Thank you for your comments and responses to my theological questions below. What wise and supportive friends I have, both "real" and "virtual". I really did find your thoughts helpful. I also find it very encouraging that not one of you comes across as being a bible-wielding nutcase (sorry, I should have phrased that differently but I can't think of how else to put it at the moment). I do fear that "any member of the public who learns that I go to church" may think that I am either:
a) going to try to convert them
b) going to quote chapter and verse willie-nillie, like Dot Cotton off Eastenders, or be in some way like any of the other vile "religious" stereotypes they place in Soaps that are watched by a third of the population
c) going to be anti-gay, anti-cohabitation outside of marriage, anti-divorce or anti a whole host of other wonderful freedoms that allow us to live our lives to the full in a way that no previous generation has been able to
I don't know why I feel this need to question the issue of faith at the moment, but I do. One of the reasons that I can not simply dismiss it all and turn away is because I have known some really wise and intellectual people who have devoted their lives to the church. A friend of mine who is an atheist responded to that comment from me recently by saying that she knew a host of really wise intellectuals who are atheists (Mario's reading this from over my shoulder and he thought I'd typed anaesthetists there; GO AWAY HUSBAND. He's still there: GO AWAY ). Yes. So do I. A lot of my friends are atheists and very clever ones too. (He's just thrown a hankie at me: GO AWAY). But my counter-argument is you don't devote your life to being an atheist. It's not just that these people believed in God; they became priests or monks, rather than lawyers or doctors or whatever. And I think that if they believed in it all so much, then there must be something in it, or at least, it has to be worth exploring. So once again, thank you for helping me with those questions.
9 comments:
That was beautifully written.
My first comment should probably have contained this, I've always been worried that it should be enough to have faith in oneself and shows insecurity to have to find something else to believe in. This may just be my uneducated view and I do worry that I'm being narrowminded or maybe just blinkered.
Now I know I'm going to be shot down in flames for that one...
I used to know a wise intellectual who was an anaesthetist - that was after he'd got fed up as a surgeon, and simultaneous with having his pilot's licence. I am such an underachiever :-p
It's that "devoted" bit that makes it impossible to ignore isn't it? I think I find the intellectual aspect of belief the harder bit (Do I think there is sufficient evidence to support the hypothesis that it all happened?) - the "making a difference" (And if there is, then what?) seems easier in some ways, and utterly impossible in others.
I'm going to shut up there before I lose my thread completely.
At the moment I'm giving not believing in God a go and it seems to me easier not to believe God exists than to believe he exists - it seems to take away a lot of difficult questions.
However, in some ways it makes life more complicated - I suddenly find myself having to take responsibility for my choices in a way I never did before. I would have prayed and asked God whether it was 'right' for me to give up my MA or whether he wanted me to keep doing it. I believed that he had a plan for my life, which gave what I did significance - I knew that somehow it would all come together. Now, if I give up my MA then I live with the consequences and perhaps there isn't a meaningful task I'm designed to do. Maybe I'll live and die in obscurity.
But God either exists or he doesn't - how I feel about it or how conveniet it is for me if he exists isn't really here or there.
Ruth,
Going to church will not make you do A, B or C. However, becoming a Christian will make you do A. It will never make reflect B. It may make you C. It is, after all, life changing. You cannot truly consider becoming a Christian unless you recognize that such a submission will change your life.
I wish you well on your search. If you are interested in the intellectual basis for Christianity, I recommend either "Evidence That Demands a Verdict" by Josh McDowell or "The Case for Christ" by Lee Strobel, both avowed atheists who set out to disprove Christianity by research and instead became converted.
Fi - "God is actually all of us, not something outside of us - we are all divine and this gives us a great sense of responsibility".
It seems that you made that up. If not, what is your source for this truth?
Hello Hammertime.
First, thank you for the book recommendations - they look very interesting and I plan to seek them out - already traced one of them on Amazon.
I'm really glad you've commented, because you have raised at least one issue that causes me immense concern and I'd value the chance to tussle with you over it!!
Re: "It may make you C. It is, after all, life changing. You cannot truly consider becoming a Christian unless you recognize that such a submission will change your life."
I realise that some Christians are anti-gay. I am going to really try hard to avoid any emotive language here... I find that incredibly puzzling and quite damaging. (I do not know what your views are in relation to homosexuality).
The anti-gay wing of The Church puzzles me because I believe that compassion lies at least somewhere near the heart of Christianity. For one person to oppose the life-style of another person, when that life-style poses no threat and causes no harm to anyone, is beyond my comprehension. It is even more incomprehensible to me because these are not life-style choices; people are just "being themselves". If the person who holds these anti-gay views uses the bible to substantiate those views, then I say: re-interpret your reading of the bible. For me or anyone else to change from accepting the life-styles of others to condemning some life-styles for reasons that are intangible would be a giant leap backwards.
I think that the anti-gay view is damaging because it is broadcast so frequently (e.g. when Christians oppose Gay bishops) to a society that has largely embraced homosexuality. People, Christian and non-Christian, welcome with open arms the fact that there is no longer a need to suppress aspects of your true self. In the modern, liberal age, people can express themselves truly, and I value truth. It saddens me that The Church, of all bodies, is one of the last bar the BNP (British National Party) to outlaw these repressive and uncompassionate views. And I wonder how many poeple are totally turned off venturing any where near a church because of these values.
Ruth,
Thank you for your forthright comment. I'm actually going to dodge the issue of homosexuality - because it is an ancillary issue.
When considering Christianity, you cannot start with "compassion." You have to start with the recognition of the relationship of sinful men to God. My wife presented a series that describes what Christianity is all about that is better than what I could write. If you go to my blog, and click in the sidebar on "Mrs. Hammer's Testimony", you'll read through her account of her conversion, followed by a general overview of the core of Christianity.
You see, Christianity isn't about compassion, although all Christians are compassionate. It is about salvation, which is far greater.
If, after you check that out, you'd still like to discuss homosexuality and Christianity, I'm willing.
Hammertime
Thanks for this - I am going to have a busy weekend away from my computer but I'll come back to you next week, if that's ok. I hope that my forthright comment didn't come across as being in any way rude. A brief glance at your blog reveals to me that your "style" (not sure what the right word is there) of Christianity is different to mine and different to that of anyone I have known - I very much welcome the opportunity to discuss all this with you, but I do not want to either offend or bore you (which may happen because I am sure you have discussed a lot of this many times with many different people).
I will take a proper look at your wife's testimonial and the follow-on posts and then would really like to get back to you.
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