Our Stories
Faith Tested
By Mark Lanum | posted 02/15/2007
“These [trials] have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” (1 Peter 1:7)
I spend a lot of time in front of a computer, and specifically searching the internet. Over time I have noticed a growing trend in the opinions expressed on the internet, especially on sites frequented and used by those in the computer and technology industries. With an alarming frequency, these articles are written from a point of view that assumes not just the falsehood of Christianity, but that religion as a worldview is ridiculous and no longer applicable to our modern life.
I attribute some of the growth of this trend to the demographic that these particular sites tend to attract – scientifically-oriented, highly computer-literate nerds and geeks (that is, folks like me). Many who traffic these sites are the ones who build them or others like them and they frequently have backgrounds rooted in higher education and academia. Intelligence and the scientific method is king in this land. But beyond this simplified explanation of demographics there lies (or so it seems to me) the makings of a much more significant shift in American culture. Having stared at posts that overtly mock Christianity and antagonize those who adhere to it, I am convinced that we are moving into an anti-Christian America. Not just post-Christian America – the one we’ve lived in for the past decade or so, where being Christian was OK as long as you kept it to yourself – but anti-Christian America.
Now I could make myself feel better (pretty easily, too) by just avoiding such articles and post. My Google homepage can be customized quickly enough. And while seeing messages that trash my faith does take its toll, I’m discovering that it provides me with something helpful.
See, I was born and raised a Christian. I’ve been in church since I was an infant. I’ve memorized John 3:16 and all the other key verses of the Bible and I make attempts to read it regularly. Heck, I even attended Bible college and worked for a church. But this spiritual heritage is meaningless and useless if I don’t genuinely believe what I’ve been taught. Over the years, I have wondered many times, “do I really believe this stuff?” Even now, when faced with the kind of questions and criticisms being lobbed at American Christianity on the internet, I have tended to whither under the attack, at least in private. In the marketplace of ideas that exists within my own head, Christianity has been taking a pounding. My faith has been under attack.
Nevertheless, lately I have begun to realize that this attack is, in fact, a good thing; something for which I am thankful. For nothing proves your faith like a test. And what better test is there than to be criticized by others?
Peter clearly understood this: “These [trials] have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” (1 Peter 1:7)
In order to hold on to a faith that the world rejects, I must be confident that I really and truly believe it. Up to this point, having spent most of my life in the world of Christian America, I don’t think I’ve ever really been criticized or attacked for my beliefs. For the first time, I am now seeing this as a disadvantage. I will never know whether or not I truly believe in Christ until I have suffered an attack for my belief in him. But I see such a time coming, and the private attacks I suffer in my heart as I read others criticize my faith are testing (and proving, I trust) my faith.
So I will continue to listen to the ideas that criticize my faith. But I will also stick close to those who reinforce it. I will read the article about religion as an outgrowth of evolution, but I will also continue to attend Alpha. I will cherish my heritage of faith, but I will also seek to make my faith in Christ fully my own. And most of all, I continue to persevere through these trials by trusting in Jesus’ wisdom and salvation - for he is the only one who provides comfort and peace in uneasy times.
“…but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.” (Romans 5:3-5)
To respond to this message, email Mark at mark.lanum@verizon.net.
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“These [trials] have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” (1 Peter 1:7)
I spend a lot of time in front of a computer, and specifically searching the internet. Over time I have noticed a growing trend in the opinions expressed on the internet, especially on sites frequented and used by those in the computer and technology industries. With an alarming frequency, these articles are written from a point of view that assumes not just the falsehood of Christianity, but that religion as a worldview is ridiculous and no longer applicable to our modern life. I attribute some of the growth of this trend to the demographic that these particular sites tend to attract – scientifically-oriented, highly computer-literate nerds and geeks (that is, folks like me). Many who traffic these sites are the ones who build them or others like them and they frequently have backgrounds rooted in higher education and academia. Intelligence and the scientific method is king in this land. But beyond this simplified explanation of demographics there lies (or so it seems to me) the makings of a much more significant shift in American culture. Having stared at posts that overtly mock Christianity and antagonize those who adhere to it, I am convinced that we are moving into an anti-Christian America. Not just post-Christian America – the one we’ve lived in for the past decade or so, where being Christian was OK as long as you kept it to yourself – but anti-Christian America. Now I could make myself feel better (pretty easily, too) by just avoiding such articles and post. My Google homepage can be customized quickly enough. And while seeing messages that trash my faith does take its toll, I’m discovering that it provides me with something helpful. See, I was born and raised a Christian. I’ve been in church since I was an infant. I’ve memorized John 3:16 and all the other key verses of the Bible and I make attempts to read it regularly. Heck, I even attended Bible college and worked for a church. But this spiritual heritage is meaningless and useless if I don’t genuinely believe what I’ve been taught. Over the years, I have wondered many times, “do I really believe this stuff?” Even now, when faced with the kind of questions and criticisms being lobbed at American Christianity on the internet, I have tended to whither under the attack, at least in private. In the marketplace of ideas that exists within my own head, Christianity has been taking a pounding. My faith has been under attack. Nevertheless, lately I have begun to realize that this attack is, in fact, a good thing; something for which I am thankful. For nothing proves your faith like a test. And what better test is there than to be criticized by others? Peter clearly understood this: “These [trials] have come so that your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.” (1 Peter 1:7) In order to hold on to a faith that the world rejects, I must be confident that I really and truly believe it. Up to this point, having spent most of my life in the world of Christian America, I don’t think I’ve ever really been criticized or attacked for my beliefs. For the first time, I am now seeing this as a disadvantage. I will never know whether or not I truly believe in Christ until I have suffered an attack for my belief in him. But I see such a time coming, and the private attacks I suffer in my heart as I read others criticize my faith are testing (and proving, I trust) my faith. So I will continue to listen to the ideas that criticize my faith. But I will also stick close to those who reinforce it. I will read the article about religion as an outgrowth of evolution, but I will also continue to attend Alpha. I will cherish my heritage of faith, but I will also seek to make my faith in Christ fully my own. And most of all, I continue to persevere through these trials by trusting in Jesus’ wisdom and salvation - for he is the only one who provides comfort and peace in uneasy times. “…but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.” (Romans 5:3-5)
To respond to this message, email Mark at mark.lanum@verizon.net. |
