Jack, I'm a socialist politically, and a conservative socially....does that sound a bit daft?
It isn't really if you think about it.
Don't understand why you don't see the church and people of faith as being under pressure from the "liberal intelligentsia":0)....just look on these pages for a start, they want to see an end to all conservatism, social and political. In fact "Thatchers dream", the "end of society", brought about by "liberals".....How ironic.
Only Mr McGrath has the intellect to appreciate THAT joke!
I think the church can guide people in good way, over here we tend to be less aggressive in promoting faith, than some US Christians
I think Jesus lived and promoted a philosophy of common sense and understanding, for the time in which he lived.....though most of it is still valid today.

The afterlife is too big a step for me, I don't think the idea of Heaven, Hell, the Holy spirit, was meant to be taken literally, but they certainly have meaning for all sorts of people in all sorts of personal ways.