Interface

Between Heaven and Earth

Journeys of Faith and Religious Identity

Don: We often conflate faith and religion, but they are different (albeit related) things. To me, faith is primarily internal, personal belief that exists independently of whether or not it is shared with or by others. Religion, on the other hand, is external, a sort of faith organized around a group of people who share it.

I would describe faith as “journey” and religion as “identity” and would suggest that a valid and worthy goal of religious development would be to enhance the journey and strengthen the identity.

Most of us function best in a community of faith—usually a large, formal religion; but also small, informal groups such as this class. Organized religion provides us primarily with a language, with practices and rituals and guidelines to help us express outwardly the inner feelings we have concerning our journey to God. Where we tend to err—and have since the beginning of time—is in confusing the map with the territory, in confusing the religious expression of faith with the journey of faith itself.

We erred even in the garden of Eden, in desiring to be Creators rather than Creatures:

Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “From the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; but from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat from it or touch it, or you will die.’” The serpent said to the woman, “You surely will not die! For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (Genesis 3:1-5)

From Genesis to Revelation and all points in between, there seems to be concern that identity might undermine the journey. Throughout Scripture, God seeks to enhance the journey, by re-developing, re-defining, and re-assigning us with a different identity. This goes on throughout the Old and the New Testaments until finally, we are each given a new name, a new identity written in stone—it is permanent:

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, to him I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it.’ (Revelation 2:17)

There are many stories in Scripture where God changes people’s identity. For our part, we tend to want to hold on to our existing identity and even to strengthen the identity we have. We erect barriers around it to prevent any incursion upon it. We do this in two ways: First, by banding together in groups of like identity; and second, by claiming exclusive authenticity for our identity over the identities of others.

The tension between journey and identity is illustrated in the “Faith Chapter,” which reminds us that God is the Creator and we are Creatures:

By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible. (Hebrews 11:3).

All faith is rooted in this concept. Every journey must begin and end with the recognition that God is the eternal Creator.

The chapter goes on to show the contrast between journey and identity for the faith hall-of-famers. Abel’s identity was linked to the kind of worship he made. Enoch’s identity was as a friend of God, who walked with God. Noah’s identity was tied up in a family of faithfulness. Abram’s name was changed to Abraham, and his identity changed from Exalted Father to Father of Many Nations. Abraham also lost his identity as he came out of Ur and went to the Promised Land. His wife Sarah (“Mother of Nations”)’s name was also changed from Sarai (“My Princess”). Jacob (“The Deceiver, the Grasper”)’s name was changed to Israel (“He Who Has Striven With God”). Joseph’s identity as a Hebrew was changed to Egyptian in order to save God’s people, and Moses’ identity as an Egyptian was changed to Hebrew for the same reason. Rahab the harlot was changed from a pagan to a Hebrew and became part of the Hebrew lineage of Jesus himself. Saul became Paul…. There are many other instances of name and identity changes in Scripture. Religion is constantly reconstructed in order to bolster faith. All humankind is on a road to find God. Even atheists are looking for a God shaped primarily by their identity.

We may undertake our faith journey as we undertake a road trip to an unfamiliar place—by using the spiritual equivalent of a GPS. The road-trip destination is entered into the GPS, which then sets the route. But depending on the day and time, the route can be different. If we take a wrong turn, the route is automatically changed. The GPS of our faith journey is the inner light, the holy spirit, the eternity set in everyone’s heart (Ecclesiastes).

There may be a few people able to rise above street level and fly in a straight line directly to God, but most of us need a route on the ground. We want that path to be easy, but God wants us on the path that will best accomplish His purpose and fulfill His plan. At its best, religion is an aide in helping us find that path—and, at its best, it does so in the humble recognition that there may be several paths to the destination. Like the museum that ensures our path through it always takes us through its gift shop, where it can sell us some goods, organized religion tends to try to steer us along the path that leads through its own institutions, so it can sell us some religious goods.

The key for the sincere traveler is to keep consulting the GPS so as not to go off course; but even when we do, the journey to the ultimate destination is not in jeopardy. Sometimes, God allows us to pick our own path or assigns one based on our identity. Sometimes He insists on our taking a path He assigns for us. The Bereans chose their own path:

The brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. Therefore many of them believed, along with a number of prominent Greek women and men. (Acts 11:10-12)

The identity of the Bereans as students of the Scriptures put them on the path of faith, the path to God. And yet it is not an infallible route:

You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life. I do not receive glory from men; but I know you, that you do not have the love of God in yourselves (John 5:39)

Jesus gave us the infallible route:

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:34-35)

True religion must be centered on what God does—on Him, rather than upon ourselves and our own beliefs and practices and Man-made rules. We must recognize that God has other sheep not of this fold; that He is the God of all Mankind, the Savior of all Humanity (1 Timothy 4:13). Above all, we must recognize that the gift of faith is indeed a gift and is the prerogative of the Giver. We can’t control whether and when it is given. If we wish to center religion on ourselves, we are wasting our time:

If anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless. Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. (James 1:26-27)

Identity centered on others puts us on the right path cannot lead us astray on our journey to God.

Donald: Two questions: First, what causes us to divide into sects, saying (in effect) that just identifying as “Christian” is not enough? We seem far more subdivided than other major religions. What drives that? And second, when we lose our way, why do we tend to feel uneasy? Is the journey itself as important as the destination? Isn’t that what we teach?

Donna: Like a GPS, identity as a Christian or as a sect of Christianity or any other religious affiliation provides the foundation and security for our journey. We all grow apprehensive if we discover we’ve left the GPS at home after we set out on a journey. At such times, we then must focus on the directions God gave us through Scripture rather than through our religion. It is harder.

David: I see a lot of potential good from an individual’s identity with a religion or sect. The problem arises out of what the religion or sect identifies with. If only the Christian, the Moslem, the Hindu, the Buddhist, and so on would each recognize that they all have equally valid routes to God, though their GPS interfaces look different. Tragically, we don’t see that happening.

Dave: I sense it’s true that sometimes God assigns our path and sometimes He lets us choose if for ourselves. I worry, then, about who is driving the car, and whether my will is getting in the way of God’s. When things turn out bad, I tend to say that’s my will; when they turn out good, I say that’s God’s will.

Don: The Scriptural support for this notion consists of the many stories where God is either clearly and purposefully leading the way for someone, or else is deliberately leaving people to their own devices.

Jay: Faith as a journey is neither measurable nor predictable. GPS is both. If faith—the journey—is my responsibility then this leaves me feeling uncomfortable. We seem to stress the importance of faith so much—it saves us, it helps us move mountains, and so on—yet we can’t predict it!

Donna: We don’t know the route in our journey of faith. In an earlier discussion we defined faith as “knowingness” yet now it has become “unknowingness”! To me, it is really the former—knowingness.

Donald: SDA Sabbath School teaches a predetermined route.

Dave: I am old school, so enjoy taking roads off the beaten track, instead of always following the GPS’ predetermined route. What do we miss when we don’t take a detour?

David: Consider the routes of such greats as St. Augustine and the apostle Paul! They were way off the beaten track of morality for a long time yet they ended up on the right path. It seems wrong to advocate hedonism, yet hedonism was not a dead-end for Augustine!

Owen: Jacob took the scenic route, without his GPS, and ended up getting lost. It is a risky and dangerous route.

Dave: Religion defines the safe path for most of us. Some people won’t accept it, though—they want something more exciting, or at least different. I don’t advocate for it, but I’m not sure that God wants us all to go the same way. How would we learn from one another if we all went the same way?

Donald: A thousand different people gathered together every night at a church in Chicago over eight nights to celebrate the value of Christ’s being born. Those 8,000 people were all on the same highway, celebrating Christmas together. How many would have gotten lost had they chosen side roads? Why do we need to deconstruct the journey in such great detail?

Chris: I see it as a multi-lane highway. One may choose a fast or a slow lane but one is going in the same direction and to the same place as everyone else. We might sometimes take an exit, but by and large we settle in a lane in which we can drive comfortably and that will take us closer to God and to our fellow Man through love and grace. We are secure in the faith that any lane will get us there.

Jay: We have made faith about eternal life, about being saved, about the future new heaven and new earth; rather than about bringing the kingdom of heaven to being on earth, here and now. We have made it a binary in or out, alive or dead issue that pressures us to want to know which it is, and that is what leads us to deconstruct and try to pinpoint our route with the certainty promised by reductionism.

Donald: If we continue with the highway analogy, we will end up with complex intersections, accidents, congestion, and gridlock!

David: I think Jesus said the lane, the route, to faith does not matter. The Prodigal Son took a terrible route in his life’s journey, but his faith in his father never really left him. It was still there to be invoked when he needed it. It did not switch to an uncle. His immediate family was his identity—his religion. The journey can be difficult, as was the Prodigal’s, but faith can redeem it.

Michael: I lost my identity as a Catholic in Palestine. It just did not seem to do me much good. I find it enriching to interact with people of other faiths and also people of no faith. When I visited a Catholic church recently, after a long absence, it was as though time had stood still. Nothing had changed about the Church. But I have changed through the richer environment I have discovered and interacted with outside the church of my upbringing. I embrace my change of identity. I do think my former identity was in some ways more comforting, more secure, but I would not want to give up my new identity to go back to the old one.

Donald: There is value in exploring during a journey. A university education is a journey in which we begin by exploring the universe of majors available to us and end by arriving at the destination major we chose at the beginning. If you don’t know where you are going, any route will take you there, but a faith journey by definition involves knowing where you are going. This is not to negate the potential value of exploring the byways, as well.

Dave: The highway—the religious denomination—is not for everyone. Our group itself is a little off the beaten track!

Donald: Or we are on a highway with no lane markers!

Don: Or we are driving in Palestine, where nobody pays attention to the lane markers!

David: I joined this group in part because I sense a need for a change in the way the different religions practice their faith. I think they need to re-assess their mission and goals if humanity is ever to reunify as God wills. Different routes to the same goal—different religions—are fine as long as they take us to that goal of reunification with God and also, just as importantly (to God), with one another. I think our group is tinkering at the edges of this issue, while seeking to preserve the identity of the generous SDA church that hosts us. Individual identity as Christian, Catholic, Adventist, Moslem, Hindu, Jew, etc., is important to us individually and ought not be stumbling blocks to reunification, yet they tend to be just that.

Mikiko: GPS is easy—its effect is to make the road wide. But Jesus said (Matthew 7:13) that the way to salvation is narrow. GPS makes us dependent and lazy.

Anonymous: Faith leads us on our journey and shapes our identity, but not necessarily our religious identity. In Scriptural times, the faith of the greats was not shaped by any particular church or denomination. Since faith initiates our journey, it determines the destination. On the road we may see thousands of people going in different directions, yet they too may be on their own faith journey. They are going to their spiritual home—as are we—so it is not for us to tell them they are going in the wrong direction.

Dave: I think faith as “knowingness” is key. Some people take their knowledge from their GPS, others from their exploration of the byways. The key is to know.

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