The child is taught the faith of his or her parents, but only when their parents teach it. Parents teach by word, deed, and example. Through their influence they overcome the voices of the world around them. A faith that is consistently taught becomes stronger as we grow older, deepening into a lifelong sustaining faith.
But when the faith does not grow or if it is inconsistent, then will often fail us later on. When this happens, we don't actually “lose” faith, but we change the ultimate concern of our faith to something else. When our old faith fails, and we find another. This is conversion-- the move from one ultimate concern to something else. If we don't have faith in something, we can't function in the world. Faith isn't an option for us, since we all need faith to survive.
But the move from one faith to another is rarely quick or easy. It takes time to fully shift from an old faith to new ones. People flirt with a new locus of faith, before they adopt it. We may exist for a time, caught between one faith system and another, But eventually, we commit ourselves to one or the
other. Elijah asked the Israelites “how long will you hop between two
branches?” This the limbo between worlds as we seek a new direction.
The process of change begins with disillusionment. Disillusionment isn't always a bad thing, but the beginning of change as we give up our old illusions. Christians call it conviction of sin. We grow weary of a dual citizenship in heaven and earth, and admit that what we known, felt or did is wrong, and needs to be changed. Disillusionment is necessary if we seek to have a pure and undivided heart.
Disillusionment leads to searching. We look for new answers. We read books with different perspectives. We build new friendships. We try on new ideas seeking a new ground to stand upon.
Watching a person's progress at this time is like watching a spider moving between two twigs on a tree. One by one, they let go of their old faith as they find security in the new. They do not simply jump from one faith system to another, but gradually adopt one as they put away another.
This is the time of our greatest vulnerability. If a crisis hits our life, we may be torn in two, because we do not stand on solid ground.
Sometimes, people get stuck between two faiths, without fully committing to either. I think of people who have told me they were Christian Buddhists, Christian Muslims, and even Christian atheists. They seem unaware of the inconsistencies between these belief systems. What they fail to recognize that taking a stand for many faiths at the same time means that they make themselves their one true faith. We alone become the judges of these faiths. We cannot serve two masters, rather we seek to make these faith systems serve us, picking and choosing the parts that suit us. we are seeking to make God bend to us, not we bend to God. If we are the judges of God, then we are own true god, or ultimate concern. Our true God is what we serve--He does not serve us. .
True searching leads to confession. This is when we finally admit to ourselves and others what our true faith is. We make a choice, and stick with it.
This happens not immediately but after a long process of small changes. Like a spider moving first one leg, then another to a new branch, our lives move one segment at a time from one faith to the next.
There are eight dimensions of our soul that need to line up in order to have a true and solid faith. These are, (1)what we base our knowledge upon, (2) where we look for emotional fulfillment (3) what we submit ourselves to in self-discipline and habit (4) How we act in the world (5) the source of our self-identity (6) the community to which we perceive ourselves belonging (7) the tradition and heritage we embrace as our spiritual genealogy, and (8) the source of our future hope.
Every change in any one of these is a move towards our faith or away from it. This move happens in small increments. When a new Christian moves towards Christ, they first move on wobbly legs. They wonder whether it is all real. Christian fellowship seems forced. At first, the things they read in the Bible may make no sense. That is because the new matrix is not yet formed. In time, the elements of Christian life and behavior become part of us as we live in a new reality.
When a person leaves the faith, they move the same way, first dropping Christian fellowship, dropping out of church, growing cold to the passions of faith that they once enjoyed. At first, they revel in their newfound freedom, being free of those old "legalistic" restraints that they felt their faith imposed. They become critics of other Christians and complain about their judgmentalism and hypocrisy without realizing that in doing so they have become hypocritical and judgmental. They insist that the no longer need the "old myths and stories" to worship God, and feel superior to those who believe. They throw off traditions they never understood, and begin to see themselves as higher and more sophisticated to simple believer. They do not realize that they are adopting a new god, a god of self, and are in the process of enthroning themselves above the heaven. It all feels natural and right, and they dismiss any feeling of discomfort as just "old hang-ups that need to be exorcised. Without themselves knowing it, they are slipping from a believing state to an unbelieving state.
It is important that whatever our faith may be, that it lines up together. Whatever we do, we should do it with our whole heart.
We need to look at ourselves--does our walk and our talk match? Are we building habits based on our central core beliefs, or are we divided.
The pursuit of faith and faith formation is learning to line up our lives with our ultimate concern, which for a Christian means with the image of Christ.
Where are you in the process of faith formation? Are you changing, or are your growing deeper and more committed? What do you perceive as your true and ultimate concern?
The process of change begins with disillusionment. Disillusionment isn't always a bad thing, but the beginning of change as we give up our old illusions. Christians call it conviction of sin. We grow weary of a dual citizenship in heaven and earth, and admit that what we known, felt or did is wrong, and needs to be changed. Disillusionment is necessary if we seek to have a pure and undivided heart.
Disillusionment leads to searching. We look for new answers. We read books with different perspectives. We build new friendships. We try on new ideas seeking a new ground to stand upon.
Watching a person's progress at this time is like watching a spider moving between two twigs on a tree. One by one, they let go of their old faith as they find security in the new. They do not simply jump from one faith system to another, but gradually adopt one as they put away another.
This is the time of our greatest vulnerability. If a crisis hits our life, we may be torn in two, because we do not stand on solid ground.
Sometimes, people get stuck between two faiths, without fully committing to either. I think of people who have told me they were Christian Buddhists, Christian Muslims, and even Christian atheists. They seem unaware of the inconsistencies between these belief systems. What they fail to recognize that taking a stand for many faiths at the same time means that they make themselves their one true faith. We alone become the judges of these faiths. We cannot serve two masters, rather we seek to make these faith systems serve us, picking and choosing the parts that suit us. we are seeking to make God bend to us, not we bend to God. If we are the judges of God, then we are own true god, or ultimate concern. Our true God is what we serve--He does not serve us. .
True searching leads to confession. This is when we finally admit to ourselves and others what our true faith is. We make a choice, and stick with it.
This happens not immediately but after a long process of small changes. Like a spider moving first one leg, then another to a new branch, our lives move one segment at a time from one faith to the next.
There are eight dimensions of our soul that need to line up in order to have a true and solid faith. These are, (1)what we base our knowledge upon, (2) where we look for emotional fulfillment (3) what we submit ourselves to in self-discipline and habit (4) How we act in the world (5) the source of our self-identity (6) the community to which we perceive ourselves belonging (7) the tradition and heritage we embrace as our spiritual genealogy, and (8) the source of our future hope.
Every change in any one of these is a move towards our faith or away from it. This move happens in small increments. When a new Christian moves towards Christ, they first move on wobbly legs. They wonder whether it is all real. Christian fellowship seems forced. At first, the things they read in the Bible may make no sense. That is because the new matrix is not yet formed. In time, the elements of Christian life and behavior become part of us as we live in a new reality.
When a person leaves the faith, they move the same way, first dropping Christian fellowship, dropping out of church, growing cold to the passions of faith that they once enjoyed. At first, they revel in their newfound freedom, being free of those old "legalistic" restraints that they felt their faith imposed. They become critics of other Christians and complain about their judgmentalism and hypocrisy without realizing that in doing so they have become hypocritical and judgmental. They insist that the no longer need the "old myths and stories" to worship God, and feel superior to those who believe. They throw off traditions they never understood, and begin to see themselves as higher and more sophisticated to simple believer. They do not realize that they are adopting a new god, a god of self, and are in the process of enthroning themselves above the heaven. It all feels natural and right, and they dismiss any feeling of discomfort as just "old hang-ups that need to be exorcised. Without themselves knowing it, they are slipping from a believing state to an unbelieving state.
It is important that whatever our faith may be, that it lines up together. Whatever we do, we should do it with our whole heart.
We need to look at ourselves--does our walk and our talk match? Are we building habits based on our central core beliefs, or are we divided.
The pursuit of faith and faith formation is learning to line up our lives with our ultimate concern, which for a Christian means with the image of Christ.
Where are you in the process of faith formation? Are you changing, or are your growing deeper and more committed? What do you perceive as your true and ultimate concern?
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