One of the funniest critiques I hear lobbed against Christians is that we “believe in fairy tales”.
“You Christians think your daddy in the sky created humans – how quaint and childish!”
“Ok then,” I respond, “where do you think we came from?”
“Well, of course space aliens from another planet colonized earth. What other logical explanation could there be?”
Um, yeah. That’s logical.
Still other skeptical friends rail against my belief in the Genesis creation narrative and my trust in the the Bible as “simplistic”. These same friends believe that pretty rocks can heal them and that the sign under which they were born determines their personality.
Where do they get this stuff from, an episode of “My Little Pony”?
If the person I’m describing is you, then I’m afraid I think your ideas are really pretty silly. It’s not that I don’t respect your right to believe them – I would defend that right. It’s just that your thinking is pretty inconsistent when it comes to logic or anything verifiable, as opposed to Christianity which at least has a basis in both history and logic.
To be honest, most of your beliefs are just fantasies of your own creation. They have the same substance as cotton candy – pretty to look at, made of nothing but air.
So I apologize, but I just don’t believe. And it’s time I put my cards on the table about just what I don’t believe…
I don’t believe in “positive energy”, so sorry, I won’t be sending you any. And I’m pretty sure I’ve never had a “chakra”, unless that’s some sort of Greek pastry.
If you’re sick, I’m not sending you “healing thoughts”. Not because I don’t care, but because my thoughts don’t have the power to heal me, much less you.
And really, how do you figure “karma” anyway? You believe in an impersonal, benign “universe” instead of God, right? But then you think this impersonal universe is going to take a very personal interest in paying you back for good or bad actions.
So which one is it, an impersonal one or a personal one – what universe are you talking about exactly?
In addition, I’m not “visualizing world peace” anytime soon. Since I’m not Yoda, just thinking about peace is not going to make it happen, any more than you thinking about lifting the car in your driveway makes you Luke Skywalker.
I’m not “looking inside myself to find the answers”. I’m not even sure of all the questions yet, but I know the answers aren’t in me. I am finite, mostly clueless and full of contradictions.
Yeah, I know you say you’re “spiritual, not religious”. But what the heck does that mean? If what you believe has no face, no name, and is without definition, you’re pretty much just making it up as you go along, aren’t you?
Improvisation is great with jazz music, but lousy to base my entire eternity on.
I know you keep telling me to respect “your truth”, but how can I? It’s so subjective. I’ve noticed that “your truth” often sounds very much like whatever is convenient for you at that given moment. Come on, people can rationalize any action, no matter how selfish or evil. And to be completely “truthful”, most of us are completely able to ignore the plight of our fellow man, and snack watching Netflix while the world starves. So, get real.
Oh, and as for “believing in myself” – that’s no help either. Pretending I have some supernatural power inside me won’t change a thing, because I am merely human. No, there’s no “magic in me”, so please stop telling me there is. You only set me up for disappointment…and yourself as well.
BUT…I do believe in One who is the source of all energy and healing. He is completely “other” than me, though I believe He now lives within me and guides me.
If you are sick, what I will do is pray for you. That’s because there is one Healer, so I go straight to the source because you matter to me.
He’s also the one source of real peace, for the world’s questions are all answered in Him and Him alone. And the world will never find true lasting peace outside of Him.
He is infinite, limitless and Truth incarnate.
And one day He will return to judge of every person and every action, and whether we truly used our time to serve Him and help others…or just help ourselves. That’s not called “karma”, by the way. It’s “sowing and reaping”, as in “you will reap what you sow”.
By the way, He is beyond the “magic” of all your inanimate talismans – He is miraculous.
But “Trusting in myself” is a con game which only brings hubris and self-destruction. That’s why I trust in Jesus. He is all that matters, and without Him, nothing else matters.
I hope you’ll stop believing in the fancies of your own imagination, and trust in the only One who really can make all dreams come true.
It’s time to grow up now, my friend…from childhood to adulthood…from fantasy to reality…from darkness into the light.
It’s time to stop believing in yourself, and start believing in Him.
Very well stated, brother. The inner man rails against the concept that he is powerless to alter his plight on his own. Odd, how some can believe in some sort of “abra-cadabra” while denying the cause of the complexity in their own existence.
Well said David. I will be sending this to Zach. Being in prison for such long periods of time, he falls into whatever cellmate (“cellie”) has those very similar statements. I am not the one to impact a change of thinking in him, no matter what I say. It’s who he spends his days with that he listens to. And after 7 years in, the 4years out, now on his 4 year stint with 14 more months to go, his time is spent with others who are blind to truth, and he struggles with being sucked -in and too weak to stand- up-against. I also sent him your book that I got from Amazon. He respects you. I just thought you should know. Keep up God’s good work.