Faith

A few years back, I was standing in the foyer of a church after a wedding. As I was looking through the various pamphlets that were set out, I noticed one that caught me way off guard. It was entitled Why Catholics Aren't Christians. And immediately I thought, Really?

What the title should've been was, Why Catholics Don't Know God Like We Do, because that's the point it was trying to get across. 

And then there's the story that just came out about Scott Lively, the American pastor who was the ringleader in pushing Uganda to adopt anti-gay laws that prescribed execution for anyone who was caught being homosexual. This pastor, "called by God," helped bring genocide to Uganda.

And then there's this debate I recently listened to between Richard Dawkins and Oxford University professor John Lennox. The arguments put up by Lennox were so lame that I could hardly watch the whole debate. He couldn't present any rational backing for his beliefs in God, so the debate never really made any ground. 

And then there's the fight against gay marriage.

And then there's the fight against abortion.

And then there's the fight against ISIS. 

And then there's the fight against evolutionism (which is the most bogus).

What all these have in common is, they're driven by a certain kind of faith. But the word "Christian" has been hijacked to the point that the words "faith" and "Christian" are practically synonymous.

It's no wonder Richard Dawkins and scores of other atheists are so militant in their stances against Christianity and religion in general. They're trying to present a logical argument for something that faith-based people haven't really spent any time logically considering.

I'm not against faith by any means, and I'm not against the Christianity I see prescribed by Jesus in the New Testament. However, I am against putting any sort of boundary on Christianity by associating it with issues that it was never meant to be associated with. 

For example, nothing is Christian. Inanimate objects, principles, and events aren't Christian. America isn't Christian. Objects are objects. Principles are principles. Events are events, and America is . . . you got it . . . 'murica! The word "Christian" was merely attached at some point in time to give off the connotation that whatever is being talked about is somehow better now. 

There's no such thing as a Christian nation, a christian dog, or a christian band. But by labeling things as "Christian," people who are not Christian but are trying to build their faith get excluded. And there are all sorts of people who aren't Christian but are very spiritual and connected to God. 

And it's these people we have a lot to learn from. They are the ones who don't have the religion that we've come to use as our security blankets when the shit hits the fan. They're the ones who understand what it's like to journey with God without all the bells and whistles of religion guiding them along. They're the ones who have the courage to develop their own meanings for all the different concepts of faith that have somehow been labeled as "Christian" over time. 

And then there's another kind of person. This person has all the knowledge about different concepts, but never got to the point of questioning. They're on the edge of completely turning off if they haven't already. They're about to give up anything and everything that's even remotely related to faith because of what they're so used to seeing within "Christianity."

For them, the only faith they've ever known is one that's attached to the Bible. 

And it's ashamed that there are probably millions among us who - if you took away the Bible - their faiths would shatter to the ground. 

But faith is much simpler than what we've made it out to be. It doesn't require adhering to any religion, denomination, or group.

My favorite teacher Rob Bell recently said that the Church was close to accepting gay marriage. The statement went viral. All sorts of people started lashing out at him for saying such absurd things. In his belief, our views on gay marriage are stemming from 2,000 year old letters that were never meant to be the guidelines for all future generations. They were meant for a specific time, place, and culture. 

But is what he said really that absurd?

What Bell is doing is presenting a logical argument for faith - one that's been much needed in American Christianity. What he's doing is opening the door just a little bit more so that people who have been convinced that faith is a specifically "Christian" ideal can wake up to the reality that God is already accessible, already available, and already present. 

I choose Christianity because I like the way that Jesus says to connect with God. But that doesn't mean that I hold the only way to God. My Christian faith is but one way to connect with God, but I know many people who have beautiful relationships with God but don't adhere to the way of Christianity. 

People like Dawkins are screaming for logical, rational conversations on the God subject. But the problem is, there's hardly a faith-based person out there who's willing to suspend their beliefs in order to have a civilized conversation about the God subject.

Faith is simple and it's available to everyone, but the only thing that stands in the way is the idea that "I am the last word." 

Complete close-mindedness to all things spiritual is the only thing that'll keep someone out of faith. It doesn't mean that God is not available, but means that the person is not willing to see that which lies just below the surface - or, - Ultimate Reality. 

When religions try to form a monopoly on faith, much like American Christianity has done, it works. I've seen it work. I've seen it take people who have so much to offer to the world, and turn them into spiritually prejudiced, religion-hating, anti-spiritual people who eventually turn off every potential they have in blessing the world through their spiritual makeup. And it's not good. 

Faith, just like God, is much bigger than Christianity or any other religion. It's much bigger than any institution. Why? Because they have no constraints. Yet, everywhere we look, whether it's on Facebook or the news, people and institutions are trying to hijack the reality that God-is-available-and-present-for-everyone by forming a monopoly on faith in God via, in this case, Christianity. 

With all this said, I have one final word.

If you're burnt out on the religion thing, remember that faith and God exist outside of religion. Don't throw away your spiritual potential by letting the corruption of humanity define how you're supposed to experience God. Take the courageous step forward of really diving in and exploring what it looks like to develop your own faith. Not the faith of your parents, your old church, or your old pastor, or your grandmother. Start working out your own faith. Start developing your own practices that usher you into your own God experiences. If you don't agree with some spiritual concept that's been engrained in your mind for years, you do the work of redefining it or throwing it out completely. It's up to you. Nobody else is gonna develop your faith for you.