Prelude
An old friend of mine, quite a brilliant and successful engineer, once said to me, "I don't believe in Christianity because its doctrines are too complicated - three Gods in One, Jesus as the Son of God, etc. I don't think, if there is a God, that this God will make the truth so difficult that even someone like me cannot understand it. If I can't, what hope would those less intelligent than I have? In any case, it all boils down to being a good person, and all the major religions teach that. I am content to be as good as I can be, and if there is God, then he can decide my fate as he sees fit."
It seems a reasonable point of view. And the way Christians carry their faith, it certainly does seem that way. On the whole, Christians are no better as people that those who are not. The main difference seems to lie in rituals and traditions that seem by today's standards, rather quaint. And while Christianity as a religion is different from other religions, it doesn't impact the non-Christian as something more than just another religion. The areas in which Christianity appear to be true - that if there is God, he must be loving and just; and that we should love one another - are truths reflected in other religions as well. Even the secular world abides by these truths. The areas in which Christianity appears to be different - Jesus as the Son of God, and the other tenets that follow from that - seem to the non-Christian mind to be secondary matters. Articles of faith. Beliefs that you can take or leave.
In response, there have been many books and articles written to prove Christianity. That Jesus actually lived and died, and rose again, and that the Bible is indeed a book (rather, a collection of books) of not just historical facts but of incontrovertible truth.
I think these attempts are futile, but more worrying, they miss the central experience of Christianity. Few, if any, Christians are believers because they are convinced of Jesus in the same way we are convinced that scientific laws apply to the natural world. Yes, some are convinced by the logical and historical arguments that have been presented to them, but that alone will surely not be enough. Those who forwarded the logical arguments - St Augustine, St Thomas Aquinas, C. S. Lewis - all came to the faith before they developed the logic. The central experience of Christianity lies in the experience of the living God. This experience has so far been regarded as being beyond explanation. Indeed, to the outside eye, Christians who claim to have heard God speak to them, or noticed signs that God gave them, or even those who appear to have been miraculously healed, are either seen to be delusional or else putting too much meaning into everyday events and coincidences.
I am a recent Christian. My faith has not become so ingrained as to be beyond self-scrutiny and analysis. And it is not so deep as to reach levels that cannot be explained. This shallow faith may perhaps be sufficiently grounded in human reason to be shared and hopefully help others who are seeking.
The reason why I am a Christian, and I think is also the reason why many Christians believe, is this: if you look closely enough, you can see a divine intelligence behind our lives and this world we live in. It is an intelligence that looks after the small and the weak, that makes things possible for all but allows no one to usurp his throne. It is both rigidly logically and yet amazingly paradoxical. It is, if I may use a metaphor, a mind that when encountered takes our breath away with its beauty, simplicity and logic. Many have glimpsed this mind and it is these glimpses that gave birth to all our philosophies, religions, art and science. When encountered, we often think to ourselves, "Of course. This is the way things must be. Why didn't I think of this before?"
The Christian experience is to seek refuge in this mind. For within this mind is great peace and calm. And joy beyond understanding. It is not an experience special to Christians and certainly, not all Christians experience this calm and joy. Nor do any Christian experience it all the time.
In the following pages, I shall try to reveal this mind. To explain why, despite the complexities of this world, there is an inner logic. It is a logic within which we may find refuge, and yet paradoxically, while we may see what this world could ideally be, we can also see why this world is perfect with all its faults. It is a logic that is both simple and beyond comprehension.
You see, the answer that came to me when my old friend spoke to me was this: there are lots of Christians who are less intelligent than he and who had no problems believing and being Christians. God does not favour the more intelligent over the rest. Being more intelligent, or rich, or talented, does not mean that it is easier for you to reach God, or rather for God to reach you, than if you are not these things. Indeed, sometimes, our very intelligence or wealth or talent prevents us from acknowledging and seeking God. While God may have endowed some of us with more or better faculties than others, He is able to reach out to those who need him most regardless.
This was my first glimpse of his divine intelligence.
It seems a reasonable point of view. And the way Christians carry their faith, it certainly does seem that way. On the whole, Christians are no better as people that those who are not. The main difference seems to lie in rituals and traditions that seem by today's standards, rather quaint. And while Christianity as a religion is different from other religions, it doesn't impact the non-Christian as something more than just another religion. The areas in which Christianity appear to be true - that if there is God, he must be loving and just; and that we should love one another - are truths reflected in other religions as well. Even the secular world abides by these truths. The areas in which Christianity appears to be different - Jesus as the Son of God, and the other tenets that follow from that - seem to the non-Christian mind to be secondary matters. Articles of faith. Beliefs that you can take or leave.
In response, there have been many books and articles written to prove Christianity. That Jesus actually lived and died, and rose again, and that the Bible is indeed a book (rather, a collection of books) of not just historical facts but of incontrovertible truth.
I think these attempts are futile, but more worrying, they miss the central experience of Christianity. Few, if any, Christians are believers because they are convinced of Jesus in the same way we are convinced that scientific laws apply to the natural world. Yes, some are convinced by the logical and historical arguments that have been presented to them, but that alone will surely not be enough. Those who forwarded the logical arguments - St Augustine, St Thomas Aquinas, C. S. Lewis - all came to the faith before they developed the logic. The central experience of Christianity lies in the experience of the living God. This experience has so far been regarded as being beyond explanation. Indeed, to the outside eye, Christians who claim to have heard God speak to them, or noticed signs that God gave them, or even those who appear to have been miraculously healed, are either seen to be delusional or else putting too much meaning into everyday events and coincidences.
I am a recent Christian. My faith has not become so ingrained as to be beyond self-scrutiny and analysis. And it is not so deep as to reach levels that cannot be explained. This shallow faith may perhaps be sufficiently grounded in human reason to be shared and hopefully help others who are seeking.
The reason why I am a Christian, and I think is also the reason why many Christians believe, is this: if you look closely enough, you can see a divine intelligence behind our lives and this world we live in. It is an intelligence that looks after the small and the weak, that makes things possible for all but allows no one to usurp his throne. It is both rigidly logically and yet amazingly paradoxical. It is, if I may use a metaphor, a mind that when encountered takes our breath away with its beauty, simplicity and logic. Many have glimpsed this mind and it is these glimpses that gave birth to all our philosophies, religions, art and science. When encountered, we often think to ourselves, "Of course. This is the way things must be. Why didn't I think of this before?"
The Christian experience is to seek refuge in this mind. For within this mind is great peace and calm. And joy beyond understanding. It is not an experience special to Christians and certainly, not all Christians experience this calm and joy. Nor do any Christian experience it all the time.
In the following pages, I shall try to reveal this mind. To explain why, despite the complexities of this world, there is an inner logic. It is a logic within which we may find refuge, and yet paradoxically, while we may see what this world could ideally be, we can also see why this world is perfect with all its faults. It is a logic that is both simple and beyond comprehension.
You see, the answer that came to me when my old friend spoke to me was this: there are lots of Christians who are less intelligent than he and who had no problems believing and being Christians. God does not favour the more intelligent over the rest. Being more intelligent, or rich, or talented, does not mean that it is easier for you to reach God, or rather for God to reach you, than if you are not these things. Indeed, sometimes, our very intelligence or wealth or talent prevents us from acknowledging and seeking God. While God may have endowed some of us with more or better faculties than others, He is able to reach out to those who need him most regardless.
This was my first glimpse of his divine intelligence.
- Aquinas, Thomas, 1954 (orig. 1265 – 1274) "Nature and Grace: Selections from the Summa Theologica of Thomas Aquinas" ed. A.M. Fairweather, Westminster Press, 1954
- Augustine, St., 2004 (orig. 397), "Confessions of a Sinner" Penguin Books.
- Lewis, C. S., 1987 (c1952), "Mere Christianity : a revised and enlarged edition, with a new introduction, of the three books, The Case for Christianity, Christian Behaviour, and Beyond Personality" Phoenix Press, New York.
- Yancey, Philip, 1995, "The Jesus I Never Knew" Zondervan.
posted by brownpanda @ 7:47 am
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