— self-examination losing out to self-infatuation?
“Patriotism is the go-to religion of those who would worship a super-sized version of themselves and seldom quibble to persecute non-believers, foreigners and conscientious objectors. It is a grandiose fancy, a self-flattering cult of true believers who require a solemn faith gutted of self-examination, confession of sin, repentance, humility, prudence, peace-making, love of others, a global Savior, God-centered sobriety and a host of other inconvenient tenets festering in the bosom of orthodox Christianity and other meddlesome voices that have long plagued the world with their tiresome, effeminate scruples.”
Every age and every writer brings forward a different style. In the popular religious book market today the trend is largely toward slender, lite weight remarks, peppered with suspect stories. Apparently this is what the canon and critical mass of postmodernity allows. Other eras contrast greatly. As it is said, “The past is a foreign country, they do things differently there.”
Faith, Unbelief, and the relative nature of painstaking brevity
Personally, one of my favorite things when reading writers from previous generations, particularly the 17th century English Puritans, is how, after carefully, thoughtfully, and often artfully exploring their theme, giving out a series of rich, biblical, weighty, involved doctrinal observations and assertions, instead of neatly wrapping up their discourse or treatise they are just as likely to continue with “but to be brief,” and then add a mere 25 more thoughts—just to be understood and thorough, and of course concise. Patient friends wonder where I get the string of words that never end. The brevity of Bunyan is a template I believe I can copy.
“By faith we have our life in Christ’s fullness; but by unbelief we starve and pine away.”
Here’s the insightful John Bunyan, of Pilgrim’s Progress fame, just as you think he is finishing his little piece on Faith.
“[Qualities of Unbelief as opposed to Faith] — but to be brief. Let me here give thee, Christian reader, a more particular description of the qualities of unbelief, by opposing faith unto it, in these twenty — five particulars :
1. Faith believeth the Word of God ; but unbelief questioneth the certainty of the same. Ps cvi 24.
2. Faith believeth the Word, because it is true ; but unbelief doubteth thereof, though it is true. 1 Ti. iv. 3. Jn. viii 45.
3. Faith sees more in a promise of God to help, than in all things to hinder ; but unbelief, notwithstanding God’s promise, saith, How can these things be? Rom. iv. 19-21. 2 Kings vii.2. Jn iii. 11,12.
4. Faith will make thee see love in the heart of Christ, when with his mouth he giveth reproofs ; but unbelief will imagine wrath in his heart, when with his mouth and Word he saith he loves us. Mat xv. 22 – 28. Num. xiii. 2 Ch xiv. 3.
5. Faith will help the soul to wait, though God defers to give; but unbelief will take huff and throw up all (that is, unbelief will throw a fit) if God makes any tarrying. Ps xxv. 5. Is viii.17. 2 Kings. vi. 33. Ps cvi. 13,14.
6. Faith will give comfort in the midst of fears ; but unbelief causeth fears in the midst of comfort. 2 Ch xx 20,21. Mat. viii 26. Lu xxiv.26,27.
7. Faith will suck sweetness out of God’s [disciplining] rod ; but unbelief can find no comfort in his greatest mercies. Ps xxiii. 4. Nu xxi.
8. Faith maketh great burdens light ; but unbelief maketh light ones intolerably heavy. 2 Co. iv. 1, 14-18. Mal. i. 12,13.
9. Faith helpeth us when we are down ; but unbelief throws us down when we are up. Mi. vii. 8-10. Heb. iv.11.
10. Faith bringeth us near to God when we are far from him ; but unbelief puts us far from God when we are near to him. Heb. x.22 ; 12,13.
11. Where faith reigns, it declareth men to be the friends of God ; but where unbelief reigns, it declareth them to be his enemies. Ja.iii.23. Heb iii.18. Rev.xxi.8.
12. Faith putteth a man under grace ; but unbelief holdeth him under wrath. Rom. iii.24-26 ; xiv.6. Ep.ii.8. Jn.iii.36. 1 Jn. v 10. He. iii. 17. Mar. xvi. 16.
13. Faith purifieth the heart ; but unbelief keepeth it polluted and impure. Ac. xv. 9. Tit. i. 15,16.
14. By faith, the righteousness of Christ is imputed to us ; but by unbelief, we are shut up under the law to perish. Rom. iv. 23,24 ; xi.32. Ga.iii.23.
15. Faith maketh our work acceptable to God through Christ ; but whatsoever is of unbelief is sin. For without faith it is impossible to please him. Heb. xi. 4. Rom. xiv.23. Heb. xi.6.
16. Faith giveth us peace and comfort in our souls ; but unbelief worketh trouble and tossings, like the restless waves of the sea. Rom. v.1. Ja. i. 6.
17. Faith maketh us to see preciousness in Christ ; but unbelief sees no form, beauty, or comeliness in him. 1 Pe. ii.7. Is. liii. 2,3.
18. By faith we have our life in Christ’s fulness ; but by unbelief we starve and pine away. Gal.ii.20.
19. Faith gives us the victory over the law, sin, death, the devil, and all evils ; but unbelief layeth us obnoxious to them all. 1 Jn. v. 4,5. Lu. xii. 46.
20. Faith will show us more excellency in things not seen, than in them that are ; but unbelief sees more in things that are seen, than in things that will be hereafter. 2 Cor. iv.18. Heb. xi. 24-27. 1 Co. xv. 32.
21. Faith makes the ways of God pleasant and admirable ; but unbelief makes them heavy and hard. Gal. v.6.1, Cor. xii.10,11. Jn. vi. 60. Ps. ii. 3.
22. By faith Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob possessed the land of promise ; but because of unbelief, neither Aaron, nor Moses, nor Miriam could go there. Heb. xi. 9; iii. 19.
23. By faith the children of Israel passed through the Red Sea ; but by unbelief the generality of them perished in the wilderness. Heb. xi. 29. Jude 5.
24. By faith Gideon did more with three hundred men, and a few empty pitchers, than all the twelve tribes could do, because they believed not God. Ju. vii. 16-22; Nu. xiv. 11,14.
25. By faith Peter walked on the water ; but by unbelief he began to sink. Mat. xiv. 28-30.
Thus might many more be added, which, for brevity’s sake, I omit ; beseeching every one that thinketh he hath a soul to save, or be damned, to take heed of unbelief ; lest, seeing there is a promise left us of entering into his rest, any of us by unbelief should indeed come short of it.”
Is it true that Muslims all over the world condemn terrorism?
Is it true that Muslims all over the world condemn terrorism? Yes or No? Take to social media (beyond our own insular circle of friends) or cross the street and ask a Muslim neighbor, what do you find? You’ll find that not only do the vast majority of Muslims want peace and stand against terrorism, you’ll also find that many Muslims and their extended families have suffered more from jihadi terrorists than your average Westerner could ever imagine. My own experience of over 30 years of intimate friendships among Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Malay, Iranian, and Arab Muslims is that the average Muslim is just as horrified by violent religious extremism as anybody else. The primary difference between the fearful plaintive West and the anguishing global Muslim community is that the average Muslim is much more likely to have a front row seat for viewing the carnage. And the tickets, as it were, for that unenviable privilege of witnessing the horrors of terrorism, do not come cheap. Muslims are much more likely to suffer at the hands of jihadi terrorists than are non-Muslims. The statistics are not even close. Relatively speaking, violent terrorism is an exotic newcomer to western modernity, while the east is a weary and wounded veteran of the ancient war with terror.
Are Muslim leaders and statesmen doing enough to do away with religious radicalism and the violence advocated by jihadi philosophy and other extremist worldviews? No. But neither are most non-Muslims across the globe. We must all break our silence and our complicity. We must all, Muslim and non-Muslim alike, pledge anew to provide more appealing and plausible alternatives to a hateful and violent future for rising generations. We must conspicuously give ourselves to worthy ideals, attitudes, convictions, and measures that build up healthier, saner, safer, positive communities and societies. What are we personally doing to promote goodwill, peace, justice, disinterested and universal respect of other people, cultures, and nations? Do we rail against violence and hatred—where is our own peacemaking and selfless love? What are we each doing to overcome the evils of ethnocentric myopia, nationalistic arrogance, systematic racism, mindless bigotries, jingoistic militarism, or the false, destructive worship of economic and political ideologies? Are we working to secure justice for others as well as for ourselves? There are serious social, spiritual, and political reformations that must be ongoing, we must all examine ourselves, and we must all make our contributions to the common good. It is time for all of us to step out from the comfortable sidelines and bleachers. It is time for all of us to get in the game and play our parts. There are lies to be barked down. There are truths to be told. There is love to be shared. There is peace to be won. There is evil to be overcome. There is good to be done.
“I should think I’m understating the obvious, but when murdering defenseless civilians is the best your religion or political party has to offer, it’s time to get out and shop around for another one.”
Looking for positive change in self and society? So are we. Come explore the credenda and agenda of life with the Lutterworth Society. We’re all about –big ideas –courageous faith –life-long learning –new society
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