It certainly depends on who one is talking to. If I am talking to a confident atheist, I agree with your posture. However, if I'm talking with someone who is struggling with doubt and is feeling like there is no God, I don't want to pull out this verse. I want to walk with them and say it is not foolish to feel doubts about God, but actually wise to test one's intellectual assumptions because it can help strengthen one's faith.
I have a close atheist friend and we got to talking about her beloved astrophysics. I say " her beloved astrophysics" as though I hold it in low regard, which is not the case at all, but she really, really loves the whole of space in a wide-eyed wonder way. We spoke in lay terms about the same atoms being both here in our hands and somewhere in the Andromeda galaxy. We spoke about the unimaginable scale of cosmic events, and distances that bamboozle Newtonian laws. We spoke about other dimensions, about the mystical boundary between finite and infinite. I asked her if it's possible that what I call metaphysics is what she calls physics. She shrugged.
I am a Christian who often struggles to believe, and often struggles to feel well disposed towards other Christians who seem to find non-believers unpalatable. This sort of conversation with an atheist tends to result in a distinctly theological mood, and a satisfying clicking into place of ideas; Atheists are very important.
I had a further thought during our talk, but didn't impart it to my friend because I felt my coolly rational posture might be fatally undermined:
Is it coincidence that the iris resembles a nebula being sucked down a perfectly round back hole? If I do indeed have galaxies for eyes, then yes, it does seem a teensy bit foolish to say in my heart there is no God.
You have become one of my favorite theologians. I think I 'discovered' you when someone recommended the 'Old Scratch' book, then I watched Devilpalooza. You did not get enough attention on that podcast, possibly because Tripp Fuller is such an ebullient personality and N T Wright showed up. I wanted to hear more from you. This is a great, insightful and I would add encouraging post. Thank you.
And yet there is room for a big tent. The key factor seems to be whether people are able to get beyond ego to do what is right. Thanks for this thoughtful post!
It certainly depends on who one is talking to. If I am talking to a confident atheist, I agree with your posture. However, if I'm talking with someone who is struggling with doubt and is feeling like there is no God, I don't want to pull out this verse. I want to walk with them and say it is not foolish to feel doubts about God, but actually wise to test one's intellectual assumptions because it can help strengthen one's faith.
I have a close atheist friend and we got to talking about her beloved astrophysics. I say " her beloved astrophysics" as though I hold it in low regard, which is not the case at all, but she really, really loves the whole of space in a wide-eyed wonder way. We spoke in lay terms about the same atoms being both here in our hands and somewhere in the Andromeda galaxy. We spoke about the unimaginable scale of cosmic events, and distances that bamboozle Newtonian laws. We spoke about other dimensions, about the mystical boundary between finite and infinite. I asked her if it's possible that what I call metaphysics is what she calls physics. She shrugged.
I am a Christian who often struggles to believe, and often struggles to feel well disposed towards other Christians who seem to find non-believers unpalatable. This sort of conversation with an atheist tends to result in a distinctly theological mood, and a satisfying clicking into place of ideas; Atheists are very important.
I had a further thought during our talk, but didn't impart it to my friend because I felt my coolly rational posture might be fatally undermined:
Is it coincidence that the iris resembles a nebula being sucked down a perfectly round back hole? If I do indeed have galaxies for eyes, then yes, it does seem a teensy bit foolish to say in my heart there is no God.
You have become one of my favorite theologians. I think I 'discovered' you when someone recommended the 'Old Scratch' book, then I watched Devilpalooza. You did not get enough attention on that podcast, possibly because Tripp Fuller is such an ebullient personality and N T Wright showed up. I wanted to hear more from you. This is a great, insightful and I would add encouraging post. Thank you.
And yet there is room for a big tent. The key factor seems to be whether people are able to get beyond ego to do what is right. Thanks for this thoughtful post!