tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5838625907377357191.post870433032518743726..comments2023-10-30T09:43:02.452-04:00Comments on Confessions of a Stay-At-Home Mom: Matters of Faith Part III: ChristiansStephhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11208441574957302008noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5838625907377357191.post-42886424418677613972011-10-12T02:17:11.986-04:002011-10-12T02:17:11.986-04:00(... continued)
And of course, the ‘how to use th...(... continued)<br /><br />And of course, the ‘how to use the Bible’ question… this one is far more complicated than I can give it in a paragraph. Whole courses are taught on how to use scripture properly. I will suggest, however, that a few fundamentals must be grasped when approaching the bible. First, one needs to recognize that scripture was authored by dozens of authors across centuries of time, and thus, the message in one section may conflict with the message in another section, because the authors themselves could not help but 1)be culturally conditioned, especially in their use of symbolism and metaphor use, and 2) be responding to concrete problems of their day. In short, scripture is a historic document, and so we should not be surprised to find that different authors in different times, responding to different questions, will probably present different solutions. At the same time, scripture was at least “inspired by” and at the most, “coauthored by,” a God who is perfect and thus, never changes. So we have a tension between words that are culturally and historically conditioned and an overarching message that is perfectly consistent. Without a doubt, we need to hold on to this tension when exploring scripture. <br />Secondly, we need to also understand what a particular piece of scripture is meant to tell us. Gustafson, the theologian I cited above, suggests that there is a difference between understanding scripture as “revealed morality” (the rules for how to live rightly – the instruction manual for Creation, if you will) and as “revealed reality” (an explanation of the greatest mysteries of faith – more like a Divine wikepedia page on Creation). Determining which of these two “revelations” we get in scripture is vital for how we come to understand scripture for our use today. <br />I could go on all night, but my actual degree needs to get some of my attention tonight, so hopefully that gives you some new ways of thinking about the problems you have identifies. In the meantime, keep thinking, keep praying, and, for the sake of the rest of us, keep writing. <br />MattMatthttp://moralmindfield.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5838625907377357191.post-44618219622284958012011-10-12T02:16:30.670-04:002011-10-12T02:16:30.670-04:00Dear Steph,
As always, your post here is so real ...Dear Steph, <br />As always, your post here is so real and so on the nose. You articulate so well the struggle of Christian belief that many of us share with you. I thank you for that, and for unabashedly being a Christian on the margins, “struggling with her faith.”<br />A few responses to your points. First, one critical comment, without getting too far off your main point: I don’t think 9/11 is the reason Muslims are feared in this country. It is a convenient and common excuse to say that ‘we’ as a society are not tolerant because of what ‘they’ did on that fateful day and then to urge each other to redraw the lines of ‘them’ to not include most Muslims but only the terrorist ones. However, in that grand effort, if we never redraw the lines around ‘us’ to include everyone, including Muslims and even, dare I say it, terrorists, then are we actually meeting the forgiveness and love ideals of Christianity that you identify? That is to say, we discriminate against Muslims because Islam is different and, sadly, because we need a common ‘other’ that helps us to identify ourselves. We have generationally defined America as ‘not British’, ‘not European’, ‘not Nazi’, ‘not Communist’ and now ‘not Muslim’ and we have fought wars in the names of each of these causes. The saddest part is that we do have a distinguishable culture that is precisely ‘American’, but if we ever took a moment to consciously identify what that is, we might not like what we find. But I digress….<br />On to your main point. I do think you are correct that Christianity, just like any social marker (religion, political party, gender, sexual preference, etc.) , must embody a wide range of participants in that social marker and as a direct result, some will not measure up to the ideal of Christianity, even as they are claiming it as their guidepost. I think worse though are those who claim to be Christian, but as you point out, never give a second thought to what that means. Protestant Theologian James Gustafson once suggested that it doesn’t take Christianity to be the “sort of person” that does good things, but if you are a Christian, it should make a difference for what “sort of person” you are. At the same time, Christian is a label and we ought not get too wrapped up in such things, else we find ourselves wrapped up in the same category as others who claim the same label, but actually believe something very different. In other words, it’s the beliefs that ultimately matter, not the “Christian” label, but that doesn’t mean that when we take on that moniker we don’t bring with it all the good and bad that has been done in the name of “Christianity” before. All we can do is try to embody our own ideal for what a Christian “sort of person” should be and in the process, hope to add a positive image of “Christian” to the library of experiences catalogued in the minds of those we come into contact with. <br />I love your section on jargon. The more education I receive the more I try to be aware of how complicated my language can be when I am talking ‘in my field’, and no doubt, the more I probably fail in that endeavor. I think we all struggle with this. Before you were a mom, terms like ‘snacktrap’, ‘bumbo’, and ‘pull-ups’ were either foreign to you, or conjured up memories of high school gym class. But now, I am guessing they or other words like them are very much a part of your vocabulary. Your point about religious jargon is similar. Jargon is necessary to describe some things that could not be adequately described in any other way – for example, there is no competent word for ‘grace,’ other than ‘grace.’ At the same time, throwing ‘grace’ into a conversation with a non-believer is like telling a non-parent that your child needs their ‘bumbo.’ Language only has meaning as far as both the speaker and the audience can understand it. I think the old adage (usually attributed to St. Francis of Assisi) applies here: “Preach the gospel always, but when necessary, use words” (to be continued...)Matthttp://moralmindfield.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5838625907377357191.post-19845746902699390772011-10-11T13:26:14.314-04:002011-10-11T13:26:14.314-04:00Hi Steph - I just started reading your blog recent...Hi Steph - I just started reading your blog recently and I am anxious to read your other "Matters of Faith" posts! I completely agree with you! I have been a christian "all of my life" (whatever that means)and I have gone through various times of doubt and questioning. I also believe that at the exact time Christians are trying to evangelize their faith they are also turning people away. The real message of Christ has NOTHING to do with condemnation and EVERYTHING to do with love and grace. I am dumbfounded as to why that message is continually lost! The faith is not about dos and don'ts, but about love and acceptance. FREEDOM. I completely understand what you are going through because I have also been there and it has totally changed my life and perspective. I am still a Christian, but I am changed. I now know what my faith really means (obviously there are always still unanswered questions). Thanks for this great post!Nikkihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04671870890832007295noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5838625907377357191.post-22215987638564957552011-10-10T22:37:17.487-04:002011-10-10T22:37:17.487-04:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Giveaway Scouthttp://www.giveawayscout.comnoreply@blogger.com