I have a very good friend who is not a believer, but is what I would call a seeker. He comes from a Catholic background, which has soured him on religion in general and left him to go searching in other areas for spirituality. We have had some fascinating discussions, which have challenged me to analyze my faith and beliefs. He asked if I could articulate why I believe what I do, but I had to start at the very beginning. Why do I believe in God? Why do I believe Christianity is the "right" religion? Why do I believe the Bible is right?
From these questions, I had to review my vision and concepts of Jesus, which in turn led me to teach a class on his life last quarter. What an enriching experience for me that turned out to be.
I came away with a new sense of awe and wonder at the God I claim to serve, and a renewed appreciation for what Jesus' life was really about. I think the biggest lesson for me, and maybe the thing that shocked me the most, is the amount of restraint God shows. He has given his creation true freedom. Even while on earth, in the form of Jesus, he didn't do nearly as much as he "could" have. Rather, the things he did do were reserved for a handful of people in order to show the essence of God, in human activities.
I think I may have led my friend down the wrong path, with my logical, step by step arguments and proofs. You can't absolutely "prove" God. Nor can you absolutely prove Jesus as his son, or the infallibility of the Bible, or the existence of Heaven or Hell, or anything else spiritual in nature. At some point, everyone, including myself, has to weigh what is seen and felt, but that last step has to go on faith. What I am convinced of now, is that God planned it that way all along. He purposefully has made his existence not definitive so that we must search. He sent his son in a time and place that was not going to garner much attention at the time so that we would have to trust. He did not have Jesus write anything in his own hand so that we would have to sort through differing accounts looking for what was true. In the case of "religion," he did not give us step by step instructions so that we would have to decide what to do and how.
In all of these areas, I have the freedom to choose what to believe or not and how to live my life. There is no coercion and no absolute rewards. If I live a good life, I'm not guaranteed to avoid suffering. If I live a bad life, I am not guaranteed to receive suffering. Both those good and those evil have both good and bad things happen to them. The great lie of Satan is when good things happen to say they are because I am doing what I want and when bad things happen it is because God does not exist or does not love me. How hard would it be to be good if only good things happened to good people and only bad things happened to bad people?
I think the big difference is that God shows his restraint in the physical world, but does not hold back in the spiritual world. Satan does just the opposite. He already knows he can't win in the spiritual world, so he is not limiting himself, as much as he is allowed, in the physical world.
So why do I believe in Jesus? Because, of all religious leaders, he shows the greatest restraint and allows for the greatest freedom. Because of this, I offer him, of my own free will, my life.
4 comments:
Great post, David. I don't think I ever thought about how much restraint God shows. When our kids were young, it was hard as a parent not to jump in every time things were hard for the kids and fix it for them. Of course, sometimes, we helped, but sometimes we let them live with the consequences. Hopefully, that made them make better choices the next time. I need to keep praying to make the best choices.
Good stuff! Isn't it amazing that we are declared righteous by God because we choose to believe Him, yet Satan keeps convincing us that righteousness by WORKS is somehow easier and better? What a master con! Keep thinking and asking the tough questions. Mike
You are a seeker David and I respect your ongoing pursuit of truth. At the same time, I am concerned by the nature of this post.
I’m surprised that in this particular case you are converting lack of evidence into something to strengthen faith/belief. That type of thinking is dangerous as it can lead a person toward beliefs that are increasingly divergent from reality.
In psychiatry, a delusion is sometimes defined as: a fixed false belief that is resistant to reason or confrontation with actual fact. I hope you know that I am not in any way intending to insult your belief in God in this post. I am just concerned to see you structuring your thoughts in a manner so close to that definition.
If something is a likely probability, it makes sense to believe it (reasoned faith/belief). If not enough evidence is currently available or measurable, it makes sense to be agnostic and withhold belief while searching for more evidence. If something is unlikely, it makes sense to disbelieve. A person using these criteria as a basis for their belief or disbelief in something can be comfortable that they are taking into account evidence and that their faith/belief in something will conform to additional evidence as it arises.
Again, I hope you take this post with the good intentions I feel toward you in writing it.
Roy – I appreciate your comment and did take it in the nature it was intended. However, I think you misunderstood what I was saying.
The very basis of Faith is the task of looking at the available evidence and, though incomplete, making a judgment based on what is available. In our Groove space, I’ve walked you through the “logical” arguments for the existence of a God. The ultimate problem, however, is that since you can't see, smell, taste, touch, or hear God – and those are the only 5 senses we have to work with – God’s existence eventually comes down to an intellectual leap. My concern for you is that you seem to required some kind of absolute proof, which isn’t going to come.
I believe God wants us to have a true faith. Absolute proof does not provide faith. Absolute proof would in fact take away choice. If God were “provable” then to not follow him would meet your definition of delusion. After a recent intense study of the teachings of Jesus, as recorded in the Gospels, I think I’ve come to the understanding that God purposefully has left some ambiguity, so that mankind has the freedom to choose to follow him or not.
You know we have had some interesting conversations on this subject before, and will continue to, I’m sure. But, let me boil it down for you to its simplest terms. You want what I’ve got, but you can’t make the leap of faith required to get it. You have this lifetime to figure it out. I believe, once this life is done, we will stand before God and faith will not be required (he’ll be right in front of us). I also believe it is too late to make a decision at that point. In as clear a way as I can put this, because I love you in the truest sense of the word, you may stand before God, look at me, and say “why didn’t I listen” but you won’t stand before him, look at me, and say “why didn’t you tell me.”
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