This, Our Valley

"Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved." – Helen Keller

I was talking to a friend the other day; he mentioned in passing how much the Christian faith has changed over the centuries.

“For the first three hundred years,” he said, “Christians were identified by the things they did. After Constantine, they were identified by what they believed.”

That’s a very profound insight and one to which I hadn’t given much thought, but it makes sense.

I wonder what it is about the human condition that impels us to hold opinions, and then to use those opinions as yardsticks against which to measure others – for inclusion or exclusion.

When I look at the world of animals, I’m not sure I have ever seen opinions expressed by creatures which are not human. A dog may prefer one kind of food over another if given a choice, but I don’t know of one that would exclude from its pack a hound that preferred rabbit to beef.

Are we all that different from dogs, cats, or other members of critterdom? Do we make choices based upon belief, or do we make them based upon our desire to belong and to be a part of some larger group?

Aren’t the principles we embrace a means by which we describe who we are and how we have learned to relate to one another? Isn’t that, in essence, what a belief is: a description of who we are and how we have decided to live out that identity?

In the early days, it was said of Christians, “My, see how they love one another.”

These days, however, we drive down the street and see churches that come in many shapes and sizes, with many different rules and regulation – each striving to convince folks that their brand is better than the competing brand down the block; people still look at Christians and continue to say, “My, see how they love one another,” but honestly, it’s not admiration they’re expressing, is it? Sigh.

Marcus Borg once pointed out that our English word “believe” has its roots in the Old German word “belieben” (beloved), so that belief (for him) had less to do with the head (an opinion held by the mind) and more with the heart (a person we hold most dear). It was Borg’s perspective that when we say, “We believe,” what we mean is, “We embrace.”

The point is that we don’t believe in God as a theological principle. The Bible tells us the devil also believes in God – and trembles! Rather, we embrace God who created us (and who desires to live in love and harmony with us); we embrace God who delivers us from evil so that we may be all God created us to be; and we embrace God who strengthens us so that we may be of service to God, our neighbors, and ourselves.

Embracing God is like embracing your parents, your children, your spouse, or your significant other; it’s personal!

I don’t embrace the Ten Commandments; I embrace God who delivered one Law (in three parts): Love God completely; love your neighbor justly and mercifully; and love yourself gently.

Everything else from Genesis to Revelation is just commentary. The scriptures give us food for thought, but we have turned the meal into a Food Fight over the course of “God only knows” how many eons.

We do violence to God (and one another) when we confuse what we believe with the One in whom we believe. We run the danger of being idolaters when we make the Bible our golden calf. We run the risk of being bigots when we alienate ourselves from our neighbors, using creeds as cudgels to compel, rather than as an “art-form that in-forms.”

This, I believe, is as true of our politics as of our spirituality.

Are all beliefs equally valid or good? Of course not, but we ought to ask whether people are being helped or hurt by what we do – for our actions flow from our beliefs.

If we hurt others, we must change our actions, and we will discover joy as God works to restore us and our relationships, and I believe that would be good for everyone in this, our valley.

Keith Axberg writes on matters concerning life and faith. He can be reached at kfaxberg@gmail.com.