He began this post by talking about how he was a Christian when he started his blog two years ago, but since then he has left the faith. He said that, looking back at his previous Christianity, he felt like he had been a "religious puppet." He went on to say that he had based many of his decisions about life and morality on his faith, and in this way became its puppet. He believes now that people should decide for themselves what they believe to be right or wrong and live their lives accordingly.
I both agree and disagree with this post. Let me tell you why.
I agree that thinking for yourself and not following something blindly is super important. College has been a great place for me to do this.
When I was a senior in high school and deciding which university to go to, my top two choices were Western Washington University and Whitworth University. Western is a medium sized, state university while Whitworth is a small, private Christian college. They both had good Music and Elementary Education programs (the two things I was interested in), and both were a couple hours away from my home (far enough away for me to feel independent but close enough to make going home not too difficult).
I went back and forth in my mind, struggling to make a decision. Finally, the time came to make up my mind. As you may know, I picked Western, but the reason might surprise you.
It wasn't to be with friends, or to save money, or because I liked Bellingham better than Spokane. The main reason I chose to go to Western was because it wasn't a Christian environment.
I wanted my faith to be challenged.
And it has been.
I'll probably talk about this more fully in a later post, but my time away at university has involved a lot of doubt about my beliefs. My freshman year especially, but throughout all my years here, my faith has been challenged -- I've had to ask myself a lot of tough questions.
Classes like History, Psychology, and Anthropology as well as simply living on my own and meeting new people have led me to think a lot about why I believe what I believe. I have been forced to find out if my beliefs hold water, so to speak. I have had to see if what I thought in theory has a place in reality.
As a Christian, I believe God created everything, and everything has a purpose. So, I don't see why He would make humans with a brain capable of great analytic thinking, but ask us to check it at the door when we think about Him.
One of the pastors at CCF, my college church group, once said that God is big enough to take your questions and doubts. If you earnestly seek answers and He falls short, He isn't worth your time.
But here's where I disagree with that video: I don't think that there is anything wrong with your moral thinking being based on your faith.
Every good parent sets boundaries for their children. Does following those rules make us their puppets?
Perhaps... if we follow them blindly or if we follow when we honestly believe they don't have our best interest at heart.
However, I believe that God not only has my best interest at heart, but he, being the creator of all things, knows what's good for me much better than I.
Just like a parent who tells a young child that they shouldn't have ice cream and jelly beans for dinner, we may feel like God is denying us something we want when He is really just looking out for us because we can't fully understand yet. We can choose to obey, or we can go to bed with a tummy ache.I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. - God (Jeremiah 29:11)
So, when a teaching of the Bible confuses me, I will never stop trying to understand it, but I will also not consider myself a puppet because I follow it. I trust that God sees things more clearly than I do.
I have a lot more thoughts on the subject, but I think I'll stop here and maybe hear some thoughts from you. I love honesty and I invite disagreement. I your opinion differs from mine, I'd still love to hear from you. But be respectful, please! So, here are some questions to ponder:
- When was a time in your life that you had to question your beliefs?
- Do you think it makes you a puppet if you believe in something you don't always understand?
