So, on Thursday I blogged about an open letter than had been written concerning the Nazarene Article of Faith on scripture. Apparently an anonymous (and presumably atheist) reader of my blog didn't appreciate this, saying that:"The problem is, you still think that some guy died, and three days later hopped back-up like a guru, wall-walking zombie. Furthermore, you think that this zombie guy's take on life 2000 years ago, long before science was even dreamt of, should somehow be trusted today. 'Oh, he's God!' You'll still say, just like the fundamentalist you decry. But you only believe that because you read it in the magic book. So now who is using circular reasoning? Geesh--liberal Christians are still stupid, it's just their island of stupidity is a bit smaller than their fundamentalist cro-mag neighbors."
So, in the interest of not being a "guy [who] believes religious fantasy for reasons he won't reveal ON HIS OWN BLOG", I will blog on the reasons why I am a confessing believer in the Christian faith.
There are several reasons I choose to believe the confessions of the Christian faith, such as that Jesus Christ was divine and that he died and was resurrected three days later. Honestly, the reasons I believe are not in any way driven by reason. They can be shown to be supportable by reason, but I didn't dispassionately assess criteria and then after weighing all the pros and cons of both sides of the argument come to the most reasonable and justifiable conclusion. The reasons I came to faith are emotive. I can offer defense against arguments against Christianity all day long, but they are not the reasons I believe. The reason I have faith is that I feel the weight of my sins, and I believe that Jesus Christ can forgive them and offer me a way of life that is better than what I could have without him.
Anonymous, if that isn't good enough for you, feel free to raise questions concerning the validity of Christian beliefs, and I'd be more than willing to answer them to the best of my ability.
“The Promised Land always lies on the other side of a wilderness.”
4 comments:
Wow. That is exactly how I feel.
Although there are arguments for the faith supportable by reason, I don't think that is why anyone believes. There are emotional and spiritual dimensions to it, giving the Christian faith a far deeper meaning.
It is true. One of my sayings to back my beliefs is "If I didn't see life this way, I couldn't function." This is very true. I believe because I have experienced this concept of grace when I felt I was at most unlovable. I see the broken world, the unlovable and unwanted, and I see grace as the only real, redeeming, honoring answer to suffering. Thus, I believe in the God of grace, Jesus Christ.
- Logan
http://tatteredshoestiredfingers.blogspot.com/
Josh, check out the new digs on Blogspot. We can keep up with the blogging here
Logan
Post a Comment