tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20930767.post1649617551483756761..comments2023-06-01T14:08:49.977+00:00Comments on Confessions of a Doubting Thomas: Heart or head?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20930767.post-9241928979184662892013-10-04T05:19:11.067+00:002013-10-04T05:19:11.067+00:00I'm going through the same kind of feelings ri...I'm going through the same kind of feelings right now. I'm in my late 20's and I announced my lack of belief to my family when I was 13, but now my dad has remarried and instead of having just 1 sibling, I have 7. I love being with them and being a part of such a big family, but they and their parents are Protestants, very active Protestants, and I'm frequently pressured to convert and forced to defend my position. The big problem I have is that heart issue; sometimes it's so appealing to imagine being a part of such a great big church family, with all that support and love, but my head just won't do it. I just can't get past how illogical it feels to my mind to believe in the Bible. It just seems so illogical to believe a book that has that history, that was written by the hands of men, that encourages war and hatred and slavery and sexism... My mind is pretty solidly atheist, my heart longs for spiritualityRachel Suzannehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04628659970957789227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20930767.post-3900469268170560272013-08-03T03:31:13.170+00:002013-08-03T03:31:13.170+00:00"Personal Relationship w/God" has always..."Personal Relationship w/God" has always been wishy-washy quasi-therapeutic Newspeak.<br /><br />Throughout your blog, you drastically overstate the factual improbability of Christian claims. They are, in fact, at least as probable as any viable alternatives.Vain Saintsnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20930767.post-75324335222982439962013-07-21T08:03:58.524+00:002013-07-21T08:03:58.524+00:00Coralie,
The most honest answer to your question ...Coralie,<br /><br />The most honest answer to your question is that I <i>did</i> used to feel like that, but that I <i>don't</i> feel like that anymore. <br /><br />Being part of a Church culture that tells you that (if you have done A, B & C, then) you have a personal relationship with Christ, inevitably leads you to interpret everything you feel or anything that happens in that context. But the problem with that is that feelings can never give a wholly accurate picture of reality. You can feel things that aren't there, simply by believing them.<br /><br />It came as quite a surprise to me when I discovered that the whole notion of having a 'personal relationship' with Jesus is a modern invention - it doesn't feature in the bible and wasn't talked about through about the first 1800 years of Christianity. It is a modern invention because modern people relate more to friends than to authority structures. Through most of history Christians bowed humbly before their God, without daring to believe that he would interact with them on a personal level, beyond certain basic commands. But we've moved from that in that we now claim that Christ walks with all of us and shares in <i>our</i> everyday experiences.Ricky Carvelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17975085318645232701noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20930767.post-82544745052639473392013-07-21T04:33:55.308+00:002013-07-21T04:33:55.308+00:00I have a slightly more heart-centric question for ...I have a slightly more heart-centric question for you, and forgive me if you've already written about this as I've only read this post. Do you feel you have a relationship with Jesus Christ like you would have a relationship with a friend sitting beside you? Coralienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20930767.post-84367680459835525262013-07-07T11:15:30.693+00:002013-07-07T11:15:30.693+00:00I get you with this, I've gone through a simil...I get you with this, I've gone through a similar experience. What it came down to for me is believing that the teachings of Jesus when listened to and engaged with regularly through church (although critically) are something that makes me a better friend, husband, brother and child. As a result of similar searching for "truth" I've come to the conclusion that neither I nor anyone will know the truth of what Jesus actually said, did or was and it's ultimately just a faith position. I choose to believe that his teachings were important and self-sacrifice genuine and, liturgically and metaphorically if not always literally, I choose to call him The Son of God and part of the Trinity. Ultimately getting these things sorted in my head doesn't actually really help anyone (including myself it has seemed). Finally I think the church has a great potential for good but often gets lost along the way and if I simply opt-out of it then I also opt-out of any chance of influencing it and those in it for the better.<br /><br />Hopefully this rambling make some sense!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20930767.post-87800088220435876312013-06-30T12:56:24.187+00:002013-06-30T12:56:24.187+00:00Yeh, thanks for that. But I was more thinking abou...Yeh, thanks for that. But I was more thinking about contemporary usage than about the biblical phrase. Basically contrasting those things you 'believe' because they 'feel right' with those things you 'believe' because you have rationally considered the evidence.Ricky Carvelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17975085318645232701noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20930767.post-65094404219417443382013-06-28T21:14:54.141+00:002013-06-28T21:14:54.141+00:00I thought I should mention that the New Testament ...I thought I should mention that the New Testament language of believing in one's heart doesn't have the same connotations that that language does today. Paul seems to have sided with Aristotle in thinking that human cognition occurs in the heart rather than the head, as we now know it does. And so he refers to not merely emotional but also rational activities as occurring "in the heart."James F. McGrathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02561146722461747647noreply@blogger.com