…he (Paul) reasoned with them from the Scriptures…
- Acts 17:2
People of faith are often painted as naive. More harshly, we are often vilified, and portrayed as ignorant, or unthinking.
Allow me to start off with two strongly held personal opinions:
Allow me to start off with two strongly held personal opinions:
1) Embarrassingly, the tags Christians are given are often well earned. Religious cliche, pat answers and evasiveness are not acceptable in the face of difficult questions. Beyond this, I believe these responses are faithless. (Which leads to #2)
2) The Christian faith will stand up to scrutiny; any and all! It always has and always will. Truth is truth and will stand in the midst of question.
Now our part…
Jesus calls us to love God with, "…all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind," (Matthew 22:37). Paul writes that we are, "…transformed by the renewal of your mind," (Romans 12:2).
Jesus does not call us to leave our brains at salvation's alter. Faith demands thought. Paul uses words like "study," and "think" in his epistles. Yes, we are saved by a child-like faith. And we should never leave behind other traits of child-likeness: inquisitiveness, exploration, a desire to learn and to know truth.
Paul reasoned in the synagogues and stood among the great philosophers of Greece. He met skeptics and critics on their terms. He spoke to them on their level. And he persuaded many. You and I may not have Paul's intellect or his training, but we are called to diligently apply our minds to our faith relationship with Christ.
The Apostle Peter wrote that we are to be, "…always… prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet (we are to) do it with gentleness and respect," (1 Peter 3:15). It is supremely important to know WHAT we believe and WHY we believe it. This requires us to do the work of studying, memorizing and applying the scriptures. It requires personal worship and meditation (among other disciplines).
The Bible does not specifically address every issue, question or problem of life and the universe. It does however, give us a framework and produces a worldview that empowers us to address the difficult questions. On a couple of occasions Paul writes that we have, or are to have, "…the mind of Christ," referring both to humility and understanding (Philippians 2:5; 1 Corinthians 2:16). I have discovered that when an issue is not addressed in scripture, there is more often than not a biblical principle or understanding that applies with pinpoint accuracy and relevance.
It is a miraculous and marvelous thing; as we come to know the Father more intimately and as we hide his word in our hearts and minds we learn to trust without fear. Our faith becomes unshakeable! (Personal note: I have by no means "arrived," It is a journey.)
Obviously this is a soapbox area for me. And I could go on. But I will summarize with this: The Christian faith is a radical faith because it is based on the irrational love and grace of God. It is also however, a reasonable faith. It is reasonable because it is based on the truth of the one true God.
For now...
D
