Mark Dohle
Well-Known Member
A good question and something about Advent
A man responded to one of my postings with this question. "How can you possibly believe in God? The whole concept is absurd and irrational"! It was written in anger I believe, though it is hard to really know, since it was typed on the internet.
We often use terms that are totally subjective in nature but are often thought to be based on reality. We can stick with those who believe as we do and as a group, possibly laugh at those who believe differently, or maybe have no beliefs at all. Now that is irrational as if all others where simply straw-men and women.
There are days when the thought of God can seem absurd, then, of course, the thought that there is no God is even more so. So there you go, absurd if you do, absurd if you don’t. The word God can be a problem as well. Yet most people do believe in God, though concepts vary, evolve and mature. Humans are unstable, we grow, fall back, change our minds, are emotional, very irrational and yes capable of rational thought from time to time. However, to be too rational can also be a form of being crazy…..at least they can sound like it. Logic can be used to bolster any argument, that is why a good debater can change sides and still win, all because of the use of logic in arguing and a gift of blarney.
We are suspended in a world of not knowing when it comes to the really deep questions. Yet there is faith. Christians base their faith on the Scriptures and mostly on the New Testament which is a sharing of the early Churches experience of the Risen Lord. Many try to disprove it, so many theories postulated in so many books, yet none seem to hold up. The world is filled with a graveyard of so-called breakthroughs in who and what Jesus is, or was, yet they all just fade away. Why? Because the life of the Church is the Risen Lord, no matter how messed up we Christians can be, the things we do, the scandals we give out, yet, Jesus is Lord and the Church lives on.
In Advent, we contemplate the Lord who is always coming to us in love and mercy. Christians are not surprised at failure, sin, evil, it is part of all of us…..we know it is grace that heals, forgives and accompanies us in all of our lives, so if don’t forget that, we can show compassion towards all. Sad to say, it is easy to forget. Judging from a place of arrogance or contempt is a great evil, often overlooked. When Christians do it, the evil I believe is compounded. Pope Francis is doing a lot in trying to help us to see as Jesus saw when he walked the earth…..hopefully, we will listen.--Br.MD