Saturday 16 October 2010

Thinking Christianity...

There is nothing which saddens me more than those who refuse to engage cognitively with their Christian faith... And as much as it pains me to say, the master of the overstatement, Richard Dawkins, has a point about some Christians when he states that faith means abandoning any form of reason.

Of course this isn't true of all Christians, but it has been my experience over the last couple months. Having suggested that we change our approach to study, I have been met with what can only be called narrow responses, ranging from that's how people in the group need it, and also how I need to behave.. As a result, what I'm faced with is an autocratic approach with no room for maneuver, and subsequently has an infantilizing effect on those who attend, judging by the latter response.

Going back to the former, the question is does it have to be that way?

I would suggest that it's only if one is out to eliminate all uncertainty from their Christian walk.....Which in turn means adopting a rather distorted view of what faith is..
In short, faith by its very nature is not to be spoon fed answers to the great metaphysical questions, neither is it living with complete certainty. Instead, authentic faith has doubt and uncertainty as companions, and evidently evolves through that process...

However, I really don't claim to be above anyone or approach, and I hope it doesn't seem that way... Instead I'm looking for a faith which interacts with the environment I live in...and engages with the challenges a secular world brings us.

1 comment:

ROBERT LLOYD RUSSELL said...

Thanks for an important post.
May God bless you and give you much eternal fruit in your ministry.