What will we pray this Christmas?
Sam Harris, my favorite neo-atheist says confidently, "minds cease to exist when bodies cease to function." He says this as if it were an irrefutable fact of science. However, the scientific community really has no language to describe consciousness, or mind. Harris' assertion, while giving comfort to college age rebels who are "losing their religion," must remain an assertion.
I believe, by faith, that our hearts are God's home. I believe that our souls are immortal, and that we are in danger of leaving ourselves under God's eternal judgment on sin if we "live and let live" in our relationship with God. There's a nice Christmas present.
Of course there are many responses to the notion that sin leads to judgment. In much of theistic Judaism, finding a way to keep Torah, a way to be faithful to God's law, is a key to overcoming the gulf between God's holiness and our weaknesses. In Islam, God is focused on our striving for obedience to the commandments revealed to the Prophet. If one is obedient enough, then God may be merciful to a person on judgment day. Doesn't that sound hopeful? In other religions, heartfelt sacrifice and worship, along with proper offerings, will appease whatever deities there are in one's sphere of life. One other answer is that sin isn't our immediate concern, but we ought to focus on the alleviation of suffering in the here and now.
It is abundantly clear that scripture says we are much more than our
material selves. While avoiding simple dualism, the Bible tells us that
we our bodies are the temple of the holy spirit (I Cor. 6:19). We are told that we
have early tents, in which we groan (2 Cor. 5). We long to have a house in the
heavens, made not with hands, but by God. God teaches us that there are
two aspects of humankind, body and soul. In fact, we are lights that have been lit by God Himself (Prov. 20:27)! So we should realize that all of us, the whole person, belong to God (I Cor. 6:20).
Somehow or another, Augustine and Pascal (those often quoted) said that there was a place within ourselves made for God. The ideal state of a person is that God dwells within, for the redemption of the person and for the glorification of God who gives us life. One favorite phrase is, "Our souls are restless until they find rest in thee."
I firmly believe the Christian answers to life better fit the evidence that human history provides for us.
So at Christmas time, may we all say to God, "come make a place in me." One of our Christmas songs at church this year says, "as you did in the manger, come do it all again. Show us your grace, come make a place in me." Finally, the song declares, "there is room in my heart for you."
My hope is that you'll join with me in praying through Christmas with those words of faith in your soul.
