The difference between faith and argument
Faith is in one way harder to cultivate than the
weighing-up of arguments, because it must involve a step into the unknown. That
is, a step which is taken without having any knock-down evidence which can
confirm that this step is the right one. However, the start of faith is also,
in another way, easier than the weighing-up of arguments. Why? Because, when
this step into the unknown is taken, I believe it miraculously opens a door to God
and Christ coming into a person’s life and radically changing it, but,
crucially, without this person having to tie herself up in mental knots getting
to the ‘bottom of it all’ via argument before she engages with the realness of God’s
and Christ’s love as a new believer. Therefore, for numerous reasons unique to
that person’s life and her circumstances, the start of her faith is made often
with little or no certainty from her about God’s and Christ’s love or purpose; only
from a very personal sense of disquiet and disturbance that that person’s life,
and her response to her life, can’t remain the same. Consequently, she is in
some way profoundly dissatisfied with
her life and how things are and so is looking toward the possibility, however
remote in her eyes, for deep and everlasting healing and change.
Christian faith begins, then, not from a careful and detailed consideration of argument and counter-argument which then allows a person to finally agree to a set of propositions or beliefs about the love of God and Jesus. Rather, it is from a more heart-felt and personal invitation which a person makes to God and Christ that things radically change and that a person’s life is completely recommitted and refocused as a result. This invitation may be made then with little expectation that the change will actually happen, but nevertheless the invitation carries with it the hope that if her life does change, it must be a root and branch transformation.
As it says in Romans 10: 12-13: "The same Lord is Lord of all, and is rich to all who call on Him, for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."
If you like this post then go to Steve Smith's blog site disconnectedchristians.blogpost.co.uk for more blog posts and details of his book Nine Steps to Well-Being: A Spiritual Guide for Disconnected Christians and Other Questionining Journeyers
Christian faith begins, then, not from a careful and detailed consideration of argument and counter-argument which then allows a person to finally agree to a set of propositions or beliefs about the love of God and Jesus. Rather, it is from a more heart-felt and personal invitation which a person makes to God and Christ that things radically change and that a person’s life is completely recommitted and refocused as a result. This invitation may be made then with little expectation that the change will actually happen, but nevertheless the invitation carries with it the hope that if her life does change, it must be a root and branch transformation.
As it says in Romans 10: 12-13: "The same Lord is Lord of all, and is rich to all who call on Him, for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."
If you like this post then go to Steve Smith's blog site disconnectedchristians.blogpost.co.uk for more blog posts and details of his book Nine Steps to Well-Being: A Spiritual Guide for Disconnected Christians and Other Questionining Journeyers
Comments
Post a Comment