People very often don't understand what they actually profess to believe. It's common for people to claim to believe the Bible but not have a clue about things like John the Beloved still being somewhere on the earth today, the idea of the laying on of hands, the concept of the holy ghost, the fact that their marriage vow literally says "till death do we part," the importance of keeping the spirit of the law of chastity (don't even lust after a non-spouse in your heart), keep the sabbath day holy, Jesus Christ is the God of the Old Testament, etc.
I like how Catholicism is reverent about Jesus Christ. If we really consider Jesus to be the God of the universe, the almighty savior of this and other worlds, then it seems incongruous to plaster his name on a parade float in place of an animal in a crude vernacular slogan, or to place his name in a stupid joke. Devout Catholics understand this idea. They are reverent about Jesus Christ's name. Some kinds of evangelical Christians consider the biblical injunction to take upon yourself the name of Christ to mean say it as often as possible, and to put it on as much stuff as possible. I don't understand how it's possible for this to not conflict with the third of the ten commandments: don't take the Lord's name in vain. See first point.
People can like the stories in the Bible and use them in their art without believing they are true, or all true. See point about not understanding what they profess to believe. If you think the stories of Jesus are a series of nice, happy, inspiring tales but they aren't true, then... How is it nice, happy, or inspiring that he was a liar and a con artist? It doesn't make any kind of sense. If you revere the apostles in your art but you don't know who they are or what they did, is your art even about them or about your desire to conform to a set of ideals or values that are external to your own? Aren't you a sell out?
I always used to approach my religious education from a perspective of, "My ancestors used to know more about the scriptures than I do." While in general, society might used to have known more about it in the past, I think it's likely I know my scriptures better than a large percentage of my ancestors. The Bible as I know it hasn't existed in English for that long. My ancestors haven't always owned it. If they owned it, they didn't always read it. If they read it, they didn't always study it or think about it in as great depth as I have. If they studied it, they still might not have understood it. It is a huge blessing to have modern tools to help us read and understand the scriptures. I know my scriptures. I love them. Sincerely.
I believe in limited agency. I believe that God has an intimate hand in guiding our lives. I believe we have less control over the circumstances and situations we find ourselves in than we tend to think. I believe the test is, "what is the honest desire of your heart in this situation?" and not, "what will you do in this situation?" What you do is a reflection of what you desire, but they aren't always connected. I believe that God is capable of an incomprehensible level of interference in our lives. He doesn't force our agency, but that agency is a function of the sincere, innermost desires of our hearts, not the results of our choices.
And that's all for today's edition of Thoughts in the Middle of the Night. See us again next week...
Our ability to actually choose does matter and is real.
ReplyDeleteThe things you have written in thoughts upon religion have given me thoughts of my own. Many people do not read the Bible the way we do because they only read it to find the things that give them support for what they believe and they are proof texting to find things they want to believe. Even Latter-day Saints proof text. It would be better if they did not, but they do. John the Beloved was last seen on the earth when he came with Peter and James to restore the Melchisedeck Priesthood to Joseph Smith on the banks of the Susquahanna River. He might still be living on the earth but he might not. It is not something we need to know about. I do not believe the same things you believe about how involved in the lives of mankind God is. I believe if free agency. I also believe if foreordination but predestination. My life is what it is because of the choices I have made and because of actions on my part. I realize many others do not believe as I do. I think each person can have a witness from the Holy Ghost and that is where real testimonies come from. I think that is the most imprtant thing there is to know. I have read the scriptures throughout my life. My testimony has grown because I have read the scriptures and have listened to the Holy Ghost and have tried to keep the covenants that I have made. I continure to learn every day.
ReplyDeleteThat should say in free agency and in foreordination but not predestination.
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