The Challenge.... In my reading of the first two chapters, a reoccuring thought has continued to resonate: challenging beliefs. I guess this is Rob Bell's approach to breaking down the reader's barriers prior to leading them into his view of Christianity....good approach.
For me, these chapters have both reaffirmed my comfort in my spiritualness and also caused me to question what it is I REALLY DO BELIEVE.
To explain the first affirmation:
What I mean by "comfort in my spiritualness" is my early and sometimes unsure walk with God. I feel that my active relationship (active as in me playing an active role) with God, which only began a few years ago, is still very young and undeveloped. I definately believe God exists and is playing an active role in my life. I personally attest to this belief with reflections of blessings in my life that can't be explained with anything short of an "Act of God" (ie. meeting my wife after my first engagement fell through or watching my mom miraculously fight cancer three times). However, many a time I'm faced with inner struggles which make me feel like I need to understand God completely to REALLY consider myself a Christian.
I felt a lot of solice in reading Bell's statements: 1) "As a Christian, I'm simply trying to orient myself around living a particular kind of way, the kind of way Jesus taught is possible."
2)"Some wait to follow God when all their questions are answered...Instead, we should follow God with our doubts and questions.
These two statements REALLY helped put my spirtualness and faith in God/Christ in perspective. It frees me from the pressure to know everything with relation to God and allows me to concentrate on the way I'd like to lead my life.
My second affirmation: I really don't know what I believe...or maybe better put: I don't know if I have any specific "Doctrines" which I'm tied to?
In growing up with a "mixed bag" type of religion (catholic church with family and attending other denominations with friends), I never really took hold of any foundational doctrines. All that reoccurrs in my head is my mother telling me to always believe in God and talk to him when I need him or need to thank him for blessings. I don't remember actively doing that, but I guess it stuck.
With regards to doctrines, I'm guessing that's a good thing? I only hope that as I grow closer to God and learn more through life experiences, I don't develop doctrines that may blind my faith.
Thanks for reading....
1 comment:
lucky you... one of the things we learn in life is that it is much easier to teach a student who has no specific formed opinions about a subject rather then one who thinks they already know what they are talking about. I'm the guy that "already knows what he's talking about." It becomes very difficult to take a fresh look at the scripture when you've heard the stories a thousand times, heard a thousand messages on a certain topic and already been "told what to think." I constantly struggle on a daily basis not to write off passages or write off statements that I "know to be true" or think I know to be true. I have to many pre-concieved notions. I am hoping this book really works on those notions and helps me with that ability to re-think the scripture that I read and approach it from different angles. I'm more excited about Rob teaching me how to think about a passage then him actually pulling out a new truth from a passage. Goes back to the "give a man a fish and you'll feed him for a day, teach a man to fish and you'll feed him for a lifetime". I want to learn how to fish...
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