Could one of our problems be that we are trying to think our way to God?
That thought comes, surprisingly, from a Calvin College professor of philosophy. In a Christianity Today Online interview of James Smith, a professional thinker observes,
“Human beings are at their core defined by what they worship rather than primarily by what they think, know, or believe. That is bound up with the central Augustinian claim that we are what we love. Taking Augustine’s teaching that what you love is what you worship and what you worship is what you love, I tried to come up with a model of the human person that appreciates the centrality of love. That propelled me to see that we are ritual, liturgical creatures whose loves are shaped and aimed by the fundamentally forming practices that we are immersed in.”
Much of interview is heavy content, and over my head. But what I came away with is something that sounds (in part) so similar to what I’ve been reading in other places lately, and most importantly, in the Bible.
Such thoughts remind me not only how important our hearts are, but how desperately we need to be immersed in all that Jesus (Christ) is, and does– in… for… and through fallen, broken, amazingly designed people like us… and our messed up part in allowing him to do what he does…
From what we know of ourselves, life, and the Scriptures, it might be interesting to reflect, together, on the professor’s take on thoughts, worship, love, and what we are immersed in…
PS I , for one, come away calling for “mercy”… (Job 42:5-6)
(+9 rating, 9 votes)
Loading...