Today's thought: failure

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.