Belief and Submission
John Drury had an interesting post a couple of months ago at Drulogian. He writes:I once heard a story about a 16th century Jesuit mission in Brazil. After a long interaction with the people and some individual conversions, the chief decided to become a Christian (presumably bringing with him the rest of the tribe). As part of the process, the chief met with the leader of the mission to be examined. The priest began asking doctrinal questions. He asked the chief, "How many natures does our Lord have?" The chief responded, "As many natures as you say he has, Father."
Setting aside the more obvious missiological issues surrounding such a tale, this story raises for me the question of the role of submission in belief. To what extent was the chief's answer the right one?
Specifically, what role should submission to one's church play in belief?
Does submission spoil belief?
Is belief possible without submission?
A student needs to submit to the authority and views of their teacher in order to learn the subject, but a good teacher realizes that they are not the final authority and actually desires their students to challenge and question them--in other words, think for themselves. The church, in its role as teacher, needs to be mindful that IT is not the final authority, and should always desire that its members seek MORE than what is offered--to think with the mind of Christ, to be led by the Holy Spirit, and to submit only to God's infinite wisdom and love.
ReplyDeletePerhaps submission that stems from fear, or with no room for question, leads only to shallow belief. Submission that stems from love and awe leads to more that just belief--it leads to deep and powerful faith. The difference is living with your eyes closed, in fear, or eyes wide open in expectation!
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