Thoughts

A few things happened this weekend; all of them seem to be connected in my mind.

I’m reading this book called “Religion of Peace – Why Christianity is and Islam Isn’t” by Robert Spencer. In it, he disputes the notion that Christianity is as violent as Islam, as a lot of people are saying. One line of reasoning in this book asserts that the violent texts in the Bible do not equate with the violent tests in the Quran. The Bible’s texts are for a specific place in a specific time, for a specific people, and are not commandments to today’s Christian or Jew. They are narratives. Also, no Christian violence has used these texts to justify what they have done. In comparison, Islam’s violent passages are specific commands, and were used in the past and are used today to justify violence. I’m partway through the book, and I recommend it, and it is a wonderful and enlightening read.

Another thing that happened was that I was “listening” to a discussion in a chat room that two either atheists or agnostics were having. They were mocking the stories of the Old Testament, specifically the account of the Flood. They sounded very academic. They also mocked people who take the Bible literally. A friend of mine in the room got upset. I could have, too, but I try not to get upset at minor mocking. I am a person of faith, I take the Bible literally. I cannot prove that the story of the flood happened, and to tell you the truth, I don’t care to. The stories of the Old Testament are not central to my faith, I look on these stories as true stories that teach lessons. My faith is rooted in the New Testament.

Why are these stories linked in my mind? The people who equate Christianity with Islam and the people who mock the literal taking of the Bible, while they may not hold both opinions, come from the same place. Some people will not see their reasoning behind their belief that Christianity and Islam are the same is illogical. The people who do not understand why we take the Bible literally will not understand why we do. They do not think the same way as Christians do, they see us as having blind faith. Christianity is a mystery, we know that. We understand that there are things that God says in the Bible that we cannot understand, just as we cannot understand God. The Bible says that before salvation, the Bible’s teachings are incomprehensible to man. The Holy Spirit helps Christians understand.

At Sunday morning service today, the teaching was about who we are as a Church. One of the points the Pastor made was that the Church was all about mystery. Something is involved in the Christian faith that is beyond human knowledge. Christians experience the mystery and majesty of God in their salvation. Not all questions can and will be answered.

Honestly, I do not think that non Christians are stupid. Quite on the contrary, I know many who are brilliant. However, they can’t understand the mystery of God. Arguing with these people is futile, in my opinion, and can be detrimental to our calling to bring people to salvation. Praying for them and reasoning with them is the way to go.

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