Every time I watch Fight Club I get to the scene about God and have to reach out and talk to someone.
How do you save the too smart kids? Does God give up on them? Is God the god of kids who study things like Nietzsche in college and don't have a Baptist Student Union to keep them on the right track?
"Our fathers were our models for God. If our fathers bailed, what does that tell you about God?"
"No, no"
(Slaps him) "Listen to me! You have to consider the possibility that God does not like you. He never wanted you. In all probability, He hates you. It's not the worst thing that can happen."
"It isn't?"
"We don't need Him."
"We don't! I agree!"
"Fuck damnation. Fuck redemption. We are God's unwanted children So be it."
My brother was introduced to this movie by his friend in college, who was so blown away by it that he bought it and showed it to all his friends. My brother didn't buy it but he showed it to all his friends. All this godless bull sounds so smart. How do you minister to kids who have bought into this lie? How do you reach kids who've heard it all, done it all and believe nothing? Are we ignoring "Fight Club", or do we have an answer?
3 comments:
You're promoting faith. Faith isn't, and will never be "smart." By its very nature, it denies reason. It denies rational thinking. Faith is so far from "smart" that it's nonsensical.
You'll never defend faith with "Smart." Smart is your enemy.
Faith can't compete with "smart." The most it can do, is exploit the weaknesses of the socially needy and critically challenged. It will give them a sense of belonging and purpose, so long as they don't ask the right questions. And they never do, because they're scared.
For many years, I made it my task in life to approach everything with rigorous intellectual honesty. But, I'm a grownup now. I don't have to put every belief through a trial by fire anymore. I pretty much know what I believe. I don't need anybody to tell me how smart or dumb what I believe is. I can study Kant and Freud and William James, and still value Jesus Christ more and more. You said that Jesus exploits the weakness of the socially needy. Exploits is a loaded word. He is a crutch, but if you're crippled as I am, you need something to lean on. Once I seemed to have the world on a string. I was hanging with a bunch that kept telling me that there was no God. I wasn't exactly sure what to believe. I thank the Lord that He let my life fall apart back then. All those brilliant children knew nothing. They had a lot of brains, but they hadn't hit reality hard yet. I don't mean one bad event. I mean years upon years. Now, I pray for some way to show light to the brilliant children who know too much to listen to anyone but themselves.
Hey Carla, I was just reading some of your past thoughts and found this one interesting. Especially the first comment here.
"By its(faith) very nature, it denies reason."
Well, and I know its been a month since this comment was made, but I see it just the opposite.
Accepting reason is the only way a person can have faith. Irrational thinking says there is no possibility there is a creator.
Anyway back to your subject of "fight club" and this:
"You have to consider the possibility that God does not like you. He never wanted you. In all probability, He hates you."
How close to the teachings of determinism, reformed, calvin, does this statement actually get?
If we really try to "reason" out some of these systems of theology then we have to admit they agree with this statment you quoted from the fight club.
"All this godless bull sounds so smart. How do you minister to kids who have bought into this lie? How do you reach kids who've heard it all, done it all and believe nothing? Are we ignoring "Fight Club", or do we have an answer?"
How do we minister to kids who have bought into this lie? I don't know, how do we when some of us "reasonably" hold to a theology that says it is true that "God does not like you. He never wanted you."
anyway take care, Carla, I have enjoyed reading your thoughts and will be checking back in for more.
Kris
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