A cautionary tale:
A hospice counselor asked Tish for help with Ruth, who had only a few weeks to live and who was extremely anxious and increasingly agitated. Her Christian faith, which had been a hugely meaningful part of her life since childhood had, in her words, “just up and disappeared.” Nothing made sense anymore. She was worried sick over what to say to her pastor of many years, and she was angry that now, just now, when she really needed it, her religious faith had vanished.
She had loved God and believed the stories in the Bible…But now, all of a sudden, her religious beliefs had evaporated and she was beside herself. How could she die without God? Was there no heaven after all?
After a pause, Tish asked her if she could remember what was happening at the time she first noticed her faith changing. Ruth said she had been reading some books on Buddhist spirituality and one in particular by a “guru type,” as she described him. “All of a sudden it didn’t seem possible that God could be captured in any earthly frame of reference…I’ve lost it all.”
K. Bulkeley & P. Bulkley Dreaming Beyond Death (Beacon Press 2006), 66-67.
About 2 years ago, I stopped breathing. I managed to dial 911 before I blacked out. I remember being conscious for a few minutes after everything went dark. I have no near-death tales to tale of this. About a year earlier, I had a heart attack. And no near-death experience. It rather bothered me. But, after the 2nd time, I realized something. My experiences, my expectations, my fears, all of the emotions had nothing to do with my faith. If Christ rose from the dead, Christianity is true. That is the core statement and fact. God be praised, I recovered from both with little to no loss of function and I believe I am truly blessed for that. But above the recovery, is the understanding that Truth is not influenced by how I feel or what I want. To be sure, people argue over whether or not Christ rose from the dead, whether or not the accounts can be trusted. But, if they are to be trusted, if Christ rose from the dead, Christianity is True.
ReplyDeleteIf Christ rose from the dead, Christianity is true.
ReplyDeleteNot true, depending on how you define "Christianity". Even if Jesus actually rose from the dead, while certainly amazing, and praise worthy, it doesn't necessarily mean anything in the Gospels that was attributed to him was true or recorded accurately, it also doesn't mean anything Paul said was true.