The famous and popular account of Martin Luther's defense of his writings at the Diet of Worms in 1521 has him saying, "...my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and will not recant anything, since it is neither safe nor right to go against conscience. Here I stand. I can do no other. May God help me. Amen." Scholars disagree over whether or not Luther actually said, "Here I stand. I can do no other." Even if Luther did not say those words, the point is that he did, in fact, take a stand.
Part of growing in the truth is standing on and living by the convictions about the truth you have gained. There is an historic charge spoken to those who have just been ordained when they are presented with the gift of a Bible that says, "Believe what you read here. Preach what you believe. Practice what you preach." Living one's faith is the means by which the truth is tested and a deeper understanding of it is acheived.
What I will be doing in future entries is letting you know where I stand on the many subjects that challenge us today. The title of this entry may convey that I am uncertain about where I stand or that I hold my views lightly or that my views change frequently. This is not the case. I have come to my positions through study, prayer, reflection, and conversation. Especially on those positions I consider to be most important for my faith in the Trinity revealed most fully in Jesus Christ, I cannot imagine something happening that would ever alter my beliefs. However, because I take the lessons from my Baptist heritage and my own experience seriously that I am a sinful and limited person, while I feel secure and confident in my beliefs, I, nevertheless, hold them open. There may be new wisdom or wisdom I have not yet learned that can deepen, alter, or change my understanding.
To paraphrase the second point made in the introduction to The Baptist Faith and Message, I do not regard my postions as complete statements of my faith, having any quality of finality or infallibility (most definitely not that!!). As in the past so in the future I hold myself free to revise my positions as may seem to me wise and expedient at any time. In this regard, I find myself in great emphathy with and imitating the efforts of Brian D. McLaren in his book, a Generous Orthodoxy.
I hope you will join me. Let's study, pray, reflect, talk, and grow in the truth together.
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Limitations
Christian beliefs or theology is the area of my training. Of the many beliefs that we have as Christians, I have found only two, up through now, about which all Christians agree. The two may surprise you. The first belief is that we are limited, especially in our understanding. We are finite. There is only One who we say is infinite, and that is God. This truth means not only that I am limited and you are limited, but we all, historically and into any cumulative future of all human understanding, will always be limited. The second belief is that we all are sinful and this sinfulness distorts and corrupts our understanding. The two beliefs together mean that our understanding is always in need of some sort of correction.
I do not believe that acceptance of these two beliefs means I cannot have an experience with or know the truth. However, it does mean that, while I may hold many of my beliefs with conviction and passion, I also hold them with a deep sense of humility. Hardly a day goes by that I am not shown where my understanding is incorrect or inadequate.
Where I learned this humility is not just from experience, but from the Baptist heritage that has shaped me. From what I was taught, it is acceptance of our limits and sinfulness that is the basis for the Baptist conviction not to elevate any statement of beliefs to the status of a creed. So, I share with the Introduction to The Baptist Faith and Message the conviction that "...confessions of faith...constitute a consensus of opinion...That we do not regard them as complete statements of our faith, having any quality of finality or infallibility...That...confessions are only guides in interpretation, having no authority over the conscience. That...they are not to be used to hamper freedom of thought or investigation in other realms of life."
My/our limits and sinfulness means that my/our understanding should always be in the process of change and correction. This process is what I think "growing in the truth" means and what I also have experienced as "The Baptist way." It is a process that is best done in caring conversation. I hope you will be a part of that conversation by "clicking" on the "comments" button at the bottom of this entry and add your thoughts.
I do not believe that acceptance of these two beliefs means I cannot have an experience with or know the truth. However, it does mean that, while I may hold many of my beliefs with conviction and passion, I also hold them with a deep sense of humility. Hardly a day goes by that I am not shown where my understanding is incorrect or inadequate.
Where I learned this humility is not just from experience, but from the Baptist heritage that has shaped me. From what I was taught, it is acceptance of our limits and sinfulness that is the basis for the Baptist conviction not to elevate any statement of beliefs to the status of a creed. So, I share with the Introduction to The Baptist Faith and Message the conviction that "...confessions of faith...constitute a consensus of opinion...That we do not regard them as complete statements of our faith, having any quality of finality or infallibility...That...confessions are only guides in interpretation, having no authority over the conscience. That...they are not to be used to hamper freedom of thought or investigation in other realms of life."
My/our limits and sinfulness means that my/our understanding should always be in the process of change and correction. This process is what I think "growing in the truth" means and what I also have experienced as "The Baptist way." It is a process that is best done in caring conversation. I hope you will be a part of that conversation by "clicking" on the "comments" button at the bottom of this entry and add your thoughts.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Come Join the Journey
Welcome to A Living Faith! In this blog I will share my thoughts and experiences as I try to be a follower of Jesus Christ. I have begun this blog in hopes of having companions who will meditate and think and pray along with me so that together, we can deepen our understanding and experience of God in Jesus Christ. Please join me in this conversation!
As a Christian I want to join with all Christians in worshiping and serving our Lord. However, it is important to know that I am willingly shaped by a particular Christian heritage--the Baptist heritage. In the introduction to a document called The Baptist Faith and Message it says, "Baptists are a people who profess a living faith...A living faith must experience a growing understanding of truth and must be continually interpreted and related to the needs of each new generation." The last statement summarizes my goal in writing this blog. I want to grow and I want us to grow together in an understanding of truth--a truth I believe to be God's truth most fully revealed in Jesus--and I want to understand how that truth is to be lived in our present context.
In my experience with Jesus, I have come to see that truth is not just intellectual and about the mind. Truth involves our whole being and experience because Jesus call us to follow Him. Truth is existential because Jesus was and is and is to come. Truth is lived, and is not just known and understood because Jesus lives in us. But living a faith in Jesus, living the truth, means living in a particular context at a particular time in a particular place. In my case, the context, place, and time is as the pastor of First Baptist Church in Black Mountain, North Carolina in the second decade of a new millennium.
So, if you will do me the honor, read these posts. Criticize or develop the ideas. Talk and share with me. Help me explore, as we live, this faith!
As a Christian I want to join with all Christians in worshiping and serving our Lord. However, it is important to know that I am willingly shaped by a particular Christian heritage--the Baptist heritage. In the introduction to a document called The Baptist Faith and Message it says, "Baptists are a people who profess a living faith...A living faith must experience a growing understanding of truth and must be continually interpreted and related to the needs of each new generation." The last statement summarizes my goal in writing this blog. I want to grow and I want us to grow together in an understanding of truth--a truth I believe to be God's truth most fully revealed in Jesus--and I want to understand how that truth is to be lived in our present context.
In my experience with Jesus, I have come to see that truth is not just intellectual and about the mind. Truth involves our whole being and experience because Jesus call us to follow Him. Truth is existential because Jesus was and is and is to come. Truth is lived, and is not just known and understood because Jesus lives in us. But living a faith in Jesus, living the truth, means living in a particular context at a particular time in a particular place. In my case, the context, place, and time is as the pastor of First Baptist Church in Black Mountain, North Carolina in the second decade of a new millennium.
So, if you will do me the honor, read these posts. Criticize or develop the ideas. Talk and share with me. Help me explore, as we live, this faith!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)