I can’t believe it’s taken me six months to write a post about theology. But, here I go. I hope not to offend anyone, but I welcome any responses. I can’t explain my own theology in one post, so I will tell you that most assumptions you might make about what a Christian believes (especially if you live in the United States) are not what I believe. If you don’t want to wait around for me to explain myself, feel free to ask me questions.
You know when you feel something–have a sense of it–but you don’t really understand it until you find the right words to explain the way you feel? That happened to me a couple weeks ago.
I was talking to one of my professors. He was asking me questions, trying to get a sense of where I stand theologically, so that we could figure out what doctoral programs would be best suited for me. Most people who study theology academically are far more progressive than your average Christian. Even within the academy, I study with the more liberal folks. Many of them are what you could call post-Christian.
I stand at the boundary of Christianity. My professor asked, “the boundary between Christianity and . . . what?” This was easy for me. Agnosticism. I am on the boundary between Christianity and Agnosticism. That’s it!
What does that mean? It means that I call myself a Christian (though many Christians would not consider me such). I stand within the Christian tradition. I talk to God as if God exists. I see the influence of God in the world. I act as if there is truth to my Christian claims.
But, often I feel like there’s no way to know if there is a God, no way to affirm Christian truths, and no way to prove anything. That’s what Agnosticism is. It’s not that you haven’t made up your mind about theism yet–it’s that you think whether or not God exists is not knowable.
That’s where I stand. I’m a Christian who isn’t sure she can really know what she claims to know.
There’s a similarity between Fundamentalists and Atheists that neither wants to acknowledge. They both think we can make ultimate claims with at least some degree of certainty. Claiming God absolutely does not exist is really not that different from claiming that God absolutely does exist. Both groups think this is something we can know. I will give atheists the fact that it’s easier to believe something isn’t there than it is to believe that something is there, but I don’t know that they always acknowledge the implications of their certainty.
Don’t get me wrong. I have no problem with atheism. It’s a legitimate point of view, I don’t feel threatened by it, and I might end up adopting it one day. I only object when atheism become fundamentalism–when the certainty of atheists becomes arrogance that makes it impossible for them to even listen to people with other theological positions.
I am suspect of anyone who can’t talk theology with people of other opinions, because that would threaten their own beliefs. I think we should all be suspect of any beliefs we hold, but would not be willing to question. It’s risky to hold onto anything so tightly that you can’t acknowledge dissenting opinions or change circumstances.
{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
I would probably call myself an atheist who doesn’t care if there is a god or not. I don’t think there is one since all actions have reactions and everything can be explained, according to me, but if there was a god I’d be quite pissed off at him/her for letting people kill in his name etc, so I’d prefer it if he didn’t exist, which I don’t think he do. I still like the idea of an afterlife though, but that’s just wishful thinking since I like life so much.
I call myself apathetic. God or no god, i would live a life similar to the one I have now. Which I think is the important part. I live a good life and I don’t understand how people can be so stiff in their belief. SoI agree with you!
Three years and 60 hours of graduate level credits at a theological seminary and I am right there with you! I believe any astute student in any field would have to admit that the more you know about a subject, the more you realize there is much more to learn. Unfortunately, in our field (well, your field, my former field), our subject is truly unknowable. I have chosen to live within the guise of Christianity (although admittedly on the liberal side), but I have very strong humanist and universalist tendencies.
I once heard Stan Hauerwas admit that every theologians greatest fear was that one day someone would call them out on their bluff; that one day after articulating some great theological notion, someone would ask, “You really don’t know what the hell you’re talking about, do you?”
I’d have to say I stand I there with you. I’m attending a Baptist University but I definitely do not fit in with the majority of people here, at least regarding religious views.
(Dang, this is the second post of yours that has lead to a real one on my blog. Good show!)
I grew up in a long line of Methodists, and in a shorter line of doubters. My dad has always questioned, but we’ve always gone to church without question. This has ended lately–they don’t really go anymore, but I have recently started going to a Universalist Unitarian congregation. I always say that I am an open and accepting person, except when it comes to fundamentalism (and I’m not sure if that makes me a hypocrite). I just have hope that there is something out there, but like you, I can’t quite define it, and I don’t know that it ever should be defined.
You are one brave soul as it almost seems few people are interested in addressing this issue. But I think that you have a wise position where you find yourself comfortable what you believe, but have humility in your position. I think the Christians who are more arrogant in their beliefs that it is the only way will have more trouble with those who are more skeptical, so be prepared to have people address you much more openly as they will see you as such.
This is very interesting and insightful. As someone not as learned, I appreciate your perspective. I think it’s probably a healthier approach — with more room for growth in any of various and varying ways — than people on the opposite ends of the spectrum, to whom you refer, take.
So what made you study theology? And what’s your take on the idea of faith? Or are those to be addressed later in subsequent posts?
This is absolutely fascinating. I consider myself a “wanna be” Catholic who is too pragmatic to give in completely. I admire anyone who has strong faith because behind it, I think to myself, “It’s a tool we use to help ourselves make sense of who we are, why we’re here, and why things happen.” I hope I don’t offend anyone. As I said, I admire those with strong faith. :)
I like your stance on all of this. I can’t even imagine studying what you study. It all blows my mind. I consider myself agnostic, and I strongly concur with your last paragraph!
You sound like an average Flemish girl to me :-) We´re almost all Christians in name (baptized and all) but we´re not sure what exactly to believe. Who knows who or what is / could be out there?
I think, most importantly, I try to live by Christian values and for me, that´s what really counts.
Very important to me is “Live and let live” I dont care what anyone believes, as long as they dont try to force it on me.
I love when people discuss religion. I find all of the points of views interesting. For me religion is comforting. I was raised in a stirct Italian Roman Catholic household, so although I do not necessarily agree with the religion, it reminds me of my family.
I am a strong believer in having a right to your own opinion and beliefs. I hate when people are closed minded about other peoples religion and values.
Excellent post! One of my best friends has just “found god” as I like to put it, and it for some reason just made me really angry and I could never figure out why. It made me look at myself and I wondered what it was I truly believed in. I then realized that I believe in god, heaven, and hell. I however do not fully believe or agree with the bible, some of the so called christian ways of living life, or any other religious way of living life. I especially don’t believe in going to church, but if it makes her happy and comfortable to believe in that I say to each his own, just don’t push it upon me.
When the blind are leading the blind, bad things happen. We have to constantly question our beliefs in order to grow. I think similarly to you–while I’m Christian, I believe that we can never REALLY know if anything is truly real.
Oh, very interesting blog.
I think if I went into everything I believed in, I would be writing for days. However, I forwarded this entry to people who find such discussions interesting.
I don’t know too many people with advanced theological knowledge-the formal education just makes you that much more unique.
Yes, I think everyone should adopt a more cosmopolitan view towards religion, to be more open to other ideals and not just remain in their own “fundamentals.” I’m fascinated by anyone and everyone who explains their views and what they preach.
Religion was created by the people for the people. (I remember someone telling that once history becomes written word, it’s fiction.) I think… at the most basic level, religion is congregation and ritual. Whether there was a higher power involved or not in the creation of a religion is always questionable, I think. I mean, all those stories, beliefs and “history” were written by us. And to believe in it or not is up to us. But there’s no denying the power it has on people–the power to gather, to grow, to conquer, to keep–that’s something to behold. The fact that it allows people to have something to hold onto, even when everything is gone, is power stronger than an army of millions.
I… probably just went off on a weird tangent, lol. My point is: be open to and understanding of others because there’s a lot to learn from everyone and everything around us. It’s okay to question, to doubt, and to see things from different perspective. We’re human after all, right?
Thanks for your thoughtful responses everyone. I’ll have to do some follow ups to this post.
I grew up in a very Christian family but all of my brothers and I are somewhat agnostic. We live by the Christian values but … yeah … regardless of what’s out there I try to be a good person because I want to be – and for no other reason.
I enjoyed this post!