The source of faith

I recently had a conversation with a colleague from work who expressed to me that there is no true religion. "How can there be?" she said, "There are so many!"

From her perspective, religion is an annoying crutch on which the weak lean in times of trouble. From my perspective, times of trouble force people to pause and look beyond their own immediate surroundings, allowing religion to find room. It's not that problems cause people to seek religion, it's that religion calls people out during times of trouble.

She replied, "Well, if you already believe in something, then you're obviously going to answer all questions from that perspective." And yet, atheism is a perspective as well, one that she was obviously answering the question from.

The question of how many religions there are is irrelevant as to whether one is true or not. Truth is not bound by how difficult it is to decipher nor by how many people believe in it. Truth is truth. A believer does not subscribe to religion merely because they hope to be a "better person" or to summon "strength" but also because they believe it to be true. That is the very definition of faith, yet it is not only the faith that is important, but also the truth.

Today, while perusing through some of my high school journals, I found this lesson posed just so:

If a man has great faith in thin ice, he will still drown. If a man has little faith in solid ground, he will still live. Therefore salvation does not depend on the amount of faith, but on the basis of that faith. My faith is in the Lord, the true and only God.

As Christians, we choose to build our faith on Christ, because we believe his words to be true. Without God, without Christ, there is no Christianity.

MATTHEW 7 (NLT)

Building on a Solid Foundation

²⁴ “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. ²⁵ Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. ²⁶ But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. ²⁷ When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”

²⁸ When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, ²⁹ for he taught with real authority—quite unlike their teachers of religious law.

Good without God

On my way home the other day, I happened by an advertisement by Humanist Canada, it read:

You can be good without God.

It was an interesting statement, seemingly meant to espouse the atheist philosophy, much like the controversial "There's probably no God" advertisements. I can only imagine that such advertisements seek to negate the need for God because, well, an atheist can be just as good as a Christian can. Where then does God factor into that?

And it's true, an atheist can be as "good" as a Christian can. So can a Hindu, a Buddhist, a Muslim, a Shintoist, and a Jew. Most major religions lay claim to moral codes, and these moral codes usually hold similar values at heart - for instance, the condemnation of murder. An atheist who upholds a similar moral code and works fervently to act upon it, can be just as "good" as any religious individual. They can aspire to be loving, kind, and forgiving. They may make donations to the poor, solve conflicts with patience, and treat others as they would be treated.

Yet even so, even the best of us are partial to anger, selfishness, pride, lust... In other words, even though we try to be "good", we're never perfect.

ROMANS 3 (NLT)

²³ For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.

But in focusing on the pursuit of righteousness, one is missing the point. Faith in God is not about being good, but about seeking truth. Indeed, a desire to improve ourselves may come about as a byproduct of our faith, but that faith is rooted in something deeper. Christians do not believe in God because they think it will make them a better person (though it may, in the process, do so) but because they believe that God exists, that he is real, and that the Bible is true.

Their own attempts to be good or inadequacy at achieving better results than their atheist neighbour does not make God less relevant. In fact, it makes God more relevant. Because in acknowledgement that we cannot achieve "goodness" beyond that which any other man can achieve (which is not all that "good" at all) on our own, we recognize our own weakness and need for salvation. Christianity offers this salvation in the form of Christ Jesus, who sacrificed his life that we might be reconciled with God. He claims more than just a path to "goodness" but a way back to God, life eternal, and truth.

GALATIANS 3 (NLT)

³ How foolish can you be? After starting your Christian lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort?

JOHN 14 (ESV)

⁶Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

Indeed, Romans 3, which I cited above, continues:

ROMANS 3 (NLT)

²³ For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. ²⁴ Yet God, with undeserved kindness, declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. ²⁵ For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, ²⁶ for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he declares sinners to be right in his sight when they believe in Jesus.

I'm reminded of a song I first heard many years ago (Never Gonna Be as Big as Jesus by Audio Adrenaline), which went on to say:

I could be about as good
Good as any human could
But that won't get me by

Get your own playlist at snapdrive.net!
"You can be good without God." Is this true? To a certain perspective it is. By our own efforts, we can be no better than any other human being. But we trust in God because we believe his message to be true, and our faith then leads us toward salvation and transformation through Christ Jesus our saviour. It is He who makes us truly "good", but more importantly sets our sights beyond this life and toward eternity.

EPHESIANS 3 (NLT)

²⁰ Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. ²¹ Glory to him in the church and in Christ Jesus through all generations forever and ever! Amen.

Taking the "Christ" out of Christian

A new battlefront is opening up in this war of ideals. As the Freethought Association of Canada prepares to run anti-God public advertisements declaring, "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life," the United Church of Canada is gearing up for a counter-punch with advertisements stating, "There probably is a God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life."

Amidst this mincing of words, Right Reverend David Giuliano made what would seem to be a rather obvious statement: "Clearly, as Christians, we most definitely believe there is a God."

Yet, appearing in the Toronto Star, came the most counter-intuitive of rebuttals:

Most of the people in the congregation I serve, West Hill United Church, will think Giuliano is probably mistaken. And most of us still call ourselves Christian. We do so because we believe the message that is the essence of the Christian story. Perhaps it's our penchant for pointing to this that allows us to remain productively within our denomination. (A poll on the UCC's website indicated Saturday that 69 per cent believe there is no God, triggering the church's leadership to send out an email with the subject line: "God needs your help," and urging members to vote in the poll and boost God's ratings.)

And yet, how can you have Christianity without God and Christ, the very cornerstones from which the word "Christian" derives its meaning and purpose? I have no qualms with non-believers attending church, and in fact am encouraged when churches demonstrate the ability to engage their community. But let us speak plain: a "Christian" who espouses the "essence of the Christian story" but rejects God is no Christian at all. Rather they are an atheist or agnostic who believes in Christian values and morality.

This difference is incredibly relevant. Anybody can strive to be moral or ethical. Christians do not have a monopoly on the desire to do good. Rather, Christianity asserts that it possesses knowledge of an important truth - the truth of salvation. Christians aspire to be moral beings in reverence of Christ, who through his sacrifice has already saved them. Morality, fellowship, and evangelism are the results of our faith, not the basis of it.

GALATIANS 1 (ESV)

⁶I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— ⁷not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. ⁸But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. ⁹As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.

1 CORINTHIANS 15 (ESV)

¹Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, ²and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you— unless you believed in vain. ³For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, ⁴that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures

To speak as "Christians" without faith in Christ is to speak deceit. Why is this important? I have previously expressed the view that antagonizing the homosexual community over the word "marriage" is ungracious because the word means different things to Christians and non-Christians. Why should the word "Christian" itself be any different?

But while marriage is judged differently by religious and non-religious persons, society as a whole judges Christians by those who identify themselves as being so. That 69% of those polled by the United Church of Canada identify themselves as "Christians" who don't believe in God reflects then upon the Christian community as a whole, yet it is no more valid than a circle espousing the "essence of being a shape" and calling itself a square. It can be a shape without being a square, but it's not a square because it doesn't have four sides.

You can believe in Christian institutions, but that doesn't make you a Christian if you don't have Christ - and you can't have Christ if you reject God.

JOHN 14 (ESV)

¹⁰Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works. ¹¹Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.

The church's response (petitioning believers to vote "yes" to God and outweigh the naysayers) is merely an attempt to disguise the problem. It does not address the problem itself - that many in the United Church congregation identify themselves as atheist "Christians," and while I am hesitant the point fingers, this may underlie some fundamental lapses in sound teaching.

People may believe what they believe - it is their right to do so - but they ought not to misrepresent themselves, and consequently the church and the Christian faith.

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Another recent opinion piece was written by Michael Shermer, a Christian-turned-agnostic who now advocates the "humanist" philosophy. He designed a study which asked Christians why they believed in God and also why they thought that others believed in God.

From his results, he drew the following conclusions:

Notice that the intellectually based reasons offered for belief in God – "the good design of the universe" and "the experience of God in everyday life" – which occupied first and second place when people were describing their own beliefs dropped to sixth and third place, respectively, when they were describing the beliefs of others. Indeed, when reflecting on others' beliefs, the two most common reasons cited were emotion-based (and fear-averse!): personal comfort ("comforting, relieving, consoling") and social comfort ("raised to believe").

Sulloway and I believe that these results are evidence of an intellectual attribution bias, in which people consider their own beliefs as being rationally motivated, whereas they see the beliefs of others as being emotionally driven. By analogy, one's commitment to a political belief is generally attributed to a rational decision ("I am for gun control because statistics show that crime decreases when gun ownership decreases"), whereas another person's opinion on the same subject is attributed to need or emotional reasons ("he is for gun control because he is a bleeding-heart liberal"). This intellectual attribution bias appears to be equal opportunity on the subject of God. The apparent good design of the universe, and the perceived action of a higher intelligence in daily activities, are powerful intellectual justifications for belief. But we readily attribute other people's belief in God to their emotional needs and how they were raised.

At first glance, this seems a rather unsettling outcome: We believe that the faith of others is based on emotion, but blindly cling to the conception that our own faith is intellectual and rational. I myself, briefly considered this argument.

I do believe that my faith is rational, having spent several years struggling with my own doubts and coming to my own conclusions about my faith. However, the final leap to believe or not believe is just that - faith. I also believe that there are many believers of many faiths who have only a loose understanding of their own faith and have not made much effort to reason through it.

However, in addition to prayer, scripture, and experience, the rational and intellectual arguments that have impacted me have often come from other people - people who I could recognize as spiritually mature, intelligent, and from whom I had much to learn. That is, I don't believe that I am alone in having a rational and intellectual faith. It's not merely a deluded self-justification. There will always be those who are not looking for the truth, or who use the guise of faith to their own ends; but a recognition of this does not invalidate the vibrant, intelligent community of believers that does exist.

Read cited articles at TheStar.com: [1 | 2]

Calling you

I woke up this morning at 10:15 AM. I thought it was strange. On Saturday, I woke up at 1 PM. I'd stayed up late on Friday and Saturday night watching Korean drama online. I had considered skipping church this morning... I was tired, I had studying to do, and church would take a chunk out of my day. But wasn't it strange, waking up so early, without any kind of alarm, after going to bed so late the night before?

If I got up, I should be able to make it to the 11 AM service at my church. Perhaps it was my imagination, but I thought to myself, Maybe God woke me up at this time. Maybe he's saying, "There, you're up. No excuses." After all, I had burned 14 hours over the past few days watching Korean television. When was the last time I had been riveted for 14 hours by God?

MATTHEW 22 (ESV)

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. ³⁸This is the great and first commandment."

MATTHEW 6 (ESV)

³³But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

I made it out the door to some of the worst driving conditions this year. I was 30 minutes late for service. I half expected to receive some epiphany - for the sermon to penetrate to my heart. There was no such revelation. But what I did receive, sitting in the same pews that I had sat in for years, was a reminder. A reminder of how little time I spend in prayer with God, reading his Word, and growing closer to him these days. I like to think of myself as having a relatively solid basis for my faith, and yet I had allowed myself to stop dead in my tracks - stalled in my walk.

1 PETER 2 (ESV)

Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— ³if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.

It was like a veil had lifted, and I could see again that I was not growing. I was not caring. That I had put my petty day to day life miles ahead of my spiritual walk. It made me feel rather empty. It's not easy to put aside our worldy desires and ambitions and to seek God. A God that we cannot see nor touch. Yet part of us yearns to do so.

It takes work to maintain a daily walk with the Lord, and certainly it is something I continually struggle with. But it is comforting to know that God loves us and is waiting for us, and that he is more than willing to let bygones be bygones when we are ready to resume the trek.

MALACHI 3 (ESV)

^7bReturn to me, and I will return to you, says the LORD of hosts.

Principles in the Spirit

At fellowship, we had a discussion about ethics. As the discussion turned to concrete examples, someone brought up abortion. They were of the opinion that it is impermissible for people to justify abortion by reason of their child carrying a genetic mutation.

His argument was essentially this: Society may find it permissible to terminate a pregnancy where the child is carrying Down Syndrome. However, society does not find it permissible to terminate a pregnancy because the child is a girl. Down Syndrome (trisomy 21) is simply the presence of an extra chromosome. Female gender (XX) is also genetically determined. If it is not permissible to terminate the latter, then our rules should be robust enough so as not to permit the former.

Now let me begin by reiterating that I do not support abortion. I personally am against it and would not participate in it myself. That said, the aforementioned argument is flawed a number of levels. First of all, Down Syndrome and female gender are not comparable. One is a healthy and natural outcome and the other is a disorder with defined pathology. Even intuitively, we can detect there is a flaw in this logic, though we may not be able to define it immediately.

Second of all, in two different circumstances the same reason can be given, and yet the outcome may be different. There are absolute rules, yes. But not all rules are that robust, nor need they be. For instance, a poor person who tithes 10% of their income may be choosing between eating and not eating. A rich person who tithes 10% may not be sacrificing anything, though their 10% is greater in magnitude. Though the "rules" state 10% is the correct amount to tithe, God values the former rather than the latter. Thus, the rule does not apply universally, it is the principle of sacrifice behind the rule that is of value.

LUKE 21 (ESV)

The Widow’s Offering

¹Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, ²and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. ³And he said, "Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. ⁴For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on."

MATTHEW 23 (NLT)

²³ “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith

Indeed, a huge emphasis in the New Testament is not on the law itself, but rather, on the principles behind the law.

Upon hearing this, another member of the fellowship spoke up, and said something that strongly challenged and convicted me. They began by agreeing that they too felt that principle was the emphasis of the message. However, these principles are way too huge for us to tackle on our own. Indeed, for this reason it is key that we strive to be in constant communion with God.

For me, this was a much needed reminder. It is such a simple and basic principle of living by faith - to live by the guidance of the Spirit, God's counsellor to man. Yet how often had I used my deductive skills to justify actions. More importantly, how often do I ask God what he wants me to do in a particular situation?

1 CORINTHIANS 3 (ESV)

¹⁸Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you thinks that he is wise in this age, let him become a fool that he may become wise. ¹⁹For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, "He catches the wise in their craftiness," ²⁰and again, "The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile." ²¹So let no one boast in men.

JOHN 14 (ESV)

²⁵"These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. ²⁶But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you."

PROVERBS 3 (ESV)

⁵Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
⁶In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.

It's easy to forget, but oh so important. We live by principle, but that principle comes from the knowledge of God. In order to live righteously, we must seek God first and remember that not living by the law does not mean living by our own understanding.

Politics of Love

Every Sunday, my church prays for a particular country of the world. I think this is a great idea because I believe in the power of prayer, and I like that our church has chosen to pay attention to the world beyond our own borders.

After weeks of praying for countries in Africa and the Middle East, this week's prayer was for the United States of America, and in particular for the upcoming election. It was a delicate prayer asking that God would provide the people of America the wisdom to weigh the issues at hand and also to seek God first. However, the prayer also asked that Americans would pay special attention to issues regarding the "sanctity of human life", the "institution of traditional marriage", and "the cause of religious liberty". This concerned me, but let me explain why.

As a Christian, I know where the Bible stands on issues of marriage and abortion, and I understand that these are relevant issues. God is the author of both marriage and life, and we ought not to damage either.

PSALM 139 (ESV)

¹³For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
¹⁵ My frame was not hidden from you,when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶Your eyes saw my unformed substance;in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.

EPHESIANS 5 (ESV)

³¹"Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh."

But however relevant these issues are, they are not the key issues. Too often, Christians confuse their Christian values with their cultural values. They believe that because conservative politicians are the only ones who land on their side of issues like marriage and abortion, that these politicians represent them (and are the only ones who can represent them). This is false.

Christian values are not conservative values. Jesus tells us that above all, we must love one another. Conservative values are capitalistic, keep-what-you-earn, every-man-for-himself values. Christian values are gentle, giving values of social fairness.

While the Christian concept of marriage cannot and should not change, we must understand that there there exists marriage as a religious institution and also marriage as a social, legal, and secular institution. It does not promote the Good News to antagonize our neighbours over the use of a word.

2 TIMOTHY 2 (NLT)

²³ Again I say, don’t get involved in foolish, ignorant arguments that only start fights. ²⁴ A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people. ²⁵ Gently instruct those who oppose the truth. Perhaps God will change those people’s hearts, and they will learn the truth. ²⁶ Then they will come to their senses and escape from the devil’s trap. For they have been held captive by him to do whatever he wants.

Furthermore, governments deal with issues on a national or even global scale. Certainly issues of abortion are relevant, and Christians ought not to participate in having one. But even more important are issues of war, disease,and poverty - being diplomatic and generous in our policy. Indeed, I do believe it is more important to elect a government who will work tirelessly to save the lives of those already grown than one who will outlaw abortion but damn innumerable others to conflict and strife or that will leave the poor and starving to suffer their own fate (as conservatives are often keen to do).

It is of my personal opinion that often conservative politicians do not represent the political policy that Christians should endorse. Like the Pharisees, they make mountains over issues of tradition and rules while ignoring the principles of love and responsibility on which those traditions were first established.

MATTHEW 23 (NLT)

²³ “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things. ²⁴ Blind guides! You strain your water so you won’t accidentally swallow a gnat, but you swallow a camel!

GALATIANS 5 (NLT)

⁵ But we who live by the Spirit eagerly wait to receive by faith the righteousness God has promised to us. ⁶ For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love.

Do not make politics a single-issue race or assume that conservative means that a candidate will represent Christian values best. Instead, test each politician and their policies with the character of God - justice, mercy, and faith.