I do think there is a huge amount of pretending, for whatever reason. But this can't be the sole explanation. Some Christians - many, even - do manage to sincerely believe things that strike me as preposterous and that fly in the face of what science and scholarship have established to a level of certainty.
I suspect that most who hold the literalist inerrantist positiion would say the truth of their position is something the Holy Spirit has revealed to them, that it's an indication of a deeper and stronger faith than mine, but I wonder: How many mature Christians have evolved from a position like mine to a positiion of extreme literalism and inerrantism? How many have evolved in the opposite direction? My guess is, the results would be very lopsided. How many, as @St. SteVen suggests in his brainwashing thread, have been indoctrinated into an extreme position and have simply never questioned it or whether they really believe it or are merely pretending?
You sound like me some years ago. I thought exactly how you do here. How can I really believe if I have never seen anything manifest and convince me beyond a shadow of a doubt.
But I noticed that scripture says blessed are those who have not seen and believe. So I thought, how the heck am I supposed to do that?! but I kept thinking and thinking. Other things that are unseen make themselves known to us and I believe in them...? Gravity, temperatures and lots of stuff.
And the scripture gets very Twilight Zone if you try to read it literally. So there's that.
So if I did this thing and looked to the unseen, if I were being honest I would have to say I was pretending because I have not seen, but I can conceive of the unseen.
Scripture also says, that unless we become as a little child that we we wont see the Kingdom of Heaven, right? So there's that. And of course the Lord has always wanted us to have Faith in Him, Trust Him.
So I thought ok if I am to take that literally, I will become as a little child and pretend to do it like a game. Now the childrens games have rules and if the game is the floor is lava, then I act like the floor IS lava. And so I realized that people have always spelled faith, R-I-S-K. So I had to take some sort of risk. Put it in His hands (through prayer). So they next time a bad situation arose in my life, I called upon God and trusted Him to help me.
The bad situation was a doozy. I was self employed and certain times of the year is the slow season and I might be a couple hundred bucks short on my $1000 a month rent. Except the economy was in a slide usually I'd catch the landlord up pretty quick on shortages when a nice job came in. But it was so bad that 100 short here, 200 short there from that month and so forth until it had gotten up to a full $2000 dollars that I was behind in accrued shortages. Well I started having garage sales because I had a big garage so I built two 4' X 8' plywood tables and set it up. Maybe it can help me to help catch up my arrears? And one sunny saturday my landlord rolled in whi=le I was in the garage sale and he gave me my 3 day notice to get out. (Yikes). I also had a $300 utiity shut off notice for next monday (in 2 days). What a great time to trust the Lord for His help, right?! So I sat down and prayed and prayed. Lord help me. You are my only hope here. But I stuck to my guns and did not g friend hopping for loans. I put it in the Lords hands...now we'll see what happens. I took the risk and this was no game to me!
It was getting on dusk by then so I closed up the garage and went back in the house. I go down stairs to the family room and the phone rings. Hi I seen your ad about the garage sale but I am busy right now, can I come see what you have in 1 1/2 hrs? I said sure. All I'd have to do is take him in the garage. He shpwed up right when he said he would and so we went ut to the garage and I opened it and went in and as soon as he came in he asked me, how much do you need? I didn't know what to say to that we hadnt looked at anything yet. So I went into saleman mode and started telling him about different items and pick something up hand it to him and he'd sit it down without a glance at it and ask again, how much do you need? I went (TILT) like a pinball machine. What's that mean? This is a garage sale! He asked me maybe 15 or 20 times, how much do you need. How much do you need? (I wasnt putting 2 +2 together yet!) He asked me and I stood there speechless and suddenly he says, well, how about $1900 for everything on that table right there?
Now I knew that was a joke. It was the old household knick knacks and stuff from a 26 year marriage that she left behind. Junk to me pretty much. I just stood there and looked at him like I was stupid I'm sure because this is not how garage salers act. No one says that stuff. So when he offered me $1900 I didnt answer him, I just looked at him (with my head spinning!). So He says, well then how about $2400 for everything on that table?
Now I didnt know if this was some flea market guy trying t stock some things or what. He didnt look stupid, so I wanted to hear the punch line of this joke! So I said that's fine. And the punch line was he whipped out a stack of 100 dollar bills big enough to choke a horse and counted me out 24 of them. So I took it and was wondering what just happened here, but I went ahead and asked if he wated some help boxing the stuff up and he said yes. SO I grab a couple cardboard boxes and we start putting items in them. I put something in the box I was loading, and he takes it back out of the box and sets it on the table and says, I wont need that, you can keep that. Oh and that and that. And he put so much stuff back on the table that I thought he might be daffy. He just paid for it. He paid 2400 for everything on that table, and then left about 25% of it on the table. (TILT)!!
We loaded him up shook hands and he drove off. I went back inside and on the way down the basement stairs I reach in my pocket and feel the wad of cash and instinctively said, praise the Lord! It hit me right then. I had prayed less than 2 hours ago for hel from the Lord and suddenly a guy is there taking the price up! Lol! That was an angel and an answer to my prayer. I believe that angel restrained me from realizing he was an Angel until after he left. I counted it again and began thinking now I can catch up my rent for 2K, And pay my Utility shut off notice too! That leaves $100? That 100 must be grocery money! So praise the Lord! I trusted Him not seeing Him and He responded lickety split.
Do you now what that did to my faith and belief?! The Lord just sent an Angel to my garage sale to overpay for the help I needed because I prayed for help and did not seek the money elsewhere. So he respnded to that risk of faith that I took. Some game huh?! So I still havent seen anything and yet oh yes do I believe and I dont have to pretend anymore. (That turned out to be a lie, lol) But I didnt see a Angel in spiritual garb or with flaming swords or anything like that. That Angel looked like an ordinary man. Fit. Full beard but trimmed neatly and well spoken. ....continued
