On the 24th day of November, I am thankful for…
Thomas G. Long and his book, Preaching from Memory to Hope, as he quotes (and I summarize) Richard Dawkins: God isn't an object we must prove exists. By God's very nature God is transcendent and invisible, thereby unable to be proven. And that ultimately God chose to be revealed in Jesus Christ, who we also cannot unequivocally prove existed(s). Proving God exists is like proving love exists. It's not about proof, it's about faith, experience, and the hope that love does exist. Long goes on to talk about "subtraction theory." This is the notion that in order for civilization to move forward, all ideas and understandings of old must be completely let go. For example, if science disproves the Genesis creation theory, people must let that understanding go completely, or risk looking foolish and backward. I'm thankful that through Long’s words I am reminded that what we Christians truly need to share is God as being love and grace. Of course, we know that love and grace cannot be proven, but we also know they have the power to transform. I suppose in the end for me, I realize proving my faith isn’t necessary, but then worrying about looking foolish isn’t either.Blessings.
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