The assumption that one chooses one’s faith and religion is almost taken for granted in the Western world. However, this is not the case everywhere and, in fact, it probably doesn’t apply in the majority of the world. The most common version is simply to be born into a culture which expects its members to have a certain religious outlook and belief system; the most extreme version comes as: “Convert or be killed”!
Personally, I struggle to see how any god who requires force to acquire adherents is any god at all - but if he is, then he is nothing but a tyrant. But perhaps this is just my own particular upbringing and view of religion. I don’t know.
But this I do know: the God of the Christians always gives us a free choice. He didn't create us to be, and he doesn't want us to be, automatons. Rather, he made us in his image, giving us free will - including the choice of whether or not to enter into a relationship with him.
Along with choice, the Christian God recognises us as responsible for our choices and actions, for in his love He created us free and responsible people, not slaves!
I also know this: that Satan deals in deception, power and compulsion, and disguises choices except where it suits him. He also peddles the lie that we are not responsible for our actions (although responsibility cannot be so easily waved away!). Satan enslaves us, ensnaring us in bondage; we are not free at all, for he deals in power, in force, and not in love!
It is only the Christian God who gives us choice! When a religion restricts our choice to believe or stop believing, or does not recognise our responsibility for our actions, be very clear who is behind it!
The most extreme version of this is seen in some parts of the Middle East at present, where one group says we must be compelled to accept their view, or be killed! And yet these people, who deny there is any other choice, are indeed making a choice - for themselves and for others! - and they are responsible for their actions and will be held to account, in this life or the next, unless they repent and turn to the God who is Love!
Showing posts with label faith. Show all posts
Showing posts with label faith. Show all posts
Sunday, 12 October 2014
Tuesday, 2 April 2013
Doubt: the growing edge of faith
All people of faith are familiar with doubt. Yet we may well feel some sense of shame or guilt for doubting, as if we should not. The very existence of doubts seems to indicate a feeble faith rather than a clear conviction.
I see it differently.
Doubt is not the same as unbelief; it is a time of being unsure whether we believe or not; it is a potential turning point. Although doubt is not a sin, it is important to pay it careful attention, because there can be consequences for all eternity.
Look back at the things you now believe. Wasn’t there a time, maybe long ago, that you doubted them? Praise the Lord that he has brought you through those doubts to greater faith. Every advance in our faith was preceded by doubt, out of which grew conviction. Through doubt, in time, comes greater faith - doubt is the growing edge of faith.
But of course doubt can also be the turning point at which we lose our faith - hence its seriousness and potentially eternal consequences. So what makes the difference? When does doubt turn to faith, and when to unbelief?
I think it depends on what do you do when you doubt.
Do you dwell on your doubts and try to rationally work them out by yourself, probably getting stuck in the process? Do you pretend to have faith, but inwardly harbour doubt? Do you turn away from God, doubting that he will help? Do you stop going to church because you are not sure what you believe? If so, that way lies disbelief, discontent, disillusionment, and ultimately death.
Or do you take your doubts to Jesus?
There are many famous doubters in the Bible. Here are a few:
Why do I still doubt? Because my faith is still growing; because He still has more to do in me!
And if you are really struggling with doubt and wonder whether you can carry on as a Christian, do not suppose that you will resolve your doubts by giving up your faith. Do you really think that non-Christians and atheists don’t have doubts: What if there is a God? Perhaps Christians are right? What am I here for? Surely there is more to life than this?
So the answer to doubt is not atheism, but honestly taking your doubts to God. God can use doubt to grow our faith!
There is nothing that God wants better than to increase your faith, so that you know Him better and to make you more useful to Him. In every case I quoted – Abram, Gideon, John the Baptist, Peter, Thomas – it was through their doubt that God brought about greater faith! If we take our doubts to Him, He can use them to grow our faith.
Doubt is the growing edge of faith - when we take it to Jesus!
I see it differently.
Doubt is not the same as unbelief; it is a time of being unsure whether we believe or not; it is a potential turning point. Although doubt is not a sin, it is important to pay it careful attention, because there can be consequences for all eternity.
Look back at the things you now believe. Wasn’t there a time, maybe long ago, that you doubted them? Praise the Lord that he has brought you through those doubts to greater faith. Every advance in our faith was preceded by doubt, out of which grew conviction. Through doubt, in time, comes greater faith - doubt is the growing edge of faith.
But of course doubt can also be the turning point at which we lose our faith - hence its seriousness and potentially eternal consequences. So what makes the difference? When does doubt turn to faith, and when to unbelief?
I think it depends on what do you do when you doubt.
Do you dwell on your doubts and try to rationally work them out by yourself, probably getting stuck in the process? Do you pretend to have faith, but inwardly harbour doubt? Do you turn away from God, doubting that he will help? Do you stop going to church because you are not sure what you believe? If so, that way lies disbelief, discontent, disillusionment, and ultimately death.
Or do you take your doubts to Jesus?
There are many famous doubters in the Bible. Here are a few:
- Abram, who doubted God would give him the promised land, in Genesis 15v8
- Gideon, who doubted whether he was hearing from God, in Judges 6v17
- John the Baptist, who doubted whether Jesus was the Messiah, in Matthew 11v2
- Peter, who doubted he could walk on water when Jesus told him to, in Matthew 14v29
- and Thomas, who doubted whether Jesus had risen from the dead, in John 20v25.
Why do I still doubt? Because my faith is still growing; because He still has more to do in me!
And if you are really struggling with doubt and wonder whether you can carry on as a Christian, do not suppose that you will resolve your doubts by giving up your faith. Do you really think that non-Christians and atheists don’t have doubts: What if there is a God? Perhaps Christians are right? What am I here for? Surely there is more to life than this?
So the answer to doubt is not atheism, but honestly taking your doubts to God. God can use doubt to grow our faith!
There is nothing that God wants better than to increase your faith, so that you know Him better and to make you more useful to Him. In every case I quoted – Abram, Gideon, John the Baptist, Peter, Thomas – it was through their doubt that God brought about greater faith! If we take our doubts to Him, He can use them to grow our faith.
Doubt is the growing edge of faith - when we take it to Jesus!
Monday, 2 January 2012
Is your faith well founded?
It seems to be common for people to think that faith comes into play when we cannot explain something. This is a fundamental error in understanding of the nature of faith, at least where it applies to Christianity.
There is a common confusion between 'religion' arising from what we do not understand and cannot explain, and faith which is founded on sure belief.
It is said that 'nature abhors a vacuum', and likewise our minds hate not knowing. There is a deep longing within us all to find explanations for what we do not understand, and where the information and facts are missing, we turn to all manner of means for filling the gap in order to construct some kind of understanding.
So for many people, a kind of religion fills the gap, providing fragile comfort against what is unknown and unsettling.
But this is not to be confused with Christian faith. Rather, this is a 'child's comforter', and is indeed a mental crutch and a delusion! It is akin to superstition. Where one's 'faith' is based on nothing more than filling the gaps we cannot explain, then this is not faith at all. Moreover it is very shaky ground on which to build one's life, for gradually, one piece at a time, as human understanding and knowledge grow - two steps forward and one back - so those areas of ignorance are filled in, and so such 'faith' is undermined and appears to become irrelevant.
In fact, this is largely why science is often thought of as being in opposition to Christianity. As some new scientific discovery is made, some new understanding gained, such 'faith' becomes obsolete. We can see this loss of 'faith' all around us.
But this is based on a false understanding of Christian faith. Do not confuse this with a faith based on a firm foundation!
So what is Christian faith, if not the above?
The Christian faith - rooted in real historical events - is to believe that Jesus is who he said he is: God incarnate. God is Spirit, and this belief is not a matter that can be tested, measured or scientifically proved or disproved. "We live in a world where, if you can measure it, it's real; and if you can't, then it's not real. I live in a world where the most important things are immeasurable." (1)
"God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” (John 4 v24)
The spiritual dimension is something which science will never either prove or disprove. To apply science to Christian faith is like asking a blind man to tell us about the colour of something he or she cannot see. For this task, science is a blind guide! In fact, the image of a blind man having his eyes opened to see and understand who Jesus was, is a New Testament analogy. We will never see nor understand unless our 'eyes are opened', and this is a work of God (2 Corinthians 4 v4-6).
"No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” (Luke 10 v22 & Matthew 11 v27). But the Bible also makes clear that this revelation is available not just to a select few, but to all who are prepared to put their lives into God's hands.
The Christian faith is no 'comforter' for a frightened child - it is full of hard truth; some of it difficult to understand and yet not beyond the understanding of the simplest soul; much of it flies in the face of worldly wisdom, yet it makes perfect sense.
Those who trust in science to explain everything, can continue to suck on their particular child's comforter... But the most important things in life are immeasurable and are based on faith.
There is no firmer foundation than believing in the God who came to save.
1. Quote from Lida Cardozo Kindersley
There is a common confusion between 'religion' arising from what we do not understand and cannot explain, and faith which is founded on sure belief.
It is said that 'nature abhors a vacuum', and likewise our minds hate not knowing. There is a deep longing within us all to find explanations for what we do not understand, and where the information and facts are missing, we turn to all manner of means for filling the gap in order to construct some kind of understanding.
So for many people, a kind of religion fills the gap, providing fragile comfort against what is unknown and unsettling.
But this is not to be confused with Christian faith. Rather, this is a 'child's comforter', and is indeed a mental crutch and a delusion! It is akin to superstition. Where one's 'faith' is based on nothing more than filling the gaps we cannot explain, then this is not faith at all. Moreover it is very shaky ground on which to build one's life, for gradually, one piece at a time, as human understanding and knowledge grow - two steps forward and one back - so those areas of ignorance are filled in, and so such 'faith' is undermined and appears to become irrelevant.
In fact, this is largely why science is often thought of as being in opposition to Christianity. As some new scientific discovery is made, some new understanding gained, such 'faith' becomes obsolete. We can see this loss of 'faith' all around us.
But this is based on a false understanding of Christian faith. Do not confuse this with a faith based on a firm foundation!
So what is Christian faith, if not the above?
The Christian faith - rooted in real historical events - is to believe that Jesus is who he said he is: God incarnate. God is Spirit, and this belief is not a matter that can be tested, measured or scientifically proved or disproved. "We live in a world where, if you can measure it, it's real; and if you can't, then it's not real. I live in a world where the most important things are immeasurable." (1)
"God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” (John 4 v24)
The spiritual dimension is something which science will never either prove or disprove. To apply science to Christian faith is like asking a blind man to tell us about the colour of something he or she cannot see. For this task, science is a blind guide! In fact, the image of a blind man having his eyes opened to see and understand who Jesus was, is a New Testament analogy. We will never see nor understand unless our 'eyes are opened', and this is a work of God (2 Corinthians 4 v4-6).
"No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.” (Luke 10 v22 & Matthew 11 v27). But the Bible also makes clear that this revelation is available not just to a select few, but to all who are prepared to put their lives into God's hands.
The Christian faith is no 'comforter' for a frightened child - it is full of hard truth; some of it difficult to understand and yet not beyond the understanding of the simplest soul; much of it flies in the face of worldly wisdom, yet it makes perfect sense.
Those who trust in science to explain everything, can continue to suck on their particular child's comforter... But the most important things in life are immeasurable and are based on faith.
There is no firmer foundation than believing in the God who came to save.
1. Quote from Lida Cardozo Kindersley
Thursday, 2 June 2011
In the name of Jesus we muddle through
It used to be said of the Trade Union movement that it's main function was to achieve glorious defeats. They didn't win many cases for their workers, but they did bring their membership together in solidarity against a shared sense of injustice.
I'm not sure whether the unions are more successful these days, but I wonder whether Christians have become enamoured of glorious defeats? Have we lost sight of the spiritual victory? Have we become used to being in the minority and either facing apathy or defending ourselves against hostility, and too used to feeling overwhelmed or defeated. Moreover, we can be rather good at enjoying a shared secret knowledge that we are nonetheless on the winning side, all the while cowering in corners, keeping an increasingly low profile in order to avoid the spotlight.
There is an old (1970s?) chorus I remember from my early years as a Christian:
In the name of Jesus,
In the name of Jesus
We have the victory.
In the name of Jesus,
In the name of Jesus
Demons will have to flee
Who can tell what God can do?
Who can tell of his love for you?
In the name of Jesus, Jesus
We have the victory.
I remember being very encouraged that we were on the victory side! Of course, I still know in my head that this is true, but I realised recently that my felt sense of this victory had become rather distant and neglected.
Moreover, in my mind the simplicity of that chorus has been replaced with a good deal of complexity, shades of grey, and qualified understandings. Not actual doubt, but a difficulty with taking the words of that song with simple gladness and confidence. Is this a growing maturity or is it a clouding of spiritual sight?
And alongside my personal journey (read: 'ageing'), the church in the UK seems to have lost much of its confidence and is also more subdued.
Of course, the Bible doesn't equate 'victory' with worldly ideas of success (see my blog:In praise of failure). The persecutions of the saints throughout the ages makes that clear, as does Jesus' own crucifixion, of course. But herein lies another problem: we may be so familiar with the truth that we will be persecuted as Christians, that we forget to expect to share in God's triumphant victories, except in the most distant of ways - in heaven. But in so thinking, have our faith muscles have become feeble through lack of use?
We live in a spiritual battle - but if we're not fighting, is it any wonder that we end up trampled? And if we aren't even aware that the battle is spiritual, we won't even know what has hit us (see: Impotent Christians in a material world)!
So, for the present, in the name of Jesus we muddle through.
I'm not sure whether the unions are more successful these days, but I wonder whether Christians have become enamoured of glorious defeats? Have we lost sight of the spiritual victory? Have we become used to being in the minority and either facing apathy or defending ourselves against hostility, and too used to feeling overwhelmed or defeated. Moreover, we can be rather good at enjoying a shared secret knowledge that we are nonetheless on the winning side, all the while cowering in corners, keeping an increasingly low profile in order to avoid the spotlight.
There is an old (1970s?) chorus I remember from my early years as a Christian:
In the name of Jesus,
In the name of Jesus
We have the victory.
In the name of Jesus,
In the name of Jesus
Demons will have to flee
Who can tell what God can do?
Who can tell of his love for you?
In the name of Jesus, Jesus
We have the victory.
I remember being very encouraged that we were on the victory side! Of course, I still know in my head that this is true, but I realised recently that my felt sense of this victory had become rather distant and neglected.
Moreover, in my mind the simplicity of that chorus has been replaced with a good deal of complexity, shades of grey, and qualified understandings. Not actual doubt, but a difficulty with taking the words of that song with simple gladness and confidence. Is this a growing maturity or is it a clouding of spiritual sight?
And alongside my personal journey (read: 'ageing'), the church in the UK seems to have lost much of its confidence and is also more subdued.
Of course, the Bible doesn't equate 'victory' with worldly ideas of success (see my blog:In praise of failure). The persecutions of the saints throughout the ages makes that clear, as does Jesus' own crucifixion, of course. But herein lies another problem: we may be so familiar with the truth that we will be persecuted as Christians, that we forget to expect to share in God's triumphant victories, except in the most distant of ways - in heaven. But in so thinking, have our faith muscles have become feeble through lack of use?
We live in a spiritual battle - but if we're not fighting, is it any wonder that we end up trampled? And if we aren't even aware that the battle is spiritual, we won't even know what has hit us (see: Impotent Christians in a material world)!
So, for the present, in the name of Jesus we muddle through.
Friday, 27 May 2011
Impotent Christians in a material world
How come many Christians, of all people, have so lost sight of the spiritual world and the supernatural? Where is the miraculous; where are the God-given spiritual gifts; where are the angels and the victory over evil spirits?
The other major world religions, even the tribal religions are much more in touch with the spiritual world than we are!
We seem to think that we are too advanced to believe that nonsense, even looking down on these beliefs in other religions as primitive or pagan. We, on the other hand, are 'wiser' than they; we know that the world is made of atoms and is material! And we have grown up with a deep belief in our own superior knowledge of how the world works.
But actually it is we who have traded sight for blindness and become blind guides.
We have fallen for the lie that what we can see and explain is all that matters - the materialistic view. We have believed a lie - not so much that science is wrong, but the view that it is all that is true!
But that is not Biblical Christianity.
Some resolve this conundrum by coming to the conclusion that Jesus lived in a pre-scientific age, and explained things in the language of the common (read: primitive) people of his day. Had he lived in this era, they think, he would of course have explained things in material and scientific terms...
But then we would need to remove not just the miracles, but all references in the Bible to the spiritual - even to God being Spirit! And what are we left with? Well, not much at all, really:
And is it then surprising that we decide that Christianity isn't very useful in this day and age, and so it is thrown out completely!
Other Christians assume a different 'solution': they are clear that the miraculous used to happen - and especially that Jesus rose miraculously from the dead. But they seem very uncomfortable with the notion of spiritual gifts and with angels and demons, and are clear that miracles don't happen nowadays. They are probably people whose Christian life so far hasn't been touched by the majority of the world where an awareness of the spiritual is a normal part of day-to-day reality.
Anyway, they are left with a castrated Christianity, impotent and nonsensical - a belief system in which God used to be able to do all sorts of things, but offers little these days to those who have any need beyond wanting a cosy circle and a warm feeling. (After all, why would we need any of that spiritual stuff now that we have psychologists and modern medicine? Come to that, why would God need to go to any such effort now that we are so well advanced and able to do everything ourselves?)
While much of life looks simply natural and not obviously spiritual, if we only work at a material level we miss all the spiritual action; we are reduced to feeble human (mis)understanding. We are then blind, powerless and useless.
How true are the Bible's words about collective unbelief:
"He (Jesus) did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith." (Matt 13v58)
The other major world religions, even the tribal religions are much more in touch with the spiritual world than we are!
We seem to think that we are too advanced to believe that nonsense, even looking down on these beliefs in other religions as primitive or pagan. We, on the other hand, are 'wiser' than they; we know that the world is made of atoms and is material! And we have grown up with a deep belief in our own superior knowledge of how the world works.
But actually it is we who have traded sight for blindness and become blind guides.
We have fallen for the lie that what we can see and explain is all that matters - the materialistic view. We have believed a lie - not so much that science is wrong, but the view that it is all that is true!
But that is not Biblical Christianity.
Some resolve this conundrum by coming to the conclusion that Jesus lived in a pre-scientific age, and explained things in the language of the common (read: primitive) people of his day. Had he lived in this era, they think, he would of course have explained things in material and scientific terms...
But then we would need to remove not just the miracles, but all references in the Bible to the spiritual - even to God being Spirit! And what are we left with? Well, not much at all, really:
- the miracles were obviously some unusual but explainable scientific phenomena
- the spiritual gifts (prophecy, discernment, etc) were a figment of the imagination, or perhaps altered states of mind
- the demonic can be readily dismissed as psychological or mental health issues (and how offensive is that?)...
And is it then surprising that we decide that Christianity isn't very useful in this day and age, and so it is thrown out completely!
Other Christians assume a different 'solution': they are clear that the miraculous used to happen - and especially that Jesus rose miraculously from the dead. But they seem very uncomfortable with the notion of spiritual gifts and with angels and demons, and are clear that miracles don't happen nowadays. They are probably people whose Christian life so far hasn't been touched by the majority of the world where an awareness of the spiritual is a normal part of day-to-day reality.
Anyway, they are left with a castrated Christianity, impotent and nonsensical - a belief system in which God used to be able to do all sorts of things, but offers little these days to those who have any need beyond wanting a cosy circle and a warm feeling. (After all, why would we need any of that spiritual stuff now that we have psychologists and modern medicine? Come to that, why would God need to go to any such effort now that we are so well advanced and able to do everything ourselves?)
While much of life looks simply natural and not obviously spiritual, if we only work at a material level we miss all the spiritual action; we are reduced to feeble human (mis)understanding. We are then blind, powerless and useless.
How true are the Bible's words about collective unbelief:
"He (Jesus) did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith." (Matt 13v58)
Thursday, 3 February 2011
There's nothing magical about faith
Many people talk about faith as if it's something they happen to have, or, more frequently something they don't have; that's just the way it is. After all how can you believe something when you don't?
This apparent quality of faith provides a stumbling block to those who would like to believe and an invulnerable opt-out to those who don't. We have reached a stalemate, a seeming dead end.
But there's nothing magical about faith - we all use it every day. There is no dead-end, and the opt-out clause is a cop-out.
Consider trust. How do we learn to trust something or someone - or to not trust them? It simply comes from experience; trust grows or diminishes based on our repeated experience. We use it all the time: to consider whether our train will be on time, whether the cash-machine will give us the money we request, or whether a friend will stand by us through difficult times. You are showing your faith, or lack of faith, in your train service, your bank and your friend.
So, is faith just the same as trust? Well, yes and no.
Trust starts with a decision - a small decision to take a small risk - in fact, frequently so small we usually don't even notice it. Think about the simple examples above. The first time I put my bank card in a hole in the wall I am taking a small leap of faith to believe that it won't swallow my card and will give me my cash. I only have the experience of others to go on, so I am deciding to put my faith in them and my bank that it will actually work. And as I repeat this experience, I discover for myself that my bank is trustworthy, or not; that the trains usually run on time, or they don't; that my friend really is a good friend, or not.
But notice where trust starts - it starts with an act of faith, a decision to take a risk. Faith is deciding to trust what we haven't yet experienced. Once we have taken that step of faith, decided to take the risk, then we have the beginnings of experience, which in time may become trust. So doesn't all trust stem from an initial leap of faith - deciding to act before we know for sure? It applies to your bank and to your friend. And it applies to Christianity too.
So you can decide that you don't want to take a risk, don't want to take a step of faith, but you really can't say that you just don't have faith and there's nothing you can do about it... That really is a cop out.
This apparent quality of faith provides a stumbling block to those who would like to believe and an invulnerable opt-out to those who don't. We have reached a stalemate, a seeming dead end.
But there's nothing magical about faith - we all use it every day. There is no dead-end, and the opt-out clause is a cop-out.
Consider trust. How do we learn to trust something or someone - or to not trust them? It simply comes from experience; trust grows or diminishes based on our repeated experience. We use it all the time: to consider whether our train will be on time, whether the cash-machine will give us the money we request, or whether a friend will stand by us through difficult times. You are showing your faith, or lack of faith, in your train service, your bank and your friend.
So, is faith just the same as trust? Well, yes and no.
Trust starts with a decision - a small decision to take a small risk - in fact, frequently so small we usually don't even notice it. Think about the simple examples above. The first time I put my bank card in a hole in the wall I am taking a small leap of faith to believe that it won't swallow my card and will give me my cash. I only have the experience of others to go on, so I am deciding to put my faith in them and my bank that it will actually work. And as I repeat this experience, I discover for myself that my bank is trustworthy, or not; that the trains usually run on time, or they don't; that my friend really is a good friend, or not.
But notice where trust starts - it starts with an act of faith, a decision to take a risk. Faith is deciding to trust what we haven't yet experienced. Once we have taken that step of faith, decided to take the risk, then we have the beginnings of experience, which in time may become trust. So doesn't all trust stem from an initial leap of faith - deciding to act before we know for sure? It applies to your bank and to your friend. And it applies to Christianity too.
So you can decide that you don't want to take a risk, don't want to take a step of faith, but you really can't say that you just don't have faith and there's nothing you can do about it... That really is a cop out.
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