I believe in Santa Claus
I once had an argument with a guy in school. Okay, a spirited discussion. He thought my belief in God was a bunch of bunk. In fact, he thought that most of my ideas were bunk. God? Mythology. Morality? Prejudicial. Reality? Subjective.
He was a card-carrying relativist and had me pegged as one of those obnoxious, arrogant, absolutist Christians who believes that he’s right no matter what. So, leaning across the table at me, he drew his sword and declared: “Everything is relative!”. Then he dared me to prove him wrong. Rapping his knuckles on the table between us, he announced, “I don’t even believe that this table exists!”
“Yes,” I replied, “but you organize your life as though it does.”
He looked like I had slapped him. Or maybe that he had slapped himself. “Yes, I do,” he said, and walked away.
Apparently, he wasn’t going to run full-tilt across the room with the theoretical table in the way, because he believed he would break his theoretical neck.
Oh, he “believed”, all right - in a set of ideas. But the real ideas on which he based his life were very different than the ones he espoused.
Now, I don’t want to be too hard on the relativist. Some have said that many Christians live as practical atheists: they espouse beliefs, but they live their lives based on other principles. They “believe in God”, but their lives are shaped by principles of practicality, expediency, capitalism, democracy; on preferences such as ethnicity or geography; and on emotional states such as anxiety, or anger.
If you think being a Christian is about subscribing to a set of philosophical notions, you’re wrong. That’s not Christianity - that’s belief-ism.
Everyone “believes” in something. The Christian “believes” in Jesus. The Muslim “believes” in Allah. The relativist “believes” in subjectivity. The atheist “believes” in the natural. I “believe” in Santa Claus. So what?
Your real beliefs are the ones around which you organize your life.
Go ahead, believe whatever you want. I just hope you don’t break your theoretical neck.
So “believe whatever you want.” How does that jibe with the evangelical mission? I’ve always been curious why it seems like the Catholic church I grew up in had such an anti-proselytising attitude, while the Baptist church I went to while visiting my grandparents had more of a “save yourself by joining us” sense. Obviously, groups like the Mormons and the Witnesses are on a recruiting mission, as are some of the more charismatic “mega”-churches. Where’s the schism? Is there one or is it just in appearances?
Are we huddled on a boat in the desert waiting for the inevitable flood, watching in pity those not smart enough to clamber aboard? Are we protective of our space on that boat and hopeful it won’t get too crowded? Are we sneering at those who can’t see the obvious storm clouds on the horizon? Should we be shouting sage advice from the boat, “The storm’s a-comin’, the storm’s a-comin’!” Or are we supposed to jump off the boat, grab fools by the shirt collar and haul them aboard to save them from their blindness?
Or should I just go see “Star Trek” this weekend because it’s all relative/destiny/preordained/luck and what will be, will be regardless of what I/we/them/us/you do?
Comment by Curiouser and curiouser — May 8, 2009 @ 2:30 pm