Religion? You’ll never get to the bottom of it,’ people have said, (particularly perhaps after reading Romans 9-11). And they are right. Anybody who can answer all the questions on Christian belief has not understood the questions. Christian belief is loaded to the gunwales with paradox. It could hardly be otherwise. It is about a supreme paradox, the incarnation.
We can, I suppose, take heart from the fact that what is true of the Christian faith and its difficulties is true of other faiths and other ideologies. This shows itself partly in the history of religious institutions and partly in the interior disharmonies.
This is very much like language. It has to deal with human nature and yet it is an expression of human nature. It is illogical and imperfect in its manifestation. Sometimes a rough approximation is the best we can do. We need mathematicians, painters, poets and others to help us grasp the truly ultimate. Otherwise our understanding remains partial, fragile, misleading.
We have then to admit into discussion such terms as ‘patchwork Christian’. This is not intended in any derogatory way. It is no more than to say that the New Testament uses the word ‘Christian’ only three times. What were they about? One answer is that they had better words in their vocabulary.
To be a patchwork Christian is to say, as an old mentor of mine used to say, that we take what we like and respect from the Christian faith and see no problem about incorporating insights from other faiths as well. There is no disrespect in this view and it is obviously set to become a familiar aspect of our level playing-field society. But, as Christians, we cannot leave it there. It is time for t and n.
To be a tooth and nail Christian is to recognise the difficulties in Christian belief and to go on working at them in the confidence that it is we rather than the writers of the New Testament who have their shortcomings. The danger is that this may make us ‘dull, humourless and glum’. We need F.W. Harvey’s ducks if we are to keep our feet on the ground.
To be a patchwork Christian is to recognise that we – and our understanding – change over our lifetime. We are always influencing and being influenced, perhaps with only our personal taste to guide us. If our religion comes in bits and pieces that don’t fit, perhaps it’s time for a review. But don’t forget those ducks. They enjoy quacking. So do we. Each of us is a patchwork Christian. We can all do better.
SO SAID GBS
‘Those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.’
CHANNEL CHURCH THREATENED
The English Channel is threatening 90 miles of chalk coastline and one church in particular as erosion increases. The church figured in a series of paintings by Claude Monet and is near Dieppe. It is the 11th century St Valéry. More than €1m has been spent on shoring up the church.
In 1940 soldiers of the 51st Highland division were encircled at St Valéry and finally, out of ammunition and supplies, surrendered to Rommel.
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