The Christian Advantage
I recently felt very disappointed over an audio recording of a Christian-Atheist Debate, mainly because I felt that it was so so wasted. There is a difference with defending one's faith and defending a misinterpretation of one's faith, and I think christians experience that sense of defeat quite a lot. That debate I heard was a good example - and in fact, that may be just the point. One of the poorest ways to present Christianity is through presenting mere propositions about it. The 'Christian's advantage' which is really evident in more existential contexts is easily hidden in such proclamations, simply because of the pre-conceived notions that the opposition comes with. (I have actually been constantly exploring how to present Christianity beyond the propositions in my "Engaging Every Fiber of our Being" posts.)
The 'Christian advantage' refers to the sense of existential completeness that can be experienced in life itself, and while some great orators may extract the essential moments to illustrate the concepts that prove so much more that logical justifications can prove, the best way of understanding the sense of completeness Christ brings to one's life is to actually go through the riddle of life and attempt to address such at a personal level. The spirit of post-modernism in society today possibly defuses how this actually works. For instance, a friend of mine who is really into theatre once praised a playwright who "believes in Islam, has a buddhist wife and wants his son to try Christianity". Another muslim friend of mine who doesn't go for friday prayers or keep to hala food (I realise, I know quite a lot of such muslims) said that he is "unwavering in his faith" although he admits that he is "a bit dodgy when it comes to actual practice".
Both friends - they demonstrate a fallacy that is accepted in today's society. As many theologians and Christian Philosophers say, in today's post-modernistic society that is
But seriously now. Think about it. Beliefs do not work that way -_-
A religion is contingent on its doctrine or religious text. When one believes in a philosophy or a religion, he must carry it to its logical end and be consistent in all that the philosophy states itself to mean. What does it say about human destiny? About human value? About the grand concepts such as love, justice and morality? How do you grapple with the paradoxical qualities of human nature, say, that he has to be pro-choice and yet at the same time respectful of the "We"? (I've addressed how the Christian deals with this in Reluctant Selfishness )
In conclusion - Christianity is not a set of rules that people believe in which requires them to keep praying for good things to happen and to go to church regularly -_-
I appeal to all skeptics - If you want to doubt that the Christian God exists, at least do it with a proper understanding of what Christianity is about till u understand its existential relevance.
That is to say of course, if you are still able to put yourself in such academic shoes. The only people capable of doing so (if you are brutally, brutally honest with yourself), I believe, are those whose lives are consistent with the philosophy they have - In other words, those with the Christian Advantage.
"If a man prefers nothing I can give him nothing. But nearly all people... need this life of practical romance; the combination of something that is strange with something that is secure. We need so to view the world as to combine an idea of wonder and an idea of welcome. We need to be happy in this wonderland without once being merely comfortable."
-- G.K. Chesterton
Labels: Life
_____________Zoneseekers..::
by a perspective that relies on the author of Truth...
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