Recently I had quite the lengthy discussion with my Mom
about Christianity. As usual, I don’t know how it came about. It seemed to
unfold before me so quickly that I became decidedly assertive in my responses.
Perhaps it started with her telling me that “I should be reading my Bible more” and
that “My Biblical understanding was
“PITIFUL”. She insisted that I must “Look
to God for guidance.”
While I usually brush her suggestions out of my mind and off
my shoulders, today I decided to engage. I told her that I have read the Bible.
I understand most of the basic premises and doctrines threaded throughout the
text. To that, she scoffed and said, “You don’t know anything!” She started laughing uncontrollably.
The thought of me merely “thinking that I had a basic understanding of even one
verse in the Bible” made her cackle.
I asked her, “Okay
then. Please tell me exactly what it is that I don’t know or understand about
the Bible. Be precise here. Is it
that I don’t understand Salvation enough? Propitiation? Justification?
Communion? Baptism? What underlying theme or doctrine do I not understand
according to Protestant, Fundamentalist Christianity?
She was hesitant to respond but said, “You don’t understand
that Jesus is in every book of the Bible!”
“Let me tell you what
I do understand”, I said. “Christians believe that Jesus is symbolically
interwoven into every book of the Bible—including most books in the Old
Testament. For instance, in Genesis
Christians will suggest that Adam was a “precursor of Christ”…a symbol of
Christ. I understand the Christian idea that “Jesus was the second Adam”.
Adam’s sin ushered the world into the spiral of sin and damnation. Jesus—the
Second Adam—brought the ultimate solution—his act of death on the cross would
restore the relationship humans would have with God. Unlike Adam who sinned,
Jesus would lead a sinless life. At the end, he would lay down his life as a
living sacrifice for the sins of the world. All humans could be reunited with
God again. We would now have access to eternal life instead of divine
retribution in hell. This is where “free will” comes into play. Humans would
have to exert their own free-agency to accept Christ into their hearts in order
to be redeemed back to God.
Please tell me what
I’m missing here? Yes, I think I understand Christian doctrine…theology.”
I understand how
Christians think and their interpretations of scripture. I took both Old
Testament and New Testament Survey in college back in 1999. Remember?
Furthermore, I understand
that Christians want to get to the heart of the issue—that Jesus is the
centerfold of the Bible—and that everything comes back to him. “It’s not
about knowledge and intellect it’s about the state of the heart” Christians
will repeat endlessly. Christianity is the only belief system which has “God
looking out to man” instead of “Man looking out to God”. I also fully
understand this. I know these basic
premises of Christianity but I reject them based on the idea that I first, and
foremost, do not see evidence for a God—and certainly not for the Christian God
or Muslim God.
She proceeded to tell
me that I should, “Open my heart and stop rejecting God!”
I said, “You’re looking at this the wrong way! I’m not
rejecting God or Jesus. I am no longer within the confines of your world-view. I
think very differently now. I have a hard time rejecting something that I don’t
believe in.”
I could just as easily say “You’re rejecting Mohammed” but
to that you would reply, “I don’t believe in Mohammed (and his claims). You see
how that works?”
“Guess what?” My Mom
interjected, “Mohammed was a real person and he believed that Jesus was a real
prophet of God.”
“Okay then, fine.” I said.
“You’re rejecting the
leprechaun who wants you to embrace him.”
Why do you keep on bringing up the subject of Leprechauns?” My
mother said, incredulous. There is no
organized, developed system of belief with regards to Leprechauns. There is no
text. The Bible has been around for millennia, the beliefs from it have
sustained themselves over centuries and it is still one of the most quoted
books of all time. It has been influential in many aspects of human history. “Yes”,
I agreed. But it still doesn’t mean it is true. Supernatural claims require
extraordinary evidence.
The conversation continued until I finally asked her if she
would ever be willing to admit that she could be wrong. She insisted “Never. I
would never give Satan a foot-hold by allowing the possibility for doubt.” At
that point I said, “And that is where we differ. I will admit that I could be
wrong. I will always be open to changing my mind.” This is where intellectual
humility and honesty starts. If you can’t admit that you could ever be wrong,
then…where can we go from here? You are, at the beginning, already asserting
that you are right, THAT YOU ARE CERTAIN. The truth is, neither of us can be
justifiably certain in our metaphysical positions of reality.
