what would you say

"why do we need to believe in God when we have mozart?"

hmm. i feel like i grew up in a subculture where this statement wouldn't carry a whole lot of weight because belief in God is highly valued and appreciation of mozart doesn't rank quite as high. when my philosophy professor mentioned the quote i knew it would stick with me. i so look up to people who are passionate about something.

someone who finds beauty in mozart to sustain their soul enough to be satisfied without God would most definitely intrigue me. what would my response be if they asked me why they should believe in God when they could believe in great art, in the depth of beauty and talent in something like mozart's music?

you might be entertaining the notion that the person is asking a stupid question, but they aren't. even if i weren't from the school of "there are no stupid questions" i would stand firm in saying that question is not stupid. we crave attachment and if not found in religion, it can be found in just about anything from great art to politics to the NFL. while modern science continues to fragment our world, art reconnects us. so does religion - and we have seen a resurgence of fundamentalist religions since the 1970's.

what would you say to that question? perhaps you agree with it?

there are a bajillion cliches i could rattle off as a response. surely using made-up words like bajillion would add limitless credibility to whatever i said. HA. i am smart but i have a lot of trouble believing it. i am easily intimidated by intellectual people. there are a lot of logical responses i could give to a person questioning whether or not they should believe in God, but my lack of confidence in my ability to deliver those explanations often stops me from trying.

i don't want to stay this way, i want to be bold. i know that God gives us tools (like an education, information, sound mind, wisdom, etc) to use for a purpose, and i have a lot to offer and i let it go to waste a lot.

two weeks ago at church someone said that one of the biggest injustices we can commit is to know the TRUTH and not share it. gulp. guilty. two days later in my philosophy seminar my professor similarly declared that there is no point in seeing truth if you do not share the truth with others. God is the ultimate jokester with the best sense of humor ever (obviously, He's the originator) because of course He would speak powerfully to me through someone who denies His existence.

i am challenged to get over myself and my measly fears. because what seems like common sense to me is not to other people. the relationship i have with God that i take for granted, is not something that everyone else has.

so what would i say?

SO. MANY. THINGS. i tried writing it all out and realized i would have to hear where they are coming from first. no matter what their specifics were i have a feeling i would have to talk about growing up with so many questions and wrestling through my faith.

i would encourage them to be as skeptical as possible if they so desired, because if they honestly seek it they will eventually find Truth. and yes, there is only one Truth! not a different truth for everyone.

i think people fear skepticism because they aren't sure of what they believe. they don't encourage questions because they're afraid when someone heads down a road of skepticism they won't come back. the person who is afraid to go down that road with them is terrified of what they might find. what if there is no meaning? there is. because if there were no meaning we wouldn't have the capacity to question whether or not there was. what if their current religion or belief system turns out to be wrong? they'd rather stay on a superficial "safe" level. maybe that's why so many religious groups turn into cults, or foster closed off communities that do not encourage life outside of the group, or thoughts beyond "groupthink."

i can confidently encourage you to ask all your questions, do all your soul searching and studying and whatever else. i'm not afraid of what you're going to find, and if i know you're searching than i will be praying for you. and i will be praying that you find Truth sooner than later because it breaks my heart to think of it only being revealed to you after you die. the sooner the better - because it's not even just about eternal consequences - if you come to know Truth on earth you will live an abundant life and have a best friend like no other. God has been the best friend to me, i love Him so much, He's so good.

if a jaded tone is here, it's because i'm aiming a lot of my thoughts at philosophers with a certain hostility toward Christianity. i don't argue with them, i hate arguing. maybe i need to, all the while praying for open ears because they always seem so sealed off, but i know God can open ears and soften hearts.

i also have a pet peeve with arguing because there are a lot of annoying Christian arguments and/or Christians who argue annoyingly. maybe it's one of those things like singing, where it can sound terrible to the person next to you but it's still beautiful to God because it's praise or genuine or whatever. i should give them the benefit of the doubt and say their arguments are being presented out of love for the other person.

i don't remember Jesus arguing with people. i read about Him asking people lots of questions. of course He did. He wasn't one bit afraid of the answers. He knew that even if people wanted to pretend to themselves they couldn't lie to His Father. He knew that He was the way, the truth and the life. Jesus didn't get defensive, He just lived and loved and boldly declared truth.