Challenges of Faith ...

Monday, August 17, 2009. With respect to faith our societies are divided into various groups of people. There are those who think that faith is a big nonsense. There are others who believe, but take it lightly. There are those who see something good in the church, but do not really think that the faith of the church needs to be taken that serious. And there are several groups of people of faith. The existence of all these groups is a challenge by itself. What is the truth of faith? Is it arbitrary? Can you believe what ever you think? What are the consequences of faith?

We want to talk about situations, thoughts and facts which challenge faith. The question is something like: how can you believe when the following things happen? Are some facts a counter proof for faith? But there are also events which do not disprove faith, but still they challenge faith. For example the existence of so many people who do not believe.

My faith is challenged by many things. When I am in the middle of a group of people who do not believe in Jesus - that is challenging. How can I think that I am the only one who found truth? Usually I do not think something like this, I am rather open to criticize myself and assume that I am wrong than thinking that many others are on the wrong track. So the existence of unbelief is a challenge to believers. There are many more challenges and we will talk about some of them over the next days.

How do I treat this challenge of belief and unbelief. First, we need to realize that faith has always been something people did together. There is no faith alone - people need community, they need other people who believe with them. Jesus did not pass on his message to one human only, but he gave it to a community of 12 apostles, and many more believers have been with them. The first church started with 3000 people, all of them believed.

Second, faith takes place in an environment of conflict. The world has many different beliefs - including the believe that all religions are wrong. It is a matter of fact that whatever you believe, you are a minority. Most people in the world follow some religion. If you are an atheist, you are in a minority. But all religions are different and there is no common belief, no common image of God. Those, who try to construct such a common image, are a small minority again. We are all a minority! So it cannot be bad to be in a minority, but it is good to accept each other as humans who search the truth and who have some opinion about what is right and wrong. On the basis of some insight into the world we can start to discuss truth and purpose!

Every challenge has a lot of chances and possibilities. When I am among many who do not believe, my faith will grow. I need to think why things are as I believe them to be. I learn about my own faith. Also, I have the chance to discuss my faith with others. They might come to faith. They might find my words and arguments convincing. Or they have questions, they find mistakes in my arguments. Both is a good thing, both means that I make progress in my faith. Challenges are important for us! ... more texts