House of Cards

I was talking to a friend the other day about our shared beliefs. It was a meeting over coffee prompted by his desire to convince people about "Answers in Genesis", the new name for the creation science cult. I say shared beliefs but we actually have little in common at the surface level of our doctrines. And basically I think he was there to make sure I was properly "saved". I was there to listen to him and perhaps broaden his perspective on God. I thought I might be able to convince him that Creationism was bad science and bad theology though I had decided not to try convincing him with all the simple facts that can be found if you look for them. I didn’t want to just argue. However from almost his opening words I knew it was going to have to be enough to just listen and be friends.
Some people construct their faith over time and it gets grander and grander. It seems like all their life is tied up in their neat beliefs ,with all the answers in the bible or some other orthodoxy. The trouble is that sometimes the answers that come to us in life are different to the ones we’ve come to believe must always be true. There are choices at these points and they are profound. What makes them profound is the way we’ve constructed our faith until that point. I liken it to a pack of cards. (Jesus may have been thinking about it too given Matthew 7:21-27)
A faith that is built up like a house of cards gets impressive quickly. Each card is the justification of a belief we’ve added to the structure. The trouble is that if any one of these is shaken the whole lot can fall. Then it becomes imperative to not only believe but also to protect the cherished notions. One belief is dependant upon another. Too much is at stake if one is wrong. Even if it becomes obvious then stubborn denial will hang in there because to collapse the whole structure is too painful to contemplate. That’s what any kind of idolatry can do to you.
I guess it’s our personal attachments and the stories that weave into our lives that sometimes makes wonderful christians fight so ungraciously with each other over beliefs and points of doctrine.
An alternative, if you bother to keep faith, is to stack your reasons for belief flat. The trouble is that it’s not that impressive even if you’ve built up a good pile. Its true that any one can be challenged or removed and the stack looks much the same. So in that way it seems safer and more honest, though you probably won’t boast about it. Occasionally you might look over and see the house of cards and be envious. And if you start challenging beliefs, ie. taking cards away, it may quickly seem likely that you could easily take all the cards away. That can’t be right. How can you have faith with no reason for believing?
How can you have real faith if you have any reason for believing at all?
What you could still be left with if you took away all the external reasons is fairly plain and unspectacular; Faith, Hope and Love.
Sounds familiar doesn’t it. Though in my experience it’s not often tried. Most would rather a magical God do things for them, or at the very least dish up justice after we’re all dead. It’s pure human ego and in the end…
…it all turns upon man