Tag Archives: theology

Leap of Faith

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Sean, a buddy of mine and long-timer reader of this blog, made a comment that I think ought to be highlighted. Responding to my post about an atheist’s argument against the veracity of Jesus Christ’s claims, and a mutual friend’s comment, he wrote the following.

"My God isn’t some pie in the sky, and He’ll change your life if you’ll let him."

This gets to the root of why I’m not religious. Everyone says something long these lines. Everyone wants me to make a leap of faith, but no one has been able to give me a reason to leap into their religion over the other ones, without out first making a leap of faith. (I hope that paragraph isn’t too contorted)

Nope, it’s not too contorted. You don’t want to look before you leap, especially since most if not all religions claim to be exclusively true. They can’t all be right. To which should you leap?

I’d like to open this up to discussion. What reasons would you give Sean to have faith? Why is Christianity right while other religions are wrong (or at least less right)? I’m sure Sean will let us know which reasons have been beaten to death and carry no currency with him, so let’s avoid the well-worn apologetical arguments. Perhaps some of you are fomer atheists or agnostics yourselves. What convinced you?

Do You Believe in Jesus?

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I keep a folder of potential blogging material. I recently pulled out the following post I found in a Usenet newsgroup I used to read. It was also cross-posted here.

Suppose a group of people walk up to you on the street and one of them introduces himself as John, the son of God? Those surrounding him say they believe in John and have witnessed miracles he has performed. One of his disciples announces from the crowd that John has healed the lame and cured the sick. He says "our book teaches that the authorities will cause John great suffering and kill him but he will not die! "Do you believe that John is the Son of God? Why? Why not?

Suppose John proceeds to produce a glass filled with a clear liquid seemingly from nowhere. "I shall turn this glass of water into wine" he says and with a gesture the water turns into what appears to be wine. He then says to you "will you believe me now that I am the son of God, worship and serve me as your savior"?.

Would you?

Would you say that this man is a probably a fraud when you have direct evidence that he has apparently performed miracles?

Trickery you say.

If it is so easy not to believe this man and his supporters how is it possible for you to believe in a 2000 year old story based on hearsay evidence. Beware of false Gods? John has warned his people of them too.

None of the events which point to Jesus as the Son of God is current like the evidence for John? Why is the bible, a book, written by humans such a long time ago taken as the gospel truth? It is even quoted by people as the word of God. Why is John’s evidence that you can see with your eyes not believed? Evidence which is stronger than the evidence from a 2000 year old book?

Do you think people that lived in ancient times were more or less gullible than you? What kind of experiences did the average man have 2000 years ago? How long did he live? What did he read? Did he know what caused disease? What a comet was? What planets were? How old the earth really was? Did he know about germs, penguins and dinosaurs? Good nutrition and health care? Did he know a miracle when he heard about it?

Just wondering.

D. Haas

I’ve always found that to be an interesting argument against Christianity. What do you fine folks think?

Denomination-hopping As State Transitions

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A strange thought just occurred to me. There are always people leaving one denomination (or even religion) and entering another. I wonder if the conversion and apostacy rates could be modelled as molecules evaporating from one liquid and condensing in another. Members since birth and converts that either never leave or leave only after a long time could be modelled as members of solids. In these models, temperatures would be indicative of scandal, heresy, revival, reform, and other major causes of movement between denominations. Also, different groups would have different state transition temperatures, reflecting relative cohesiveness.

Thoughts?

Profane Worship

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clownmass.jpgToday’s Old Testament reading ought to be referenced in documents regarding liturgical abuses. If it already is, please let me know.

“‘And now, O priests, this command is for you. If you will not listen, if you will not take it to heart to give honor to my name, says the LORD of hosts, then I will send the curse upon you and I will curse your blessings. Indeed, I have already cursed them, because you do not lay it to heart. Behold, I will rebuke your offspring, and spread dung on your faces, the dung of your offerings, and you shall be taken away with it. So shall you know that I have sent this command to you, that my covenant with Levi may stand, says the Lord of hosts. My covenant with him was one of life and peace, and I gave them to him. It was a covenant of fear, and he feared me. He stood in awe of my name. True instruction was in his mouth, and no wrong was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many from iniquity. For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. But you have turned aside from the way. You have caused many to stumble by your instruction. You have corrupted the covenant of Levi, says the Lord of hosts, and so I make you despised and abased before all the people, inasmuch as you do not keep my ways but show partiality in your instruction.’ Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us? Why then are we faithless to one another, profaning the covenant of our fathers?” – Malachi 2:1-10 (ESV)

Reformation Sunday

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In the old Roman Rite calendar, today would have been the Feast of Christ the King. This solemnity was deliberately placed on the last Sunday of October to coincide with Reformation Sunday. For reasons lost on me, the liturgical calendar was changed in 1970, and Christ the King was moved to the Sunday before Advent. I fail to see why changing the calendar was required to implement the liturgical recommendations (mandates?) of Vatican II. Anyhow, being an ex-Protestant and an increasingly traditional Catholic, I wanted to say something on the Sunday that celebrates heresy and the painful division in the Church. Thus I offer you the lyrics to "The Church’s One Foundation". The highlighted verse is not printed in the hymnals my parish uses. I really wish it was.

The Church’s one foundation
is Jesus Christ her Lord;
she is his new creation,
by water and the word:
from heaven he came and sought her
to be his holy bride;
with his own blood he bought her,
and for her life he died.

Elect from every nation,
yet one o’er all the earth,
her charter of salvation,
one Lord, one faith, one birth;
one holy Name she blesses,
partakes one holy food,
and to one hope she presses,
with every grace endued.

Though with a scornful wonder
men see her sore oppressed,
by schisms rent asunder,
by heresies distressed;
yet saints their watch are keeping,
their cry goes up, ‘How long?’
and soon the night of weeping
shall be the morn of song.

Mid toil and tribulation,
and tumult of her war
she waits the consummation
of peace for evermore;
till with the vision glorious
her longing eyes are blessed,
and the great Church victorious
shall be the Church at rest.

Yet she on earth hath union
with God, the Three in one,
and mystic sweet communion
with those whose rest is won.
O happy ones and holy!
Lord, give us grace that we
like them, the meek and lowly,
on high may dwell with thee.

Words: Samuel John Stone, 1868