more religious musings

Taken from John Steinbeck's East of Eden:

"Liza spoke sharply: "What my mother would mind is what I mind, and I'll tell you what I mind. You're never satisfied to let the Testament alone. You're forever picking at it and questioning it. You turn it over the way a 'coon turns over a wet rock, and it angers me."
"I'm just trying to understand it, Mother."
"What is there to understand? Just read it. There it is in black and white. Who wants you to understand it? If the Lord God wanted you to understand it, He'd have given you to understand or He'd have set it down different.""

Before I tear Liza apart, I must commend her on one thing: I would love to have that kind of absolute, unshakable faith in the Bible and in God Himself. Doubt sucks, especially when you hate uncertainties.

But unfortunately, I can't leave it at that. Steinbeck has just pinpointed what I find to be one of modern Christianity's greatest flaws. Why wouldn't you mull over the Scriptures, trying to understand them? It's divine truth written down in words--who said it would be easy to understand? There has to be a lot of thought that goes into processing it; otherwise Christianity would be a worthless checklist and the Bible would be little more than a textbook.

Christians, don't be afraid to think. Deep thought doesn't lead you away from God unless you choose it to. Scripture's true beauty often comes after you dig deep into its context and struggle with the contradictions until they are resolved. Why only read the surface of the Bible when so much more awaits you?

That's all I've got for now.

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