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January 01, 2006
Faith : Opinions vs. Attitudes
The classic board game Othello was marketed with the tagline "A minute to learn, a lifetime to master." I believe something similar can be said of Christianity.
Christianity was never meant to be hard to understand. God wanted people of all backgrounds and skills to be able to understand the message and experience the good news. It is people who have tended to make it difficult, creating complex theologies and doctrinal structures that require years of study to understand, as if the gospel was something that was experienced by the mind and not the heart.
I think one reason people make Christianity so complex is that the truth of the gospel isn't actually what they want in a religion. My experience talking with people about their faith (Christian or otherwise) is that people "just want to know what to do". They want some set of rules they can follow and know they are "OK". They want to be told what constraints God imposes on their lives so they can plan their lives within those constraints. While they would never speak in those terms, it as if religion were a game – "Tell me the rules and then leave me alone to do the best I can within those rules".
The problem is Christianity isn't actually about rules. It isn't about what you do. It is about attitudes – your attitude about God, about other people, and about yourself. Now if you have your attitude right, the result will be good actions; but the point is not your actions; but your attitudes. That's what I think Jesus was talking about in Matthew 5:27-48 ("….You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.' But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart…." and so on). It's not what you do that really matters, it's your attitude (which should also result in your doing the right things).
The problem is that attitudes are not something you can learn in your mind and act out in your life and be done with it. You may know you should love people and even act lovingly towards them; but if you don't actually love them in your heart, then you are missing the mark. The good news in all this is that in Christianity there really isn't a lot you need learn to be everything God wants you to be. The bad news is that the process of cultivating those attitudes takes forever. A minute to learn, a lifetime to master.
Long ago I had a pastor who frequently commented that we needed to keep in mind that "Christianity is actually an Eastern Religion, not a Western one." At the time, I was clueless what he meant (beyond the geopolitical truth of the statement); but in hindsight, I think he was trying to make the same point as I am here. Eastern religions tend to focus more on attitudes and relationships. The Buddhist concept of enlightenment is not something one can achieve by knowing something or by doing something; it comes about by cultivating an attitude towards the universe and your place in it. My understanding of Christianity may differ in some of the attitudes to be encouraged (while sharing others); but is very similar in concept.
Likewise Zen Koans (parables) are not meant to teach thoughts and facts; but (by their inherent paradoxes) are meant to encourage attitudes about what is real and knowable. I think one reason Jesus so often taught in parables is that they speak to the heart as well as (and sometimes instead of) the mind. I can make the statement "God loves you no matter what you have done", and in your mind you can acknowledge that as a truth. Or I could tell you the parable of the prodigal son, with the father rushing out to meet the wayward son at the end. The fundamental truth is the same; but the parable speaks to the heart – it helps you feel what the father feels towards his son. You don't just know the truth, you can feel it.
Of course, the Jewish scholars of Jesus' day had turned Judaism into the ultimate western religion – all about knowing and following a set of rules, and ignoring the attitudes behind them. They were not open to the heart-truths the Jesus was sharing, so they couldn't get what he was talking about with his parables, while the crowds (who were also Jewish; but not professional scholars) were able to get the message. Perhaps that's why I find myself resorting to allegories so often.
Posted by Steven at January 1, 2006 03:19 PM
Comments
I would agree - Christianity is more about attitudes than laws. This line of thinking is compatible with the renewed minds concept that Paul brings up in Romans 12. However ultimately whether we are focusing on attitudes or actions, we will fall short. In the end, faith in the saving power of Jesus' death and resurrection is the only measure that counts.
I would also say that theology is important - a good theology will alert someone when they have strayed from the truth, and may also impart a deeper knowledge of the bible. However I would agree that some theology is unhelpfully complicated, and often enters areas where there are no answers, eg limited atonement, predestination. This type of analysis is helpful and interesting up to a point, but can become overly analytical in an area where we should not be asking 'why?' overly much.
Posted by: John Glynn at January 2, 2006 03:14 AM
John,
"In the end, faith in the saving power of Jesus' death and resurrection is the only measure that counts."
Agreed. There is the distinction between justification and sanctification. We can never be good enough, in action or attitude, so we must accept Jesus' substitutionary sacrifice as payment for our imperfection. Then begins the process of our transformation as God's Spirit works within us to gradually make us more like Him. That process is fundamentally about attitudes, where right actions will follow from the transformation of our attitudes.
"However I would agree that some theology is unhelpfully complicated…"
I have a rule that I may elaborate on later in a later entry; but in brief, I start out accepting the principle that I must trust and obey God (many issues get resolved by simply applying that statement). Given that, if I don't see how some question of theology is going to effect how I live my life for the next week (or month, or year), then it doesn't matter. You can end up with a very simple theology that way.
Posted by: Steven at January 2, 2006 09:04 AM
