Again in class today we have got on the discussion of miracles. This has come up from first I think when we asked why Lucy's brothers and sister did not believe her and second with talking about magic in both the Chronicles and the Lord of the Rings. This topic is one that I have discussed and thought about probably more than any other topic in my years here at Northwestern. (At one time the whole campus was encompassed with a man who could heal and reign down gold.) We know that God is all powerful and capable of wondrous works and miracles that we cannot comprehend. So we are we so skeptical of believing these acts. I here about someone who has this experience and if they associate it with God I immediately put them in this sub par faith with sub par knowledge category. Thinking that if they only knew what I know then they would see that there is a reasonable explanation to it all.
In the Chronicles the kids followed Aslan blindly because the believed in Aslan. When things came up that did not seem like something Aslan would be doing they questioned the motives and experiences. Is doubt important for us? Does being skeptical mean I don't trust God? Do we need to have more child like faith and not questioning all we see. Or do we need to question those actions that people point towards God's divine power. We love the supernatural, but only when its left in our fantasies and books. In our new age of reason there is no room for miracles, some of Americas founders wouldn't even accept Christ's miracles. We see this as foolish, but are we all that far away from this? I know that he is capable, but still I always question the motives.
In one of the first chapels, John Brogan was speaking on the transcendency of the gospel over cultures. Like most chapels, I remembered very little. I do remember one thing he said. He mentioned the rapid church growth in Latin American and Africa. He discussed their dismissing of intellectual western faith for a more charismatic faith. He seemed excited about this. But I question if he, or we, really understand or are ready for this movement of our faith.
ReplyDeleteI think doubt is a fundamentally human emotion. The problem comes when the identity of our culture and specific individuals become defined by it. Granted, the personifying of doubt can be cured. As Trumpkin in Prince Caspian, the only thing that can cure doubt would be a direct confrontation with the supernatural or in Trumpkin's case, a confrontation with Aslan.
The question is, who is more of a true Narnian? Trumkin the skeptical dwarf? Or Trufflehunter who holds faith in Old Narnia and in Aslan? Is Trufflehunter gullible? I would say no. In fact I get the impression that this old badger is in the minority.
I am not quite sure where I myself stand in how much worth I give to people who believe in miracles. I do think that miracle lovers are in the minority in our western faith and in Northwestern College. Are we a college full of Trumpkins? Is it possible that our theology is completely reactionary against the mega church, suburban mom, wwjd bracelet wearing, miracle believing church of the 90's?
I think sometimes it is.
As orthodox Christians, we're committed to the possibility and reality of miracles insofar as we believe in the Incarnation and in the Resurrection. So we cannot and should not rule out the possibility of the miraculous. We shouldn't say that modern science has eliminated miracles, as some do.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, we live in a culture that believes all kinds of things: alien abductions, astrology, alternative medicines of all kinds, conspiracy theories, reincarnation, urban myths, superstition, magic, etc. Arguably, we're part of a "believing" culture, and that's not necessarily a good thing. Part of being an educated person is figuring out how to navigate all this, to learn: (1) when to ask for more evidence, (2) how much evidence is enough, (3) what counts as good evidence, (4) how we're affected by what we already believe and what we hope is the case, (5) when to refuse to accept something at face value, and so on.
Being part of a Christian academic community involves figuring out how to keep these two aspects of our identity together -- the Christian who believes in miracles and the academic who's careful about what she believes. Since that's not an easy thing to do, it's no surprise that people have found different ways of living this out.