I heard one of the most distinctly applicable Christian realizations shortly ago from a rather eccentric man. He said something to the effect of the following: "Christians are notorious for one thing in this society above all other. We use the worst deep grammar ever. That is to say that when someone says 'Lord, we know you are among us because we can feel your presence,' the first question to any atheist is, 'Ok, so can you actually explain what that "feels" like?' and we do not, quite frankly have an answer for it."
I do not mean to imply that we are mistaken in so many things that we say, but simply that it seems we are often careless when we fail to consider that those we mean to reach out to simply think us fools, not because the message of the cross is foolishness to them (though it often is as a sidepoint), but because we speak foolishly and carry on without thinking about what we actually say. I cringe at statements like "as surely as the Lord lives, etc." or something of the sort, simply because what follows is rarely so sure as that. I wonder at the audacity with which we address certain issues that we claim to believe so firmly on because it has been made clear in scripture what stance the Lord has on it, yet when confronted with societal opposition we cower behind "opinion" so as not to offend. Quite frankly, Paul makes it clear that the cross cannot help being offensive at times. Granted, the one thing that can be seen as an absolutely certainty concerning undeniable truths is that there will always be someone willing to deny them, but that does not keep us from speaking them where they are required.
It is a concern I think must be dealt with soon before it becomes too much an epidemic to even realize the existence of later on.
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Gotta say I love the Kierkegaard quote, Josh.
The other day Abby and I were talking about why it seems like boys don't work as hard as girls at school. Abby said (and I agree with her) that school just isn't geared for guys. The male mind needs to be physically active in order to process stuff. And that really has nothing to do with my point...
Anyway, I think that guys don't always work as hard because girls have something to prove. We (as females) are looked down on. Whether you see sexism or not, it still exists. Anytime we say something stupid or do something ditzy, we're feeding the stereotype.
I think the same thing can be said of Christians. We have something to prove, namely that it's not a religion of stupid people. We need to show non-believers that we're just as "good" as they are, and that we have something to offer the world. And I think an important part of that, especially in an academic setting, is to display our intelligence. We need to have a coherent idea of our beliefs, and we need to be able to articulate ourselves well.
In addition, because we represent Christ, we should chose all of our words carefully. Not only should what we say be coherent, but it should also be uplifting.
Obviously, not everything about Christianity makes sense. We can't understand God, and quite frankly I wouldn't want to. But we don't have to sound stupid, because ultimately that just hurts our case.
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