I have noticed a thing or two about people and their faith. I think it's a misunderstood concept. For some, it's a requirement, they force feed themselves and immerse themselves into their indoctrination of their respective beliefs. It's almost a brainwashing, convincing themselves that God is what they are being taught he is, or perhaps what they think he should be. Doubt is a killer, and can't be allowed no matter what. For these people, anything that can cause doubt is argued against, and whatever argument will counter it becomes a fact in their lives. Eventually, if any of what they believe is wrong or absurd, the arguments to defend them get to the point of absurdity. (ie: hell believers, for example)
The other extreme has those who can't understand why they aren't sure in their faith. They think faith is something that should be solid, and it just isn't that way in their lives. They seem to wait for God to slap them upside the head and say, "Wake up!" The problem is, God apparently doesn't do that, at least not for most people. We are meant to live by faith, and yet it seems like a vapor; try to grab it and you're grabbing at air.
I struggled with both extremes, so I have a perspective from both angles. I actually had to step back, and reassess why I believe what I believe. I mean, we have religions which if you study the history of them, no one can argue how corrupt and evil they have been throughout the centuries. They base their authority either on apostolic succession ( a joke also when you realize Paul was the apostle to the gentiles ) or the Bible. And what of the Bible? Are we to base our faith on that? If you are being honest about it, and weighing it, the Bible alone isn't something to base a belief system on. Or at least on the face of it. It has more contradictions than you can shake a stick at. It has more differences in the scripts than there are words in it. It has obvious add-ins to support doctrines that weren't there in the beginning of Christendom. It has books written by other people than who they are being claimed to be. It has in many peoples eyes an evil God who is responsible for genocide, infant murder, hypocrisy of the worst kind.
I no longer accept the teachings coming from any religion. For that matter, from anybody, at least not at face value. I will digest them all for myself first and decide for myself if teachings are worthwhile. It may sound like I am digressing, and maybe I am but it's for a reason. I don't care what anybody else thinks about what I believe. Because of that, I am able to free myself from the influences of what others think about what I believe. And so it's me and God. Are you real? Why should I believe you're really there? Does it matter to you what I believe about you? Should it? Is this voice I speak with just me, or what I think you would say? Where is the reality?
I can look back on my Christian life, even my fundamental days, and honestly say that whenever I put the principles that were taught into practice, without compromise, they worked just as the Bible said they would. So I can look at that. For wisdom, once you understand it, it's sound. But couldn't that just have been common sense?
I fought this for several years. I leaned toward the atheist point of view, at least as far as God being an omni-potent, all powerful creator. I realized though, I can't deny that God exists. If you strip it down to this point, I can understand atheism, but I can't accept it. How do bees flying in a swarm all know to turn at the same moment? Study nature, how does almost any creature you look at instinctively know what it needs to do to survive? Did evolution all happen by chance? Really? This world, which we were given as our domain, to protect and rule over, is our only real evidence of his existence. Compare it to the other planets we know of, how much has life progressed compared to them? How much have we progressed? Could this really have happened without design? That is the question at the core, that we all have to decide. I have decided that no, it couldn't. I could be wrong, I guess. There is no proof of life after death, I could die and that could be it. But my life in the here and now is enriched with the center of God. I have realized that. Without him, without that belief, I wasn't as happy, wasn't as centered, was in fact fearful of the possible events life can throw our way. There is no comfort in the loss of a loved one, there is no real purpose to life at all. You live, you die, within a generation you are forgotten. Without God, it's all about the here and now. Get while the getting's good. Whoever has the most when you die, wins. I can go on and on with the philosophies of living for now, but hopefully the point is made. This isn't me. Life isn't meant to be obsessively lived for yourself, I'm sure of that. Mankind would not have survived if everyone were narcissists.
And so we have philosophers in history, teaching us that life is about serving others. Of course, those who become leaders never live that way, for them everyone else serves them. But mankind as a whole is not like that, even by nature. We may have prejudices, but we also have mercy. We have wars, but in the midst of wars, we have peacemakers. We have people who have given their lives for their beliefs, and we have people who have given their lives for others. We have God in our nature, and it cannot be denied. And so it is in my own life. I've been through hell, I've been self-absorbed, I've had my self-pity parties, I've been to the point of suicidal thoughts, and yet I've learned to be content in whatever role I am to live. I got that from him. Acknowledging that is my faith. Christianity is how I know to express it.
YOU can learn directly from God.
If you're religion is confusing to you, there's a reason. Get a red letter Bible, and read the words of Jesus to the priests and preachers of His day. Then understand this: There's no difference between them and the priests and preachers of our day. Why would there be? Just as there was in His day, there are some with good intent, but even they are learning from a corrupted system. Want the truth? Throw out everything you've learned from them, pick up the Bible, and read it for yourself. Not by chapter and verse as you were taught. Particularly in the New Testament, read the way they were written, as letters. And unless you're well versed in Old English, get a modern translation. One you can read and understand. Stick to the New Testament at first, so as not to be overwhelmed. And know this, it isn't the word of God the way you were taught. It's the word of God as understood by those who wrote it. Try to understand it from the point of view of those it was written to...we were taught to read it as if it was written to us!
The problem with that is, those the New Testament was written to were going through the transition from one Covenant to another. They were awaiting an event in their time. To learn about that event, one needs to consult historians, such as Josephus and his account of it in "Wars of the Jews."
The problem with that is, those the New Testament was written to were going through the transition from one Covenant to another. They were awaiting an event in their time. To learn about that event, one needs to consult historians, such as Josephus and his account of it in "Wars of the Jews."
Questioning the established theologies. The church teaches the law, just as it did when Jesus railed against it in His day. A discussion on the freedoms He gave us, and why true followers might want to operate on the outside. The truth is out there, but where?
Saturday, June 26, 2010
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Thanks for sharing!Though I may disagree on a few things with ya,you articulate yourself well and I enjoyed it.
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