And when I say Mini I mean it.
Recent reads or current reads.
Me Talk Pretty One Day, David Sedaris. Simultaneously poignant and hilarious, Sedaris recounts his stories with a profound sensitivity and a superb ability to articulate himself. Some guy or another said that we read to be reminded we're not alone. If you're reading my blog, you are probably not like Sedaris, unless you just so happen to be a Greek-American homosexual yuppie who can tell stories about speed-popping and performance art pieces at the Art Institute of Chicago. But you're really not all that different from him. He is (and you are too, I presume), completely human. He shapes the formless void of past experience into something beautiful and meaningful, revealing himself to be utterly unique (sorry, you're just not as funny as him), yet representative of humanity. (because we're really all alike). He's just another normal imago dei creature shouting into the infinite void, making his voice heard. Except he's better at it than the rest of us.
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The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison. I am a student of human nature. Well, at least it sounds cool to say that. I do not claim to be a good student. Morrison is. A decent writer who just so happens to posses X-ray goggles with which she stares right into the soul of humanity. Excellent character studies, remarkable insight into what it is that makes us tick. As a discourse on our culture's obsession with beauty (specifically, Caucasian beauty), the work is pretty good. As an investigation into the nature of human depravity and degradation, the work is stellar. You will wipe your eyes, scratch your head, and pound the desk with your fist. The book is beautiful and it is, in parts, very very disturbing... (Caveat emptor. Or would that be caveat lector?)
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Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything, Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner. Taking your kid to the library every week doesn't make him smarter. Crack dealers still live with their mothers. Capital punishment is no crime deterrent. Schoolteachers and sumo wrestlers have a lot in common. Why? Read the book. You see the word "Economics" on the cover and think you've found the cure for your insomnia. Wrong. The book is very interesting. Scout's honor. If you want to know the world works the way it does or find yourself skeptical of common wisdom, read it.
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Traveling Mercies, Anne Lamott. Lamott can invoke a veritable emotions through her masterful storytelling. It's hard to tell what exactly Lamott believes on just about any Christian doctrine, but she at least gives you plenty of food for thought.
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The Abolition of Man, C.S. Lewis. Not finished with this second time around. So far, so good (very good), but I have a bone to pick with Clive. Christianity works. It makes us into nice, noble, wholesome people. Lewis seems to see that as proof that it's therefore true. Is that a safe assumption to make?
Posted by jonsligh at June 24, 2006 01:19 AMHmmm
I think you may be right about C.S. Just because something "works" doesn't make it true? So how do we know that Christianity is true, Jon? Don't worry, I'm not leaving the faith. I do have substanial evidence. Just want to know your take.
Well, I'm not jumping ship either, but I don't feel like I have a good answer to the question(s) "How do I know the Bible is true, and how do I know I know?"
Here are some common answers to that question.
*It worked for me* Great. Glad it worked for you. But can you universalize on your personal experience? Lots of other things work for other people. People all over the world find things that make them nice people, give them peace of mind, etc.
*The Bible says so* Better. Much better. But you're arguing for divine inspiration just because it claims divine inspiration? Lots of books and people claim divine inspiration. The fact that one books is more historically accurate or more interally consistent is not proof that it's the *only* right one; it just means it's a better one.
*It makes sense* Makes sense to whom?
*I've examined the evidence and it supports Christianity* A finite human can examine only so much evidence and is limited by time, availability of evidence, culturally engrained prejudices, wishful thinking or skeptical thinking, etc. Can a finite being accurately ascertain the infinite? And if so, how do you choose between all the people who've claim they've got the market cornered on grappling with the infinite?
All of these answers are good--I wouldn't discredit them. Personal experience, rigid investigation, biblical claims to inspiration--I'm certainly not going to discredit those. But they're still not answering the question.
There is a fundamental human need for the Divine. But how do we find what we're looking for and be sure we've found it and not a counterfeit?
I'm still thinking that one through. Maybe it's the kind of thing that a finite human *can't* prove.
Still, I think I've got a general idea of where the answer lies. To quote a pretty cool guy: "I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else."
My take would be that it's OK not to have it all figured out, nor should we ever expect to. Human beings have an insatiable thirst for knowledge, of course, but because of that, we love to think we can eventually "figure it all out." Not gonna happen. I wrote on the subject recently: http://www.bradezone.com/blog/2006/03/18/compulsory-curiosity/
By the way, these are all recent reads? I can only hope to have that much time for reading once my last summer class is over and done. (first up: hitchhiker's guide...)
Posted by: Brade at June 26, 2006 11:13 AMJon, I'd say I believe it's true because of all of these things, plus:
1. I have experienced undeniable instances in my life of confirmation that it is so.
2. I have experienced spiritually something that I cannot deny, and those experiences were consistent with the Bible.
3. And there are people I know and respect (or at least have read) who are themselves believing and seem to be doing so with no artifice or inconsistency or pretence.
The pragmatic argument to me is the worst. This is what I grew up in, as an unbeliever. Christianity as club. Eesh.
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