When any two people engage in a conversation, it's essential that they can speak and hear in a way that the two can both understand and be understood by one another. Sounds simple until you try it. Two people, same language, gender and age, similar social skills and education, even with the best attempts, good communication can be less than easy. Start tampering with this better than adequate setup for two people to understand and be understood (ie. they speak two different languages), and it will become more difficult for good communication to take place. So I take it as a given that being understood by those who hold to a different view may not come easy. I will try to avoid raising any unnecessary obstacles as best I can, while being as honest and candid as I need.
That being said, it's important that when one is going to discuss things which already presuppose conflict, such as religious disagreements, each side must be prepared to be reasoned and reasonable. Thinking and speaking not shouting. Studying and reflecting not name calling. Don't defend your position by simply restating what the position is, nor avoiding it by moving on to the next issue. Think. Study. Pray. Yes! Disagree with an argument. Disagree with vigor. Disagree with conviction. But let there be substance to the argument.
Let's create an example which I hope will help illustrate how we might navigate through a disagreement. If I make a claim and offer Biblical texts for why I believe this claim and you disagreed, you would probably offer up one or two verses which support your belief and negate my position. Two claims, four verses supporting opposite opinions. It would seem that we have reached an impasse. We conclude that the other's "interpretation" is faulty and we will just have to agree to disagree.
But let's understand what the real problem is that is needing to be resolved. There are 2 separate collections of texts involved: Documents 1 & 2 (the Old Testament & New Testament). Two religions (Judaism & Christianity) claim Document 1 to be "inspired" but disagree on Document 2. Document 1 was produced by Religion 1 and Document 2 was produced by Religion 2. Since Religion 2 claims to have been the "continuation" of Religion 1 (the "truer" "newer" version), it follows that Document 2 must be a continuation of Document 1.
My position is this: Doctrine A is false. Your position is: Doctrine A is true.
Doctrine A is only articulated (or alluded to) in the NT, Document 2 (remember, we both believe that the OT, Document 1, is valid and inspired, whereas the NT is in dispute). If the OT is silent on Doctrine A, one might allow Doctrine A to be "possible," but it would be understandable if Religion 1, Judaism, rejected Doctrine A because it is based on the NT, not the OT. However, if the OT states the opposite (or impossibility) of Doctrine A, regardless of what the NT states, Judaism must reject Doctrine A. Then Religion 2, Christianity, must explain how the NT's Doctrine A is an "INSPIRED" continuation of the OT, yet antagonistic to the OT. I use the word "antagonistic" because this would be more than a simple lack in cohesion. If the two Documents do not complement each other, than one is a fraud. And if there is a fraud, it necessarily means the NT is guilty of the fraud, not the OT.
Now, I apologize for using terms like Document this and Doctrine that. Perhaps, for some, it's confusing. If it is, read it again before proceeding. I just didn't want to be specific about doctrines, as these immediately cause emotional reactions and defensive postures are taken before meaningful conversation can take place.
The preceding explanation of "the real problem," I think, is straight forward and I wish I could leave it there. But it gets more complicated. What happens when both Document 1 & 2 are antagonistic to Doctrine A which is supposed to have been based on both Documents? Or Document 2 implies both agreement and disagreement with Doctrine A?
In my next entry I'll give a couple of specific examples of "the real problem."
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Sunday, May 11, 2008
To begin...
The Christian Quagmire.
Hmmm.... where to begin?
Quagmire: a soft boggy area of land that gives way underfoot. An awkward, complex, or hazardous situation.
How do you start a "fresh" conversation about Judaism & Christianity that has taken place a million times before with more educated people than I? I am not a scholar in greek or hebrew. I am not a historian. I never attended seminary school, let alone graduate from one... hmmm... come to think of it, I didn't graduate from high school either. Not much to work with, is there?
So, if I can't figure out how to start, perhaps I should ask myself if I should even try? The answer to that is surprisingly simple, in spite of my lackluster resume. A great majority of Christians know less greek and hebrew than I do. Very few Christians know the last 100 years of their particular denomination's or sect's history, and even fewer still know anything about the critical first 300 years of church history and the development of present Christian doctrine. I was raised in Sunday School and was very active in the evangelical church my family attended, therefore, my religious education meets or exceeds, in some measurable way, that of the vast majority of Christians on that basis alone. So while I may not be over qualified for this, I certainly am not under qualified, compared to the masses of Christians who believe they are "equipped" to carry out the Great Commission. If they are qualified to spread the gospel, with many of them relying on a few pet verses from the New Testament or from some mission-izing formula, I guess I'm more than qualified to dose those flames with a little water. There. Enough about that.
Probably the first thing to say is this: I'm not here to change your mind. I don't think anyone will be convinced of anything unless they are already questioning what they've previously been convinced of. If you are convinced that Christianity is the "truth" and the only "truth," especially if you believe it is the only "truth," I suspect there is little that I can say to change your mind. I might irritate you, to which you may simply turn the channel. You could become angry because I've offended your "spiritual" sensibilities and you may hurl insults and claim I'm deceived and am now going to hell (isn't it odd that it's always everyone else who is deceived and going to hell). I may cause you to run out and buy Josh MacDowell's "Evidence That Demands A Verdict" so that you can quickly reaffirm your fragile state of faith when perhaps you find yourself for the first time realizing that your rock-solid "truth" (Christian doctrines) and the source of that "truth" (the New Testament) don't fully line up with each other, let alone the Hebrew Scriptures which these are supposed to naturally emanate from. You may even say, "we'll just have to agree to disagree" (but then they usually don't) or "I still love you brother, I'll be praying for you." And while that sounds tame compared to some responses, we're not talking about any kind of passive "if it by Thy will" kind of praying... you are certain of what that prayer should be and that will include being put on the local prayer chain with intense crying to God to rescue me. These are but a few of the numerous kinds of possible reactions. And I'm okay with that. Having spent many years as a devout evangelical, I would expect nothing less.
There may be those who are in the same place I was a number of years ago and may find the information helpful... those looking for some explanation to their uncomfortableness with their Christianity. This is my audience. And this will be the place that I share my own exploration of the faith of my family for several generations and the faith I embraced during my own youth and where this exploration has taken me. I want you to know that there is life after Christianity that can be God-centered and meaningful. It's not easy letting go of the baggage, as I know I still carry some. And I do not have all the answers. However, I do know that every time I listen to someone extol the "perfect Gospel," whether from a family or friend, at someone's funeral service, or I want to punish myself by listening to the "Way of the Master" radio or a televangelist, I am ever grateful to God that I no longer live in that space, the Christian space.
I mentioned a quagmire.
Perhaps if I was less lazy and spent the time to layout my argument in a more systematic fashion it would be much easier to read. But the truth is I have neither the time nor the mental focus to do so. Therefore, I will dive into the deep end and pose the question at the root of the said quagmire:
Is Jesus really THE Messiah?
Hmmm.... where to begin?
Quagmire: a soft boggy area of land that gives way underfoot. An awkward, complex, or hazardous situation.
How do you start a "fresh" conversation about Judaism & Christianity that has taken place a million times before with more educated people than I? I am not a scholar in greek or hebrew. I am not a historian. I never attended seminary school, let alone graduate from one... hmmm... come to think of it, I didn't graduate from high school either. Not much to work with, is there?
So, if I can't figure out how to start, perhaps I should ask myself if I should even try? The answer to that is surprisingly simple, in spite of my lackluster resume. A great majority of Christians know less greek and hebrew than I do. Very few Christians know the last 100 years of their particular denomination's or sect's history, and even fewer still know anything about the critical first 300 years of church history and the development of present Christian doctrine. I was raised in Sunday School and was very active in the evangelical church my family attended, therefore, my religious education meets or exceeds, in some measurable way, that of the vast majority of Christians on that basis alone. So while I may not be over qualified for this, I certainly am not under qualified, compared to the masses of Christians who believe they are "equipped" to carry out the Great Commission. If they are qualified to spread the gospel, with many of them relying on a few pet verses from the New Testament or from some mission-izing formula, I guess I'm more than qualified to dose those flames with a little water. There. Enough about that.
Probably the first thing to say is this: I'm not here to change your mind. I don't think anyone will be convinced of anything unless they are already questioning what they've previously been convinced of. If you are convinced that Christianity is the "truth" and the only "truth," especially if you believe it is the only "truth," I suspect there is little that I can say to change your mind. I might irritate you, to which you may simply turn the channel. You could become angry because I've offended your "spiritual" sensibilities and you may hurl insults and claim I'm deceived and am now going to hell (isn't it odd that it's always everyone else who is deceived and going to hell). I may cause you to run out and buy Josh MacDowell's "Evidence That Demands A Verdict" so that you can quickly reaffirm your fragile state of faith when perhaps you find yourself for the first time realizing that your rock-solid "truth" (Christian doctrines) and the source of that "truth" (the New Testament) don't fully line up with each other, let alone the Hebrew Scriptures which these are supposed to naturally emanate from. You may even say, "we'll just have to agree to disagree" (but then they usually don't) or "I still love you brother, I'll be praying for you." And while that sounds tame compared to some responses, we're not talking about any kind of passive "if it by Thy will" kind of praying... you are certain of what that prayer should be and that will include being put on the local prayer chain with intense crying to God to rescue me. These are but a few of the numerous kinds of possible reactions. And I'm okay with that. Having spent many years as a devout evangelical, I would expect nothing less.
There may be those who are in the same place I was a number of years ago and may find the information helpful... those looking for some explanation to their uncomfortableness with their Christianity. This is my audience. And this will be the place that I share my own exploration of the faith of my family for several generations and the faith I embraced during my own youth and where this exploration has taken me. I want you to know that there is life after Christianity that can be God-centered and meaningful. It's not easy letting go of the baggage, as I know I still carry some. And I do not have all the answers. However, I do know that every time I listen to someone extol the "perfect Gospel," whether from a family or friend, at someone's funeral service, or I want to punish myself by listening to the "Way of the Master" radio or a televangelist, I am ever grateful to God that I no longer live in that space, the Christian space.
I mentioned a quagmire.
Perhaps if I was less lazy and spent the time to layout my argument in a more systematic fashion it would be much easier to read. But the truth is I have neither the time nor the mental focus to do so. Therefore, I will dive into the deep end and pose the question at the root of the said quagmire:
Is Jesus really THE Messiah?
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