Every faith, every belief system, every religion is inherently flawed. How could it not be? We humans are involved, and we do not have a perfect view of the universe.
But we don’t have to throw out faith, belief, religion just because it is not perfect. If it offers us a glimpse of Truth, helps us find meaning in Reality, provides us with ways of connecting with God/Ultimate Reality, self and others, and provides moral/ethical guidelines for how we should interact with others and the world around us … isn’t that exactly what it’s supposed to do? Don’t we need (or want) that?
I continue to live and think and pray within the framework of Christianity because it does exactly that for me. It offers me a perspective of life — myself, the world, God — that I find meaningful and beneficial. No one needs to argue that Christianity, and especially American Christianity, is corrupted and inconsistent and hypocritical and missing the point a good deal of the time, because it clearly is. But in it, I still find a core of truth and beauty that speaks to me.
This is why I continue to do what a friend insightfully calls “theological gymnastics” (thanks, Jim!). Not that I’m trying to make something true or find some internal consistency that really isn’t there. But because I continue to live in this “house.”
My desire is not to prove “see, it all DOES make sense; it IS true,” but rather to look at the inherently flawed expression of the Christian faith and still find the core of Truth, the nuggets of beauty within all its human faultiness.
In it, I still see a glimmer of God, even when I have to dig for it in the rubble and mess of our sacred texts and historical religious expressions.
The pursuit is the prize. The journey is the reward.
For all my beloved friends who have left this “house” and find Truth and beauty and ethics somewhere else, you have my respect. Live in it. Celebrate it. Find your place in it. From my perspective, you are finding God/Ultimate Reality also, because God is Big — bigger than any single tent.
Holy texts of almost every religion have this same idea expressed in different ways, but it is a divine truth that God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek God. “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
Grace and blessing on all who are on the journey.
Photo by Eddie Kopp on Unsplash