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Is Faith Irrational or is Revelation
Rational?
Are Evangelicals 'Anti-Mormon', are Mormons anti-evangelical?
I gained a valuable and interesting insight into the thought processes
of a Mormon as he considers the relationship between Scripture
and the Spirit. A correspondent wrote of the importance of the
Spirit in gaining knowledge of the truth. Arguing from 1 Thessalonians
1:5, he insisted that finding truth requires "a mystical experience
which transcends rationality", further stating, "It is only by
the Spirit one understands the will of the Father (John 14:21)".
Anyone familiar with Mormonism will recognise this oblique allusion
to the famous "Moroni's promise" which assures readers of the
Book of Mormon that if they will pray sincerely God would reveal
its 'truthfulness' by "a mystical experience which transcends
rationality", as my friend eloquently states it.
Now while, to many, this typifies the problem with Mormonism,
i.e. an irrational experience by which 'truth' is established,
a faith that believes in spite of the evidence not in light of
the evidence, to a Mormon this makes perfect sense. What is more
worrying is that it characterises for many people what faith is
in general, whether Mormon, Evangelical, or any other, i.e. irrational
and based on warm fuzzies. However, Christianity relies on no
such experience to help us understand what the Bible is telling
us.
Let's take the text he quotes from Thessalonians clause by clause
and see what it is telling us:
"Our gospel came to you not simply with words"
The gospel does come with words, i.e. it is capable of being understood
plainly by someone with a grasp of the language into which Scripture
is faithfully translated and with a basic understanding of Bible
interpretation. The notion that there is some sort of spiritual
insight to be gained by becoming a Mormon, or a Presbyterian,
or Catholic etc. is simply not true. When Jesus declared, "No
one comes to the Father except by me" you don't need a degree
in advanced celestial linguistics to understand that he meant
he was the only way to the Father.
This is important because, if we have a special insight available
only to the initiated and spiritual, then those without the insight
cannot be judged. However Paul tells us that we all stand condemned
because God's truth is made plain (Romans 1-3). It cannot be plain
if it is, at the same time, hidden to the uninitiated. The question,
of course, is not whether you know the truth but whether you believe
it and will act upon it.
"…but also with power"
This is important because it is the power of God for salvation
(Romans 1:16) and it must have an impact for real change in people
because that is what it promises. We can understand it because
it comes in words that we understand, and we can trust it because
it self-evidently does what it says it will do.
"…with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction"
We can understand it because it comes in words that we understand,
and we can trust it because it self-evidently does what it says
it will do, but man is rebellious and it is the Holy Spirit that
convicts us and brings us to repentance in the face of what we
have already understood (so we are without excuse) and what has
already been demonstrated to us as powerful to save (because we
have seen it in others).
Depend upon some mystical experience, like Moroni's promise, to
give insight to plain truth and we negate what God makes plain
in Scripture and end up inventing excuses for why people leave,
or find fault with the Mormon Church, i.e. they've "lost the Spirit".
It is easier, I'll grant you, than facing and dealing with the
serious criticisms people bring but in the end it is not a godly
way to behave and, frankly, it is rather weak.
Doubt is not a healthy preoccupation but neither is it a sin if
it causes us to question closely our preconceptions. If we find,
after such investigation, that we were right all along then our
faith is strengthened. If we were wrong then the sooner we find
it out and change the better.
This article appeared originally in the Summer 2006 Reachout
Quarterly
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