- Episode 31- Where is David? - April 25, 2016
- Who needs The Church anyway? - April 19, 2016
- Episode 30, Choosing Political Evils - April 10, 2016
Christianity is for dummies.
Says so right here in Corinthians: “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God”
I will admit to being uncomfortable with those kind of verses for years. For right or wrong, I consider myself to be a reasonably smart guy. There was a time when I had some pride about it, but then I met some really smart people. People who can do math in their head and not get dizzy; Wiz kids who operate on a different level beyond mere mortals. So humbly I fell back into gratitude for being maybe only being a point or two higher than average. Some days not even that good. But I still have enough pride to not enjoy feeling stupid, so I’ve never really enjoyed/understood the verses about the gospel being foolish.
Another reason is that I think Christianity makes sense. There was a time when I didn’t know what I believed, was God real, could The Bible be trusted, etc. I dug into historical evidence for & against God, the philosophical debates, and creationist arguments.
And while there are some great arguments to be made against the existence of God, there are also some great arguments to be made for His existence as well.
But cleverly worded arguments can only take you so far. At some point, a leap of faith must be taken in order to make it from head knowledge to heart belief. And let us not forget the importance of the Holy Spirit. I mean, really, let us not forget the supernatural element involved here. I don’t mean to get all reformed/Calvinistic here, but a big component of belief/faith is God himself and the effects his amazing Grace in your life.
“For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger tha
n men.” The supernatural “barrier” is, I think, The Last Straw. Either you can grab hold of the existence of something beyond and above what can be seen, or you can’t. And at least in my experience, God himself needs to step in and push you over the edge.
I don’t claim to be an expert in these matters, but it is something I come back to over and over again in my own life. I have wrestled with my faith for decades. I identify with the moniker He Who Wrestles With God. And through the years of this struggle, I’ve grown comfortable with the divide between looking cool and fitting in with other smart people versus looking like a flat earther who believes in God.
So yeah, sometimes we are going to look like dummies for God. But He is ok with that. And if He is ok, then I am ok.
Thanks for reading,
Cliff
