Conversations with Juan

If you've followed any of the comments that follow my posts on The Passion of The Christ, you will see that a fellow by the name of Juan has asked me to pursue some questions as far as Christianity and faith. This post begins our conversation, and it comes from an e-mail that he sent to me. You'll see that I've interspersed some of Juan's conversation with my own responses. Hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

Juan: First, thank you for taking the time to read, and much more thankful for any responses you might have.

Patch: No problem. I look forward to where we may go in this.

Juan: That said I should be up front that I have some pretty critical views on Christianity and many forms of theology which might become clear pretty soon. Ithink when I was younger those criticisms had more to do with Christianity as a religion, whereas now they are more based on Christianity as a philosophy.However, not in spite of my critical thoughts but side by side with them is my strong desire to be open-minded (for it is open-mindedness that has brought to where I am now, and may very well lead me somewhere else, but a place both mental and spiritual that I have deliberately arrived at, rather than a place I lazily resign myself to) and respectful of others, for respect leads to understanding, and in turn it is only through understanding others that we can see and understand ourselves.This is all kind of an exhaustive preamble to say that despite these desires to be open-minded and respectful, I admit that I have a strong side that is arrogant and self-righteous. But hopefully I'm not trying to filter myself, justbe as clear as possible.

Patch: It's interesting that you draw a distinction between Christianity as a religion and a philosophy. Might I suggest that I consider Christianity or Christ-following as a relationship (in some ways a philosophy) and not a religion (in the sense that a religion is a series of rules and regulations that one must follow in order to get right with God). I certainly share your desire for open-mindedness, respect, and understanding. I too dislike any sort of argumentation that attempts to demean others. Interestingly, Juan, I would say that I also share the problem that often, despite my best efforts to be open-minded and fairly liberal, I find myself embracing self-righteousness as well. Don't they say that you hate the thing you do most? Anyways, perhaps this will be an extra step in the prevention of such problems in our dialogue.

Juan: I admit in some ways I feel like I'm lazy because these questions can be partially answered for me by me reading the bible again (which I haven't read in a while, certainly not all of it--the same which I haven't been able to get in English for a number of years now, but will remedy in a few months). Still, hearing someone's thoughts and interpretations on the book would be invaluable information that I couldn't get from reading it. So I'll go ahead and ask a couple of questions anyway with, and maybeI could ask some questions later as Iget my hands on a bible in a few months. (Any recommendations for or comments ona version of the bible?)

Patch: The Bible is certainly the best way to try and understand what it means to follow Christ and understand the character of God. There is something to be said for personal revelation too when you read the Bible for yourself. However, I am still happy to offer you my thoughts. As far as translations, I still find the New International Version to be my favourite translation. The New Living Translation is okay, but I think that it makes some connotative stretches in a few places. That being said, you can also find a comprehensive and exhaustive source of various Bible translations online at www.gospelcom.net

Juan: (Maybe I'm always this long-winded... Sorry, taking up more of your time.)

Patch: No problem at all. I've met worse, and I am often guilty of the same offense.

Juan: Oh wait, one more comment. I recognize that I probably have a structure and language to my thoughts that is different from yours, so maybe my questions will seem bizarre or irrelevant--I have no idea... Ok, ok.

Patch: I seem to be tracking you fine so far. I'll let you know if I'm ever confused.

Juan: 1) Is free will an action or state of the soul or the body?

Patch: Wow, no holding back on the heavy guns, eh? As I mentioned before, I'm unsure I can give you complete answers, but I will certainly endeavour to give you my best ideas. I'll start off by saying that whereas there is likely a significant distinction between soul and body, they are heavily intertwined and co-dependent in this life. That is to say that we experience soul through physical sensations and embodiment. I'll say next that I would describe free will as both state and action. As far as I know, we have the capacity to pursue free will, and we exercise free will through actions. That being said, how would I really know if my actions were not free will?

Juan: 2) Is there free will beyond life (ie. in heaven or hell or anywhere inbetween)?

Patch: To this, I will say that I really have no clue, and I have found little information on this through the Bible.

Juan: 2b) What kind of description would you offer of heaven and hell be it as abstract or concrete as possible?--especially as they relate to the notion offree will.

Patch: "Light" and "clouds" are constant terms used in connection to Heaven, God, and Jesus throughout the Bible. "Fire" is the obvious constant term for Hell. Jesus talks about the "fires of hell" in Matt. 5:22. I have heard Hell described as "the absence of God." In Paul's first letter to the Corinthian church, he mentions that when Christ returns, and the dead are resurrected in the same manner as Christ was resurrected, our earthly bodies will be transformed into heavenly bodies. As far as I know, heavenly bodies will not perish as earthly bodies do, and they will be similar to the body of Christ after he was resurrected. If we follow the Gospel accounts of Jesus' life, his resurrected body was physically solid; it had scars; and he ate food.

Juan: 3) Do you think God is objective or subjective?

Patch: Here you may have lost me. Could you please clarify the question?

Juan: I have one more big question, which I'll save for another time. Again, very grateful for any ideas or responses.

Patch: You are most welcome. I look forward to your own responses