So apparently, the last time I wrote an entry was on March 6th. Eight months later, much has changed, especially the very evident lack of time I have to do things like this. All said and done, life has been wonderful, albeit trying, and if I were to write entries to compensate for the chunk of my life that hasn’t been expressed in words I would be vigorously and rigorously writing for days. Nevertheless, in my following posts (hopefully, to appear more consistently in the near future), I will be sure to include the various experiences I’ve had and relate them to the topic at hand.
Over my more recent experiences and thoughts, I was convinced that I am quite the bigot. Now “bigotry” is defined as having intolerance to those who have differing views (of a particular topic) from those of yourself. OK, fine. I might not be intolerant, but I was most definitely judgmental. OK, fine … I was not only judgmental, but I was judgmental in ignorance. Let me explain.
Just last week, I invited my friend to a debate between an atheist and Christian on the origin of morality and he declined. That he declined, I understand and respect his decision. However, what got me thinking was why he would decline. To my inquiry, he replied that he had already researched and heard arguments from both sides, and knowing his propensity towards research and critical appraisal, I believe he did his homework. He continued, saying that after all the debates he heard, he was convinced that atheism explains morality quite well from an evolutionary standpoint and that he’s accepted that as his explanation. To top it off, he very frankly told me that he would be willing to challenge any Christian to a debate.
This, obviously, is scary. It got me thinking about what I believe in and why I believed in it. I began asking myself, “How much of my faith is cultural/from my upbringing?” I had to admit that I viewed everything using a Christian lens without having tried comprehending how atheists or other religions view certain issues, such as the origin morality. I, of course, don’t mean to say that there is more than one truth. Rather, from all of the competing worldviews, I deem it important to appraise which one is logical on all accounts, save the elusive but very important topic of faith, which by nature is not entirely logical. I am not planning to attend an Islam worship ceremony or try praying to millions of Hindu gods or read every evolutionary theory out there. However, I realize how important it is to have a knowledge of these things and to wrestle with the truth of God with respect to these things. Otherwise, how can I stand before others claiming that Jesus is the only way, when He was the only way I’ve ever cared to know?
I realized that just as I can easily attend an atheist/Christian debate and still come out of it a Christian, he could do the same with regards to atheism. Actually, that result would be entirely fine … as long as we were not being bigots the whole time. In other words, unless I examine the opposing arguments thoughtfully and sincerely, I should not dismiss them. Until I’ve reasoned them through with God’s truth as my basis for understanding, I have no reason to discredit what another view says. I see no other way (save my opinion presented in the very last paragraph) to be a good witness to someone like my friend, who took the time and effort to examine both sides and choose one. On another note, it is truthfully scary that an intelligible fellow like himself can read God’s truth and still arrive at atheism as a plausible viewpoint. At the very least, this tells me that they have some convincing arguments; but thankfully, convincing doesn’t equal true. However, convincing does equal sensical (at least on the surface) and most people want sensical before they can admit to believing that an argument is true.
It would be nice if non-sensical things like miracles would blow away any remaining doubt that there is indeed a God. However, I have, for simplicity sake, excluded the component of miracles though I sincerely believe they happen. Even if I included them, the naturalist may still disregard them claiming them to be the product of luck or magic. This is because God’s wisdom and truths are folly to man; I can understand why things like miracles are obscured for the naturalist. But I also don’t believe that simply saying that a naturalist wouldn’t understand spiritual truths is reason to write-off other’s arguments. I think those arguments need addressing, probing and wrestling; they should be examined for truth according to God’s Word, if you should claim to be a Christian.
I admit that my faith was largely influenced by cultural factors and my upbringing. However, I think that it is important to break away from those components and to take a more critical approach to examining your faith. I wonder if I were born in a Muslim country to Muslim parents, if I would be Muslim simply because of my culture and family. Surely, God can easily save a Muslim individual (at which point, he wouldn’t be a Muslim anymore), but I mean the starting place would still have been that he was a Muslim because he was in a Muslim country born to a Muslim family. My question then is, “Am I Christian simply because I was raised in a “Christian culture” or from a Christian family?” Or have I truly made a choice for myself with all my intellect assenting to the truth of God, including accepting that Jesus died for my sins?
Right now, I truly believe that I have reasonably made a choice for myself, and that it is not because of culture or my family that I am a practicing Christian (although they have played an important role in getting me where I am today). I admit to taking ownership of my faith and that this is what I chose. Now, the more important thing is with what I’ve chosen, how does it stand up against all the other things out there? Is there reason to continue in my faith? Because if there is, there’s also reason to share it and more motivation to be a good witness. I am not looking for an answer to every question; that would be a striving after the wind. I am looking to give a good defense of my faith, having understood and wrestled with opposing thoughts and having come to the conclusion that God’s truth is the best answer. And so what about all of the questions I cannot answer? In some ways, that’s a good thing; it reminds me of the integral component of faith and the humbling reminder that I am finite and my intellect and reasoning are finite. In some ways, subscribing to God being God means you’re going to be left with things you can’t understand – and you better believe I’m OK with that.
I guess the last thing to address is the disclaimer to all of this. I think being able to give a good defense is only one aspect of being a good witness. In fact, it is the minor aspect when compared to the larger aspect of giving good offense. I’m referring to two offenses here – one being the offense of truth and the other the offense of love. As for the offense of truth, 1 Peter makes it clear that Christ was sent as a stumbling block to those who rejected Him. The fact that he came and that He is the embodiment of truth, love and salvation means that no one has an excuse to decline the gift of eternal life and restoration from Him. It is an offense to people who don’t believe because a rejection of faith in Christ automatically spells out condemnation. Now with the offense of love, I’m referring to Proverbs 25 and Romans 12 where the writers talk about doing good and showing love to those who hate you. By doing so, you “heap hot coals on their head” making them question why you are the way you are, ultimately pointing them to the restorative power of Jesus’ propitiation for our sins. This kind of offense, I feel, is the best kind of witness. It’s Jesus shining through you…what else could be better?
So even though this entry is focussed on giving a good defense of faith, I still want to give emphasis to the importance of relying on the Holy Spirit to live a life full of offensive truth and offensive love. My hope is that we can be complete witnesses for God, abiding in the Spirit for our offenses and avoiding bigotry in our defense.
