Wrapping it up
For several years I've been talking about starting a project in which leaders of Christian groups could offer an introduction into their practices to people without a religious home. It wouldn't be a theoretical course on the foundations and beliefs of that particular strain of Christianity, but an introduction to how their adherents practice their faith: how often and in what manner they pray, how often they get together with others to worship or talk, how they focus on God, how they help one another and others, what kind of projects they participate in, and so on. And then the religious "seekers" would do exactly that. They might not believe in the God they're praying to, they might not recognize the new traditions and customs as their own, but they will commit to practicing them for two months, nevertheless—to see what happens.
In the process, the seekers would have full access to the leaders of those churches (or knowledgeable representatives) for questions and conversation.
The goal of this exercise? To see if these two months of practice change the seekers. Would it convince them to stay away from that particular Christian strand? Or would it cause an internal change that makes them want to explore the underlying beliefs more deeply? We may never know, but my sense is that the practice would be transformative. In lieu of the actual experiment, I wonder whether I could suggest something similar but less orchestrated.
In this book, I've talked about the benefits of being a Christian:
finding an answer to our deep and undefined loneliness
discovering a new and diverse community of people
seeing a new and reliable purpose in life and a new definition of what it means to have an impact on the world
believing that life around us and in us is meaningful and relevant
having someone to look up to
realistically and humbly appreciating who we are as human beings
newly appreciating beauty and how it impacts our care for the world around us
discovering our own story within a much larger story that provides meaning and guidance
rediscovering thankfulness
comprehending a whole new concept of forgiveness and the impact it can have on our lives
recognizing a meaning behind suffering and aging
understanding death
A list like this underscores the significance of these benefits.
I can't think of any one of those benefits to which someone would say, "Yeah, that one doesn't sound so great. Maybe this or that, but those two I'd rather leave behind." I do understand that someone might read the list, sigh, and say, "Well, it sounds nice, but it's clearly not for me because I just can't believe in God, or at least not the kind of personal God Christians believe in." Of course, if believing in God were so easily attainable, many more would believe.
So here's what I would like to suggest. Maybe it's more of a challenge: Why don't you try it out? What do you have to lose? Why not pretend that there's a God and start talking to him? And maybe at some point you might actually talk with him.
Really, you might say, play a game of make-believe? Yes, exactly! Play make-believe and see what happens. Give yourself as much time as you need to try to pray. Try reading the Bible. Try exploring the churches in your vicinity to understand how they approach God. And continue to keep in mind—as I've said so many times—that churches are full of people in need, people who are anything but perfect. So get ready to meet people who are just as needy as you are.
And by the way, the reason for the existence of so many different churches is this: At some point in history, sometimes more than a thousand years ago, existing churches split (and often continued to split) because they disagreed about how to worship God (there were other reasons, too, but this was the main one). Often the splits were painful, but the result is really quite wonderful because it shows the enormous complexity and diversity among Christians.
You might already know about some of those churches, or about the Christians in those churches, and think you're certainly not that kind of religious person. But that's the other beautiful thing about the wide variety of churches. Some churches might shock you (positively or negatively), some might give you a sense of awe, some might feel cold and exclusive, and some might feel warm and inviting.
To come back to the "faith challenge": What exactly is this for? To find out whether the God that I've been writing about in this book is real. Unfortunately, I can't say, "Look at the beauty of nature or this glorious flower or this newborn baby and you will see God." Or "Look at the suffering in the world or the suffering you're experiencing personally and you will recognize God in it." Or "Read this and that section of the Bible and you will finally understand that God is real." God cannot be proven. But God can be experienced. God can be encountered through experience. It can be a long process, but my sense is that you will know when to throw in the towel after you've given it a conscientious try, or when you realize that your pretense is getting less and less pretentious and more about the living and loving God.
Let me know how it goes. I'm praying for you!
