3 pillars of the faith topple

Last updated on: January 30, 2012 at 7:17 pm by David Hayward

3 pillars of the faith topple 2012-01-30T19:17:12-04:00 David Hayward

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The church needs to brace itself for the growing onslaught against the three pillars of the Christian faith. I claim the church must hear the serious challenge against its three pillars now, before it is too late.

The three pillars are:

God: God is unprovable. It is no longer helpful to assume that God is. Such words as “God exists” don’t make sense anymore. To resort to personal experience as proof for others is invalid. The overwhelming meaninglessness of life, together with the improvability of God, coalesce to form a monstrously legitimate defiance of naive belief. If the church doesn’t recognize, admit and embrace this soon then even more people will continue to escape its intellectual restrictions.
Bible: The bible was not written by God. It was conceived, written, endorsed, protected and promoted by men. It is not a magical book providing potions for prosperity or longevity. Neither is it a clear road map for salvation. It is, in fact, a diverse assortment of human stories pointing to a perception of reality that may or may not be true. It is more like a collection of narratives poking around a theme that attempts to make sense of this world in all of its mystery and complexity.
Church: The church can no longer take its authority, power and influence for granted. Trust is earned, not transmitted. Love is action, not theory. The church can no longer suppose that it has jurisdiction over our minds, our bodies, or even our souls. It must recognize that it can only be a voluntary and even loose gathering of individual fellow travellers. It ought not have power over its members or legislative rights over people. Its assumed authority is going. Its unchallenged power is vanishing. Its shrinking influence is perceived as largely damaging.

These are the three pillars I claim are being challenged and are beginning to topple. I believe it is only a matter of time. We must rethink and re-articulate what these three mean in such a way that is not offensive to our conscience or to the contemporary mind.

My books, my two books, “nakedpastor101” and “Without a Vision My People Prosper”, address issues like this through writing and art.

My art, especially my Sophia series, poke around this theme. Check them out in my online gallery.

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