I've always been skeptical, analytical, critical...whichever -cal you want to insert and while most of these words have negative connotations, I recently learned that to be skeptical is sometimes a good thing.
In Reversed Thunder, Eugene Peterson writes, "There is something seemingly incompatible, on the surface anyway, between a skeptical mind and religious faith. For people whose habit is faith, whose disposition in matters of God and the supernatural is towards acceptance, it is easy to be deceived by religious leaders. There is, in fact, no part of life in which deceit is more prevalent than in religion (just as there is is no part of life in which violence is more prevalent than in the state). Organized behavior is prone to violence; organized belief is prone to deceit."
As long as I can remember, I have questioned absolutely everything. I've almost always believed this to be a bad thing. But, about 15 years ago, I read a book by Philip Yancey entitled The Jesus I Never Knew and in it's pages, I learned that it was not only okay to ask questions of God...He even delights in our questions. Around eight years ago, I read a different book by Michael Card, A Sacred Sorrow, that explained God delights in our questions (even amidst tragedy) because then at least we're engaged in "the dance"...this dance we call life. If you don't "dance", your basically a wall-flower letting your life pass you by. God wants to dance with us through this life...and one way to engage in the dance is through our questions.
We learn in Job, that no question is too tough for our God. And my sister-in-law even said to me one time, 'I guess if David could write what He wrote in the Psalms, I think God can handle my outbursts too!' Wise words from someone ten years younger than me.
So why add some skepticism to your life? Peterson writes, "How do we protect ourselves from organized deceit? St. John is blunt: use your heads."
I even once had someone tell me that I was "pushing" them and that I've always been a deep thinker...like that was somehow a bad thing. Yes, I fully believe that you can get tripped up by your skepticism just as easily as you can be deceived by religion. Trust me, I've had it happen numerous times! But this is where it comes back to the dance analogy. Whether I'm accepting something by faith or questioning everything around me...each must be taken back to God, presented to Him to sort through as we ask Him for the discernment, insight and perspective of His Holy Spirit. This is the dance...with Him in the lead of course!
I hope I'm not making too big of a leap here...I highly recommend this Peterson book...but without going into all that he expounds upon regarding false religion and how we succumb to it, there is one more quote I'd like to leave you with.
It seems I'm hearing a lot of people talk about letting go and surrendering everything to God's Will...again, remember the idea of the dance. He's your partner. You're not in this alone. Peterson's final paragraph on the subject of false religion falls within this vein: "The visions show us that while we are doing our best to worship God and not the powers of the world, to understand our faith and not be misled by the devil's religious flimflam, and to cultivate a life of holiness in a weed-filled society, we are being helped to do each task."
Amen! We're not dancing alone...ever!
So it's okay to question why church leaders are leading congregations in a certain direction. It's okay to question why things have always been done a certain way. It's okay to question absolutely everything. But take those questions to the One that has the answers.
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In Reversed Thunder, Eugene Peterson writes, "There is something seemingly incompatible, on the surface anyway, between a skeptical mind and religious faith. For people whose habit is faith, whose disposition in matters of God and the supernatural is towards acceptance, it is easy to be deceived by religious leaders. There is, in fact, no part of life in which deceit is more prevalent than in religion (just as there is is no part of life in which violence is more prevalent than in the state). Organized behavior is prone to violence; organized belief is prone to deceit."
As long as I can remember, I have questioned absolutely everything. I've almost always believed this to be a bad thing. But, about 15 years ago, I read a book by Philip Yancey entitled The Jesus I Never Knew and in it's pages, I learned that it was not only okay to ask questions of God...He even delights in our questions. Around eight years ago, I read a different book by Michael Card, A Sacred Sorrow, that explained God delights in our questions (even amidst tragedy) because then at least we're engaged in "the dance"...this dance we call life. If you don't "dance", your basically a wall-flower letting your life pass you by. God wants to dance with us through this life...and one way to engage in the dance is through our questions.
We learn in Job, that no question is too tough for our God. And my sister-in-law even said to me one time, 'I guess if David could write what He wrote in the Psalms, I think God can handle my outbursts too!' Wise words from someone ten years younger than me.
So why add some skepticism to your life? Peterson writes, "How do we protect ourselves from organized deceit? St. John is blunt: use your heads."
I even once had someone tell me that I was "pushing" them and that I've always been a deep thinker...like that was somehow a bad thing. Yes, I fully believe that you can get tripped up by your skepticism just as easily as you can be deceived by religion. Trust me, I've had it happen numerous times! But this is where it comes back to the dance analogy. Whether I'm accepting something by faith or questioning everything around me...each must be taken back to God, presented to Him to sort through as we ask Him for the discernment, insight and perspective of His Holy Spirit. This is the dance...with Him in the lead of course!
I hope I'm not making too big of a leap here...I highly recommend this Peterson book...but without going into all that he expounds upon regarding false religion and how we succumb to it, there is one more quote I'd like to leave you with.
It seems I'm hearing a lot of people talk about letting go and surrendering everything to God's Will...again, remember the idea of the dance. He's your partner. You're not in this alone. Peterson's final paragraph on the subject of false religion falls within this vein: "The visions show us that while we are doing our best to worship God and not the powers of the world, to understand our faith and not be misled by the devil's religious flimflam, and to cultivate a life of holiness in a weed-filled society, we are being helped to do each task."
Amen! We're not dancing alone...ever!
So it's okay to question why church leaders are leading congregations in a certain direction. It's okay to question why things have always been done a certain way. It's okay to question absolutely everything. But take those questions to the One that has the answers.
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