kaboom.

i just started reading the case for covenantal infant baptism.

love it, love it.

i've only read one chapter, so obviously the issue isn't settled in my mind, but i am understanding more about it. and that's what i love. i like reading about theology and doctrine, not for the sake of knowledge, but because knowledge and understanding make me love God more. i mean if you're in love with someone, you want to know everything about them...right?

i was reading this book in chickfila, which i suppose is my new saturday morning routine. two saturdays in a row. yeah, that's a routine. anyway this old guy walked by and saw the title of the book and asked me if i had it figured out yet. so we started talking about it. he used to be an elder in a presbyterian church, and now he's baptist. i'm the opposite. used to be baptist, now i'm presbyterian. so it was an interesting conversation.

i really enjoy discussing these things. we talked some about reformed theology. (that's the new way of saying "calvinism"). and we had differing opinions. let me just say that if you don't agree with me about these things, perhaps...my sisters who might be reading this...i don't think you're stupid. i used to have the exact same thoughts as you and this random old man. and i, certainly, was not an idiot. (is the pretending to be arrogant thing still funny?) so i don't think you are either.

with that said, the random old man made two comments that bothered me. i'm not talking doctrine here.

1) there are some things we just aren't meant to understand
2) don't wear yourself out trying to figure out these things

lies. plain and simple.

i agree that there are some things we aren't meant to understand. how can a human mind fathom the workings of an omniscient God? but usually when someone says that, they aren't talking about the mysterious prophecies in revelation or things of that nature. they're talking about predestination. and in that context, i feel it's a copout. i can no longer think that salvation is left to be an unknowable topic. it's the most important topic that there is! there are aspects of it, like "how could God choose me?" that i can't understand. but that's just because i suck. (total depravity, holla!) but the fact that He did choose me...no, that i understand. in mere christianity, (oh how armenians and calvinists alike love this man!) c.s. lewis says: "Is my reluctance to knock at this door due to my pride, or my mere taste, or my personal dislike of this particular door-keeper?"

(and it's interesting that the people who say that are really confident that they have it figured out. so, are they saying that they're NOT sure about election, that it could possibly be the way of things? because they said we can't understand. so how can they be so sure at the same time, that the crazy calvinists are...crazy?)

so, there are my thoughts on that. when a person understands salvation, they give glory and praise to God for it!

so that leads into "don't worry about trying to figure these things out."

bah. it's my pleasure to study these things. and maybe everyone isn't like that. but understanding makes me want to worship. he even made a joke about how "Christianity is a mile wide and an inch deep." and that's really sad to me. Christians showing up to church because they love Jesus, but they just don't care about all the beautiful doctrine in the Bible. i agree with him that the most important part of the Bible is the Jesus part. but, really, the whole thing is the Jesus part.

it's easy to say some doctrines are divisive, so we shouldn't focus on them. we should just focus on loving Christ and loving each other. that sounds really good. and it's absolutely true that loving Christ and loving each other should be our priority. but baptism, and communion, the Person of Christ, original sin, God, creation, prophecy, etc...they are part of the story! the Cross isn't the only part of this huge, life-changing, mind-boggling, beautiful story of redemption. i wish i knew some better adjectives.

the problem is when people love knowing about Jesus, more than they love Jesus. but in a perfect scenario...the two go hand in hand. like i said, part of loving someone is learning and understanding everything you can about them.