Sunday, December 18, 2005
Asking The Wrong Question
For a while now Al Mohler has periodically looked at this piece from the Times Of London which claims that societies are worse off the more religious they are - The great mantra of the left. Here's Al's latest installment. Al's arguement all along has been the fact that correlation does not equal causation and the therefore the conclusions of the study are faulty. Agreed both here and here. But it there is another angle on this I want to take.
The measures of a better society used in the piece are things like murder, abortion, promiscuity and suicide. Are those accurate measures of the efficasiousness of a religion in a society? Is the state of a society a measure of a religion at all?
I think it is fair to say that from a religion's point of view, it does not exist to change or mold society. Indeed, religion is the source of ethics, and ethics play a huge role in how a society functions, but that is not the reason for the religion.
Religions are an organizational expression of a belief system -- that is to say they exist to protect what the adherents believe to be Truth, and generally a deific truth. Which is where studies like this start by asking the wrong questions.
The value of a religion cannot be measured by its societal effects, because that is not the goal the religion has set for itself. It is a by-product, but it is not the raison d'etre. You can only judge the value of a religion based on how well it reflects Truth. But you say, how can Truth be objectively measured -- it can't, and therein lies the issue.
I automatically reject any "objective" attempt to measure the value of a religion -- can't be done. So, how does one decide which religion to participate in, if any at all? By seeking Truth both objectively and subjectively. And therein lies the beauty, to my mind, of Christianity.
Christianity seeks to appeal to both. It is highly rational and highly mystical. That cannot be said about many religions.
This also says much about how I choose to practice my Christian faith. I must seek to nuture both the rational part of my faith and the mystical. I must read and I must meditate, I must study and I must pray - and in all I must submit to God.
My prayer this Sunday is for a full and complete faith. A faith grounded in reason, but celebrated in spirit. A faith based in the rational but transcending the physical.
The measures of a better society used in the piece are things like murder, abortion, promiscuity and suicide. Are those accurate measures of the efficasiousness of a religion in a society? Is the state of a society a measure of a religion at all?
I think it is fair to say that from a religion's point of view, it does not exist to change or mold society. Indeed, religion is the source of ethics, and ethics play a huge role in how a society functions, but that is not the reason for the religion.
Religions are an organizational expression of a belief system -- that is to say they exist to protect what the adherents believe to be Truth, and generally a deific truth. Which is where studies like this start by asking the wrong questions.
The value of a religion cannot be measured by its societal effects, because that is not the goal the religion has set for itself. It is a by-product, but it is not the raison d'etre. You can only judge the value of a religion based on how well it reflects Truth. But you say, how can Truth be objectively measured -- it can't, and therein lies the issue.
I automatically reject any "objective" attempt to measure the value of a religion -- can't be done. So, how does one decide which religion to participate in, if any at all? By seeking Truth both objectively and subjectively. And therein lies the beauty, to my mind, of Christianity.
Christianity seeks to appeal to both. It is highly rational and highly mystical. That cannot be said about many religions.
This also says much about how I choose to practice my Christian faith. I must seek to nuture both the rational part of my faith and the mystical. I must read and I must meditate, I must study and I must pray - and in all I must submit to God.
My prayer this Sunday is for a full and complete faith. A faith grounded in reason, but celebrated in spirit. A faith based in the rational but transcending the physical.
