“Question everything,” say some people.  “God can handle our questions, and besides, God’s ways are so far beyond ours that it would be silly for us to pretend we’ve got a corner on the truth.  Raising questions helps us go deeper into the mystery of God and frees us from the arrogant belief that we’ve got it all figured out.”

“Questioning everything is foolish,” say others.  “All you do with your questioning is cause people to doubt and give a foothold to the devil.  Better to believe without wavering, and to communicate the truth of God in power.  Raising questions only distracts us from having faith in what we know to be true.”

So who is right?  Read more »

Two weeks ago I raised what I considered an intriguing question:  If everyone were to put their heads together and contribute their ideas, perceptions, and experiences, could humankind come up with a vision of reality and answers to the big questions that are better than any of the existing religions?  Could humans, through open and creative conversation, refinement, and experimentation, move humanity past wars, power struggles, and injustice to achieve a utopia on earth? 
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A year and a half ago, when I was unemployed and home taking care of my baby son, I was visited by two Jehovah’s Witnesses, who asked if they might come on a regular basis to lead me through their “Bible study”.  While I had read books and browsed websites in the past that had helped me understand what they believe and how it differs from orthodox Christianity, I felt that it would be valuable and respectful to hear directly from the JW’s themselves what it was that they believed and why it is that they believe I am mistaken in my beliefs.  Over the course of about ten visits, I listened to their spiel and engaged them in some dialogue and debate over their views on Jehovah, Jesus, and what it means to be a true worshiper of God.  But when it became frustratingly clear to me that they weren’t the least bit interested in considering my opinion on matters, I let them know that I wouldn’t be able to meet with them any more.  It was very frustrating to me to get to know people who were so eager to convert others but so afraid of actually considering that they themselves might be wrong.

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Last week I quoted Rabbi Schmuley Boteach, who said something on Larry King Live a few years back which I believe accurately describes the climate of religious tolerance in which we live today:

“I am absolutely against any religion that says that one faith is superior to another. I don ‘t see how that is anything different than spiritual racism. It ’s a way of saying that we are closer to God than you, and that ’s what leads to hatred.”

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“I am absolutely against any religion that says that one faith is superior to another.  I don’t see how that is anything different than spiritual racism.  It’s a way of saying that we are closer to God than you, and that’s what leads to hatred.” 

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Somewhere along the line you’ve probably heard someone say that “People can make the Bible say whatever they want it to say.”  And unfortunately, there’s a lot of truth to that.  Over the years, people have used the Bible to defend everything from spousal abuse to slavery and to argue everything from a flat earth to the sun revolving around the earth.  One person will defend capital punishment by quoting Genesis 9:6 – “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God has God made man”, while another will quote Jesus in Matthew 7:1 – “Do not judge, or you too will be judged” – to argue that it should be abolished.  You have some Christians who are convinced that God wants us to be rich - “for your sakes [Jesus] became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9) – while others sure that a true Christian will avoid wealth at all costs – “Sell your possessions and give to the poor” (Luke 12:33).

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“And Lord, help us to focus on our eyes on that which honors you, to turn away from all that offends your name.  Amen.”

As the youth pastor finished his prayer, he put out the challenge to hundred or so young men and women gathered around the campfire.  “The time has come to get rid of all that is distracting you from going after God with all of your heart.  No more fooling around with secular math books and math teachers.  It’s time to take a stand for Jesus.  I want everyone to gather your secular math books and meet me down by the lake.”

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If you were watching the news last night, you were likely assaulted by the horrific lead story of a young woman stabbing her three children, leaving them all in critical condition.  As a parent, I was shaken by the story of a young woman who for some undetermined reason decided to stab her two year-old twins and seven month old baby.  As I struggled to understand how a mother could do such a tragic thing, suddenly the always dapper Logan Byrnes reappeared on my television screen to let me know that, oh by the way, a 17 year-old East Hartford High student had been stabbed at his school and had passed away.  Again, I was shocked and saddened, but after a couple seconds was able to return to playing with my 17 month-old, Ryan.  When Logan wrapped up his brief segment on the East Hartford stabbing, Janet Peckinpaugh showed up to alert me to the fact that it had been another deadly day in Iraq, with five more American soldiers dying.  Interesting, I thought.  And again, I went on playing with my son…

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