Opening Thoughts.
In this week’s post we continue our exploration of issues of Faith. Last week we began to look at reasons that someone’s faith can be lost. This week we’ll continue that examination.
To begin, we should recognize that someone’s faith cannot actually be “lost.” Because having a faith and the nature of that faith are choices each of us make, the decision to believe or not is a conscious one. In that respect deciding to believe or not is a voluntary act. Losing something is not. Losing something is rarely intentional or voluntary. Putting a faith or beliefs aside is. We use the term “lost” to indicate that even though we may have decided to lay our faith aside, there is some element of loss associated with it. Something that we once had is gone, and even though we made the decision to let it go, we feel some sense of nostalgia for the time when we had it. Thus, we talk about “losing” our faith.
Also, the nature and distinct beliefs that make up each of our faiths are constantly evolving and changing. As a result, the faith we hold at this time may be dramatically different from the faith we held previously. We may look back to a former time in our lives when our faith was simpler and less intellectually demanding and feel a sense of longing to return to that “simpler time.” In this case we would not have lost our faith so much as we’ve evolved beyond the faith we once had.
But for those who’ve made the decision to move away from their faith, the identification of “losing” their faith is commonly used.
Additional Reasons for Losing Faith.
Unhappy with or mad at the Christian Church.
Next, we will deal with those who have lost their faith because they became unhappy with or mad at the Christian Church. This reason and the other two along with it are, at their core, expressions of disillusionment.
In this case, the believer has become disappointed in some aspect of their faith or in their relationship with the Church.
The Church’s adoption of or toleration of activities or social circumstances which were/are clearly in direct opposition to Christian teaching can be one source of such frustration.
- The Church’s support for slavery or forced labor is an example from the 19th Century. While largely discredited today, such activities are still prevalent in some areas, and are not always confronted by the Church.
- Complacency in the face of Nazi or White Supremacist dogma is a more contemporary example. Its failure to expose and hold up to ridicule such vile ideologies is seen as its having ceded the moral “high ground.”
- Failure to hold the Church’s leadership accountable for sexual misconduct with congregants or minors is another example.
- The Church’s agreement with or tacit support of segregation and the suppression of rights of minorities is another contemporary example.
- Support for repression of the rights of other groups of minorities can also be cited.
In each of these instances, the Church has continued to espouse Christian ideals and morals, while allowing, ignoring or even abating acts and activities that are clearly at variance with those teachings.
It is a classical case of hypocrisy, something which Christ abhorred. [Mark 7:5-9]
Another type of disillusionment comes from the pulpit itself. I’ve alluded to the distinctly “primitive” or “fundamentalist” stance the churches I attended as a youth took. I don’t use these descriptors in a pejorative manner. Many people who attend congregations where a more basic or fundamentalist message is taught find deep meaning in such messages and comfort in the type of religious faith taught there.
However, the sermons I heard focused almost exclusively on one aspect of Christianity. That was to “repent” and “accept Christ” solely for the purpose of avoiding Hell when I’d died. While I have since found my Christian faith to be rich in other textures and meanings, this monochromatic and pedantic message was delivered over and over to the point of distraction.
God was not a God of “love,” but of righteous “anger.” We were not drawn to Him because of His love and grace but were pushed to him to avoid dire punishment. The Christian message was not one of grace, love and inclusiveness, but rather one of God’s anger, fear for my soul, and the consequences of sin.
Now, I clearly understand and accept that these themes have an important place in our Christian message. Sin is real. Sin does have consequences. And Sin can lead to spiritual (and physical) death. Christ Himself said that we all must “repent” [Matthew 4:17] in order to take up the salvation that He has won for us.
If this is all the “Christianity” one hears or is taught, it can lead to a very “narrow” faith, and one that has grown in “shallow soil.” As a result, a faith such as this can be stunted and unable to withstand the challenges that anyone’s life is going to throw at it. It can be a faith that is easily overwhelmed with the result that the person who was once a believer becomes a non believer who once believed.
We’ll explore possible antidotes for these kinds of toxic faiths, but for now, let’s just accept that they are real and that some people have become non-believers because they could not abide the deep dichotomy between what the Church was saying and what it was doing (or allowing to be done).
Unhappy with or mad at Christians.
Now, let’s move on to the third common reason for loss of faith: Becoming mad at or disappointed by members of the Christian faith, or Christians as individuals.
The great leader for Indian independence, Mahatma Gandhi, once said, “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” Here he was commenting on the most common “turn off” for non-believers; people who describe themselves as “Christian,” but who don’t reflect the morals and values attributed to Christianity.
Again, the term that comes to mind is hypocrisy. Christ’s rebukes were not for people who committed “everyday” sins like theft, prostitution, or even illegal tax collecting. He reserved his strongest condemnation for those who covered their sinful lives in the cloak of adherence to superficial religious practice. “You snakes! You brood of vipers! …” [Matthew 23:33]
We believers who participate in an organized Christian denomination are expected to represent our religion and its beliefs in our lives. Christianity is largely practiced “within,” but it’s impact on how we live daily should be evident to the “outside” observer.
We espouse to love God, to follow Christ’s teachings, and to live a life that reflects those teachings. And since that is what Christianity is about, it is perfectly reasonable for people to expect to see those teachings reflected in our lifestyle and our interactions with others.
Unfortunately, we are all human. As a result, we are incapable of Christian thoughts and actions at all times and in all of our interactions with others. Our basic sinful nature leaks through and provides fodder for those who look for any crack in our Christian aura to point to the fact that we are all hypocrites and frauds, which we all are at least to some extent. We may sincerely try to remain faithful at all times and in all situations, but the sad truth is that we simply are not capable.
So, the criticism of us is an accurate one. And the non-believer asks, “How is it that someone who talks about love and forgiveness all the time can be so hard-hearted and judgmental?” This is a legitimate question.
Making matters worse is that many of our fellow-believers take pride in their faith and use it either as a position from which to belittle the non-believer [Luke 18:11] or as a club to try to intimidate a non-believer into belief.
Self-righteous judgment and theological bullying have never been particularly effective in converting the non-believer. In fact, they are very effective at proving the non-believer’s point, that Christianity is filled with smug, self-satisfied hypocrites. When we behave in this fashion, we make the non-believer’s point for them and condemn ourselves. We become Christianity’s worst examples.
Summary.
So, it should come as no surprise that persons who were once believers observe the evil that exists in our world, the failings of our Churches and the smug self-righteousness of our confessing Christians as reasons either to question or to abandon their faith.
Similarly, attracting new converts from the non-believer community is made difficult. A faith so poorly represented is not a faith that attracts others to it or back from their acquired unbelief. When viewed in this light, Gandhi’s comment is completely understandable.
Hope.
Fortunately, this bleak picture is not the complete one. As true as these observations are, and their conclusions seemingly logical, I believe there are flaws in them that can be effectively answered. We’ll begin to explore those flaws in next week’s post. And, hopefully we can provide some basis for non-believers or those who are in spiritual crisis some reason to reconsider their positions, and to consider Christianity in a new, more refreshed light.
Until then,
God’s Blessings on You All.
Richard
November 23, 2018
