A teenager, from a non-believing home, goes to a Christian camp organised by the church an aunt of his goes to. He is immediately drawn to the friendly ‘cool’ leaders who talk openly about their belief in God. All week he has to attend the meetings. No one ever articulates doubt and Christianity is presented as been the only sensible view on the world. Eventually on the last night, when he is feeling sentimental at the camp’s end and tired for lack of sleep, in the scripted reverence of the camp-fire setting and guitar-lead songs, along with the crowd, he asks Jesus into his heart.
When the teenager arrives home things are different. His parents respond cautiously to his declaration of faith, fearing that he has been caught up in religious fanaticism. His school-mates, who weren’t at the camp, slag him and claim that he has been ‘brain-washed’. Even his teachers seem to be sceptical about Christianity. He does not attend a church and the habit of a quiet-time disappears amongst the business of life. Almost inevitably the boy’s interest in Christianity wanes and within a few months he is embarrassed about that prayed he prayed by the camp-fire.
Sociologists talk about ‘plausibility structures’. Derek Tidball says that plausibility structures “are networks of relationships inhabited by ‘significant others’ who help to give and maintain a person in the belief that his interpretation of the world is plausible.” In the Christian camp it was easy to believe Christianity was true, that’s what all the leaders believed; yet at home, amongst sceptical people, it didn’t seem quiet so real!
1. We are surrounded by competing plausibility structures
Society seeks to undermine our faith by saying things like, ‘you only believe in Christianity because you were brought up in a believing home, went to a Christian camp, have Christian friends or are influenced by a Christian church.’ They also may add, ‘if you were brought up in a Muslim home you would have probably become a Muslim or if you had been brought up in a Hindu home you would probably have ended up embracing the Hindu faith’—as if that proves anything about the differing truth claims made by Christians, Muslims and Hindus!
We could reply by pointing out that the reason that they believe that no religion can have a claim to absolute truth is because they have been influenced by a western post-modern pluralist society. They believe such things because of a plausibility structure—i.e. they believe these things because this is what many opinion formers of our society believe. In many other parts of the world you would be laughed at if you claimed that all religions lead to God or that no religion teaches the absolute truth!
2. We must examine the claims which lie behind the plausibility structures
When sociologists talk about plausibility structures they seek to do so without making judgement! They are not saying whether the worldviews espoused are true or not. Of course the truth, or otherwise, of what lie behind plausibility structures matter. People are either being deceived by error or being upheld in belief in the truth.
One opinion that is prevalent in our society is that faith has no relationship to evidence. Of course this is not actually true for Christianity. The gospel of Luke was largely written to deal with the accumulating doubts of Theophilus. Luke writes:
When the teenager arrives home things are different. His parents respond cautiously to his declaration of faith, fearing that he has been caught up in religious fanaticism. His school-mates, who weren’t at the camp, slag him and claim that he has been ‘brain-washed’. Even his teachers seem to be sceptical about Christianity. He does not attend a church and the habit of a quiet-time disappears amongst the business of life. Almost inevitably the boy’s interest in Christianity wanes and within a few months he is embarrassed about that prayed he prayed by the camp-fire.
Sociologists talk about ‘plausibility structures’. Derek Tidball says that plausibility structures “are networks of relationships inhabited by ‘significant others’ who help to give and maintain a person in the belief that his interpretation of the world is plausible.” In the Christian camp it was easy to believe Christianity was true, that’s what all the leaders believed; yet at home, amongst sceptical people, it didn’t seem quiet so real!
1. We are surrounded by competing plausibility structures
Society seeks to undermine our faith by saying things like, ‘you only believe in Christianity because you were brought up in a believing home, went to a Christian camp, have Christian friends or are influenced by a Christian church.’ They also may add, ‘if you were brought up in a Muslim home you would have probably become a Muslim or if you had been brought up in a Hindu home you would probably have ended up embracing the Hindu faith’—as if that proves anything about the differing truth claims made by Christians, Muslims and Hindus!
We could reply by pointing out that the reason that they believe that no religion can have a claim to absolute truth is because they have been influenced by a western post-modern pluralist society. They believe such things because of a plausibility structure—i.e. they believe these things because this is what many opinion formers of our society believe. In many other parts of the world you would be laughed at if you claimed that all religions lead to God or that no religion teaches the absolute truth!
2. We must examine the claims which lie behind the plausibility structures
When sociologists talk about plausibility structures they seek to do so without making judgement! They are not saying whether the worldviews espoused are true or not. Of course the truth, or otherwise, of what lie behind plausibility structures matter. People are either being deceived by error or being upheld in belief in the truth.
One opinion that is prevalent in our society is that faith has no relationship to evidence. Of course this is not actually true for Christianity. The gospel of Luke was largely written to deal with the accumulating doubts of Theophilus. Luke writes:
Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know for certainty of the things that have been taught (Luke 1:1-4).
Luke wants Theophilus to have confidence of the truth of the gospel, not without reason, but because of his reliable and thorough testimony. We are to realise that we have reason to believe!
3. Those things that make our faith plausible are supernatural
Derek Tidball writes, ‘To say that faith needs a plausibility structure to sustain it is not to cast doubt on its truth, any more than saying that for a person to need food to sustain him casts doubt on whether he is God’s creation.’
We need certain things to keep our faith strong. One of these is relationship with a believing community. If our faith is to be sustained we need to be a part of a Christian fellowship. We need encouragement, and we ought to be listening to Christian teaching, studying the Bible and speaking to God regularly in prayer. We need these things, not to be brainwashed into propping up shaky beliefs, but in order to be kept strong in the truth. These are the food that nourishes faith!
So if you are struggling with doubt at the moment I need to ask you some questions. Are you benefiting from the encouragement of Christian fellowship? Are you being nourished by God’s word as you study it and are taught from it? Do you understand that faith is not just a shot in the dark but that we have reason to believe? Are you seeking to be holy (in the New Testament there is link between right behaviour and right belief)? Are you communicating with God regularly in prayer? Your doubt may be simply caused by the fact that you are tired and run down.
Finally, the items that form a truly Christian plausibility structure are supernatural—for we have the Holy Spirit within us, God’s word is a living word that works within us, and God meets with his people in a special way when we gather in his name.
Conclusion
Back to where we began—a teenager at a Christian camp.
That camp made the Christian faith seem a plausible reality to that teenage boy—while he was there. Yet some of the things encouraging him into the Christian faith were built on shaky ground. This, in part, explains why so many ‘conversions’ at camps seem to amount to nothing. If a youth’s decision is in part based on the fact that they are tired and emotional on the final night their faith may be spurious. If there are persuaded to become Christians on the basis that the leaders seem to be both ‘cool’ and Christian that is not much of a foundation. If doubts are not acknowledged and questions are discouraged we need to be careful we are not coercing people.
However, the presentation of the gospel, the honest testimony of believers and the love of Christian community do form part of a positive, and supernatural, contribution to the plausibility of the faith. Likewise the campers need to be followed up when they go home because faith needs to be nourished if it is to flourish.
Conclusion
Back to where we began—a teenager at a Christian camp.
That camp made the Christian faith seem a plausible reality to that teenage boy—while he was there. Yet some of the things encouraging him into the Christian faith were built on shaky ground. This, in part, explains why so many ‘conversions’ at camps seem to amount to nothing. If a youth’s decision is in part based on the fact that they are tired and emotional on the final night their faith may be spurious. If there are persuaded to become Christians on the basis that the leaders seem to be both ‘cool’ and Christian that is not much of a foundation. If doubts are not acknowledged and questions are discouraged we need to be careful we are not coercing people.
However, the presentation of the gospel, the honest testimony of believers and the love of Christian community do form part of a positive, and supernatural, contribution to the plausibility of the faith. Likewise the campers need to be followed up when they go home because faith needs to be nourished if it is to flourish.
No comments:
Post a Comment