A Fresh Perspective - 08/15/08
In my estimation the most important aspect of Christian faith is not so much what we believe about Jesus, but rather, our faithfulness to Jesus. This involves faithfulness to the cause of Jesus (the kingdom of God on earth) and the way of Jesus (the way of nonviolence, forgiveness, and compassion for all, especially the marginalized).
I can't imagine why belief (what we believe about God, Jesus, the Bible, etc.) in and of itself would make much difference to God. What we believe about God flows from our understanding of God, and humans trying to understand God is about like jelly fish trying to understand humans.
The real issue is not: Are our beliefs correct? But rather: Do our beliefs inspire, motivate, and empower us to be like God? Does our faith in God lead us to share God's love and compassion for the world? If what we believe about God does not find expression in partnership with God to bring about the just, good, and gracious world that Jesus proclaimed and embodied through his life and ministry, then what good is it?
Having a correct faith (if that were possible) is irrelevant. Relevant faith is healthy faith—faith that leads to the healing and transformation of individuals, families, and entire communities. A relevant faith is one that lifts us out of our addictions and destructive lifestyles to embrace and pursue a course of life that is lived for the good of others and for the healing of the world, as well as our own souls and bodies.
I believe that we were created to reflect God's image and likeness in our care for creation and for one another, not comprehend the incomprehensible. Our human understanding of God will always reflect differences and much will depend on the ways that our religious heritage and the familial, social, and educational forces of our culture have shaped our understanding. But what really matters is whether or not we live like God and act like God by loving the world the way God loves the world.
So in one sense what we believe doesn't matter much. But in another sense it matters greatly, because (as I have written before) what we truly believe in our hearts (in the core of our being) impacts and shapes what we do and how we live. A deeply held belief gives order and substance to our lives. It is the practice of faith that matters, not belief itself.
C. S. Lewis has expressed the significance of this from the Christian perspective in his book, "Mere Christianity." He says that "the church exists for nothing else but to draw persons into Christ, to make them little Christs [to reflect Christ's faith, hope, and love, Christ's character and conduct]. If they are not doing that, all the cathedrals, clergy, missions, sermons, even the Bible itself, are simply a waste of time." Lewis says: "This is the whole of Christianity. There is nothing else."
I feel confident that God is much more concerned about the kind of persons we are becoming than with our "orthodox" statements of doctrine. The creeds we confess are meaningless if they do not help form us into more loving, caring, and compassionate human beings.