In his book "The Road Less Traveled", M. Scott Peck says that the spiritual journey is about learning new things. For us to learn new things we must be willing to let our old thoughts and preconceptions die. "To develop a broader vision we must be willing to forsake, to kill, our narrower vision." Letting part of myself die is not comfortable, it is not easy, but I agree it is a necessary part of the journey.
Peck continues, "We begin by distrusting what we already believe, by actively seeking the threatening and unfamiliar, by deliberately challenging the validity of what we have been previously taught and hold dear. The path to holiness lies through questioning everything."
Herein lies the problem. Questions hurt. They are scary. They take us to unfamiliar places. But, on the other hand questions make us alive, and may lead us to beauty and peace. Our institutions (government, schools, churches) teach us that asking questions and alternative points of view are dangerous. Just a few examples: look at the rhetoric against the Libertarian Party, school programs like DARE that serve no purpose but scaring children, and fear that churches have towards eastern religions just to name a few.
What kind of questions do you ask? Where do you draw the line in asking questions? What if you know there was nothing to fear on the other side of your questions? Really, how could there be anything to fear. On the other side of your questions and doubts, in your own experience, you will find truth. That's not so scary....
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The Road Less Traveled is one of the few books that I read more then once. I can't rembember but I think it has been more then 15 years since I first read it and it had a profound effect on my way of thinking.
"On the other side of your questions and doubts, in your own experience, you will find truth. That's not so scary...."
Agreed. You captured the basic definition of what "theology" is.
"Our institutions (government, schools, churches) teach us that asking questions and alternative points of view are dangerous."
Agreed in certain circumstances. My particular Church encourages questioning as necessary in furthering one's spiritual journey and truly understanding what faith is.
Bill,
You said: My particular Church encourages questioning as necessary in furthering one's spiritual journey and truly understanding what faith is.
I'm curious. What happens if you come to a different conclusion than your particular church? And when would asking questions not be necessary?
"What happens if you come to a different conclusion than your particular church?"
Honestly, there are always fanatics in every religious tradition, secularism included, who distort teaching and would not respond well to that. The Catholic Church, however, preaches openness and dialogue. We would not want someone to be Catholic if it was not something which they were able to embrace and believe in their heart. That would not be helpful to them, nor to us. Unlike Protestantism, Catholicism teaches that salvation can come through a variety of means, not just through Christianity. We believe that the most important thing a person can do is question and take the search for Truth very seriously, wherever that search may lead them.
"And when would asking questions not be necessary?"
Never. True faith is not blind and fanatical. True faith is strengthened by questioning and reevaluation. If a person is afraid to question, then their faith is already pretty weak. Faith and the search for inner peace are lifelong processes. The problem is that so many faiths contradict logic. In order to be true, faith cannot contradict logic and reason. They must be reconciled and the reconciliation is a lifelong process as faith often stands outside of the scope what reason can explain. A famous axiom: Where reason leaves off, there faith begins. Faith is humanity's way of explaining that which is unexplainable by methods of reason and science and thus subject to constant reflection and evaluation.
I hope that is a suitable answer to you questions. Obviously, it comes from the perspective of Catholic faith. I would be happy to discuss any thing else you wish to discuss with me and would actually be quite honored were you to deem certain topics worthy of discussion with me.
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