I was sitting next to a relatively new friend the other day and he asked me if I was Christian. When I replied in the affirmative, he immediately responded with "Why?". This was not a challenge or a rebuke, but a true inquiry. I suppose I interpreted it as "Why do you believe the things you do?". I am pretty sure I didn't have a good answer. Partially this is not a casual, small talk kind of question. So, how you doin' today? What do you believe and why? It is not that I haven't thought about these things before, and it is not that I avoid these meaningful discussions. In fact, I love having discussions about meaning and belief. But what do you say in 20 seconds? How do you do the grand total of your thoughts on belief systems justice on the fly? I think I answered something to the effect of ... I was raised Mennonite and still believe 80% of what I was taught. So with one sentence I was able to demonstrate that my belief system was lifelong, specific (Mennonite, not "just" Christian), and statistically measured (by pulling 80% out of the air). It is not that I need a sound bite answer to the what do you believe question, but it did disturb me a bit that I didn't have one. In hindsight, it probably should disturb me more that I want one, or that I thought for an instant that a one was possible.
So why do I believe? That will likely reveal itself in the development of this discourse. What are the non-negotiables of my faith? What does it mean to be Mennonite? What is the purpose of church? Can you really be a skeptic and maintain faith? What does it mean to rely on the "faith of our fathers"? Am I existentialist? At least partially? Another friend once called me a biological determinist. What does that even mean? And am I one? Are their physical/scientific explanations for God? All in due time.
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