While it would admittedly be difficult to get a pastoral job, I have nothing against the church. In fact, I often enjoy church services and other activities with fellow Christians. While I believe that the church can perpetuate unrealistic beliefs, this is generally not its primary function. And I don’t have all the answers, so I am not going to jump on the bandwagon of some of those vocal atheists that are anti-religion and claim that the church is spreading lies. They are spreading unreasonable methods of discovering truth, perhaps, but not necessarily lies. I am also, therefore, not one to be immediately jumping to attack others’ religions. This does not make me a Universalist, because I do believe in a God whose nature I have understood through Christian texts and the Hebrew Bible. It is not the Buddha, Confucius, or Muhammad that I am placing as “Lord” over my lifestyle, but Jesus. I believe in truth, but some truths are more important than other truths. For example, is it true that Christ was born of a virgin? This is not an opinion, it either happened or it didn't. But does it really matter? Does believing or doubting this impact my life? No. Do I have a belief about Jesus’ conception? Absolutely, but why does that matter? Now let me ask this: is it true that God wishes for us to help those in need? This is absolutely important for those who believe in a God and want to serve him, or even merely want to live as they were designed to. For if this indeed is God’s will, we are to follow it. This directly impacts our lives, and therefore this is a more important truth, even if we cannot find solid facts to prove it.
It is for this reason that doctrine does not concern me too much. It is through religious doctrine that the world sees ultimate truths, important truths. Are some spreading lies? Yes, if one is to believe in an idea like truth actually existing some religions have to be perpetuating lies. But this is only occuring if we place emphasis that our understanding of our faith is inerrant. And who has the authority to put their foot down and explain who is right? That’s the real problem. While if you are a Christian, you will undoubtedly answer “Jesus,” but then you need to inspect your sources, as Jesus isn't currently walking the earth. So then you can put faith in those Jesus is said to have trusted, his disciples and apostles, ignoring Judas Iscariot, perhaps. But of course, they aren't walking around either. So the records attributed to these men must be authoritative, and thus we get the “Word of God.” While a man cannot walk the earth forever, a text can be preserved. While this is a convenient authority, it comes from a place far beyond faith in Jesus alone or following in his footsteps. This attitude has also preserved ancient tradition and texts, which is certainly positive, although I find it a bit naïve to seriously think it preserves everything perfectly.
This is part of the function of the church, to preserve tradition and doctrine. It is through the passed down teachings and writings of men that we hold records of the leading figure of our religion, and therefore preserving these must be important. However, that is only one function of the church. Another is in the business of helping others and changing lives. This is, in my opinion, the most important aspect of the church. This is why I join in church activities. It’s not to worship God with others, I do that in my everyday life through my actions (or at least I do my best to). It’s to help create a community that values helping those in need, and an environment that encourages people to seek help in attempting to follow Jesus and live righteously. Songs and communion are fine, but not nearly as important to me as the face time your make with others, or the opportunity to be there if someone wants to open up or is looking for help or guidance. I actually consider social events more important than church services, as there is generally more conversation and face time with others. That’s where I think the biggest impacts can be made by the church (i.e. Christians). And of course, let us not forget another aspect that some churches forget: the church should also be willing to help those in physical need as well as emotional (or what some might call “spiritual”) need.
This might leave you curious as to why I would bother writing all this out, or having these discussions with others. Is my search for truth getting in the way of others coming to Christ? I don’t think so, because I am not alone. People like me are generally repelled from church groups because they feel they cannot ask questions and seek for realistic answers AND be a Christian or part of a church. I have literally been criticized for supposing the earth was not created in a literal 7 days as being a burden to those with questions seeking distinct answers. I think that it is just as important to incorporate modern knowledge into religion as it is to incorporate ancient wisdom. If we only rely on modern science and philosophy, we are missing the very roots of our religion, and if we only rely on traditional thought, how are we going to find a place in a modern world? Seeking truth is productive just like preserving tradition. While both camps bump heads fairly often, it’s important to step back and remember that we, as Christians, share a primary purpose: to be a saving force to mankind. Ultimately, that is why a progressive like me supports churches as well as traditional Christians. We are on the same side. While the conservative and liberal Christians have different roles, we are working towards the same goal, and ultimately we need each other if we are to accurately represent Christ as well as enable the modern world to accept him.
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