The Church - for better or worse...

The church cops an awful lot of criticism and too often it comes from those on the inside. We have certain ideas of what the church should be and become disappointed when it doesn't measure up. Check out 'Is the Church That Bad' for a great discussion of why some of our expectations of what the church could/should be are misplaced, and why we should therefore be constructive and not just criticise.

Room to Breathe

Recently I have been involved in a conversation about conflicting theologies within Christianity. The issue that began the debate was around eschatology (end times), but what I want to concentrate on is not who was right, but the observation of the tendency of some to put others down for standing up for a view that was different from their own. Now I don't mind a good debate, but I'm kidding myself if I think we will end the debate with everyone agreeing with me, so maybe I need to cut them some slack? Such absolute statements were made as, "There is no biblical basis for that view!" which was followed by name calling of those associated with a certain stance. How can we be so arrogant that we cannot see that the views of other Christians are often simply from a different understanding of the text...and while I'm not saying we can interpret any passage as we like, we can at least honour the fact that those who have studied the Bible and come up with other views are good people wrestling with an all-of-life faith, just as we are. Maybe post-modernity can help us move from our arrogant position that we can know everything, to recapture the mystery of God and allow for some room to breathe when others hold varying views as we all wrestle to understand the glimpses of truth we are shown. I would not go anywhere near the other end of the spectrum and claim that all truth is unknowable, and there are certainly some things that I believe lie at the heart of what it means to be Christian, such as the literal bodily resurrection of Jesus, but for many other areas of our faith, let any claim to know truth come with the humility that our understanding is limited ('I know in part, but then I will know fully' - 1 Cor 13:12), and let us bring our views to the table in love. Afterall, Truth is best understood in a person (Jn 14:6)...and this Truth is also Love!

Is Faith a No Brainer?

I was having a discussion with a friend of mine earlier today about faith. He discussed how he had recently stopped and talked to street preachers and asked them genuine questions, but was frustrated that it always seemed to come down to the fact that (according to them) he just needed to have faith. He wanted intelligent answers but all he got was 'faith'...like it was some magical belief that involved the absence of thought. It seemed to be that any questions that required any intellect were dismissed and 'faith' was what was being suggested as a replacement. Unfortunately I've heard these sorts of sentiments expressed by Christians myself...at what point did Christianity stop being an intelligent religion? At what point did we decide that to believe in God involved the absence of any intelligent thought. True, rationalism can never fully get us to God, however, as I suggested to my friend, in my own experience it is only when my heart AND my mind were captivated that I could have faith.

In Matthew 9:2 Jesus was among the crowds and "Some men brought to him a paralyzed man, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith..." These men didn't just blindly believe...they had heard about Jesus and what he was doing and that stirred for them the possibility that he could do this for their friend too! It wasn't the absence of thought - it was intelligent! They thought about what they heard and that stirred up faith in them.

Or try Matthew 6:30 "If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?" He criticises their faith showing them the intelligent and logical thought that should have lead to faith.

...not to mention "be transformed by the renewing of your minds" (Rom 12:2)!

So let's find out what it is we really believe and why, so that when someone asks intelligent questions we don't have to tell them to 'just have faith.' And let's realise that faith actually involves the use of our minds, not their absence. After all, it is our whole being, including our minds, that is made by God in his image!