CREED: I Believe IN GOD
(Important to read previous blog for introductory thoughts on belief …stated in first person singular etc.)
In this part I want to move forward to look at the next phrase "IN GOD", but that means an additional defining of the use of the word "Believe".
Whereas I said before "I am stating that this is a "belief" and whether what follows is true or false, I have come to the conclusion, perhaps by a multitude of influences, to rest in the conviction that it is true, and will serve my purposes until some other information, or circumstances show it to be false or needing an amendment."
Now by adding "IN GOD" I am saying that belief is more than just an acknowledgment of "facts" real or assumed, and implies a Trust or Commitment that differs from saying I believe "THAT GOD". And when I said that a "belief will serve my purposes until some other information or circumstances show it to be false" I think it is illustrated in a child's declaration that he or she "Believes in Santa Claus". As long as they do believe IN SANTA CLAUS, "he" seems to justify their belief. i.e. "Santa" keeps delivering the gifts, and the "believer" shows some evidence of trying to be good, to earn Santa's gifts, or the "believer" continues to present his "wish list", in expectation of the big day. But once he starts accessing various clues, his "belief" wavers and then is either replaced with a new belief system, i.e. "I can depend on my folks to meet my wants" or a rejection of any kind of belief except cynicism.
So for this installment, I concentrate on how saying I believe IN something, in this case "God", means I not only acknowledge the existence of some force or being, but that I TRUST this one to do certain things.
This is not an original illustration but it serves the purpose. As long as I stand observing a chair, and take note that it appears by its design, material and workmanship to be structurally sound, I believe THAT it will hold me up. I trust, or believe IN it when I commit my total weight to it, and accept the consequences. Until the act of commitment, initially and continual, is carried out, all other profession of "belief" is empty.
Having then declared, verbally and/or in actions, that I trust someone or something, I now proceed to proclaim what or who that something is.
Again, now is the time to be reminded that there is no point in saying "I BELIEVE IN" anything unless I can also answer "So what?".
And specifically if I say I believe in God, I must answer what the implications are. First of all there must be a definition of what I mean by "God". Much of the rest of the Apostles' Creed tells that, but it might also be beneficial to state what I do NOT mean by God. I do not mean some "Divine" spirit that is in me and will with proper nurture and thinking let me become a god, or God. So, by "God" I mean an entity outside and beyond my self.
Secondly, I do not mean a caricature of God as imagined by so many biblically ignorant who either see God as some benevolent old man off in the distance uninterested in his creation, or a thundering judge waiting to zap anyone who transgresses, or any multitude of misrepresentations that seem to abound in the modern mind.
Although I intended in the original that the next installment(s) would look at the implications of believing in "God (1)the Father (2)Almighty, (3) Maker of Heaven and Earth." I had to insert a part 2 to answer a question posed by a reader.
(Important to read previous blog for introductory thoughts on belief …stated in first person singular etc.)
In this part I want to move forward to look at the next phrase "IN GOD", but that means an additional defining of the use of the word "Believe".
Whereas I said before "I am stating that this is a "belief" and whether what follows is true or false, I have come to the conclusion, perhaps by a multitude of influences, to rest in the conviction that it is true, and will serve my purposes until some other information, or circumstances show it to be false or needing an amendment."
Now by adding "IN GOD" I am saying that belief is more than just an acknowledgment of "facts" real or assumed, and implies a Trust or Commitment that differs from saying I believe "THAT GOD". And when I said that a "belief will serve my purposes until some other information or circumstances show it to be false" I think it is illustrated in a child's declaration that he or she "Believes in Santa Claus". As long as they do believe IN SANTA CLAUS, "he" seems to justify their belief. i.e. "Santa" keeps delivering the gifts, and the "believer" shows some evidence of trying to be good, to earn Santa's gifts, or the "believer" continues to present his "wish list", in expectation of the big day. But once he starts accessing various clues, his "belief" wavers and then is either replaced with a new belief system, i.e. "I can depend on my folks to meet my wants" or a rejection of any kind of belief except cynicism.
So for this installment, I concentrate on how saying I believe IN something, in this case "God", means I not only acknowledge the existence of some force or being, but that I TRUST this one to do certain things.
This is not an original illustration but it serves the purpose. As long as I stand observing a chair, and take note that it appears by its design, material and workmanship to be structurally sound, I believe THAT it will hold me up. I trust, or believe IN it when I commit my total weight to it, and accept the consequences. Until the act of commitment, initially and continual, is carried out, all other profession of "belief" is empty.
Having then declared, verbally and/or in actions, that I trust someone or something, I now proceed to proclaim what or who that something is.
Again, now is the time to be reminded that there is no point in saying "I BELIEVE IN" anything unless I can also answer "So what?".
And specifically if I say I believe in God, I must answer what the implications are. First of all there must be a definition of what I mean by "God". Much of the rest of the Apostles' Creed tells that, but it might also be beneficial to state what I do NOT mean by God. I do not mean some "Divine" spirit that is in me and will with proper nurture and thinking let me become a god, or God. So, by "God" I mean an entity outside and beyond my self.
Secondly, I do not mean a caricature of God as imagined by so many biblically ignorant who either see God as some benevolent old man off in the distance uninterested in his creation, or a thundering judge waiting to zap anyone who transgresses, or any multitude of misrepresentations that seem to abound in the modern mind.
Although I intended in the original that the next installment(s) would look at the implications of believing in "God (1)the Father (2)Almighty, (3) Maker of Heaven and Earth." I had to insert a part 2 to answer a question posed by a reader.
posted by Mister A Muses | 3:31 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home