Why I Believe – A Pause to Respond to Comments 3

Greetings Dear Reader,

It was asked in one of the comments why the God of the Bible is seen as the only God by Christ followers.  I want to answer this very carefully because it is an honest question and deserves a respectful and loving answer.  Too often those who follow Christ are arrogant and dismissive when this question is posed.  That is definitely not in the spirit of things that Christ taught us.  Even Paul, a Pharisee insists that we “dedicate our lives to Christ as Lord. Always be ready to defend your confidence in God when anyone asks you to explain it. However, make your defense with gentleness and respect.”

It is difficult to approach this answer externally.  It goes to the problem of being inside or outside of this faith.  The internal and easy answer is that Yahweh insists over and over that he is the only true God.  This is not unique but if I accept the Bible as authoritative then I must accept this.  Christ also verified this. 

To answer this from inside then one must first then assert that the Bible is authoritative.  I will not attempt to do that here because there are excellent volumes that one could read that do it much better than I can.  Here are two of the best.

The Inspiration and Authority of Scripture by Rene Pache

Inerrancy by edited by Norman Geisler

When in college I had the privilege of being Norman Geisler’s student aid whilst he was on campus for a week long seminar.  His specialty is Christian Apologetics.  I found him to be both humble and honest in his pursuit of reasonable answers to why we believe.

The hard part is that just claiming to believe this sounds arrogant and I do not know how to get around that.  Answering this from outside is a whole other matter.  Since I am endeavoring to be honest in my answers and not give any cliché or pat answers, I must first say I cannot prove anything beyond the need for faith to accept it.

So to get to the heart of the question concerning other belief systems I will first say I could not personally accept anything where God or the gods are not something far beyond me.  But even in the Bible God promises that all who seek him will find him.  If that is true then whether I know the answer of not he will extend himself to those who honestly seek him whether they know the right words or not. 

If I am honest then I cannot say how he does this.  Too often we dismiss this honest question with a call to missionary work or evangelism.  Jesus told us we were to teach all men to do according to his example.  I am familiar with many other faiths and I know that in each of them are adherents who are just as earnest as I am to mine.  As a man of faith I believe that God knows what he is doing with this dilemma. 

Paul makes it clear that those who do not know the Law (the Law of Moses) are not judged under the law. If I am to hold that God is just, merciful, and loving then I must balance that with that he is also unwilling that any should perish.   This means that for me that I see the richness of following Christ and wish for others to have it.

Some will condemn me for not taking a harder line here but to me that would be counter to the way in which Christ approached things.  Jesus condemned most harshly those who made the law more burdensome than it was intended.  He accepted everyone and invited them to see the Father through his eyes. 

If I am to follow in that spirit I cannot condemn anyone who disagrees with me.  I must be honest and stand by the truth that my singular God will reveal himself to anyone who diligently seeks him.  To claim that I know all the ramifications to that would be a lie.  If I am secure in faith that would seem to be enough. 

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store."

Why I Believe – A Pause to Respond to Comments 2

Greetings Dear Reader,

I wanted to pick up on the second round of comments made by Patrick Sharp about God and his nature.  I think that Paul Copan address the seeming problems with God’s nature in his book Is God A Moral Monster: Making Sense of the Old Testament God far better than I could.  What I will respond to is that God does speak of love as the prime mover in his approach to us. 

I think that this also leads us back to the question of sovereignty.  Most systematic theologies make it clear that God is sovereign and perfect in his attributes.  I realize that it is impossible to “prove” that God is any of these things.  Again I think it is one of the required quandaries of faith. 

If we approach this conversation from inside faith then it is easy to see the logic of it.   If we approach it from outside then it makes little sense to us.  Since God requires faith to approach him it is much simpler to reason our way away from him than towards him.  C.S. Lewis comments on this clearly when he explains that we see things differently from the inside that we do from the outside. 

I think that in trying to harmonize the Old and New Testaments we have to look carefully at Patrick’s note with and addendum.  Patrick writes:

“The only truly great example that exists in The Bible is the story of Jesus. He flies in the face of the eye for an eye ideology that exists throughout the Hebrew Bible. Jesus begs those that will listen to neglect vengeance and embrace mercy. He strives with religious leaders to denounce their holiness and accept that all men are equal in the eyes of God. He teaches that the end of days will bring about justice, peace, and that compassion should and will rule all. “

Jesus makes it clear that he did not come to destroy the law but to fulfill it.  I would differ that Jesus is the “only” good example of this but I would say he is the best example of it.  I think that Job is clearly favored by God for his faith and following.  Jesus affirmed the Old Testament and used it to show us he was God’s next step in completing our redemption. 

When we study the life of Christ we see someone who embraced the law and sought to show the imbalance that had become part of the abuse of the law.  When Christ challenges the Pharisees he points out that they must not neglect the weightier matters of the law.  In simple language the requirements of being a Christ follower have little spiritual voice if the follower does not embrace the social voice as well.

Even in the Old Testament it was clear that those in need were to be cared for by those without apparent need.  The stranger in the land was to be treated with care and kindness.  I think that part of the reason for Jesus commenting so heavily on the social aspect of the law was because the religious leaders had strayed so far from it.  I think that this so closely parallels the political division in America.  No matter how much religious truth one has they have no voice if they do not embrace the social aspects of the Gospel with equal fervor. 

Faith in God is only reasonable when both things are in balance.  Following Christ involves both.  Embrace the law without the social gospel and God loses his compassion in the eyes of those in need.  This leads to a very dangerous and God hating world.  Embrace the social gospel without the law of a just and holy God and one cannot help but lose the morality that a society needs to remain healthy.  Jesus very clearly embraced both and asked us to follow him is the same manner.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store."

Why I Believe – A Pause to Respond to Comments

Greetings Dear Reader,

I have had some very interesting comments and questions since I started discussing this topic.  I am going to respond to a few them.  I do not intend to be argumentative as my purpose here is not to persuade others but rather to examine my inner reasons for why I am who I am.

Patrick Sharp has made some valid observations worthy of response.  I will attempt to be brief and clear.  I can often do one or the other but rarely both.  I will agree whole heartedly that it is difficulty to have faith without a “degree of irrationality.”   I wonder if something has to be rational to be reasonable.  I think not.  I think because the metaphor is “a leap of faith” that we must concede to the irrationality.

Mr. Sharp also points out that there is clear mathematical evidence for life outside of this world in the universe.  I concede this without hesitation and would go on to say that I hope it is true.  Just seeing the creativity of this world makes me wonder what other worlds a creative God would design.  As to the proof of evolution I would say that one can draw other conclusions without denying the validity of the things we observe.  I have always had difficulty with the notion that what I can observe is the measure of what is true. Perhaps attempting to quantify faith or make it rational is an exercise in folly.

I would also like to address a question from one of my Anonymous readers.  Anonymous asks “Is it possible to have a relationship with God and not read the bible completely or to study him?” 

I would whole heartedly say yes.  I think there are several places in the Bible where God obligates himself to reveal himself to those who seek him.  My more conservative friends are going to chafe at this and I ask their indulgence.  These are my thoughts and I am willing to be wrong if I am wrong but I must be honest in my error. 

In Jeremiah God makes is clear that those who wholeheartedly seek him will find him.  I cannot speak for God in this matter as my knowledge; having been literate and read the Bible over and over find no limitation on the possibility of God revealing himself.  Since we are required to approach God in faith, I would think that he would always respond to the faith based act of seeking him.

I cannot say exactly what God wants from those who are not exposed to the things I have been privileged to learn.  I can say that he will go to great lengths to honor those who seek him.  Perhaps there is a harmony here between the two individuals to whom I respond.  After all the primary focus of God is a relationship.  Science and vocabulary mean little when we factor in the desire to know someone and develop a loving relationship with that individual.

I want to thank everyone who interacts with me here.  I am will continue responding for a bit and continue writing about my thoughts in this area.  I will not argue or attack anyone.  That would not be in the spirit of the faith I attempt to follow.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store."

A Very Public Apology and Reassurance

Greetings Dear Reader,

First' I would like to publically apologize for the impact this morning's post had on at least one of my Sons.  I was not refering to my children when I spoke of the interaction between Father's and Sons.  I hope my children will forgive this lack of clarity on my part.

My children have stood by me even when it was difficult for them to do so; even when I was wrong.  Again they are not the allusion I was attempting to draw and I am sorrowful that they felt this way even for a time.

Second, someone asked if I am pondering walking away from my faith.  No I am not.  I am attempting to walk through what I believe looking for answers to some things that plague me.  I will not forsake following Christ if I do not get those answers.  So often Christ followers act like everything is OK when it is not.  I am merely trying to be both open and genuine. 

I am not sure why this morning's post was so unclear but I will offer this:  I am in a place where many things hurt and where I am not always clear.  Please continue to interact with me when I am not clear.  Again I apologize if I have alarmed anyone.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Why I Believe – Unique Direction Part 2

Greetings Dear Reader,

At this juncture I come to a crossroads.  What do I do about this God that I believe exists and believe is higher than me.  I try not to “Bible thump” in my thoughts and questions but I would also state clearly that I accept the Bible as authoritative.   The crossroad that I must address is one leaving my own thinking and looking at outside sources.  I am getting ahead of myself.

The whole reason I bring this up that one must ponder how God would reveal himself to us.  This is the idea of direction that I wish to explain in my journey toward God.  Either there is something greater than me or there is not.  It is a binary choice.  I choose to believe that there is.  To think there is not seems prideful or arrogant. 

Again if I am totally honest I feel that I am trying to dance on ping pong balls here.  Since most who dismiss my views also dismiss the Bible it is difficult to explain my views without one of God’s keys sources of revelation.  Here I come to a ponderous place that causes me great discomfort.  I wonder how many people have really read the Bible as opposed to studying it.  There is a vast difference.   

When I first considered following Christ genuinely I read the Bible.  I looked for the story not the theology or the dogma.  I looked to see what God wanted me to know about God.  What I saw was a God with very little gray.  He seemed very all or nothing in regards to his desire for us to follow him.  Even in his commands though there was a thread of love.

In this then I began to see that there was a difference between me and God.  Mapping that difference comes down to asking what God and I expect from each other.  If God is going to hold a position of authority as the Bible claims he does, then what gives him the right to do so?

The thing that first go my attention was that God wished to journey to me so that I could journey to him.  It makes no sense to me that we say we have studied the Bible but that we have not truly read the story.  I will get to the bits that are necessary for a divine being to relate to mortals but first I would offer this:  Would someone dare boil down the relationship he has to his spouse to “I have studied her and find her suitable.”?  Should a woman evaluate her husband based on studying things about him when the relationship is to be based on love that is bidirectional? 

In kind, when our children do not understand what we do how do we feel about them treating us badly?  How do we measure their love of us when they reject our ways?  We love them anyway.  We grieve for their lack of understanding.  We show them patience, grace, and kindness in hopes that they will see that we are not as misguided and simple as they think we are.

I came to the place where I saw that God had to be higher than me and that he did truly love me.  He is more than a parent but wants me to see his Father aspect through Christ.  He is more than a bridegroom but wishes me to see him as a loving a faithful husband.  He is more than good but wishes me to see him in my goodness to others.  I cannot merely study God and hope to relate to him.  The journey is one of relationship. 

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store."

Why I Believe – Unique Direction Part 1

Greetings Dear Reader,

In my journey toward belief I conceded that there was something beyond me.  There is an inherent arrogance in the faith I profess.  As someone dear to me pointed out the God I follow is very clear that he is jealous and will not tolerate rivals.  He has dealt with people violently and ruthlessly.  If I am to be honest in my profession I must admit that on the surface these seem contradictory to the humble Christ who came to fulfill the law.

The first thing that I wrestled with after accepting that God existed was how one could reconcile his love and mercy with his violent justice.  It took some deep and honest thinking on my part to see how God could be both.  I think that to keep from being over long in any one post I will address this in two or three parts. 

If I choose to believe in a God then I must choose if he has character, intellect, morals, and values.  It would seem that just the creativity involved in the world would rule out a god without personality.  The question then is what is this God in relation to me?  Not to put too fine a point on it, this God would be sovereign, in control, and free to do as he wills.

It makes sense that a sovereign God would then either be good or bad.  It makes sense that he would have a will and want that will to permeate his world.  I struggled with all of this deeply because I could not reconcile a good God to the violence and rigidity I saw in the Old Testament.  To be transparent I must say that I still struggle with this at times. 

I think part of the answer lies in that struggle.  Because I am not perfect and not wholly good it is hard for me to conceive of a being who is.  This being who is beyond me truly holds all the cards.  He is GOD.  This is a true hinge on which belief must swing.  I must accept God as sovereign if I am to make any progress in reconciling what remains.  He must be good if I am to reconcile any of it.  So how do I find it reasonable that there is a sovereign good God?  We will get to this part of my journey after we review some other aspects.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store."

Why I Believe – The Mind of God

Greetings Dear Reader,

Before I dare say anything on this topic I must put forth a caveat.  I do not profess to have any sure knowledge of the mind of God.  I am sure that his mind is so much vaster than mine that I cannot begin to conceive it.  What I intend in addressing this topic is to show that like God’s existence is reasonable his intellect shows us that we can reasonably accept that he would wish to communicate with us.

Nothing in this commentary is new.  I am simply reviewing the journey that took me to the faith I hold. From the outset in Genesis God makes it clear that he wishes to know us and more importantly that he wishes for us to know him.  The creation account is obvious in its personal approach to the relationship.  The first thing declared not good is being alone. 

I have struggled with loneliness all my life.  God’s desire for us to have communion with him and to know him well sings to that empty place inside of me.  Nothing about this is unique to me but rather I feel it so very deeply because it is me.  We are designed by God to be fueled by our proximity to him.  This is not a physical proximity but rather the closeness in which we follow Christ.

I see the lives of those who have left this following and there is a gauntness there that I cannot plumb.  I can measure my ability to handle the dark places by my tether to Christ.  The mind of God is one that wishes us to know him.  In that knowing is where we find our way. 

His desire is for us to be in harmony with who he is.  That never changes.  He promises that we will eventually know him as completely as he knows us.  It is intellectually reasonable that if the universe has a designer that this designer wishes to be known by his design.  That we have a free and independent intellect allows us to reason that the desire to know means that there is something to be known.   

Simply put the mind of God is one that wishes to be known.  He wants us to seek him and wishes for it to be both cognitive and emotive.  He wishes to reason with us and to move our hearts.  He wants our faith to be reasonable and passionate all at once.  He wants our spirit to hunger for him but wants that spirit to be subject to reason as well.  As with all things he seeks the fulfillment of all our being.

I believe because it is reasonable to seek that mind which is greater than mine. 

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store."

Why I Believe – Reasonable Faith

Greetings Dear Reader,

As I approach this discussion I wish to be sure to define my purpose.  I am not attempting to rehash things that people already know but rather to review the things that led me to the reasonable faith I hold.

It does seem that anything that requires a leap of faith immediately becomes less than reasonable.  This, however, is not true in practice.  We reason our way to acts of faith often.  The face of faith in our daily lives is trust.  I trust that chairs will hold me even if I have never used them.  I trust that a door will open when I pull or push as the sign says. 

Even though I have encountered locked doors and been the victim of weak chairs it has not shaken my faith in doors and chairs.  We do, however, treat God this way.  We see failures in others and use that as an excuse to blame God and weaken our faith in him.

The idea of God requires faith no matter where you land on the line of belief or unbelief.  Someone who says they do not believe in God is actually saying I believe there is no God.  It is still an act of belief or faith.  This then leads to the question of what is reasonable in matters of God.

If there is no God and no design to our existence then I must ask if the accidental occurrence of man is truly reasonable.  An honest mathematician would concede that the mathematical possibility of man’s ascent through evolution is very improbable.  Even if one can reason his way to this point one comes to a precipice that requires a leap of faith.  So I then must ask which BELIEF is more reasonable?  Did we emerge from some primordial ooze due to billions of mathematically improbable perfecting mutations over billions of years? Or did an intelligent architect design and build a world for us that was to his liking?

I would not presume to tell you what to think but for me ruling out the existence of a designer seems much more a leap of faith than accepting one.  One might argue that it is unscientific to accept as real that which we cannot observe.  That too is a faith based requirement.  It is impossible to prove that the only things that are real are those things we can observe.  This is a belief not a proven fact.  Further true and accurate science draws conclusions often from the effect of an event that cannot be observed. 

At best an honest person must say that it takes a measure of belief to accept or reject the existence of God.  An honest person must also concede that we indulge in faith based actions on a daily basis.  Given a choice between the two the existence of God is the simpler of the two explanations.  I, therefore, believe that God exists.  If this premise is true, then it is reasonable that he would have an intellect.  I will ponder the mind of God tomorrow.

I welcome your thoughts.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store."

Why I Believe – Introduction

Greetings Dear Reader,

I am hoping to open a dialogue here.  I tire of my monologs with little interaction.  Over the next few days I am going to attempt to present and apologia for my faith.   This is an exercise for me in reaffirming what I believe and why.  I think that failure to examine these things regularly can lead to either dead orthodoxy or weak faith.  Neither of these is acceptable to me. 

In this exercise I will review the reasonableness of what I believe.  I also hope to honestly review the things that are not truly representative of being a follower of Jesus Christ.  I spent too many years focused on things that are not central to following Christ.  I, therefore, contributed to the misinformation about what it means to follow Christ. 

The first thing I will note is this; I believe because I have worked to seek truth.  I spent much time examining my options before I embraced Christ.  I spent too little time evaluating the trappings that others attach to faith before I embraced them.  In my first years as a Christ follower I was so concerned about pleasing the group of followers with whom I traveled that I did not consider that they journeyed far afield of Christ’s intent.

Further down the path I realized that when Christ talked about the road being narrow he was not talking about conservative or liberality.  I think he was excluding extremes in favor of the very narrow tenets he did put forth.  I will delve more deeply into these at the end of this part of our journey together. 

We are all on a journey toward God whether we embrace that truth or not.  Fortunately we have a God who comes to us so that we my journey toward him, follow him, and walk with him all at once.  This too will be key to our discussion.  Please, walk with me for a bit and as always I value your interaction.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store."

The Secret Language of Snails

Greetings Dear Reader,

I am a doting Grandfather.  My Grandsons are brilliant, beautiful, and brightness in my life.  I try not to write about them too often in this forum because not everyone relates to children.  Yesterday, however, Orion did something that will remind me often of the value of being led by children.

I was visiting with my Son and his family yesterday and Orion was playing with a stuffed frog and snail crafted for him by his very talented Mamaw (for those who do not know “Mamaw” is the southern term for one’s maternal Grandmother).  The frog is green (pronounced “geeen” by Orion) and the snail is red and yellow. 

Whenever Orion and I talk about snails or he is impatient I sing a song for him.  It is

Herbert the Snail’s Patience Song.  You can listen to it HERE.  It is from the children’s musical Music Machine.

Orion runs up to me with the frog and snail and says, “Sing it Ganpa (Orion speak for Grandpa).   So first I sing a song about a frog for him.  Then he says, “Snail song Ganpa.”  So I sing the Patience song.

Then to change the pace I ask Orion, “What does the frog say?”

He answers, “Ribbit Ribbit” there is a pause and then he continues, “Snail says ‘have patience.’”

What a lovely lesson in how we influence children without realizing it.  It brought to mind how patient his father, my Son is in dealing with his children.  It often inspires me to be more patient with others.  My Son was not home when Orion first did this early in the day.  At dinner last night he showed me that the association had stuck by having him say it for me.  Although I have no idea what snails really say, I have no intention of correcting this.  Who knows, perhaps Orion is tuned in to the secret language of snails.

Patience

There was a snail called Herbert who was so very slow
He caused a lot of traffic jams wherever he would go
The ants were always getting mad and the beetles, they would fume
But Herb would always poke along and sing this little tune

Have patience, have patience
Don't be in such a hurry
When you get impatient, you only start to worry
Remember, remember that God is patient, too
And think of all the times when others have to wait for you

When Herbert was much younger, he often got in trouble
Forgetting that he was a snail, he did things on the double
He'd crash through every spider web and with crickets he'd collide
'Til one day Herbert's father took his speeding son aside

Have patience, have patience
Don't be in such a hurry
When you get impatient, you only start to worry
Remember, remember that God is patient, too
And think of all the times when others have to wait for you

As you can well imagine, there's a moral to this tale
Some of you may find yourselves behind a creeping snail
So if you get impatient and you're easily disturbed
Think about this little song and take a tip from Herb

Have patience, have patience
Don't be in such a hurry
When you get impatient, you only start to worry
Remember, remember that God is patient, too
And think of all the times when others have to wait for you - Frank Hernandez & Sherry Saunders Powell

“And a little child shall lead them…”

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store."