An article in today's KC Star http://www.kansascity.com/238/story/1071370.html led me to think about failure with respect to our faith. Do we allow people to fail?
Sure, I first thought- we sin all the time and talk about it ad-nauseum. Whole sermons are devoted to sinning. One preacher even told me to "sin boldly".
What I'm not so sure of, however, is if we encourage people to "fail" in their beliefs. In other words, we seem to be bounded by the dogma of a "consensus view" of our faith. It is assumed we believe word-for-word the Apostle's Creed- and yet how many people have actually read (as opposed to saying it in unison) it and understand what they are saying (or, have read the historical record behind the development of it)?
Most people I go to church with probably don't believe in aliens, ghosts, or vampires. But they supposedly have no problem believing someone walked on water, turned water into wine, and was raised from the dead. Is all that just something you accept because it's been repeated so many times you just accept it based on familiarity? Come on now- be honest- if any of you heard today that someone walked on water or healed a blind person- wouldn't you immediately discredit the story?
Which brings me back to failure. If, as the article suggests, failure helps us learn, then I think it is imperative that we allow failure within the church. Failure in the sense of questioning those things that we think everyone is supposed to believe. Failure in the sense of "heretical" ideas. Failure in the sense of going down the wrong path.
Someone once spoke to me of a concern for going "too close to the devil" with the Red Cell concept. I have thought a long time about that. To me, a fear of going too close to the devil implies a weakness of faith. If I am afraid the devil will ultimately win me over because I am investigating my faith, then that would imply that Jesus has a hard time winning out over the devil. I don't accept that line of reasoning. I think the more you test your faith, the stronger it will be. Conversely, if all you do is repeat the scripture when prompted to in church and don't test yourself with other ideas, when you are truly tested you may find yourself wanting.
I have heard preachers assume in their sermons that people take Biblical "Truths" as fact, and yet I'm not so sure most people have investigated these "facts" in any deeper way than when they were first introduced to them as children. I know I haven't. I would encourage, instead, preachers to ask the questions of their congregants. Instead of assuming they believe- ask them what they believe. Tell them how some of the things we believe in came to pass (Like the Council of Nicea, the Apostle's Creed, and how books of the Bible came to be accepted).
Don't be afraid of people questioning details based on a search for knowledge. Don't be afraid of people going down the wrong paths. Don't be afraid of people "getting closer to the devil". If what we believe in is true- they should find their way back eventually. And along with the failures they will encounter as they go down different paths- they will come out stronger.
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If this is your first visit here, please take a moment to peruse the posts and comments. Try to see things from the vantage point of someone who does not know God.
The "Red Cell Thoughts" are not to be taken as a position of this blog- they are meant to stir thought. Please feel free to post other thoughts, questions, and possible answers. All posts are anonymous, but feel free to provide your name if you so desire. The Red Cell facilitators reserve the right to edit comments that are rude or offensive. Having said that, a little bit of offensiveness may be allowed- because if we offend no-one, then we might not be working hard enough! Remember, the Christian religion was founded on questioning the prevailing wisdom of the day and the Protestant Reformation continued that tradition. Don't be afraid to question all your assumptions.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
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Very Presbyterian of you...
ReplyDelete...reminds me of themes carried in The Screwtape Letters and The Pilgrim's Progress.
That's funny. I wasn't sure I was Presbyterian enough yet! Being Southern Baptist, Methodist, Lutheran, Catholic, and just plain Army Post Protestant chapel- in other lives!
ReplyDeleteI'll have to check out the Screwtape Letters.
I think in terms of failure there are a couple of ways to look at it. The first is in regards to sin. We're all going to succeed in sinning and, therefore, fail. All we can do is ask for forgiveness, learn from our mistakes and move forward.
ReplyDeleteThe other way to look at it is in terms of a faith quest. Some people come to their Christian faith as young children and never waiver. Others might be regularly exposed to Christianity early on, but not truly accept it as their own faith until they move beyond adhering to it because someone EXPECTS them to and embrace it because they WANT to. Others search and search and search. I believe those that truly seek God will find him. That's where "ask, seek, knock" comes in. God leaves no room for failure in that. But for those who are not truly seeking God....well, I believe there is a great risk of failure for them. They might succeed in finding something. It just won't necessarily be God.
About some of the other points....I believe in ghosts and the possiblity of aliens. But I don't at all believe in vampires. No matter how familiar I am with any vampire stories, I'll never believe they are true. Familiarity isn't enough...there has to be something credible about the story. That said, I do believe in miracles, both then and now. It's no great stretch for me to accept the stories from the Bible as well as stories of modern day healings, etc.
As for the Apostle's Creed...When I was in Jr. High we studied the Apostle's Creed one phrase at a time. Something that had been rote for me suddenly took on real meaning. Now when I recite the creed, I'm truly professing my faith. That remains one of the best classes I ever had.
Will I fail in my faith by questioning it? Interesting question. It seems at one time or another that every scripture causes me to ask a question, while at other times they answer questions. Have I failed in my faith if what I believe is in error? The header for this blog contains Matthew 22:29, the scripture where Jesus corrects the Sadducees, “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God.” (NIV) Jesus corrected error. If I am to follow in his footsteps, I must also correct error. So, I start with myself. I think of the book, I John as a letter to believers challenging them to confront and correct errors in their faith. The book’s last verse (5:21) “Dear children, keep yourselves from idols,” always creates in my mind one of those nagging faith questions. What are my belief errors, and is this becoming an idol for me?
ReplyDeleteIn conversations, I hear a phrase like, “I can’t believe in a God who (fill in the blank).” Or the God I believe in is a (blank) God. Usually the (blank) is some unobjectionable characteristic like loving, or just, and this will come up is some discussion of the fate of the unsaved. When I utter a statement similar to those, am I worshiping the God whose character is revealed to me in scripture, or am I intellectually killing God and replacing him with a god of my own creation and liking? Have I created an idol of my liking to reconcile God to me and my desires? Am I doing this because it is easier than following Jesus, who died to reconcile me to God and his desires for me?
So, no, I won’t fail in my faith by questioning it. In fact, that is how I think I will keep myself from remaining in error.
I also studied the Apostle's/Nicean Creed- during Lutheran Confirmation. Later I ran into a description of the Council of Nicea and how they came up with the Nicean Creed from the book, "Holy Blood, Holy Grail"- the precursor to "The DaVinci Code". That made me do some further research- which fascinated me on the differences between the denominations and the issues surrounding the Council. Stating the creed seemed weird to me- of course we believe that stuff, why would we be here, I remember thinking. But it was even more interesting learning how it all came about. Which leads me to wonder now- was it all inspired, and, if so- what kinds of laity-type activities are inspired now and which aren't? With all the denominations and different interpretations- which ones are inspired and which aren't? Can we even know? And, if not- how do we know the Nicean Council was inspired?
ReplyDeleteOn hearing others say they can't believe in a God who ______- I also think that it is interesting the amount of times I hear people say they can't believe in a God who would allow all the suffering in the world.
ReplyDeleteThat reminds me also of the article about failure in the KC Star. A world without suffering would have no purpose in my opinion. Why would a God want us to have a frivilous life? To know nothing of want? Are humans only great when we have everything we want and there is no pain? I'd argue the opposite. We learn more and take more pride in overcoming the bad points in life. Without them I'd argue we wouldn't know the good times. What a terribly lazy view of life- in my opinion- only wanting an easy and fun time.
I strongly believe in a purpose. I'm not totally sure what it is, but I think it must be related to what Jesus has us strive for: loving our neighbors as ourselves and putting God first (or- another translation would be putting ourselves last). That purpose, I believe, wouldn't be necessary if all we were to do on this Earth was have it nice. There must be a reason to all the suffering on Earth. To know that, though, would be to have full knowledge.
Yak- "yes"- in response to your question. That was an intelletual post. Thanks! :)
ReplyDeleteYak-
ReplyDeleteI guess my point on believing in "supernatural" type phenomena was that these are things we don't see on a daily basis- yet they seemed to happen an awful lot with Jesus. It would be one thing to see it firsthand, but what if you HEARD about someone doing fascinating things in Bolivia- would your first thought be one of belief- and would you think it was Christ returned? I personally would probably discount reports like that immediately- simply because I have no personal experience with phenomena like that.