Jesus is the center of my faith. I don't suppose anything could sound any more rudimentary or perhaps clich'e than that, but it couldn't also be any more true. The questions for a Chrstian that arise all have to do with Jesus. More specifically, they have to do with his resurrection. This makes the logistical side of Christian belief fairly simple; prove Jesus resurrected, prove Chrsitianity true.
Of course, the debates rage as to whether or not this has been proved, or is even provable. Honestly, I think from an objective historical standpoint even the hardest of skeptics have conceded that for a miracle the resurrection of Christ is about as believable as it gets. For that reason and others it is not hard for me to see the denying of Christ's resurrection as more a product of the fallen nature than objective rational pursuit. Of course, I know in saying this I open up a whole other logical can of worms that must be defended. What qualifies my inkling toward fallen nature rather than rationale? What makes one more valid than the other? I know that would be another post in itself, and that is really not the point I am seeking to make right now. Suffice to say that even if someone is on the fence about the resurrection of Christ, what matters is that anyone with logical integrity will tell you there is convincing evidence in its support. And that, yes, if you really want to there is, as with anything really, room for you to neglect it if you so choose.
It's that "if you so choose" where "I," quite literally, come into play.
What I mean is, beliefs are complicated. I think in our endless pursuit of rational justification we forget that merely the formation and sustaining of a belief is by its own merit a noteworthy mental exercise. Data can be weighed endlessly. In fact, a computer can do that if you wanted it to. What distinguishes human intelligence in this area is the movement from deliberation to decision, from a litany of facts to the exercising of volition. That act alone deserves credit from those who choose to do it.
So for me, being a Christian has its reasons. Moreover, I think it has many compelling reasons. But what I realize and I have come to value is that, as the biblical addage goes, we do in fact "walk by faith and not by sight." Faith is that exercising of volition. Faith meets us at the point where we end and God begins, where that step in consistence with rational directing, but outside rationale's scope, takes place. We must believe this and understand this as orthodox Christians, otherwise we fall prey to Pelagianism, believing our own will alone gets us to God. I'm not saying I know the perfect spot where God bridges that gap, but I am saying that it exists. And more specifically, I think the inherent limbo involved in the belief forming process creates a place for faith out of necessity. Simply, if logic alone led to God anyone, EVER, who had considered all the facts concerning the resurrection would have converted. But NAYYYY says the atheist, you say that assuming the veracity of the resurrection! No, because I would say on the flip side that would mean that if the resurrection didn't happen then anyone, EVER, who considered the facts would have NOT believed. The point is not which belief is true. The point is that there is an element here that stretches outside of objective data and requires the subjective, but deliberate, distinctly human component of DECIDING to believe. Human will, human volition, this must get involved and leap toward one conclusion or another. And to me, when it comes to God, that will and volition may in every way point us toward God, but to make that final, deciding moment to believe and follow him, there is a stretch outside ourselves that only God can provide. And I think that in dialogue with skeptics, atheists, agnostics, those of other faiths, whatever, we must always keep this in mind. If you don't hold this to be true as a Christian then you will forever be frustrated by others who don't just "get it." Of course they don't; belief forming is naturally an ambivalent process and only God's Spirit can conclude their ambivalence with decision. So when it comes to the resurrection of Christ, Jesus IS the answer...as always :) But I know getting to that answer is an intricate process, one I pray to not be ignorant or impatient of in sharing my beliefs with others. They too are in their limbo process, just as I was and often feel that I am. I can only pray God can help me to meet them there and guide them toward an end to their existential uncertainty.
