Percolating in the background, however, has been a desire to write a post about where I think the person of Jesus (you know, "Christ", "of Nazareth"... THAT Jesus!) fits into my thinking about life, faith, the universe, etc. Part of my blogger's block, if I'm honest - is the fact that I find this confronting in a lot of ways. It is a challenging post for me to write, and confronts not only what I believe, but how I live my life. I know that I don't embody what I believe to be truth, anywhere NEAR enough. And I think that's what it's all about - so to write about it is... confronting for me.
Anyway, enough of that. I am going to ease myself into this via the "path of least resistance". Today's post is not about what I believe at all - but what I definitely DON'T. In a sense, it is far easier to be negative about religion and what is wrong with the world, than to BE the solution - but it is also useful to clarify where you are NOT, in order to see where you ARE (if that makes sense), so at the risk of sounding a bit negative, this is where I'm starting. Bear with me!
- I don't believe ultimate reality can ever fit into a religious system. None.
- I don't believe that any "system of rules" can solve the world's problems.
- I don't believe my viewpoint - or yours - will ever be large enough to encompass the reality of what really is.
- Dogma, of ANY kind, is never a way forward. In fact it leads to the worst kind of ignorance.
- I don't believe in "right and wrong" in any black and white sense. These are concepts that belong with dogma and rules, and can actually stand in the way of understanding and relationships.
- I don't believe that living, believing, praying a certain way is going to make me any more "right with God", or even more valuable as a person. Some of these things may have value for me, but they do not affect my value, or, for that matter, the value of any other person.
- I do not believe that the "religious cultures" that many of us have grown accustomed to, represent genuine faith. The more I look at them, the more I see social and political groups fighting for their position of "privilege". This is completely anti-gospel!
- I don't believe that nouveau, "hip", emergent or liberal versions of Christianity necessarily have a greater handle on "truth", although they have rejected many traditional falsehoods. In many cases I simply see the exchange of one "rule set" for another.
- I don't believe that the institutions we call "Church" are the church at all. I am not "anti-structure" or "anti-organisation" per-se, but I do not believe that true, relational faith can be contained in them. Because of this, I don't support the re-invention of "Church" as a religious institution.
I think that about covers it... I may add to this list if I think of more. Meantime - what are your thoughts? Do you think I'm going too far? Not far enough? Are there any points you would add or delete? Why? Over to you!!
Hi Kerry,
ReplyDeleteThere are numbers of things I don't believe anymore, and things I've said and done that now I cringe at. I do believe there are some black and white right and wrongs, though - Jesus gave us a few. Structure is helpful too, as long as it facilitates relationships. Families that eat together tend to have more functional relationships than those that don't. If we never eat with our family - or do whatever we like cos there's no right and wrong - then we're operating in something of a vacuum - and that can really suck!
Hi Caro - thanks for reading and commenting :)
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that structure can be helpful - the key phrase, for me is exactly how you said it "as long as it facilitates relationships".
I'm not sure where you're at with the "black and white" right and wrongs - but the way I tend to see things now is in terms of whether or not they damage relationships. It is wrong to hate. It is wrong to hurt - but every situation is different, so no set of black and white "rules" is ever going to really cover it... does that sit okay with you?
PS - the daffodills on my table look absolutely gorgeous! xxx
I enjoyed reading your list of things you don't believe in. Sometimes its harder - or at least I find it so - to articulate exactly what it is I do believe. I'm looking forward to reading more about your beliefs.
ReplyDeleteDoug, it is defninitely harder to articulate what I do believe - I think part of that is simply because reality is much to big for my heart and brain to fully grasp! Might take me a while to put it together, but shall definitely share my perceptions of my own "piece of the elephant"!
ReplyDelete