Do people come to church looking for answers or to have a space to honestly air their questions and doubts? A growing number of people are leaving the church, and there might just be wisdom in creating space for people to honestly ask questions rather than simply providing trite answers.
Here are a few questions that some wrestle with…
- Can we take the Bible seriously when there are so many seemingly contradictions contained within?
- Do all faith traditions lead ultimately to God?
- Is there a literal heaven and a literal hell where one goes after their earthly life?
- Why do bad things happen to good people?
- Is Paul a sexist jerk or is he misunderstood sometimes?
- Is there such a thing as redemptive violence?
- What does Christian justice look like?
I’m convinced that there are some things that we may not fully understand until we are greeted at the “pearly gates” (if there is such a place!), but if we stay tuned in to God we might gradually begin to understand just a little more each day as we consider the character of God and God’s agents. I invite you to become comfortable living the questions. To wrestle with questions such as these we can grow in spiritual maturity. It’s ok to have some doubts. As the late Marcus Borg reminds us “It’s not about believing the right stuff. It’s not about being good. It’s about being in a relationship with Jesus. The rest is all opinion.” John Wesley gave us the quadrilateral, (1) Scripture, (2) tradition, (3) reason, and (4) experience. Let’s use it as we live the questions.
“….try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.” – Ranier Maria Rilke
Peace y’all,
Claire
If you would like to print or share this edition of Claire…ification,
you are encouraged to use this pdf:
Claire – Living the Questions
To read past editions – you are encouraged to follow this link:
http://capitaldistrictnc.org/clarie-ificaton/
