One Sunday a month we go to the cathedral instead of our usual church. Last week the Dean gave a very succinct sermon on what he sees as the purpose of "religion" and also of what the Christian calling is. It has inspired me to write a piece here about faith. My writing here is not intrinsically what he talked about, but more how its got me thinking this week.
For me, faith is a natural thing. Something that is hard to explain to anyone for whom it is not a part or ordinary life. I've gone through phases of trying to puzzle out logical arguments justifying various Christian dogmas. I've had long bouts of uncertainty, where the only certainty is that God is there. I've found that I'm unable to use biblical quotes, as many Christians do, to form the basis for what I believe. I see no justification for the assumption that words written, in this most inspiring of books, can be used as a sort of legal text of what "you must believe", and that each word was written by God. They inspire, but they are not infallible. A biblical scholar said recently on the radio, that the translation of the Bible is a continual evolution. The words are not fixed, and were not designed to be fixed, since they are the product of ancient oral tradition - evolving, organic, in flux.
Religion, and religiosity, have a bad press, and rightly so. The religious have abused their faiths. They have used their religion to judge others; to justify imposition of cruel practices; to justify war. Many religious people become estranged from the rest of the world through their piety. They develop neuroses and become, quite frankly, mentally unbalanced. Their religious neuroses supports wild beliefs such as 7 day creationism, or the suicide bomber's certainty of a ticket to paradise. They also support less wild, but still questionable, beliefs and practices.
But the press always focusses on the bad news. Bad press is the fuel for selling papers - the tapping into of our enjoyment for drama. What of the good press, the good news? What does religion have to offer that is good?
On our trip to Cairo earlier this year, I was struck by the positive impact of muslim faith and culture on the people who live in what must be one of the most over-populated cities in the world. This is something you have to go and experience first-hand; because the press will tell you about extremist muslim brotherhood plots, suicide bombings, the terrible conditions that people live in, etc...
The Dean in his sermon said, "The purpose of religion is to draw us closer to God". I believe he's hit the nail on the head. The religious practices are a human-made, cultural, evolving tradition in response to faith in God. They have been tried and tested, and do work, in their purpose of drawing people closer to God. This is in evidence in religious people everywhere. When religious people move from this realm, into the belief that their religions are God-made; that He is out there insisting on our carrying out rituals etc.; and that e.g. He will punish those who do not tow the line, they begin a life that leads to an existence divorced from the rest of the world. Arguably, their beliefs and practices lead them away from God.
It is the human condition that we have a tendency to be religious, and the weakness of humanity that this can be turned into something so destructive. Jesus was vehement in his criticism of the Jewish religious elite. His message was not anti-religious in terms of culture and tradition though. He practised as a Jew, till the very end of his life.
The Dean finished his sermon, by asking "so what for us?" ie what is the Christian calling? With Christ the cornerstone, it is his example we are called to follow. And this is quite simply "a sacrificial life". I agree, though in practice the calling is not simple. My religious practise of church once a week, is like spiritual sustenance - drawing me closer to God. I need this, and love going. Its not always been the case - I suppose its something that you grow into. The Eucharist is at the heart of this Christian practice. A weekly remembrance of the sacrificial calling.
