Latest Articles by Sarah Canice Funke
Make a judgment call on the state of my soul: I find the spiritual to be very "unreal." It's the "carnal" person that I find to be more persuasive, more compelling.
What do I mean by this?
Take the example of two students who are considering dropping out of Christian College and transferring to Secular State U., and their reasons for the switch.
The godly student: I feel I can minister to non-Christians better by attending a secular school. I feel so insulated and I don't feel challenged to defend my faith here.
The "unspiritual" student: I hate the rules, man.
Whatever the true motives of the godly student may be, the "unspiritual" student's reason just rings more honest in my ears. Perhaps because the self-centredness is blatant, on the table. We know what we are dealing with; there are no hidden agendas. I would confront the first student ("What do you mean you don't feel challenged? Do you hide in your room? Why are you not involved off-campus activities? Etc., etc.), but with the unspiritual student, there is nothing to say. Perhaps this is because the reasons are framed in two different forms: one is presented as an argument and the other expressed as personal opinion. But again, I think the second version is still more upfront.
Is spirituality the new carnality? Or is my desire for authenticity supplanting my appreciation for spiritual maturity?
Posted by funke at 16.01.07 11:30 | TrackBack | Posted to Theology and SpiritualityResponse to godly student: Challenges will come it due time, young pup. Can you even defend your faith without being challenged?
Response to "unspiritual" student: I hate having to die to self too. Shall we keep on complaining about it?
I can identify with the "unspritual" student more as well. The "godly", to be honest, don't have my respect much. Its pious bullshtick "I feel . . . I don't feel . . ." . I'll take frustrated humanity any day over self-righteous piousness.
Posted by: Carrie at 16.01.07 12:44Agreed with Carrie, to an extent. I would never claim leaving a school for that reason (after all, I didn't leave). However, I did find Covenant a bit oppressively uniform at times. But if I had wanted I could've always gone the mountain.
Posted by: Evan Donovan at 16.01.07 21:32I think it depends on your own personal assemsment of the "godly" students maturity. I've know some who left and that was a true statement with no hidden meaning. Others I've known have been hiding their real agenda for leaving.
It's a maturity assemsment that will tell you best the truth of such statements, but I'm guessing that's not really the point is it?
Posted by: Otter at 17.01.07 16:03I was thinking about this more, and decided that context is key.
Posted by: funke at 17.01.07 17:23