Monday, May 4, 2020
703 - It's the Light, Not the Leap
Spirituality Column #703
May 5, 2020
Common Christianity / Uncommon Commentary
It’s the Light, Not the Leap
By Bob Walters
“…that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on
the power of God.”
“…faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the
conviction of things not seen.”
– 1 Corinthians
2:5, Hebrews 11:1
If I do say so myself, I wrote the most amazing sentence this
past week in an email exchange with an extraordinarily bright, non-religious,
long-time friend.
Let’s call him John, and his irenic response to that
sentence inspired this column.
John had commented wryly but critically about a recent op ed
piece I had written, “On Facemasks … Who Are We?” It was an editorial about American character,
COVID-19, and hiding the identity God gave to us behind a facemask.
John’s public observation contained what seemed to be ad
hominem vitriol. I pushed back, but our ensuing non-public exchange was thought-provoking. He noted: “My lack of faith means I do take
things more objectively, and though your words were almost poetic it might not
resonate as deeply with me as it would with a Christian. …”
A nice compliment from a smart guy that revealed a common
error about “faith.”
I responded, “Great note John. I deeply appreciate your sincerity. Don’t
ever think lack of faith makes one more objective; it makes one (maybe not you)
less able to embrace the existence of objective truth, which requires faith. …”
That was my “amazing sentence,” in case you couldn’t
tell. I continued briefly about being 47
when I “got” Christ, what a deeply intellectual journey my faith-growth has been,
and I noted John’s keen capacity to parse and understand virtually anything.
To that John replied, “I love how your journey has … led you
into sureness that (in my wry and respectful observation) you can use a phrase
like ‘embracing the existence of objective truth requires faith.’ I … understand that after you have crossed
that faith bridge you are no longer tentative but living in a new certainty,
such that a phrase that seems to be a contradiction in terms isn’t a
contradiction at all.”
And there it is, this week’s column: objectivity vs. faith. John was gently, eruditely, and without
condescension acknowledging that what is a contradiction to him, i.e.,
“objective truth which requires faith,” he understands is not a contradiction
to me.
And that seeming contradiction, friends, is what limits the
world. It also largely defines today’s
truth-obviating post-modernism which positions “truth” as objectively incompatible
with the inferior “faith” as objective proof of the reality of Jesus Christ.
John also cited the “metaphysics” required for me to take such
a “leap of faith.”
It reminded me – and underscored – how western civilization overly-relies
on the ancient Greek philosophical axiom that reality and objectivity are
confined to that which can be seen (or discussed) and “proven.” I also think of Francis Bacon’s 17th
century “scientific method” that adds “repeatability” to the proof of “scientific”
reality. These worldly constructs
exclude faith and combine to vacantly imply, “Faith isn’t objective.”
Really? Which is closer to objectivity: God the Creator of
all things, His infinite love and eternal relationship, that he made humanity
in His own image, and lights our lives with Christ, or the machinations,
variations, limitations, and opinions of fallen men?
Life’s objective truth is not a leap of faith; it is a faithful
walk in the light of Jesus.
Walters (rlwcom@aol.com) met John (smart even back then) in Little League.
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