The straight jacket of freedom

I am on leave (a part of my Sabbatical) at the moment and I am enjoying the thrill of not having to go anywhere at any specific time, however this generally only lasts for a short period until I can find another routine to slip into. I find the in between times of ‘arbness’ rather stressful.

I am still going through “The Reason for God” by Timothy Keller and I am trying to summarize ideas, concepts and truths about the Christian faith that will help me answer questions for myself and help me deal with questions that come from others.

I am also reading another brilliant book about poetry as a means of spiritual practice but more about that one later on.

Immanuel Kant defined an enlightened person as one who trusts in his or her own power of thinking rather than in authority or tradition (Keller, R.F.G. pg46). This is common thinking is it not, in the age of relativism, Aquarius and all those kind of things.
The underlying concept is that we cannot be free if we are ‘straight jacketed’ to anything that restricts our freedom. If one looks at the smooth stroke of the professional golfer, the easy footwork of the soccer player, the first thought is: “ how easy and free that looks.” Let us not be mistaken as what we see is really the outcome of hours, days and years of restrictive discipline and practice that forfeited much else to get that ‘easy’ look. The truth of the matter is freedom comes with a price.

The arbitrary comment often heard today is, “ We can decide our own morality. We the individual decide what is right and wrong.” The counter argument to this is surely found when we criticize leaders who are leading their countries to ruin through their personal sense of morality. We would argue that despite their personal convictions they should act otherwise for the sake of others. In other words there is a morality that is beyond the individual and belongs to all humanity.

(Thoughts inspired by Timothy Keller, The Reason For God)

What do a St. Bernard, a flea and Tess of the d’Urbervilles have in common?

Just because I cannot understand the reason for suffering doesn’t mean there is none?
The illustration goes that if you look into a two-man tent and you cannot see a St. Bernard justifies that there is no St. Bernard in the tent. But, if you look into the two-man tent and you do not see a flea does not mean that there is no flea there (Based on an illustration of Alvin Plantinga). To say that God is not good enough or powerful enough to deal with suffering and make the conclusion that there is no God because of it, is a subjective deduction. To make claims that there is no God or there is no meaning in the suffering of the world rest entirely on our cognitive skills and who can ever claim to know the wonders and horrors of the universe. (Thoughts inspired by Timothy Keller’s book – The Reason for God).

There is suffering that leaves us wondering whether there is any meaning in it but if we examine our lives we will find that the suffering we have experienced has shaped us some way or another. I watched a BBC production of Tess of the d’Urbervilles by
Thomas Hardy recently. I could see no redemption of the suffering she encountered, she even called her dead child “Sorrow”. But, who am I to say what suffering did for her as a person. Who is to say that she would not have had more meaning in life than one who grew up eating cakes and sweet tea? It does leave one with the awkward question, especially the counselor of how we help or redeem people from their suffering?

Do Christian’s bring peace to earth?

Much has been done in the guise of Christian faith that has discredited rather than brought value to the teachings of Jesus. Christians like other religious adherents fall prey to vanity and exclusive tendencies that work their way out in anger and persecution and mimic the very opposite of what we would call peace on earth.

The fundamentalists among us Christian's love to highlight the wrongs of others, the judgment due to others and brandish the verses in scriptures that herald Jesus as being the only way to salvation. If their attitude is anything to go by I don’t know if the world needs to be saved into a place that replicates this pride and arrogance. It is a future I certainly don’t want to be a part of.

If one has to focus on fundamentals the part of Christian faith I would rather be fundamental about is the fact that we are ‘all’ made in the image of God and we all are as much ‘good’ as we are ‘bad'. What is distinct about the Christian is that they recognize the darkness within them that needs redemption and their identity is not determined by how good they are. This ought to keep the Christian humble and non-judgmental of others. The other fundamental I would be fundamental about is that we are called by Jesus to love and pray for our enemies. If we are living by this creed we have to drop our weaponry of words and sharp judgment and reach out ways that transcend the obvious. Maybe in these ways we can say that Christianity will bring peace to earth. (This has been inspired by Tim Keller’s thinking in the book ‘The Reason for God’.)

Myth – Christian faith is declining in numbers

There has been the thinking for some time that through the industrial revolution and through the advance of technology humankind would soon loose their need of God to help them in their troubles. This is what is termed “secularization thesis” (Peter L. Berger). Well here we are at the end of the first decade of the twenty first century and the facts tell otherwise. Virtually all religions are growing in numbers of adherents. Christianity is growing in explosive ways in what is termed the developing world. Timothy Keller in his book The reason for God, refers to Philip Jenkin’s book The next Christendom and highlights that there are six times more Anglicans in Nigeria alone than there are in all of the United States. There are more Presbyterians in Ghana than in the United States and Scotland combined. Korea has gone from 1 percent to 40 percent Christian in a hundred years, and experts believe the same thing is going to happen in China. So, if there are half a billion Chinese Christian’s fifty years from now, that will change the course of human history.

No matter how hard anti-religious groups, governments, regimes etc. try to eradicate humankind’s faith it just doesn’t work. It would seem that the search for divine meaning and significance will continue to burn deep in our souls for centuries to come.

The Reason for God
The Next Christendom

Just started Tim Keller’s book “The Reason for God”

I have just started my next adventure through a book entitled “The Reason for God – belief in an age of skepticism”, by Tim Keller.
Although insulted as a Methodist on the third page: “My family later found its way to a more conservative church in a small Methodist denomination. For several years this strengthened what could be called the “Hellfire layer” of my religious formation…” I was able to continue and find grace to forgive him.
He has begun with a strong case for orthodox doctrine still being relevant and even growing in the urban cities. He sees this particularly amongst the multi-ethnic groups moving into cities like London and New York. His case rests in the fact that the skeptics and those who throw great doubt on the teachings of the church need also examine what that doubt is and so understand their own ‘belief. He also challenges the Christian to examine his/her doubt and make sure they have truly come to terms with their own faith. I look forward to the rest of the book.

Timothy Keller - The Prodigal God

I have just finished this book and it certainly a must read. Tim Keller was called the C.S. Lewis of the twenty first century by Newsweek for what it is work. His insight into the older brother in this story is very informative. It is a very clear call for the 'religious', the 'pious', the 'long time believer' to re-examine their motives and understand grace again. We will definitely preach this and digest it in the Fellowship Groups.