Friday, June 7, 2013
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Pride and Stubbornness Rewarded in Heaven?
I can be wrong. I know I can be wrong because I have been wrong so often in my life. It is shocking to discover how wrong one is when one starts really researching.... anything.
It's okay that I am wrong. If I am wrong about something I just change what I think to what is correct. It may be a bit humiliating and it can be quite devastating if you are really wrong about something you hold dear.
That's why people don't research their political or religious beliefs. It's dangerous. You could be wrong.
If I study science or theology.... I could lose my faith. Right? I bet you've heard that before.
The premise of that is that Christians are dangerously gullible and we cannot trust Christ to take us through the valley of the shadow of death when it comes to studying history or philosophy or theology or science. As if God truths are easily refuted with vain philosophy. That the great giants of thinkers out there (even other Christian thinkers who do not share our theology) are waiting to spring on us and take our weak, innocent beliefs captive and we will be helpless to do anything about it.
I just can't believe that. I can't believe that is what Jesus wants of His followers, to remain ignorant because we are just simple and ignorant folk. As if God's people shouldn't be educated because it's safer to remain confined to what you were taught as a child.
Wasn't it Christ who said, "Come let us reason together?" Did God make us with brains? He gave us muscles to use. Weren't we supposed to use our heads also?
But you might change beliefs if you study? You might then discover you have been raised believing something that isn't true and you might walk away from those errors making the rest of your family and friends uncomfortable.
That's kinda scary. I know. It is frightening knowing you might step out and learn something that will cause you to let go of the familiar and walk into the unfamiliar. But safe theology, comfortable beliefs, don't mean your beliefs are right.
I have been made to feel downright evil for challenging my own beliefs.
But isn't is prideful to assume you are right about everything? Isn't it prideful to assume your group has been given truth without even really researching what others believe and testing your beliefs? Isn't it arrogant to think your group alone was given special gifts of truth from God and others groups were not? Seems to me that we all need to test our beliefs. That's humble.
Isn't humble good and pride and arrogance bad?
If stubborn ignorance is what God wants then it's the humble who are going to get chastized when they stand in front of God, right? Because the meek were confident that they didn't know it all and listened to others they thought might be smarter or more spiritually mature than themselves. Then admitted when they were wrong and turned to walk in truth. That is going to upset God?
Surely God will not say, "No instead, it is better to just believe and assume you are always right." Those who are the most stubborn and prideful God will reward because they were the most confident of their beliefs and stuck to them never questioning? God wants only those who think faith is simply assuming you're right?
Doesn't make sense to me.
It's okay that I am wrong. If I am wrong about something I just change what I think to what is correct. It may be a bit humiliating and it can be quite devastating if you are really wrong about something you hold dear.
That's why people don't research their political or religious beliefs. It's dangerous. You could be wrong.
If I study science or theology.... I could lose my faith. Right? I bet you've heard that before.
The premise of that is that Christians are dangerously gullible and we cannot trust Christ to take us through the valley of the shadow of death when it comes to studying history or philosophy or theology or science. As if God truths are easily refuted with vain philosophy. That the great giants of thinkers out there (even other Christian thinkers who do not share our theology) are waiting to spring on us and take our weak, innocent beliefs captive and we will be helpless to do anything about it.
I just can't believe that. I can't believe that is what Jesus wants of His followers, to remain ignorant because we are just simple and ignorant folk. As if God's people shouldn't be educated because it's safer to remain confined to what you were taught as a child.
Wasn't it Christ who said, "Come let us reason together?" Did God make us with brains? He gave us muscles to use. Weren't we supposed to use our heads also?
But you might change beliefs if you study? You might then discover you have been raised believing something that isn't true and you might walk away from those errors making the rest of your family and friends uncomfortable.
That's kinda scary. I know. It is frightening knowing you might step out and learn something that will cause you to let go of the familiar and walk into the unfamiliar. But safe theology, comfortable beliefs, don't mean your beliefs are right.
I have been made to feel downright evil for challenging my own beliefs.
But isn't is prideful to assume you are right about everything? Isn't it prideful to assume your group has been given truth without even really researching what others believe and testing your beliefs? Isn't it arrogant to think your group alone was given special gifts of truth from God and others groups were not? Seems to me that we all need to test our beliefs. That's humble.
Isn't humble good and pride and arrogance bad?
If stubborn ignorance is what God wants then it's the humble who are going to get chastized when they stand in front of God, right? Because the meek were confident that they didn't know it all and listened to others they thought might be smarter or more spiritually mature than themselves. Then admitted when they were wrong and turned to walk in truth. That is going to upset God?
Surely God will not say, "No instead, it is better to just believe and assume you are always right." Those who are the most stubborn and prideful God will reward because they were the most confident of their beliefs and stuck to them never questioning? God wants only those who think faith is simply assuming you're right?
Doesn't make sense to me.
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