The other day I started thinking about what would have happened if I had stopped looking critically at Christianity after reading those articles that first made me question the Bible’s legitimacy. What if I had turned from them and decided to never look at anything else that might cause me to doubt my faith? If I had, I’m sure I’d still be a Christian today.
But would that really be good enough? Obviously, the things my faith were built upon weren’t solid enough to withstand scrutiny. So if I had maintained faith only by refusing to investigate my reasons, would that kind of faith be pleasing to God? I think that’s a question believers should consider. If that level of faith is good enough, we’re essentially saying, “oh, if only you hadn’t taken your faith so seriously!” But that seems crazy.
The alternative is that my faith might have been good enough until the day I ran across things that made me doubt. At that point, the only way to remain pleasing to God would be to investigate the claims and come out the other side with a stronger faith. Of course, that’s not how it worked out for me. If God’s real and Christianity’s true, then I think this view makes the most sense. However, it causes problems for those Christians who have refused to look at any evidence that might call their beliefs into question. I’ve had several tell me that they won’t read anything an atheist has written, or don’t want me to point out the passages that I found problematic because they don’t want to lose their faith. How does that make sense? If their faith is worth keeping — if it’s true — then further investigation should only support their beliefs, not call them into question.
I’m not trying to pick on Christians here, we can all be guilty of this from time to time. It’s essentially an extreme case of confirmation bias — one in which we realize we’re being biased and we even think of it as a good thing. In fact, it’s extremely dangerous, and if we feel ourselves thinking along those lines, it should be a red flag. What’s wrong with our current position if we have to hide from information in order to keep it?
And in the end, I’m glad I didn’t stop looking. The journey out wasn’t easy, but I feel like things make so much more sense with my current worldview. Even if I’m still wrong, I’m closer to the truth than I was before, because I’ve learned new information and corrected some past misunderstandings. That can only be a good thing.
Finding Truth 
@Newport – Clever! Very, VERY cleverly done!
LikeLike
Some time ago, Nate said: “God could simultaneously want a relationship and still remain hidden, but that’s contradictory behavior, and it’s grounds for disbelief.
Then Stephen said: “– How would god have talked to him or anyone? An audible voice? voices within his own mind? or would god speak through his own internal dialogue like a thought?”
While Matt wrote:
Matt
January 30, 2015 at 3:23 pm
“Since I have opened this ‘Pandora’s’ box of study, here is one I’m struggling with: Why had God gone silent?
“For all of the jewish people’s history God was very active/vocal with them, up to the point of Christ. Prophets, miracles, even speaking directly to folks, why now this 2000 year silence?”
Then I said: archaeopteryx1
January 30, 2015 at 9:44 pm
“Matt – if I may, I would like to respond to your query a little later this evening after the rest of my world goes away.”
However, since I said that, a lot of evenings have passed and I’m just now getting around to it.
In his book, The Hidden Face of God, Richard Elliot Friedman demonstrates that throughout the Bible, the dynamic between the Bible’s god and man, which Friedman terms “the Divine/Human Balance,” changes.
Adam and Eve, for example, appear as weak, helpless children – their god even has to personally make clothes for them on his Celestial Singer. A few generations later, although his god has to draw the blueprints, Noah builds his own ark (though his god personally pops down and close the door for him), but by the end of the story, Noah does something entirely on his own, plants grapes, makes wine and gets drunk.
By the time we come to Abraham, although his god tells him to leave his land and move to the Levant, Abe then takes on far more responsibility than ever did Noah, and in the case of Sodom and Gomorrah, instead of blindly accepting his god’s will that the cities be destroyed (as Noah meekly accepted that all of Humanity be destroyed), attempts to wheedle him, via guilt-trip, into saving them – “Far be it from you to do a thing like this. Will not the judge of all the earth not do justice?” (Gen 18:25). C’mon, god – put on your big-boy pants!
Then we have Lot, fleeing from Gomorrah, told by the angels to go to the mountains, who changes the plan, and asks to go to a nearby city instead! Not only does his god agree to Lot’s agenda, but tells him to hurry, as, in Lot’s god’s own words, “I cannot do a thing until you get there“! (Gen. 19:22). The god who blinked the universe into existence must now wait on the progress of a man before he can act!
Later, when Abe sends his servant back to Haran, in search of a wife for Isaac (the boy was only 60, but Abe finally broke down and decided he should marry), it is the servant (24:12-14), not his god, who chooses what the sign will be in deciding which 14-year old girl would be the best bride for Ike, and his god complies.
Still later, Jacob even wrestles with his god – and wins!
Then the age of miracles begins, and Joseph is said to have had the first super-power, though a seemingly small one – he can interpret dreams, but is quick to add that it is his god, working through him, that accomplishes this feat.
Moses, on the other hand – though the miracles were actually performed by his god – is given such a free hand as to the timing and execution of these events, that he has to continually remind onlookers that it is his god, not himself, who is doing this.
Throughout the Moses fable, unlike Abraham, who tried and failed to get his god to alter his plan to destroy the cities, Moses is able to get his god to alter a number of decisions, such as the Golden Calf episode, where Moses’ god decides to kill everyone and start over with a new line descended from Moses – Moses talks him out of it.
Then we come to the episode of the rock. Moses’ god tells him to speak to a rock and water will gush out, but Moses taps it with his staff instead. This minor deviation so pisses off his god, that despite all of the hardships Moses has endured for his god, it is decreed that Moses will never enter the Promised Land. BUT – despite all of this, his god still allows the water to gush out!
Joshua, later, is allowed to choose his own miracle, when he calls for the sun to stand still while he finishes his battle, and later still, Samson contains his power within himself – given by his god, but still, self-contained.
Then we come to the Jewish monarchy. Since settling in the Levant, the nation of Israel had been ruled by a group of judges, but the surrounding city-states all had kings, so the clamor arose among the Jews to change their form of government to a kingship, and by the time we come to 1st Samuel, the prophet/judge Samuel resists, but is told by his god to allow the will of the people to prevail, “…they have not rejected you, they have rejected me, from ruling over them” (1st Sam 8:4-7).
In Exodus (19:17 – 20:22) the Israelite’s god actually speaks to them from the sky. Now according to the Bible, these people had spent the last 40 years witnessing daily miracles, towers of dust in the day and pillars of fire by night, water coming out of rocks, birds dropping out of the sky for them to eat, but when old Yah actually speaks to them in a loud voice, they quake in their sandals (Ex 20:20) and beg Moses to appoint someone to act as an intermediary between themselves and their god – and so the priesthood was born, and little boys everywhere instinctively tightened their sphincters.
Here’s a quick look at the god of the Bible’s recession:
• Moses has a face-to-face with his god (Ex, 33:17 – 34:8; Num, 12:8) in his tent at Sinai (and wears a vail ever after).
• Moses’ god tells him (Deut, 32:20), “I shall hide my face from them; I shall see what their end will be.” The reference to the Bible’s god hiding his face appears over 30 times throughout the book.
• The last time the Bible’s god was said to have been “revealed” to a human, was the prophet, Samuel (1st Sam, 3:21).
• The last time the Bible’s god was said to have “appeared” to a human, was King Solomon (1st Kngs, 9:2).
• The last public miracle was the divine fire that appeared for Elijah at Mount Carmel, followed by his god’s refusal to appear for him at Mount Horeb/Sinai (1st Kngs, 18-19).
• The last personal miracle was when the shadow reversed before Isaiah and Hezekiah (2nd Kngs, 20:1-11; Isa, 38:1-22; 2nd Chr, 32:24).
• The Bible’s god is not mentioned at all throughout the entire book of Esther.
It could be said that the Bible’s god is hiding his face from humans out of spite, “Now let’s just see how the little bastards do on their OWN!”
It could also be said that the Bible’s god, like a beneficent father, wants to give us more responsibility and allow us to learn to solve our own problems. I can’t say we’ve done a bang-up job, but I’d like to think we’re getting there.
It could also be said that over time, humanity simply outgrew him, as it has all of the other gods, and in the words of Paul from Corinthians, simply “…put aside childish things.“
LikeLike
That was a really great comment, arch 🙂
LikeLike
It still doesn’t answer the question of “Why,” but it may put the length of time the old boy has been AWOL into a slightly clearer perspective. Thanks.
LikeLike