A few weeks ago, a student was asking me a lot of theological questions about the veracity of the Christian faith and the Bible. I attempted to distill a lot of theology into simple statements that non-theology people can understand with ease. Questions such as: Did the exodus actually happen? How can the stories in the Old Testament be true when so much evidence points against them happening? Aren't the stories mostly exaggerated? Do you really think Jesus is God, Divine or was he just a human?
This got me thinking about my belief in God and Jesus. I've made a startling discovery about myself-- even if none of it is true, Jesus will still be my Lord and my King! This was startling because it goes against my skeptical nature. I tend to look for solid facts and ideas that can be proven to some degree. Yet, I am discovering that I do not believe in Jesus because of the miracles he performed, or because of the virgin birth, or because he is omnipotent, omniscient, or omni-anything else. These things are all extras for me-- not that I don't believe in them because I do. But they are not the reason I believe in Jesus.
I believe in Jesus because of the way he lived. I believe in Jesus because of the reasons for which he was crucified. I believe that his way will change the world if we imitate it as well. I believe that what he did forever changed the world-- that much is obvious from history! For me, its about not serving Caesar or any other empire's emperor. For me its recognizing the anti-Christ that exists in our world systems and how its systems do not work. For me its recognizing my natural, selfish desires and realizing that those actions that proceed from it (ie. sin) are destroying my life and our whole world. And I believe and trust in Jesus-- his ways, his life, his death-- to provide resurrection. To provide new life for me. To provide new life for the world. To spawn a new creation.
In conclusion, a hypothetical example--
Student: Do you believe Jesus is God?
Me: Yes, I do.
Student: If Jesus was not God, would you believe in Christianity?
Me: Yes, I would.
Student: Why?
Me: I think the person of Jesus Christ is the only hope for my life and a world gone wrong.
We were totally clicking last week, man. How crazy. Of I was a full blown non-believer.
ReplyDeleteI still loved the story; but for me it was a bit more Ayn Rand. We were the highest end. Not in the baller sense, but our happiness and peace was the highest end.
Very honest post...
ReplyDeleteI remember our conversation about this... the "extras" are Jesus' claims - about himself, God, us. If I look at his life and say, "yeah, I'm in, I'll follow you," whatever the initial reason is, then I'm probably going to believe what he says about himself, too.
This is totally unrelated to your post... but I've researching something and i thought it would be helpful to get your thoughts on the issue. What's your perspective on the Bible's stance of women as pastors or leaders in the church.
ReplyDeleteIt seems most churchs tend to fall somewhere in the middle... but that seems to line up less with the scripture then going all out one way or the other.
thought?
Amy, I'm sorry I did not reply to your comment sooner. I did not see it until now.
ReplyDeleteRegarding my perspective of the bible's stance, here are my thoughts...
the bible has countless examples of women in authority, in ministry, serving as prophets, and fulfilling the role of apostle, and even one army general.
In spite of these clear examples, Paul seems to be clear in saying that women should not utter a word in the congregation's corporate worship and that women should not have authority over/of a man. Are these ideas universal and timeless? No. Neither Paul's words or the examples of women in leadership are timeless or universal. Scripture is always cultural-- found in a particular context, spoken to a particular people in specific situations. However, this does not mean that it doesn't have anything to say to us.
Here is what I conclude from all of this: Women have led God's people, revealed his will and message, served as pastors, and many other roles both in the bible and throughout the history of the church. Paul seems to have some concerns about feminine leadership in 1 Corinthians and 1 Timothy. We should pay attention to the kind of culture that existed in both situations and create congruent type of rules and regulations for various situations that arise in our day.
A situation might arise where we restrict men from leading in a particular context. An example of this might be a ministry to men and women who have been abused by men. In such a situation in might be good to limit the roles of men and exclusively have women in leadership roles.
Does that help you out at all Amy?