I’m not sure what to do with this new revelation. Am I supposed to start reading the Bible, go to church every Sunday…? I don’t feel like whispering Thank you Jesus in every third sentence. I still don’t put my faith in God or Jesus or even the Holy Spirit. I don’t believe that “Jesus is the answer”. The Holy Spirit might actually be what I like to call The Universe, but doesn’t The Holy Spirit sound awfully pompous?
It feels like quite a big thing, to discover that the Bible isn’t that bad after all but actually a book I can agree with and possibly even learn from, but I am still not even nearly at ease with Christianity because my experience says that WAY too many people live “by the book” and are die hard believers of the stories therein. They focus on the wrong things, they focus on the stories and the characters and fail to see what it really says and wants to teach us.
I struggle with this every day on my other website. I want to teach people how to care for their hair, how to make the best of it and what to look out for in ingredient lists. I write page after page describing different ingredients and why they are bad and how to identify them on the labels, but I have found that many people don’t want to learn. People are lazy, they want ready-made lists of products to use rather than learning to read labels with the chance of finding new products that also are okay to use. They want to be told what to do, they don’t want to think for themselves.
I guess it’s the same with life philosophies.
But come on. Do you really believe that if you are just righteous enough and pray to God the right way, “he” will make the sea part for you so you can walk straight ahead? Really? The actual sea? Come on! If that is so, don’t you think we would hear about it on the news every day? “The Atlantic Ocean dried up a path today”. “The Alps lowered themselves for two hours last week”.
Or maybe God just hasn’t sent anyone on a mission lately.
I once had a biology professor who was both a man of science and a Christian. The way he viewed things, the Bible is a storybook. Jesus didn’t really part the sea, or turn water into wine. There wasn’t a flood that wiped out the entire population. According to my professor, the bible isn’t to be taken literally. It was written to teach people life lessons through stories that they could pass on from generation to generation.
honestly, I think that as long as you are a good person, a truly good on the inside person, then you have nothing to worry about. Whether or not there is a heaven, hell, god, the holy spirit,etc is something we will only find out after death (maybe not even then…maybe nothing happens when we die). So the only thing to do is live life the best way possible!!
Sounds like your professor and I share the same viewpoint, Anait!
It all revolves around one’s definition and acceptance of faith, perhaps more difficult to define or rationalize than any other concept in our life. Christianity starts with the basic tenet of Jesus as the son of God, then it follows that it is truly possible for water to become wine, (Moses not Jesus) parting the Red Sea, and people rising from the dead. Without a basis of belief, then these stories are simply that, just stories.
You can look at it from another angle. Would you intrinsically know how to care for hair and teach others to care for their own hair in the manner you do now without some training, or perhaps an example? As I see much of the New Testament, we are provided with an example of how to be that “good person”, something that doesn’t always come naturally to everyone all of the time. It is ludicrous to consider the Bible as an instruction manual for every aspect of life, whether you live 2000 years ago or 2000 years from now. Sadly, when you give people a couple of thousands of years and multiple nuances of translations and word plays, using the Bible to justify anything is an inevitable possibility. On the other hand, I can not accept that the Bible is simply a work of fictional literature handed down from generation to generation. It contains something different, something special for all of humanity, not just a self-styled chosen few.
As a professional and committed scientist, my preliminary conclusion is that science is not the antithesis to religion (eg… evolution is not in conflict with Catholicism). One is not designed or intended to prove or disprove the other, though there are those who try. Science is an exploration of God’s logical handiwork, not a method for proving or disproving His existance. (For a wonderful series of essays on the topic, see http://www.templeton.org/belief/) Along those same lines, faith is quantized: you either have it or you don’t. Faith is not a blind acceptance (ie… “Cancer/disease/tragedy is God’s will”), nor is it something to pull out only when convenient or needed (ie.. “Please God make me rich”). All of the interpretations and rules of a religion, church or sect are only human speculation on the intentions of God. In what ever manner you chose to anthropomorphize an omnipotent being, I certainly do not presume “to know what he is thinking”, just as I do not presume to know what is truly in the hearts and minds of the person sitting next to me.
Of course, this is just my opinion……
JCM
JCM, thank you so much for sharing your opinion! I think this topic is really interesting and am struggling to find the best approach (for me) to religion and especially Christianity because that is the religion I was born into. To be honest it’s been 15 years since I read the Bible, but as far as I can remember there is a HUGE difference between the Old and New Testaments, where I suppose the New Testament actually *is* a history book with eye witness stories whereas the Old Testament better fits my theories. I’ve always been more comfortable with the Old Testament!
Well, I’ve borrowed a book about Jesus and the New Testament, which I hope will shed some light on the matter.
Hi Annika, I enjoy your blog very much. You describe your feelings so well. What a surprise that my first comment would be about my own beliefs and thoughts about Jesus! Yes, Jesus was truly true son of God. The same goes for you and me and all of us; we are sons and daughters of God, each equally and none more than another. Jesus did things we call miracles because he knew these things can be done and didn’t have any doubts. I think Jesus was a great teacher and I (or anyone) can have him as a conpanion and a guide even if he has moved on to another level. A lot in the book series Converstations with God (by Neale Donald Walsch) resonates with me and I really recommend these books to anyone who hasn’t read them yet.