troubled, broken world in the 21st Century, the church will have to become relevant to people’s lives.

The Rev. Karen Sethuraman, the only woman Baptist Minister in Ireland, works in Belfast and says: “I have the absolute honour of being a Minister outside the church walls.”

And furthermore, she is a great advocate for equality and treating everyone with the same value, which seems to me to be very much in line with Biblical teaching of everyone being one in Christ.

On Radio Ulster’s Sunday Sequence, Father Gary Donegan, who we in Fermanagh know and admire, took part in a discussion called, “Out of the pulpit and on to the streets”, and he made the point that the church today cannot remain in an ivory tower.

Fr. Gary has a record of being in the centre of the action, being on the streets where he can be influential.

I also watched recently a video of Pastor Mick Fleming, of the “Church on the Street” Ministry in Burnley.

He’s a man with an interesting back story, having led a life of crime.

As a drug dealer and drug debt collector, he did some awful things and hurt people, but had an amazing conversion experience in which he says “Christ found me”.

He doesn’t look like a typical church Minister, being a tall, imposing man with dark glasses and a baseball cap.

But he now also wears a ‘dog collar’, and has a passion for helping people, running food banks and drug recovery programmes.

He thinks the structure of church is in danger of becoming irrelevant if it is internal, and wants Christianity to go out and bring the gospel message of saving grace that people understand.

“Wherever the poor are, that’s where we want to be,” he says, which the Pastor describes as “faith in action”.

Perhaps in this area we don’t have the same intensity of issues as inner-city areas, but we do have people struggling with problems in broken lives, and if people are to find hope and meaning in the Christian experience, a sermon doesn’t always touch their heart.

The Bible, in my opinion, isn’t a set of rules, of dos and don’ts, but for a Christian it is an inspirational book with a message of redemption, with a template for living a life in loving and helping others.

The answers to a broken world are all in there.

I do know that the formality of church is important for fellowship, that the serenity of a service is a time to “Be Still and know that I am God”, and that religion is a deep, personal experience which inspires many people to go out and put their faith into action.