Proper Weirdness!

Last updated on: August 27, 2020 at 9:27 am by John Mark N. Reynolds

Proper Weirdness! 2020-08-27T09:27:51-04:00 John Mark N. Reynolds

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Weirdness can be the sign of eccentric genius or it can be harmless madness. The eccentric down the street may be Tesla, but most often is merely a monomaniac obsessed with a theory only notable by the odd ways it proves to be false.

Do not aspire to weirdness, but if seeking the truth and the label comes from the conventional intellectual, proudly accept “weird.” Pause, though, and think about whether you are pursuing truth or merely looking for a quirky corner where you can be the mental king. In a kingdom of the merely quirky, even a little rationality makes a king.

That is not enough. Weirdness is not (by itself) a sign of truth, though it may be a label the “normal” give the good, truth, and beauty in an evil, false, and ugly time.

That admission worries a social media commentator who says of me:

So if you’re willing to take weirdness is truth, then why should I accept Christianity weirdness as anymore valid then the pagan, Buddhist or voodoo. First off, I don’t mind the world being weird. The world without the unknown or strange.would be stall. Ye your problem is that you need to convinced me that somehow your faith miracles or strangeness is anymore true then that of other faiths or somehow separate from the natural, atheist view of the world.

Weirdness is not truth, but may be a sign for truth in the same way the description “happiest place on Earth” is not Disneyland, but perhaps points to Disneyland in these sad times. In an age where the roué is ennobled, the weirding may the saint.

The weirdness of a particular group, including Christianity, is not a why it is true, but might be why we would be interested in listening. Who wishes the stale? The fresh idea, the interesting concept, might be worth a look regardless of the religion or philosophy. Only a boor cannot learn from another religion or even from atheism. I am thankful for the weird (and challenging!) ideas in paganism(Homer!) or some forms of atheism.

My critic continues:

Because the moment you’re willing accept one miracle, then you must be willing to accept the miracle of other faiths as well. Not only that, you must be able to somehow prove that these miracles are indeed connect.to your one god or devil, since they seem to be primary mover of this world in your view, and no other sources. And you also need to do more then point to holy book. Again, you may use that Bible all you want, but the Quran might as well be equally valid in all regard. (Side note: I actually 95 percent of an English translation of the Quran and study Islam a bit in university, so I’m at least have some familiarity of it.)

The moment I accept one claim for something, I do not, in fact, have to accept all such claims. I accepted the claim that my professors could teach me, but that does not entail believing all people who call themselves “professors” can. I accept that one improbable animal, the platypus, exists, but I do not have to accept that all such animals exist, say Bigfoot. I do so by looking at the evidence after the professor or platypus is found!

Of course, I do not have to reject all claims for miracles in other faiths. An experience may be real but misunderstood. My present wife really did not like me in tenth grade, but I did not realize this fact because I misunderstood her kindness. God may have worked a miracle that is misunderstood. After all, Christians have done this! Devils (if Christianity is true) may do tricks to fool us. These are not the only possibilities. The cosmos is vast and revelation does not contain an exhaustive catalog of the beings that exist. Mayhap we have had an encounter with beings that are neither God, angels, or devils that we have misunderstood.

Christianity, unlike atheism, has many supernatural possibilities. There is one God, this is a matter of logic, but there can be many creations of that good God that exist in the metaphysical and not the physical realm. As for Islam, this is a serious possibility for an all encompassing view of reality. Why am I not a Muslim? Ultimately, Islam cannot explain the God-man Jesus: this person transcends and (somehow!) dominates the Quran.

Every big set of ideas seems more than a little weird to outsiders. We must press into the beliefs and see if they hold up. Can they support or even create science? Christianity can. Can they support or create many different cultures amongst many different peoples? Christianity can. Can they produce world class art and culture? Christianity can. Can anyone join at any time?

Jesus Christ welcomes all.

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