First, in Rel/US...We had to read three documents by Jefferson today - the Declaration of Independence, a letter from TJ to his nephew, Peter Carr, and "Notes on the State of Virginia." Collectively, he had some extremely powerful things to say about reason, religion, and, obviously, what America should be. My absolute favorite quote of all time came from his letter to Peter Carr:
"Fix reason firmly in her seat, and call to her tribunal every fact, every opinion. Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blindfolded fear."
I mean...WOW. This sums me up. This is what I've been screaming internally for my entire [Lutheran] life (you might be able to see where this is going). As my previous post might indicate, I hate hate hate HAAAATE people like Pat Robertson that thrive on...well, hate. People who get off on informing everyone else that there is a God and, wwwwooooah, buddy, are you EVER in trouble with him. [Not ME, though. He SPEAKS to me.]
Everyone (except maybe Pat Robertson) has the ability to reason. To use their head. To look at a situation and say, hmm, something isn't right about this. Perhaps I should investigate it. I agree with my favorite president and think that any God that might exist would appreciate us thinking that way.
Ok, here's where Luther comes in.
My life has been very, very Lutheran. I went to an ELCA Church growing up, an LCMS gradeschool, and a "Free Lutheran" high school (though I'm not entirely clear on what that means). My aunt and uncle are Lutheran pastors. So was my great-grandfather. Both my parents had Lutheran upbringings and mostly brought me up the same way (I say "mostly" because I dabbled in Baptist-ism for a while, which they were pretty supportive about). Anyway, to sum it up, any time any family thing happens, at least one Lutheran church service is involved. And that's totally cool. I love my family, and I love keeping family tradition alive - and I definitely consider Lutheranism to be family tradition. I'm told that my family, way back when, helped found the LCMS. That, for me, is something to be proud of.
That being said, there is definitely some negativity there. Much of the "FIRE BRIMSTONE HELL FIRE BLAAAAAAHHHHH YOU MUST FEAR THE WRATH OF GOD" crap I've heard in my life has either been in my grade school, my childhood church, and my high school (admittedly, there have also been other sources, but we're not talking about them). I have always had a voice (probably my Reason!!) inside me say, hang on, it can't really be all that bad. Whoever, wherever, WHATever God is, he's got to be more understanding than that.
Tonight in EMPT, we went back to the very beginning roots of Lutheranism, and you know, Luther was on the right track. Sola Fide. Faith Alone. Not works - you can never earn God's salvation - but it's ok, because he's chuck full of grace and love for you.
Now, to be clear, I have all kinds of problems with the whole faith thing, which has probably been my problem for my entire life, if only subliminally. I mean, yeah, the Bible says that God is a good God, but if God was a bad God, would the Bible tell us that? No. A bad God wouldn't be obligated or compelled to tell us the truth. That's just part of it - my point is, you just can't KNOW, based on the Bible. And, unfortunately, that's the only real way God (assuming he exists and is the Christian God) has chosen to communicate with us. (DISCLAIMER: If anyone looks at this point and wants to say "Oh but look at the pretty birds and the powerful oceans and the expansive cosmos and you have all the proof you need right there" please, please, PLEASE don't waste your time, or mine).
I guess the basis of what I'm saying is that Lutheranism only demands faith from you - my problem is acquiring said faith.
That's why I so appreciate Thomas Jefferson, and his reasoned reassurance that it is ok to be doubtful, as long as it's rooted in reason. If you're truly, honestly lost (which I TOTALLY am), that's ok. Try your hardest, do your best - whatever God is out there sees it. The way I figure it, if there's not a God, then nothing really matters anyway. If he exists and he's evil, then we're all gonna roast anyway. But if there IS a God, if he is a GOOD God, and if he DID create me just the way I am, if he IS watching as closely as they say - then he'll understand that I'm trying my hardest, and that I'm thinking the way he created me to think. He will not condemn me for that.
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