Yet one day it will be us that is dead, and not others. And on days like today, when the young, beautiful, gifted and good meet an early death, we should not draw comfort from this, or even let it pass us by, but we should reflect on it. And of course, we should also reflect on the hope for those of us who have, in the words of Hebrews 12, set our hearts, minds and bodies to run the race of the gospel with the endurance Christ gives us. 

A Race Cut Short
Like so many recreational runners around the world – not to mention the elites – I felt numb this morning reading of the death of marathon world record holder, Kelvin Kiptum. I still can’t believe it.
We all went onto social media, and read the reports and shared our grief. The tweets on X, the Facebook shares, the sports pages, the online forum LetsRun.
When you’re struggling to get your marathon under three hours, it’s insane to think about the pace required to take another hour off that again. And that’s what Kiptum had been planning to do, with his expected April tilt at sub-two hours on the fast Rotterdam course.
The Kenyan superstar died after crashing his car whilst driving late at night in his home country. His coach died with him. And all of this just five days after his 2023 Chicago marathon time of 2:00:35 was ratified by World Athletics, and announced by none other than that superstar from a previous age, the head of World Athletics, Lord Sebastian Coe himself.
Kiptum was 24. He had run three marathons – won them all and had announced himself as the next big thing, after the GOAT – Eliud Kipchoge. His three marathons are three of the seven fastest times in history.
Both he and Kipchoge were both provisionally chosen for the Kenyan Olympics team for Paris later this year. But alas, that Gold/Silver showdown is not to be.
No doubt there will be a moment’s silence at the start of the race, as the beautiful, gifted and good of the road pay their acknowledgements to someone who was destined to be a superstar. He was cut short of the finish line in life.
Often marathoners feel it is tragic if they pull out of a marathon during the race due to injury or illness or not getting to their goal pace at the right time. But this puts all of that into perspective.
Our Destiny
But of course, even raising the idea of our destiny brings in the sobering truth that there is no way to determine that for ourselves. Whatever we say about us, or whatever anyone else says about us, our destiny – because it’s in the future – is out of our hands.
Kiptum trained for insane distances each week – far more than other conventional athletes. Even more than Kipchoge. The worst that could be said about his 200-250km weeks was that he would burnt out early or get badly injured. He was reaching for the sun, and the heat would melt his Icarus-liked winged feet. He would break before he got old.
We didn’t predict that he would die before he got old.
But in a sense, whatever we think our destiny is in the short term – greatness in sport, or achievement or adventure or pleasure, our destiny is death. Like Kiptum we are all destined to die.
The Bible tells us that it is destined for humans to die once and then face judgement (Hebrews 9:27), the grave takes us all. And it takes us so often by surprise.
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The Christian faithful need a community of believers who are confident in their faith, who understand not only what they believe but why they believe it, who are encouraging and supportive when people ask questions (even difficult questions), and who love their members even when their members question the truth of their faith.

In a 2019 study, the Pew Research Center found that the percentage of “religious nones” (those that identify as atheist, agnostic, or “nothing in particular”) rose from 17 to 26 percent in the previous ten years.[1] During this same time, the number of self-identifying Christians declined 12 percent.[2] This study is not the first to find a pattern of overall decline in the American Christian church; it is clear that Christianity is shrinking as a percentage of the population.
When asked, those who leave Christianity give reasons for doing so that echo statements made by their non-religious counterparts. One of the most common of these reasons is a lack of belief, sometimes characterized as “common sense,” “logic,” or a “lack of evidence.”[3] Simply put, many doubt that Christianity is actually true and as a result are uninterested in engaging with the religion.
In discussing the Christian church (as a whole rather than a particular congregation), Christian writer Gary Habermas identifies several “myths” which have persisted within the Christian community and which are damaging to those experiencing religious doubt.[4] Three of the most crucial of these myths state that Christian doubt is uncommon, that true believers never experience doubt, and that Christian doubt is always bad.[5] Historically, many Christians have preferred to ignore, suppress, or dismiss religious doubts, essentially telling their members (as characterized by Os Guinness), “Believe this! Believe that! Stop doubting and believe more firmly!”[6]
Unfortunately, as can be seen in the data from Pew Research Center, traditional strategies for responding to doubt appear to be ineffective as more and more Christians are leaving the faith. Research into religious doubt supports Guinness’ criticism of the church; religious persons who suppress their doubts and / or do not have a supportive Christian community with which to share those doubts are likely to see their experience of doubt accelerate.[7] If the church is to stop the “bleeding” it must address the doubts and concerns of its members head on.
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Written by Rev. Calvin Robinson |
Wednesday, May 10, 2023
The choice is not a Christian society or a secular society. The choice is increasingly becoming between a woke society and an Islamic society, both of which are oppressive. If we truly want to be free, and live lives in truth, beauty, and goodness, the only option is to return to a Christian society. That means Christians need to stand firm in the faith.

What does a post-Christian West look like? Liberals argue that it is a secular society free of the “antiquated oppressions” of religion. Conservatives might argue that we get our moral compass from Christianity, and without it, we have a limited understanding of truth, beauty, and goodness.
Either way, I’m not convinced we’re entering a period of agnosticism or atheism. It seems to me as Christianity shrinks away into the corners of Western society, another faith is being promoted to take its place as the default.
I would argue that liberals are handing over the reins to Islam.
In the Midlands of England, Bradford Cathedral made the news for hosting a large Iftar event. Iftar is the breakfast meal of Muslims who are fasting throughout Ramadan. For a place of Christian worship to be hosting such an event will be held up by liberals as inclusive. But to Christians, it may be seen as offensive, to the point of sacrilege, especially if prayers are said during the event. Some Christian leaders seem to have lost all sense of the sacred and instead focus on temporal matters, worshipping the god of Diversity, Inclusion and Equity over our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
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