Peripatetics: The Art of Walking
Monday, November 08, 2004
...and there really wasn't any formal "teaching" time (although, frankly, sometimes the absolute very best teaching comes from focusing on God and talking to God) during Sunday School last week, I thought I'd try to stir up some comments in the comment section by giving you some quotes from stuff I'm reading right now.
The first one comes from Donald Miller in Searching for God Knows What:
"Some would say formulas are how we interact with God, that going through the motions and jumping through hoops are how a person acts out his spirituality. This method of interaction seems odd to me, because if I want to hang out with my friend Tuck, I don't stomp three times, turn around, and say his name over and over like a mantra, lighting candles and getting myself in a certain mood. I just call him. In this way, forumlas presuppose God is more a computer or a circus monkey than an intelligent Being. I realize this sounds harsh, but it is true...
...So if the difference between the Christian faith and all other forms of spirituality is that the Christian faith offers a relational dynamic whith God, why are we cloaking this relational dynamic with forumlas? Are we jealous of the Mormons? And are the forumlas getting us anywhere? Are modern forms of Christian spirituality producing better Christians than days long ago, when people didn't use formulas and understood, intrinsically, that God is a Being with a personality and a will of His onw? Martin Luther didn't believe in formulas, and neither did John Calvin. Were they missing something, or are we?"
So, comment away, everybody! Do you agree or disagree and why?
Brent 7:06 AM
Comments:
I think many of us, myself included, find formulas to be a source of comfort. They give us a sense of control....if I do this and this, then this will result. Of course, God is not controlled by our formulas, so when one quits working we develop a new one. Let's face it...we like rules. It's a struggle for me even in relationships with people.
i agree. we try to reduce God to something other than He truly is, something more compact, without character, by assuming that we must do a little jig to get His attention. it gives us a sense of control over a God who in fact cannot be strung on a leash. rather, He comes to us willingly when we ask for Him, because, contrary to what many think, He is a person, and He does have character. He cannot be bound by any formulas our small minds can concoct.
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