Prayer of the Week
Jun 1st, 2009 by Mark Lefers
Hear, O LORD, when I cry aloud; be gracious to me and answer me! You have said, “Seek my face.“ My heart says to you, “Your face, LORD, do I seek.” Hide not your face from me. Turn not your servant away in anger, O you who have been my help. Cast me not off; forsake me not, O God of my salvation!
Psalm 27:7-9
Mark,
It has been a while since you posted. Summertime is upon us, and I hope your silence is filled with the love of your family and lots of quality time together. You mentioned that you were planning on dialing down your search and devoting more time to the people around you. Hope this is going well, and that the restless storm of doubt has been subdued enough so that it does not consume your every thought.
I found myself wondering whether you have had much exposure to the so-called “Emerging Church” movement? There are some really poor expressions of Christianity lumped under this umbrella, but also some leaders and communities that offer some refreshing perspectives and an epistemological humility that it sorely lacking in most of the evangelical church. I know you have been focusing on the historicity of the resurrection, and I agree that this is a (the?) crucial issue. But I wonder if a conclusion can even be reached with the level of certainty you might require. There is a large body of evidence supporting the historicity of the resurrection, and this is sufficient for some people to conclude that a true bodily resurrection is the best explanation. But others find the evidence not to be compelling, and opt for other explanations. The truth is that we can never know with absolute certainty; there is no scientific, empirical conclusion to be reached. It is not a scientific question but a historical one, and we can only weigh which explanation is most probable, and there will always be counterarguments.
The reason I mention the Emerging church movement is that the best thinking from this movement has addressed issues of the faith from a post-modern perspective. (post-modern means different things to different people, but I can’t go into that now). As inheritors of Enlightenment rationalism and the scientific method, we instinctively seek to answer questions with an empirical, (hyper)rational approach. Postmodern approaches are broader, drawing from multiple modes of knowing (epistemology).
And many of the themes that keep coming up in this forum: the injustice of hell, the penal satisfaction understanding of Jesus’ death, the relationship of Christianity and other religions – all of these are addressed in a manner much different than traditional evangelicalism, which tends to be thoroughly modern.
While I don’t agree with everything he says, Brian McLaren’s “Generous Orthodoxy” and “A New Kind of Christian” are great introductions to this perspective.
I know you are trying not to be consumed by reading and researching, but while I am in book recommendation mode, might I suggest 1) Michael Lodahl’s “The Story of God” – an excellent introduction to narrative theology, 2) Peter Enns’ “Incarnation and Inspiration: Evangelicals and the Problem of the Old Testment” – an insightful exploration of the nature of the Bible, and 3) anything by John Polkinghorne for issues of faith and science.
Peace to all,
Kyle
I’m sorry that you have been through such inner conflict. I spent some time there myself. I have no advice to give you on what God will or will not do in your situation. I do know this, the Holy Spirit is sent to reveal Christ to us and He is very good at his job. I pray that He reveals Him to you in such a way that all doubts will fade away.
Psa. 46:10. “Cease striving and know that I am God.
Kyle,
I haven’t had too much exposure to the Emerging Church. I grew up in a somewhat liberal church, and I would naturally lean that way any ways. When I read a book I do appreciate when the author shows humility and does not push the interpretation of the evidence too far. I understand that there will not be absolute certainty this side of heaven. I’m just looking for something in which to step forward in faith. I don’t know what that would look like, and I’m not sure if I would know it if it hit me in the face.
Like you mentioned there are a lot of questions that get even more complicated when one throws modern and post-modern thinking into the mix. But for me, at present, it still comes down to: did God come down in human form and die on the cross to save us from our sins and give the gift of eternal life? That is the basis of all Christianity, whether Emerging Christianity of Evangelical Christianity. Sure there are shades to this and many other issues, but this is what everything else hangs on. So that’s why right now I’m trying to focus on the resurrection of Jesus and the reliability of the NT.
Thanks for the book recommendations. I’ll be sure to check them out.
J.M. Howard,
From your mouth to God’s ears! I’m curious about the verse you quoted (Psalm 46:10). Is this saying to stop searching, to stop seeking, to stop trying and just know? How does that work? J.M., how did you come out of doubt? You said you have no advice, but maybe going into your experience and how you came out of doubt would be helpful.
Mark,
Thanks for the honest appraisal of required evidence, certainty, and faith. I like the wiki tab you set up as a resource for evaluating the truth of Christianity. Your book summaries are very well done. Has anyone else been participating? As I mentioned in my other post today I have never really studied the “best” arguments against the historicity of the resurrection or against the reliability of the NT. I would be willing to examine this area and write up a summary for the wiki. I think honest debate requires the capacity to state the arguments from both sides accurately and fairly. Too many straw men used on both sides. What books would you recommend in this area?
Kyle,
No one has added anything to the wiki. I did get spammed early on, so I had to restrict access to only those who login. I also don’t get much traffic on this site (odd that it’s #1 for Christian doubt). However, that’s a good thing because hopefully that means that not many people doubt and also I don’t have to spend much time dealing with website upkeep.
I agree with what you said, “honest debate requires the capacity to state the arguments from both sides accurately and fairly.” I’ve looked at a couple debate books that I was hoping to do this, but debaters often just talk past each other. So I’m trying to put down the arguments from both sides on the wiki to try to make sense of it all.
The books I’ve read are listed here , and would recommend them (they range in style and debth). Unfortunately, I didn’t take the best notes when reading (just highlighting and some notes in the margin) so I’m now having to go back and make better notes, which I’m putting in the wiki. I would love any additions to the wiki.
Cool. I have requested Bart Erhman’s Jesus, Interrupted from the library and will plan on summarizing for the wiki.