The other night I spent some time talking to a family member about our faith. For reasons I still don’t understand, she sometimes wants my opinion on a particular Biblical issue. Although I’m honored that she would want my opinion, (“The most important men in town will come to FAAAAAWWWWWN on me…”) I feel badly that I can’t always give her the answers she wants.
We both grew up in the Baptist tradition, which in our case emphasized (among other things) Biblical inerrancy, apologetics, and certainty of one’s faith. For a given spiritual question, such as the Problem of Evil or the once-saved, always-saved debate, there was a right answer from the Bible that we needed to know and be ready to defend. Looking back, I can’t remember how much of the obsession with the “right” answer came from the church and how much came from my own perfectionistic and logical personality. I’m sure both played a role.
As I grew older, through a variety of life experiences and much soul-searching, I realized some things:
- I didn’t really have all the answers on matters of Christian faith, or at least that I didn’t like some of the answers I had to some of life’s toughest questions.
- What various churches taught and emphasized didn’t necessarily match what the Bible taught and emphasized.
- Different Christians, all well-meaning, could interpret the same Bible and understand the same God in vastly different ways.
These realizations scared me in ways I cannot fully express.
I might never forget one lecture at Baylor. A prof was describing a Civil War battle. Prior to the battle, the Union troops prayed to God for victory, believing he was on their side based on their interpretation of the Bible and their religious traditions. At the same time, the Confederate troops prayed to God for victory, believing he was on their side based on their interpretation of the Bible and their religious traditions. Both sides prayed to the same God and read the same Bible. Both sides thought they were right.
The fact that the Union ultimately won the war is irrelevant. What blew me away was the idea that the Confederate faithful thought they were right but were actually wrong. If it were possible for them to be so badly mistaken in one’s understanding of the Word and God himself, what made me so sure that I was correct in my own understanding?
I wrestled with that idea for a long time. I still do to an extent. Finally, in ways I can’t fully explain other than to give God the credit, I found a way to return to a faith that I don’t fully understand, a faith for which I don’t have all the answers. When someone asks me a spiritual question, and I don’t have a solid answer, I can finally respond with, “I don’t know”. And be OK with it.
Thanks to BagOfNothing, I found a really interesting blogger and author named Rachel Held Evans. I’m still exploring her site and don’t necessarily agree with everything she writes (like anyone else). In fact, I guarantee some of you would disagree with her on some points. However, I really enjoy her perspective on Christianity so far. One post in particular, “Ten Things I’m Not Ready to Give an Answer About,” really resonated with me. Check out her site and see what you think.
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- Do You Ever Doubt? I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief! – Mark 9:24 Life is simpler if you never question what you believe. Whether regarding God, morality, science, relationships, or anything else,...
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One other posibility you didn't mention in your example of the North vs. South… both were wrong, and the 'victory' of the North is irrelevant to use as a measure of 'who's side God was on'. In comparison, often as we read about Jesus in the Bible, someone would present him with an "A" or "B" option question, but Jesus would answer with "Z". And, it was usually the religious leaders who were the most wrong of all. Not much has changed since the Bible days.
A very good point, Logan. Just because one side wins a battle or war doesn't necessarily mean God agrees with its position.
One example from the Bible is the Assyrians when they defeated the Israelites and sent them into exile. The Word says God had issues with both sides (idolatry, among others), but for that situation, he used the Assyrians to punish Israel. I should resist the urge to presume that I know God's mind when I interpret world events.
I just remembered a Bible verse dealing with this…
Luke.13:4 Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem?
This is an example of how sometimes bad things happen to "good" people, but there's no reason behind it… sometimes stuff just happens. In today's world, we could use the same example of a young child dying from the result of an accident. No one's fault nor punishment for someone's sin.