Questions of Faith, January 31, 2010
The following is the written text from Transitional Pastor Bob Brite’s Questions of Faith time. Every six months or so, Pastor Bob takes questions from the congregation and tries to respond (not answer). Below are his responses.
1. How does one develop faith?
The starting point is recognizing that life is based on faith, not concrete existence. Faith life begins with accepting that what is, is. Once you recognize this, it becomes more of a spiritual journey rather than just a material one. Developing faith means finding a faith orientation (ours is Christian), and finding out what things that are meaningful within that orientation, and finding a community that supports your journey. Development of faith is a lifelong journey. God’s self is mystery, and our job is to explore mystery that we might grow as souls. Why? Because the next journey is even more challenging and exciting – we’re to use this world to get ready for the next.
2. Some people describe the Bible as the inerrant word of God. What is your opinion?
I prefer to talk from the Bible, not about the Bible. God provided God’s input into the writing of the Bible. I don’t care about inerrancy – that was an idea that was developed in the late 19th century. The Bible is full of mystery; it’s a book of questions, not all the answers. We need to work through the questions. The Bible doesn’t proclaim inerrancy for itself; we need to take the Bible for what it is and explore it, delve into it, try to work meaning from it. It’s our guidebook through the mystery; faith grows through our interaction with the Bible.
3. If there’s only one God why are there so many religions?
I start by recalling Paul’s words in 1 Cor 13: “Now we see through a glass darkly.” In the human journey, God is mystery. In the human journey, through geography, politics, through people pursuing their own ideas, religions developed historically. Most of the early religions were polytheistic, and then monotheism came in. Different faith traditions are ways of trying to understand life and the creator of life, God. We claim the Christian faith, but I don’t want to call it superior because of the history of Christianity’s mistakes. But I claim the Christian ideals which are also in other traditions. Seeing God as a God of love is about as high an aspiration for God as we can give to God. This is right, good. holy. There are so many religions because we don’t see perfectly, we don’t see clearly; the world is big and we have different understandings. Is there validity in different understandings? Yes. We all have to understand the fact that we all don’t get it. I’m in an interfaith forum of Christians, Muslims, and Jews – we come together because we all wish to be people of faith. I believe in God through Christ, which is from my point of view the best way to understand God. But it’s for God to judge which faith path is the best. The temptation is to say mine’s the best, but if we are to truly follow God as mystery you have to keep and open mind and respect other viewpoints.
4. Why are some of the names in the Bible hard to pronounce?
Well, Greek and Hebrew and Aramaic, and even English, are not the easiest languages to learn. A lot of names in the Bible are used as descriptive phrases. Adam means earth, just as Smith came from blacksmith. I know if I had a son, I wouldn’t name him Melchizedek!
5. Why do good things happen to bad people?
Notice how this question gives a twist on the way we often hear the question. God’s rain falls on the just and unjust. Good things happen to bad people because frequently “those that have, get,” they pursue crass materialism and follow the commandment “thou shall not get caught.” We always asked why is there evil in the world? Some people use this question to reject God. But why is there good in the world? Sometimes it’s the luck of the draw, it’s “them that’s has, gets.” It’s a mess. But life has more purpose when you pursue it on a spiritual plain than material
6. How do YOU balance doubt with faith?
Well if I didn’t have doubt, my faith wouldn’t grow. If I didn’t raise the questions and have the struggles, then I wouldn’t be motivated to look for the insights. Doubt is necessary to grow. If you have no doubts, your faith is static. In times of great doubt (and I go through such times a lot) it’s usually a matter of looking back and seeing I’ve been here before, and seeing how God has led me through before. I know to be patient, and know that God will reveal God’s truth and purpose. Even though doubt is difficult, God provides light at the end.
