When Christianity Gets Unreasonable
Preaching
Shaking Wolves Out Of Cherry Trees
And 149 Other Sermon Ideas
Purpose Statement: There are religious concepts that seem impractical or foolish. What do we do with them?
We are asked to accept on faith what we cannot understand. However, it would be a mistake to believe just because we find it written in the Bible we should follow blindly. One example should suffice to show the ridiculousness of this possibility. Leviticus 20:9 counsels that anyone who curses his parents should be put to death. This is not something we should accept by faith. The question remains as to what to do regarding unreasonable dictums in scripture. 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 speaks of the Christian message as seeming to be foolish.
a. Some illogical statements are true and may never be understood. One reason why this is true is that the universe is too vast and complicated and not everything can be known or understood. Another is that we cannot know completely the mind of God. Examples of this kind of subject would include space, eternity, God, and the wonder of love.
b. Some illogical statements are false and must be ignored. Along with the example cited above from Leviticus, there are many dangerous ideas that we would do well to ignore: a devil in a red suit, a punishment of eternal burning hell, an anthropomorphic God, killing people in war and by capital punishment, etc.
c. Some seemingly illogical statements are logical and on further investigation we find it is possible to understand them. 1 Corinthians 3:2 and Hebrews 5:12 state we are not always ready for meat or solid food and must be fed milk only. It is only as we mature in our faith and theology that we can begin to see that some aspects of what we considered unreasonable, are actually very logical and practical. That the earth was round and "floating" in space no doubt seemed impossible to early inhabitants; but when we know the physical laws behind the phenomenon it seems sensible. Vaccinations, where we give individuals a dose of the disease, seem unreasonable until explained more thoroughly. The cross, as Paul says, is foolish to the uninitiated. As we mature we see the power of the cross as well as pacifism and turning the other cheek. Meekness and forgiving enemies are practical and sensible when we become knowledgeable of God's ways.
d. There is a key to unlock the mystery of illogical statements. A two-step plan should always be used to unravel the seemingly unreasonable. Every idea must be consistent with the life and teachings or spirit of Jesus! God gave us minds and we should use 1) logic and 2) prayer to probe every irrational appearing Christian idea, comparing it to Christ, until the sense is made clear or its falseness is known.
We are asked to accept on faith what we cannot understand. However, it would be a mistake to believe just because we find it written in the Bible we should follow blindly. One example should suffice to show the ridiculousness of this possibility. Leviticus 20:9 counsels that anyone who curses his parents should be put to death. This is not something we should accept by faith. The question remains as to what to do regarding unreasonable dictums in scripture. 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 speaks of the Christian message as seeming to be foolish.
a. Some illogical statements are true and may never be understood. One reason why this is true is that the universe is too vast and complicated and not everything can be known or understood. Another is that we cannot know completely the mind of God. Examples of this kind of subject would include space, eternity, God, and the wonder of love.
b. Some illogical statements are false and must be ignored. Along with the example cited above from Leviticus, there are many dangerous ideas that we would do well to ignore: a devil in a red suit, a punishment of eternal burning hell, an anthropomorphic God, killing people in war and by capital punishment, etc.
c. Some seemingly illogical statements are logical and on further investigation we find it is possible to understand them. 1 Corinthians 3:2 and Hebrews 5:12 state we are not always ready for meat or solid food and must be fed milk only. It is only as we mature in our faith and theology that we can begin to see that some aspects of what we considered unreasonable, are actually very logical and practical. That the earth was round and "floating" in space no doubt seemed impossible to early inhabitants; but when we know the physical laws behind the phenomenon it seems sensible. Vaccinations, where we give individuals a dose of the disease, seem unreasonable until explained more thoroughly. The cross, as Paul says, is foolish to the uninitiated. As we mature we see the power of the cross as well as pacifism and turning the other cheek. Meekness and forgiving enemies are practical and sensible when we become knowledgeable of God's ways.
d. There is a key to unlock the mystery of illogical statements. A two-step plan should always be used to unravel the seemingly unreasonable. Every idea must be consistent with the life and teachings or spirit of Jesus! God gave us minds and we should use 1) logic and 2) prayer to probe every irrational appearing Christian idea, comparing it to Christ, until the sense is made clear or its falseness is known.
