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Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Assailants: A Midweek Rumination
I dithered most of the day over whether to post about what follows. I'm afraid that, despite the unpleasantnesses involved, it's too important to leave it buried in a comments section -- and by that I mean no offense to Crusader Rabbit, a longtime favorite blog, nor to its worthy proprietor.
Keith, who operates Crusader Rabbit, has experienced an epiphany -- somewhat more protracted than most, but the impact is the important thing -- and has decided to admit God to his life:
I used to think that religion was a flight from not knowing towards a faith that would at least provide some certainties, and had all the confidence and arrogance of the new-minted atheist that religion was a sign of weakness, an inability to deal with uncertainty and mystery...I'm younger than that now and nowhere near as certain. Of anything.
Did I say 'a sign of weakness'? Yet the people I've met who have a strong faith in God have been anything but weak. They've most often been strong, principled, smart and very compassionate indeed. They're obviously not taking refuge in some easy solution--especially since they often agonise over moral dilemmas which many of us prefer to simply brush under the rug, hoping they'll go away or resolve themselves unaided.
So faith isn't weakness. Exactly the opposite, if anything...
I think I'll take God, if God will accept me.
Needless to say, I was overjoyed on Keith's behalf. Despite the adjustments and admissions the acceptance of the gift of faith frequently demands, the sincere believer has a refuge and a source of meaning that the non-believer does not. But the Web being what it is, it was next to certain that someone would try to deride or intimidate him into reversing his decision:
Well, KG, you are being provocative today:
- "Not knowing is no fun at all"
- "Militant atheism"
- "I have no intention of defending whatsoever what is written here".
Well, quid pro quo, I simply offer:
- I assure you, being man enough to admit that one does not know is wonderfully, joyously liberating (and it's just a bonus that it also pisses so many people off)
- yeah, the sight of all those militant atheists suicide bombing, rioting and trashing the landscape to demand their "rights" is really scary
- why bother to "defend" - it's impossible to prove a negative, let alone an abstract concept
And a bit later:
...the honourable, individual position of the man who is brave enough to admit that he simply doesn't KNOW, and will not pretend. Why this position so mortifies religionists is, to me, almost as bigger mystery as the meaning of life itself.
Inasmuch as Keith mentioned my name in his final words, I was moved to jump in:
What "mortifies religionists" is not the agnosticism of the agnostic, but his hostility. It's a perfectly acceptable thing to admit that you have no faith. It's not at all acceptable to deride, humiliate, assail, or seek to silence others who do have faith -- which behavior is becoming ever more frequent from Anglospheric agnostics and atheists.Christians learned some centuries ago that no man can force faith on another. But we'd like to be left alone in the peaceful enjoyment of our own faith. Civility and courtesy should be independent of one's convictions about the supernatural.
I shan't reproduce the whole exchange here. Suffice it to say that Keith's agnostic imp ("WAKE UP") was greatly exercised that I dared to disagree with him. But then, that's the usual response from the agnostic who can't abide the acceptance of faith by others; we have the example of Raving Theist for a case study.
As usual, the question of the moment is "Why?"
It might have something to do with the sting of being left behind. After all, the new theist has departed his former sphere for another -- and more, his new one appears to claim knowledge of things the old one doesn't possess. Of course, there's a critical distinction being elided here: Faith is most emphatically not knowledge, else we wouldn't need a separate word for it. But all the same, the sense of having been abandoned -- and not in a merely physical separation, but by being told "I was wrong, and by implication, you are, too" -- can be a tough thing to bear.
There aren't many folks out there who can stand to say "I was wrong." It stands to reason that being told "You were wrong" would be at least as painful for them. But that's mere conjecture. The thrust of this musing is that anyone who dares to re-examine the agnostic / atheist position and decide, for whatever reason, that it no longer suits him must be prepared for a counterattack. It might be brutal or subtle. It might suggest defects in one's intelligence, or succumbing to weakness from emotional need. But whatever the style, whatever the motifs, it will occur.
On net balance, it might even be a good thing. It might help to "weed out" the flighty and the insincere. It might strengthen the faith of those who can perceive the weakness of the anti-theists' "arguments." But it won't be pleasant, no matter how it begins or how it ends. The new theist must be braced for it; I know this from personal experience.
Mind you, there are plenty of perfectly courteous agnostics and atheists, who'll allow that their faith is neither more provable nor more disprovable than yours. Several such contribute here at Eternity Road, and as they're persons of intellect and integrity, I'm pleased to have them as Co-Conspirators. But these are not whence the assault on a new theist's faith will come.
Your assailant might attempt to equate Christianity, the most wholesome of all creeds, with murderous, misogynous, massively intolerant Islam, on the grounds that the two are "equally irrational."
He might imply that only a person of weak intellect would seek comfort from an "imaginary friend."
He might state outright that you must need "the comfort of an imposed structure" to feel secure about your convictions.
Or he might not be quite so specific, merely give you to understand that by accepting God you've fallen below his threshold for an acceptable friend or acquaintance.
Of only one thing can you be sure: He'll be there. He'll do what he can to make you reverse your decision. If he can't make you reverse it, he'll fall back on making you suffer his indignities for it.
There is no Last Graf beyond this: If you're currently without faith, but find yourself intrigued by its possibilities, prepare to confront your assailants. No one gets in for free -- and not because we who are already "inside" desire to extract a price from you.
Beware.
Comments
No one gets in for free but entry is worth the ‘price’ of admission. For myself, it is a ‘thing’ I must work for daily. Sometimes I fail; sometimes I may not fail - success or failure are not for me to judge.
From birth, I was brought up in the church. Somehow along the way God allowed me to travel to and live in many countries as well in many parts of America. Like most people, I have experienced joy and loss. But through these travels, I learned and watched the many practices of “religious” faith especially throughout the Far East and in the USA.
Detractors first laugh at you for your belief; then failing that they ridicule you; and sometimes they cast you aside. There are times when you must cast them aside but detractors have their purpose as well.
Faith is such a personal ‘thing’ but blessed is the person who has that faith renewed daily and who knows that faith restores your Soul and gives you strength.
In the midst of turmoil, I sometimes forget that all I need to do to quiet the storm is turn to God. It is ‘interesting’ to me when in the stillness an answer or direction comes.
For me, faith is difficult to talk about - not the intellectual or historical parts but the part that makes you fall to your knees - figuratively or literally - and listen. A woman had a TV show and she would always say, “Stop the madness.”
Faith can ‘stop the madness’. Faith and trust.
For many years, an issue was bothering me each and every year at about the same time every year. I walked down to the tiny church where I grew up and sat in the Wednesday night Bible Study class with tears rolling down my cheeks. Fortunately, some of the people there had known me since I was an infant and so they let me cry. No loud boohooings… Just soft tears and a roll of toilet paper to dry them.
After the meeting ended, I walked home and went upstairs to my bedroom. I stretched out across my bed and looked at the ceiling. I asked a question of God. It had occurred to me that I must not be looking at the situation the right way. So I asked if there were another way for me to look at the situation that would allow me to let go of this thing that I was holding onto.
As it turned out, I had cried at the church and that had helped me to become exhausted. In the stillness of my bedroom with only the softest light on, I rested and “listened” with my heart. And in the stillness of my room after about 30 to 45 minutes, I did begin to see the situation differently. Without getting into it further, the problem dissolved. It no longer had a hold on me and with that I looked at it differently, addressed the things I had to address in our busy world surrounding the issue, and realized that I had also “let go” of my attitude toward the person whom I thought had a part in the ‘problem.’
I could not have been more wrong. To me, it is those little moments of allowing my faith to take its rightful place and of allowing myself to ‘listen’ for answers that provide personal ‘demonstrations’ of how faith does ‘work’ in my life that help me through. I do not always turn issues over to God as I have been taught and when I do, I do not always ‘hear’ the direction I should take but when I do - magic happens.
Our belief or disbelief does not change the existence of God and His Son, Jesus Christ. That belief and beyond belief, knowing, is what gives many people the strength to get through each and every day.
God and His Son do not depend upon us for their existence; it is we who depend upon God, His Son, and the Holy Spirit for ours.
Francis, post or do not post this epistle, as you see fit. It is a long, daily walk with its ups and downs; with its joys and sorrows and then there is “Footprints in the Sands of Time.” The title is wrong but you know what I mean.
I am not a theologian. All I know is that I cannot imagine my life without faith.
Posted by Beach Girl on 05/13/2009 at 11:40 PMIt is always a blessing to hear about someone who has been called, receive the call, and then move forward. I hope most do not spend as long as I did answering the call, or fight it so strongly. I hope most find it quickly and enter humbly. And, I, like your friend, really questioned whether I would be taken in by God and the church by the time I finally got there. I think being uncertain, at the outset, both shows sincerity and an understanding of what God really is and it is the perfect first step to begin finding what is good and what is not in oneself but through the objective view of God and what he desires.
The great news is, what God wants for us is quite unimaginably good living, humble ways, kindness, love, and some other fine “doggy” treats that, for me, make life grand even in the harshest of illness, pain, and sadness. Who would have known how simple to carry my crosses have become. I can whistle while I work now, and do!
I hope our new brother will find his way well and strongly. I will send a prayer for his courage, strength, and resolution. I certainly hope he finds, soon, too, that God does love him, personally and infinitely.
Posted by on 05/14/2009 at 04:55 AM“I ... had all the confidence and arrogance of the new-minted atheist that religion was a sign of weakness, an inability to deal with uncertainty and mystery...”
I always smile a bit when I hear the antitheists express attitudes like that.
For me, faith often increases my uncertainty. For me, faith doesn’t make my life easier - as CR said, it makes me face decisions I’d rather not face. But it does make my life less tumultuous.
Thanks for sharing this with us, Francis.
Posted by on 05/14/2009 at 10:10 AMYou folks who have it shouldn’t allow some meddling child to take it away from you.
I struggle with faith. I am one of those rare individuals who actually WANTS to believe; who WANTS to have a faith that there is a higher power at work amidst this mess of your very good friend’s 17 year old son, a promising young scholar and undefeated professional sno-cross racer, dies in a ridiculous, meaningless automobile accident. Or who is in control when your 13 year old nephew is murdered in cold blood by two twelve year old kids using a pocket knife and a stick to stab and beat him to death because he is a little different. Or who has a reason for having allowed me to inherit a genetic immune disease from my father’s family, and suffer with the implications of that for the rest of my life.
Yes, all of these things happened to me and those around me in the last three years, and yes, I wish like hell that i could just resign myself to the fact that it all happened for a purpose, that a higher power is in control, and that Craig and Sam are in God’s hands and care now…
But I just can’t.
So if you find yourself feeling down-trodden by those that would lampoon your faith, think of me, a person infinitly envious of it, and take solace.
I’m done feeling sorry for myself now.
Posted by on 05/14/2009 at 11:34 AMI can only say thank you, for your support and understanding and thank you Francis for pointing the way. To Beach Girl too, for your kindness and support.
The reaction of the commenter concerned is less than a minor irritation, although I regret Francis that you were the subject of his
ill-mannered abuse.Posted by kg on 05/14/2009 at 09:29 PMThat’s a beautiful, uplifting story, Francis. Thanks to you and your interlocutor for sharing.
I’ve recently decided that there are no words for me to describe my faith to those who don’t enjoy God’s blessings. I just smile and carry on and do what I can to live a life that embodies my faith, and good grief, what a failure that life of mine is. But it is what it is, and I was informed recently that it’s been enough for at least one man at a low point who needed it, so that’s a start.
Goober, it’s hard right now, or so it seems, but it’s really not. Take some strength from Francis - I do, regularly. He’s a rock, seriously. A smart, good man.
Posted by Scott on 05/14/2009 at 11:34 PMIt has always astounded me when non-believers mock and ridicule believers. If nothing else, it’s just plain rude! Perhaps it is because I grew up with and have worked my entire career with believers that I see them as ordinary folks who are trying to live as good a life as they are able. Whether or not one agrees with their motivations for living like that, how can one do anything but applaud the effort?
In my view that sort of attack, whether it comes from non-believers or adherents of a different formal faith, hints at a deep-seated insecurity. Thus I can flatter myself that since I do not react so hysterically I must therefore not be insecure in my skepticism…
Posted by on 05/15/2009 at 12:23 AM
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