The Art of Thinking

 
Years ago, belief vs. consistency was a concept that never entered my mind.
But something happened to me. Something I never really considered. What was it? It was thinking about the beliefs I had, and whether or not they conformed with reality. From what I’ve learned, this used to be a common practice.

But it seems as though we have lost the art of thinking. I’m not saying that people don’t think, I’m saying that we as a culture don’t put serious thought into the consistency of our beliefs.

Instead, we have largely replaced sensical belief with emotional preference.

But there should be no division.

A consistent belief system should provide the greatest emotional pleasure. Contrarily, an inconsistent belief system should cause serious questioning, major doubts, and emotional instability. That is, if you take the foundations of your belief system seriously.

Every belief system that I have encountered promises results if the believer’s actions are consistent with the doctrines. The problem is that when a belief system has flawed foundations, actions can never be consistent with the belief. The result should be obvious.

You have to change your belief.

With most (all?) religions save for Christianity (not a religion), the promise of a better life to come is for all who behave according to its doctrines. Work for God’s favor, or work to produce good karma, what have you, and you reap the blessing!

Its earning salvation. And here is the big problem with those religions and their belief systems: all of them acknowledge the fallen condition of humanity to some regard. In other words, everyone knows people aren’t perfect. Therefore, how could an imperfect creature produce perfect results?

Near perfect isn’t good enough. You need to get it right. There’s only assurance for those who get it right. There’s no assurance for those who fall short.

Only the Christian worldview can provide such assurance.

The reason is because it is not based on formulas, diagrams, will-to-power, or self-perfection, but it is based on ultimate reality. It is not merely existential (though it provides existential purpose) but instead is transcendental. Its doctrines are not based upon human reasoning, but on the Creator’s.

Christian belief doesn’t assert that you need to be perfect, or that you need to get everything right.

In fact, says that you must first acknowledge your own personal falleness. The only thing you need to get right is not what you need to do to earn salvation, but Who it is that has already provided it for you.

Jesus is that person.

He is the transcendent God who made the rules. He is the ultimate reality that all things are properly understood through. And He is the one who loved His creation so much that He would come to earth and provide a way for you and I to be saved.

And He did it to the death of His body.

It’s not by our works, not by our own goodness, but by His ability alone. Why? Because He’s the God of the universe and He doesn’t need our goodness. No amount of moral goodness could impress Him. What do you or I have, or what can we do, that He is not entirely supreme in?

He wants our trust. That way He can work HIS goodness through us.

This is one of the most consistent Christian beliefs.

Its foundation supports it, and it conforms to ultimate reality. It seems that we’ve lost the ability to think about these things. We’ve become oblivious to the obvious.

Don’t be a conformist. Think about what you believe and consider its consequences with regard to reality. And be honest, both intellectually and emotionally.

What are some things you think could be challenging for a person to evaluate his or her beliefs?