Pillars are Just Crutches

I don’t know how any of you process your faith …

Actually, to be more accurate I might have to start with, “I don’t know if any of you process your faith.” I’m not trying to be demeaning by saying that, some people may see no need to go through what they believe and find out if they still believe it (or if they want to believe it). After all, it’s a nerve racking process to question the very core of how one lives. Other people may just throw reason to the wind. While reading the comments posted on an N.T. Wright article (most of the comments are very antagonizing) I came across one that simply read, “Faith overrides evidence and Jesus is truth.”

Some will most likely say ‘amen!’

I got a knot in my stomach

I process my faith. Some would call me faithless because I require answers for nearly everything, I would say that makes me faithful. I’ve been through different stages of my Christian doubting – some more serious then others. But through those stages I’ve learned that Christianity is based on historical moments where God has acted so other people can see.

Then I read a quote like the one above, “Faith overrides evidence and Jesus is truth.” And at first, I almost want to admire the person. Life would be so much easier if I could think like that, but then I wouldn’t really be thinking, would I. I know what the world thinks about such quotes, they’ll no doubt stereotype the person as a Bush voting, Bible thomping, Christian fundimentalist – then, based on that information, right the whole thing off!

And I start to wonder what God thinks about that. If He feels something like a knot in His stomach when such claims are made. Because ultimately, it’s a lie. Sure the last part is true but the first part? complete lie! Christianity is not based on some ‘metaphysical’ truth that makes it irrelevant whether the history recorded in the Bible really happened. It’s based on real history, and if that history did not happen, Christianity becomes powerless.

It’s fitting that the article in question had to do with Jesus resurrection because when the Discovery Channel’s documentary about discovering the bones of Jesus (which was a complete joke!) came out I asked the question, “If it could be proven, unequivocally, that Jesus’ bones had been found, would you still be a Christian?”

The answer everyone gave me was, yes.

I was shocked … i had the opposite answer.

So I guess the question is this, when does evidence over rule faith?

I sat in my room and watched Jesus Camp alone, I wasn’t interested in having people interject their opinions about what was going on, or whether it was ‘right’ or ‘Christian’ or even ‘mainstream’ among American evangelicals. The trailer for this documentary got me so curious that I wanted to have my own opinions as to what was going on.

The movie was more than fair. This wasn’t some Micheal Mooreish presentation that’s aimed at trying to drag you to one side of a subject or watching someone give interviews and talk about his perception or viewpoint. There is no narrator, only a camera that follows a number of families around through their daily lives and through the camp. Everyone is portrayed is a positive light, the camp director believes strongly in what she is doing and the kids are nice and remarkably well behaved!!

The film opens with a worship service. A Children’s Prayer service. The tone is set for what’s about to come for the rest of the movie, kids crying, weeping, praying prayers that most adults wouldn’t think to pray. The sight and sound is (even to a pentecostal who has ’seen it all’) odd, my immediate thoughts were, “where did they hear this stuff? Who did they get this from?” The emphasis on the kids is clear, “The world is a crappy place, and it’s your job to fix it!”

The film then goes on to follow certain kids around, first in their homes. This included home schooling and learning why global warming is wrong to pledging allegiance to the Christian Flag and the Bible. Next the kids are off to camp – whether there were other activities other then services and dinner we will never know but one thing was clear, these people live in a different world then I do. At one point, while the kids are getting ready for bed, having fun with flash lights and telling ghost stories (aka: being kids!) an adult comes in and reminds them that God wants them to think positive thoughts worthy of Christ, not ghost stories.

After the camp some of the kids are used (and i do mean ‘used’) as a tool for political activism, which, for me, was sad. Even while in the camp a huge life size picture of George Bush is brought in to be prayed over.

There are segments of a radio talk show host spliced in here and there throughout the movie, he gives his viewpoints on radical American evangelicalism while taking calls. The purpose of which may have been meant to balance the camps radical message. He makes some interesting points and helps the watcher realize that there is more to Christianity then these radical evangelicals, although, at some points the film does paint ALL evangelicals with the same BIG brush.

There was one thing that rang out clear for me, all these kids knew what to say, but had no idea what they were saying. This is a documentary about parent approved, religious brainwashing.

This movie forced me to think about how to raise faith-filled, healthy kids within the church, who can grow up to think for themselves and still remain a vital part of the Body of Christ.

If you’re involved in a Church (especially youth ministry), see this movie!

In Church history class we talked about a lot of the repeating mistakes that have been made throughout the history of the Church.  Money, abuse of power, and ignorance were the big ones.  But one of them in particular got my attention and sparked quite the conversation:  Intolerance.

I gave my two cents on the church taking up it’s (self imposed) role of enforcing morality and religiousity with in secular society and finished off with, “When the time comes, we won’t want thier standards forced upon us so why are we forcing our standards on them?”

Apparently part of my sentence wasn’t spoken soon enough because, as I found out today, “when the time comes” has already come.  Part of me knew this, the whole creationism/evolutionism being taught in school debate has been going on long enough.  But this is beyond science class and in my opinion, beyond science.

A recent Wired Magazine article entitled, “The Church of the Non-Believer” tells of the quest of a group of intellectuals who are adamant about destorying any notion that there is a God.  That’s right, they’re proselytizing, except, I found thier arguments a tad bit elitist.  For example:

“Highly intelligent people are mostly atheists” – Richard Dawkins

The message of the article is clear, atheism is intellectual high ground, not only are theists stupid but also religion is evil because it breeds intolerance, war, and suicide bombing.  Of course atheism doesn’t do any of this (yeah, right).  And Dawkins goes so far as to paint atheism with the same social stigma as homosexuality, as if atheists need time to ‘come out’.

The author then goes on the age old arguements for discounting Christianity altogether, one of them being the advent of slavery with in Christainity, as if it was the atheists who eventually came to the rescue of the slaves.  It wasn’t, it was the Christians who faught against other Christians to put an end to it.

Of course, most of the article is bunk and more intolerant then a lot of Christians I know!  I’m not going to sit back and pretend that Christianity is innocent, because it isn’t.  But I’m dumb founded that these people would raise the atheist flag in the name of intellectualism (which is more like elitism), and peace and neglect to look back and see who first delved into intellectualism.  Oxford, which in the article is made to seem like the haven for reason (and thus atheism) was started by Christian monastic orders!

As well, the notion that discarding religion will solve the problem of ‘religious’ wars was proven wrong a hundred years ago.

Nietzsche said that, ‘God is dead’ or in other words, the Christian worldview with in modern culture has died.  And he said because intellectuals and philosophers killed God in the 19th century the 20th century would be the bloodiest century in human history.  Nietzsche never lived long enough to find out, but he was right.  10’s of millions would die under communist (atheist) Russia alone!

So we come back to intolerance.  Personally, I don’t have a problem with atheism, I can understand where they’re coming from and how they could form such a belief.  But for the atheist to set themselves up as the intellectual and moral (if that’s even possible with in atheism) strongman is nonsense.

So here’s my suggestion to all the atheists.  Don’t make the same mistakes Christians made.  You aren’t better or smarter because you don’t believe in God.

Just like I’m not better or smarter because I believe in God.

Let’s play nice.

I just watched the PBS documentary on Jonestown.

Most of the people interviewed were actual members of the People’s Temple and lived in Jonestown.

It’s absolutely shocking!

I thought the film did a good job in portraying how so many people could be led into such a destructive cult and think that it was good.  In fact, the beginning of the movement was all about racial equality in a time when there was no such thing!  Every race there was living, working and worshiping together.

The documentary starts at Jim’s childhood and goes the Jonestown Massacre.   I thought they traced the period of when Jim Jones’ starts to become a megalomaniac very well and give a good understanding of how some people could love it and be blinded by what is really going on.  It is only slowly that others begin to hate it because they know something is wrong.  Near the end of it one lady tells how she had never been able to believe in heaven, but while she was in Jonestown she felt that heaven had come to earth.

How the last 48 hours was rather complex (and bizarre) and for the most part it’s presented very well.  At one section they show a picture of Senator Leo Ryan talking (and affirming) the people the night before the massacre, and behind him a sign reads, “Those who do not remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”

It’s a warning that can never be overstated.

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When school is over I’ll be reading ‘The God Delusion’.  It’ll be fun.
I’m sure I’ll have something to say throughout it.