Welcome this being republished.
Definitely something in this – the legacy of the Judeo-Christian tradition and that legacy of ideas and institutions designed to safeguard human life, freedom and dignity, pluralism, secular freedoms, the market, of conscience and free speech. Even the reflective, communal ritual of a Church service has a calming, re-basing effect if you just step back and view appreciate you are partaking in a millennia old tradition. And Jesus of Nazareth, whoever he was, was one of the most remarkable figures in all History.
Yet the leap then to a Deity who made all things, and the horror of much of the Old Testament, will always be a step too far for many. But if we can retain perspective on the benefits of the tradition then the Author is right.
I suspect that the author would like to believe the “Deity thing” as it would make her feel less dissonant – and make her a more settled member of the herd she has joined. I’m not sure how you can ever deal with this dissonance unless you can somehow convince yourself there is/was/will be some bloke floating on the clouds. Not a jump I could ever make, and I suspect that neither will she.
While it remains a step too far then knowledge of God revealed in the two inseparable testaments will also remain.
TT
Tony Taylor
4 months ago
As Churchill said: Judeo-Christianity is the worst form of religion except for all the other forms of religion.
PB
Peter B
4 months ago
“After a careful cost-benefit analysis, I decided to become a Christian”.
Not quite what she said, but the idea that your religious beliefs are adopted primarily for the benefits you hope to attain from the change (defending Western civilisation) rather than more fundamental faith and belief does seem like a “category error”.
No doubt a similar line of thinking was around during the Crusades …
Her point I think is that the Muslims will take over western societies with their zeal for all things Mohammed unless their putative victims ( the rest of us ) find something with which to resist them . Yes crusader spirit very good example he he.
Ali has embarked on her Christian journey
We all have different starting points with different vantage points along the way. No doubt as with Middle Age Crusaders.
JP
John Pade
4 months ago
I liked it! Ms. Ali (I hope I haven’t offended) flitted around the varied reasons for believing and settled at last on meaning. That is also why I believe. It could be that meaning is the furthest, ever movable horizon that science can’t reach, true. But it might be a categorical fortress against which science’s tools will remain powerless in the end.
As for which religion, look around. What have the followers of them wrought? Error for all, certainly. Very little else for most. One or two or three can point to something more: great civilizations, dazzling achievements, extensions of the human potential in every domain. The elevation of man to an image of his Creator.
But it must come down to faith. Maybe faith awakened by peering into the nihilistic vacuum, or maybe by experiencing and considering the founder’s revelations. Revelations that when lived lead to a good life and, in communion with other believers, a good society.
Faith based on reason in an intelligible universe.
JS
John Solomon
4 months ago
So, not a muslim (any more). That I understand. Studying christianity. That too I understand.
But it seems to me a bit premature and indeed presumptious to say “I am now a christian.” What about faith, belief, even conviction?
You are not a christian, as I understand it, just because you go to church and are ‘looking into it’.
You convict yourself of supreme arrogance here . She likes the stories , she goes to church , she’s a Christian . Are you some kind of latter day Inquisitor come to rule on how deep her faith is ?
Or does she need to do a course and get a certificate ?
Christianity is essentially relational. The doctrines, rituals, and creeds are understood over time. l
BB
Billy Bob
4 months ago
My opinion hasn’t changed from the first time I read this article. It still strikes me as the writer is merely following her current group rather than it being a deeply held belief, much the same as all her other dalliances with religion or atheism. I find it hard to believe that it’s sheer coincidence that her beliefs just happen to match whichever group of people she’s with at the time
Ms.Ali is a brave soul but I don’t see how one can simply pick up the system of beliefs. I rather believe to Paul Kingsnorth’s experience of being picked up by it, not the vice versa.
I wish I believed but after the years of spiritual search and a Divinity degree, I fail to reconcile my live experience as a human being and hyper-inflated figure of Jesus. A humble preacher with a few good stories (and the best ones are, as evidence suggests, were later ascribed to him) just happened in the right place and right time. So that the Jewish religious zeal fermented into a new religion. This dynamic is nothing new and there’s little miraculous in it.
The religions based on orthopraxy like Judaism and Islam are faring way better in my view, because they worry much less about theology and have clear practical benefits.
I think Judaism with its tangible, physical demands could be a more logical choice for Ms.Ali. ( or reformed Islam for that matter )
You sound a tad bitter all those years of study left you with so little . What’s reformed Islam ? You don’t mean the Canadian Lesbian they used to have on thought for the day
Do you want to know the person and Jesus Christ rather than the caricature you’ve been shown?
LK
LANGAT KIPKOECH
4 months ago
“I still have a great deal to learn about Christianity”…. beautifully worded. Take up the book, ‘The Great Controversy’ (available online for free download)
by Ellen White, a devout Christian and woman of God. She discusses Christianity’s past, present and future in great detail.
Welcome this being republished.
Definitely something in this – the legacy of the Judeo-Christian tradition and that legacy of ideas and institutions designed to safeguard human life, freedom and dignity, pluralism, secular freedoms, the market, of conscience and free speech. Even the reflective, communal ritual of a Church service has a calming, re-basing effect if you just step back and view appreciate you are partaking in a millennia old tradition. And Jesus of Nazareth, whoever he was, was one of the most remarkable figures in all History.
Yet the leap then to a Deity who made all things, and the horror of much of the Old Testament, will always be a step too far for many. But if we can retain perspective on the benefits of the tradition then the Author is right.
I suspect that the author would like to believe the “Deity thing” as it would make her feel less dissonant – and make her a more settled member of the herd she has joined. I’m not sure how you can ever deal with this dissonance unless you can somehow convince yourself there is/was/will be some bloke floating on the clouds. Not a jump I could ever make, and I suspect that neither will she.
While it remains a step too far then knowledge of God revealed in the two inseparable testaments will also remain.
As Churchill said: Judeo-Christianity is the worst form of religion except for all the other forms of religion.
“After a careful cost-benefit analysis, I decided to become a Christian”.
Not quite what she said, but the idea that your religious beliefs are adopted primarily for the benefits you hope to attain from the change (defending Western civilisation) rather than more fundamental faith and belief does seem like a “category error”.
No doubt a similar line of thinking was around during the Crusades …
Yes Pascal’s Wager, although I don’t think she was quite in that category.
Her point I think is that the Muslims will take over western societies with their zeal for all things Mohammed unless their putative victims ( the rest of us ) find something with which to resist them . Yes crusader spirit very good example he he.
Ali has embarked on her Christian journey
We all have different starting points with different vantage points along the way. No doubt as with Middle Age Crusaders.
I liked it! Ms. Ali (I hope I haven’t offended) flitted around the varied reasons for believing and settled at last on meaning. That is also why I believe. It could be that meaning is the furthest, ever movable horizon that science can’t reach, true. But it might be a categorical fortress against which science’s tools will remain powerless in the end.
As for which religion, look around. What have the followers of them wrought? Error for all, certainly. Very little else for most. One or two or three can point to something more: great civilizations, dazzling achievements, extensions of the human potential in every domain. The elevation of man to an image of his Creator.
But it must come down to faith. Maybe faith awakened by peering into the nihilistic vacuum, or maybe by experiencing and considering the founder’s revelations. Revelations that when lived lead to a good life and, in communion with other believers, a good society.
Faith based on reason in an intelligible universe.
So, not a muslim (any more). That I understand. Studying christianity. That too I understand.
But it seems to me a bit premature and indeed presumptious to say “I am now a christian.” What about faith, belief, even conviction?
You are not a christian, as I understand it, just because you go to church and are ‘looking into it’.
You convict yourself of supreme arrogance here . She likes the stories , she goes to church , she’s a Christian . Are you some kind of latter day Inquisitor come to rule on how deep her faith is ?
Or does she need to do a course and get a certificate ?
Christianity is essentially relational. The doctrines, rituals, and creeds are understood over time. l
My opinion hasn’t changed from the first time I read this article. It still strikes me as the writer is merely following her current group rather than it being a deeply held belief, much the same as all her other dalliances with religion or atheism. I find it hard to believe that it’s sheer coincidence that her beliefs just happen to match whichever group of people she’s with at the time
Then try a bit harder (at least for the sake of charity).
Why the need for anthropomorphic religion?; she could explore and find solace and a spiritual connection with Hinduism, Buddhism, yoga, therapy
Because God chose to reveal himself and his purposes for mankind through men culminating in the person and work of Jesus Christ (thanks for asking).
Well said Mr Clark
Ms.Ali is a brave soul but I don’t see how one can simply pick up the system of beliefs. I rather believe to Paul Kingsnorth’s experience of being picked up by it, not the vice versa.
I wish I believed but after the years of spiritual search and a Divinity degree, I fail to reconcile my live experience as a human being and hyper-inflated figure of Jesus. A humble preacher with a few good stories (and the best ones are, as evidence suggests, were later ascribed to him) just happened in the right place and right time. So that the Jewish religious zeal fermented into a new religion. This dynamic is nothing new and there’s little miraculous in it.
The religions based on orthopraxy like Judaism and Islam are faring way better in my view, because they worry much less about theology and have clear practical benefits.
I think Judaism with its tangible, physical demands could be a more logical choice for Ms.Ali. ( or reformed Islam for that matter )
You sound a tad bitter all those years of study left you with so little . What’s reformed Islam ? You don’t mean the Canadian Lesbian they used to have on thought for the day
Do you want to know the person and Jesus Christ rather than the caricature you’ve been shown?
“I still have a great deal to learn about Christianity”…. beautifully worded. Take up the book, ‘The Great Controversy’ (available online for free download)
by Ellen White, a devout Christian and woman of God. She discusses Christianity’s past, present and future in great detail.
Do you mean Ellen G Whte of the Seventh Day Adventists? (starting in USA – 19th century millenialists)