Inspired by the return to the blogosphere of a friend of mine, and fellow minister, over at Wheat and Chaff, I have returned to Dead Men's Voices. I apologize for my absence.
Neither man or nation can exist without a sublime idea.
-Fyodor Dostoevsky
Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.
-Saint Paul (Romans 10:17)
The quote from Dostoevsky seems intuitively obvious to the reflective mind. However, I often wonder how many people actually have a sublime idea by which they live their lives, a sublime idea that allows them to transcend the mundane and soar like a falcon on the winds of truth. But many would doubt the practicality of ideas and prefer to find meaning in the things of the world, the material that makes up the physical universe. Pragmatism, though an ideal itself, has, ironically, convinced many modern men that the realm of the ideal is useless at best, if not utterly illusive and deceptive. Unfortunately, the church is not exempt from this philosophy. In fact, it is arguable that many members of the modern church, at least in the more affluent western nations are the most thorough pragmatists. After all, the complete unbeliever falls back on pragmatism by default, for if reality is bound within the confines of nature and the material, it would make perfect sense to seek that which works in the material world, to foster that which allows one to manipulate material by material, thereby gaining the materialistic end desired. If there is nothing eternal, at least nothing eternal that has anything to do with the temporal life of man, then let us eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die. In the church, however, pragmatism takes on a different persona, a nature much more destructive and contrary to the supposed end desired. Admittedly, it baffles the mind how one can presume to grasp the eternal by means of the pragmatic, how one can apprehend God by the manipulation of matter. One is forced to ask the question: How do we apprehend God? Do we apprehend Him by sight? I would hope not. If one did, I would call into question his sanity. Do we apprehend Him by experience? Again, I hope not, for if we do we more likely worship a figment of our own imagination, a god of our own making, a god which works in accordance with our earthly agenda. The Holy Scriptures reveal that we apprehend God by faith. They also reveal that faith comes not by sight, not by experience, but by hearing, and that by the Word of God. Thus, in essence, I ask again, how do we apprehend God? Yes, I think the light is dawning upon your mind.
Honor, Liberty, Truth!
Friday, January 09, 2009
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
