Rust Blending
I myself came to faith slowly through a process of doubt; I find it hard to imagine being suddenly infected by collective piety at some mass rally with banners reading JESUS LOVES YOU and cheerleaders with unbearably fixed smiles. Besides, at the time of my conversion, stadiums and circuses still served their original purposes and were not used for religious clownery. Naturally I respect the fact that there are those who feel the need to be crushed in a crowd of like-minded people to strengthen their faith. My faith would more likely be lost in a throng like that.
A touch of skepticism, irony, and commitment to critical reason as a permanent corrective to any tendency to superficial religious enthusiasm is, in my view, not only a necessary condition for mental and spiritual health, but also a prerequisite if we are not to drown out the real voice of God with our own whooping and shouting: it reminds me of the fellow in the well-known anecdote who is looking in the dark for a black cat in a totally empty room and calling out rather prematurely: “I’ve got it, I’ve got it!”
--Night of the Confessor : Christian faith in an age of uncertainty / Tomáš Halík
Rust Blending
I myself came to faith slowly through a process of doubt; I find it hard to imagine being suddenly infected by collective piety at some mass rally with banners reading JESUS LOVES YOU and cheerleaders with unbearably fixed smiles. Besides, at the time of my conversion, stadiums and circuses still served their original purposes and were not used for religious clownery. Naturally I respect the fact that there are those who feel the need to be crushed in a crowd of like-minded people to strengthen their faith. My faith would more likely be lost in a throng like that.
A touch of skepticism, irony, and commitment to critical reason as a permanent corrective to any tendency to superficial religious enthusiasm is, in my view, not only a necessary condition for mental and spiritual health, but also a prerequisite if we are not to drown out the real voice of God with our own whooping and shouting: it reminds me of the fellow in the well-known anecdote who is looking in the dark for a black cat in a totally empty room and calling out rather prematurely: “I’ve got it, I’ve got it!”
--Night of the Confessor : Christian faith in an age of uncertainty / Tomáš Halík