Wishing for Answers

Sometimes I wish I had the answers.

Sometimes I wish there was a way that I could articulate in a way that was fully rational why I believe there is a God. I look around the internet, and it seems to be polarised between Kantian-descended rationalists, who have finally done away with Kant’s need for God to prove a Just universe, and those who have taken Martin Luther’s cry of “Sola Scriptura” as a battle cry, and have simply replaced his bigoted hatred for Jews with one that seems to be aimed at those who wish to be in Single-Sex relationships.

Somewhere in the middle there is the quiet voice of the Moderates. We’re those who are just quietly seeking a way to get our message out that we’re not completely insane. We know that what we believe cannot be proved, and we walk the fine line of Rationality, balancing it with Theology so that we can produce a coherent picture of the world in which we live. We Moderates are not alone. There are many of us who believe that the spiritual side of our life needs nourishing as well. We all seek for ways to do that that feed us. It is a world that no amount of rationalisation is going to get rid of, because people will feel what they feel. Sure you can tell yourself that what your feeling is false, because it has no basis on any provable fact, but then emotions are notorious like that.

Those of us that do follow a life where the spiritual is necessary know that there is enough anecdotal evidence from people that we trust that makes us think that there has to be something in it, and it really does confuse us that it’s never been scientifically reproducible. That, however, doesn’t mean that we’re going to insist that the science is wrong. We might suggest that we simple don’t have the right way to do the test, but we really can’t argue with the scientists; that’s not our field, that’s not our job. Atheists are quite happy to live in a world where the spirit doesn’t matter, and good luck to them. They have what they think is the certainty of science. They will not believe anything that cannot be proven. It’s very seductive. They produce their moral laws in the same way that most people do, they pick a form of ethics that matches their own opinions and work out their Moral Action from that point of view. There is not even a single ethic amongst them. In general, they are utilitarian, but I have seen those who still follow Deontology, or who follow a Selfish Ethic. Some Christians would use this to show the supremacy of Faith, saying that with Christ you have a single ethic, but that’s also not true. In theory, Christians are Utilitarian, we work for the Kingdom of God, which we hope to bring about on this earth by following the Golden Rule, “Love God, and Love your neighbour”. Be Excellent to Each Other. Yet, time and time again you see that there Christians who find that there is some other value that reigns above these. A Capitalistic Ethic, a “Self-Identifying Ethic” (we look after our own first). How many churches would vote to fix the roof than to send the money to a disaster relief fund? The practical over the Kingdom of God.

I wish I believed that this world would be better off if everyone was Christian. I don’t. Christians are spectacularly bad at being in charge. We keep proving how quickly we can lay down the line and then persecute anyone that doesn’t follow that line. We still have so much that we need to apologise to the world for. We might wish that the world would quietly forget the excesses of Christianity in the Crusades, or the people who attack Homosexuals for being the way God made them, or blowing up abortion clinics, protesting funerals, and all the other despicable things that have been done in the name of God. It would be enough to make Jesus weep. Do we really think this is the Kingdom of God that Jesus instructed us to create? one where there are lines, where we no-longer accept the marginalised.

I wish there was a way that both sides, those that believe and those that don’t could live in harmony, without one trying to place demands on the other. It is right that they should be in dialogue, least one becomes too proud, or too excessive. However, we have come so far down the track that at the moment it seems that neither side will accept a draw. Though as I Say that, I know that there are moderates on both sides who look at the extremes and sigh.

I wish that into this maddening storm my words will make a difference. I with that I will be able to make a change. I wish that there was a way to articulate this into a prayer that didn’t seem wholly selfish.

~BlackXanthus


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3 responses to “Wishing for Answers”

  1. Sam Avatar
    Sam

    “I wish I believed that this world would be better off if everyone was Christian. I don’t. Christians are spectacularly bad at being in charge”

    I think this is a little harsh on what it means to be a Christian. I would say that Man in spectacularly bad at being in charge. We live in a world where we worship humanity rather than God.

    Thy will be done. Only when humanity accepts that it is not “in charge” will the world be a better place. “Religion is flawed but only because man is flawed; all man, including this one”.

    In order to gain forgiveness we need to sin. We are flawed beings and surely isnt all prayer selfish? Prayer is something which has come about through selfishness, but only when we take our flaws, our sin and present them before God and with humbleness of heart say to God “THY WILL BE DONE” can it be on earth as it is in heaven!

    Dont be afraid of sounding selfish, to ask for Gods forgiveness at all is selfish in its own way. You know who I am and you are always more than welcome to come down to my study and we can pray together whenever you want.

  2. BlackXanthus Avatar
    BlackXanthus

    There are two kinds of people: those who say to God, ‘Thy will be done,’ and those to whom God says, ‘All right, then, have it your way”–C. S. Lewis

    As much as I can see your point of view, the problem is that what it means to be Christian, and the way that Christianity is being abused are two different things. It doesn’t take much to look through history and see where Christians are imposing suffering on others simply because they think they have the answer.

    Simply blaming the supposed “flaw” in humanity isn’t a good enough. It’s a white-wash over the actual problem.

    Also, not all prayer is selfish. A bit of work on what it is that we ask of God will ensure that we do pray as true intercessors on behalf of those who cannot pray.

    Modern Theology is not yet robust enough to produce an answer for those stuck at the peak of the Rationalism begun by Kant. Those of us walking the Via Media need to do our best to ensure that another voice is heard. We need to show that our position is backed by valid theology; not for the fundamental Christians, as their chant of Sola Scriptura means that any call to any form of interactive reading is likely to fall on deaf ears; but for all those that the Church have hurt, to make sure that they know that we are sorry for the exesess of those that we with generosity of spirit call our brothers and sisters.

    ~BX

  3. Huw Tree Avatar
    Huw Tree

    I always found it ironic that the descendants of those who called for the right of everyman to interpret scripture without the inteference of a priest, are those who now try to force their own interpretations on others.
    While the Catholic church has widened its interpretations of scripture, the free churches seem to have narrowed theirs…

    As for prayer, it is why I talk to a budhist about my prayer life, in budhist prayer it is not done to pray for anything for yourself, except in cases such as “give me the strength that I may help others”.

    Perhaps if Christianity would learn not to take Scripture seriously, but instead look to the spirit which wrote it.
    Then we might here truth ourselves, and accept the truth that others hear to which we are deaf.
    And even…..dare I say it…..discover truths outside of a recording of a particular tradition at a given time of the church’s development?

    Here are 2 extracts from Quaker Advices and Queries that may be of interest.

    7. Be aware of the spirit of God at work in the ordinary activities and experience of your daily life. Spiritual learning continues throughout life, and often in unexpected ways. There is inspiration to be found all around us, in the natural world, in the sciences and arts, in our work and friendships, in our sorrows as well as in our joys. Are you open to new light, from whatever source it may come? Do you approach new ideas with discernment?

    12. … Receive the vocal ministry of others in a tender and creative spirit. Reach for the meaning deep within it, recognising that even if it is not God’s word for you, it may be so for others…

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