What do you have to believe to be a Christian? Part 1

Jesus hanging on a cross shaped like a question mark.

I'll start with what (I think) you don't have to believe.

As I was doing some reading recently on what various Christian denominations require you to believe to be "saved," it became evident that the question is for some a non sequitur.

That is, for most Christians, belief doesn't exist apart from actions, so to ask what you must believe to be saved is like asking which side of a silver dollar is worth more. The question doesn't make sense.

(This realization was equally important, ie, "Maybe I'm asking the wrong question." That kind of insight is almost always more rewarding than getting an answer.)

Another analogy: The articles of faith are the lyrics to a song, and the music is the rituals that accompany them.

Doing and believing, like music and singing, are part of the same thing.

It's not (acknowledged to be) this way for Baptists, but for many Christians it is.

There's certainly nothing wrong with analyzing beliefs, but that can often be like analyzing lyrics without the music they were written for.

And so, I don't believe...

I don't believe you have to know why you believe something in order to hold a valid belief.

You'd think everyone would agree, but not so; some fundamentalists, like Chuck Swindoll, believe you must not only believe the right thing, but not believe a wrong thing, and understand the difference; that is a very different thing from just believing, and it adds a layer that I can't find in the bible; there are certainly passages that explain "this is why we believe this way," but that is not the same thing as saying "you have to know why."

As for what (I think) actually constitutes the beliefs themselves, that's later this week.

[2012-10-13]

c0

There is certainly pedagogical value in knowing why X is true, but not knowing why doesn't make X any less true or invalidate my belief that X is true.

I don't understand why Einstein's Theory of Relativity (E=mc^2) is true, but it is used, for example, to adjust satellite clocks so our GPS's remain accurate. That is something I don't understand, but believe nonetheless, and it affects me every day.

[2013-04-04]

c0

"It is possible to be a both a surgeon and a gardener simultaneously."
--Luke Timothy Johnson

[2010-10-09]

c0