Won't You Come Down, Heaven. Won't You Cut Through the Clouds...

Currently Hearing: Come Now Sleep by As Cities Burn
Currently Reading: Why I Am Not a Christian by Bertrand Russell and The Problem of God by John Courtney Murray

I have been having some really incredible conversations lately with friends that have made me experience all sorts of emotions - anger, hurt, confusion, frustration, excitement - and the list goes on. It has, in many ways, made me see my own sin and impatience in dialogue for which I need to repent and grow, and has also reminded me of the importance of community in one's spiritual formation.

So much of our conversations, which have, for me, been largely sparked by a course I am taking this quarter in seminary entitled "Christian Worldview and Contemporary Challenges." I have been exposed to some books and articles written by Christians showing the seeming flaws in atheist/agnostic logic, and some books and articles written by atheists/agnostics showing the seeming flaws in Christian logic. I'm not exactly sure exactly how to articulate everything, especially considering I have been reading for about four hours now, and I can barely write my name.

One issue that has been particularly interesting to me for a while has been the idea of interpretation and one's view of Scripture. There are so many differing interpretations of Scripture in Christendom, and this is something that is praised for the freshness that is brought to the table and feared when it seems to step beyond the bounds of traditional interpretation. Is there a place to draw the line? Christianity has become so diverse that anything seems fair game. In addition, it can hardly be argued that one person is able to read the Bible as a pure document without bringing their own baggage to the text. The early church worked very hard to establish confessions for the sake of "gate-keeping," but the boards in the fence seem to be slowly being removed in order to make way for more and more who profess to believe in Jesus - a figure whose life, divinity, actions, and state after his death are topics of much debate among those who all claim to be a part of the Church.

I hope I don't sound like I am walking away from my faith. That is hardly true at all. Rather, I am mostly just pondering the state of God's people and thinking out loud. I also hope I don't sound like a fearful isolationist Christian that would rather hide in a group of like-minded fellows than ever think about the reality of the current situation of his faith. Again, that is hardly the case. Really, I suppose I'm just widening the circle of my community for some more of that good old fashioned faith-shaping.