Literally: "I believe it, because it is absurd."
11 November 2011
This entry is my response to the gaudy superstition that surrounds us all, day in, day out.
11/11/11
This writing is for those who cast faith blindly into nothingness.
11-11-11
This post speaks anathema to those who believe without object.
As I reflect on today, I wish my thoughts could dwell wholly on the majestic power of God and the beauty of his creation. But what is today really? Is it the day that the Motorola Razr debuts? Is it a special film opening? Is it the rebirth of humanity as the Mayans purportedly predicted? Or is it another day that the Lord has made, in which we should rejoice and be glad, just as in any other day? I hope you made your special wish at 11:11am this morning; otherwise you may have a chance again tonight. If you miss both, then you'll have to wait another 396 days or so until 12-12-12. If my superstition serves me correctly though, I don't think that date will be any more poignant than today. Let's take a moment to think of all the things in our everyday lives could pass as mere superstition, or which quickly turn to such.
Foul Superstition! howsoe'er disguised,
Idol, saint, virgin, prophet, crescent, cross,
For whatsoever symbol thou art prized,
Thou sacerdotal gain, but general loss!
Who from true worship's gold can separate thy dross?
Idol, saint, virgin, prophet, crescent, cross,
For whatsoever symbol thou art prized,
Thou sacerdotal gain, but general loss!
Who from true worship's gold can separate thy dross?
Lord Byron, Childe Harold's Pilgramage, Canto II (1812), Stanza 44
How easy is it for us to latch on to such a timeless and worldly fad? Superstition is no new enemy, but powerful.
As a child, I remember lying in bed with the lights out and as I slowly lost sight of the ever present sibling lying above me in our bunk, I would grow restless with the fear of the irrational. Ghosts, ghouls, undead, you name it and I was afraid of it. It all started one night when I was seven or eight, I suppose, when I was falling asleep, I happened to open my eyes and literally scared myself awake with the presence of my own hand stretched out before my eyes. The sudden startling was attributed to the thought that someone was attacking me, followed quickly by the realization that it was my own stupid hand, which inadvertently was poised in front of my face as I imagined someone attacking me. See, I had been playing and as I fell asleep, I forgot I was playing and thus scared myself senseless. This event was followed by a solid two years of hypnophobia, which is a fear of falling asleep.
This story sets up the following realization that I used superstition, to no avail, to try to ward off this evil that haunted me as I attempted to sleep. I did not rub a rabbit’s foot, hang a hamsa on the door, nor did I throw salt over my shoulder. My superstition was prayer. Now recognize, if you do not know, that I was raised in a devout Lutheran home and even as a boy I believed superstitions to be false. However, I have until recently realized that I had passed my superstitions off as nothing else but the memorized prayers which were instead supposed to point me to the true object of my mustard seed faith, Christ, who would calm my fear. How pitiful that I would misuse such a divine gift.
Credo Quia Absurdum
This Latin phrase is a small misquote from a Tertullian saying, "et mortuus est Dei Filius; credibile prorsus est, quia ineptum est," meaning, "and the Son of God died; it is [entirely] credible, because it is silly."
As in most things, this phrase is taken out of context and often used for a purpose opposite of its original intent. Tertullian’s words from De Carne Christi, an argument against Gnostic Docetists of his time (c. 160 – c. 220 AD), would take a dissertation to fully explain.
In short, Tertullian was combating the idea that Christ's body was not real flesh, but merely a "phantasm", or spirit. He fully believed that Christ's body was true flesh as anyone can plainly understand from his writing. He was not using logic in his argument here, but worldly wisdom, as introduced long ago by Aristotle in his Rhetoric 2.23.21, "if, therefore, a thing that is believed is improbable and even incredible, it must be true, since it is certainly not believed because it is at all probable or credible." He was using the same "worldly wisdom" that his formidable adversary, Marcion, had used in his arguments against the truth.
Sadly then, some take this quote from Tertullian to mock the dogmatic beliefs of fediests, when its true intent was to uphold the truth of Christ's humanity by faith alone and not through logic or worldly wisdom. "For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom," 1 Corinthians 1:18-31
Let us take a moment today, on this 11th day of November, the 11th month of Caesar's calendar, the 12th year of the 21st century, to reflect on our actions that are mere superstitions at heart, and replace those with Christ, who is the only worthy object of our one true faith.
References: Wikepedia and Tertullian.org
References: Wikepedia and Tertullian.org
Also interesting to note that 111111^111111 = 123454321, a palindrome!
ReplyDeleteThank you for this thoughtful and edifying post. I am curious how many of my habits started as superstitions, or are just superstitions in disguise.
ReplyDeleteHas Tertullian's phrase been updated to say, "You can't make this stuff up"?
If the phrase had not been interpreted that loosely so far, I think that we can credit that one to you! Translation IS truly the transfer of ideas.
ReplyDeleteJared you were not using prayer as a superstition as a child. No matter how unreal the object of your fears were of sleep and the monsters in the closet, they were the real fears in a child's mind and with a child's faith you prayed to your God and Savior. You did absolutely the right thing and I have no doubt that God was the one to help you get past those fears and fall asleep every night. Today, we have equally irrational fears like how we are going to pay our bills and the safety of our children and yet we still say prayers to God about all our fears.
ReplyDeleteMatthew 6: 25-34
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
Somehow this didn't make it into my comment.
ReplyDelete1 Chronicles 16:11
Look to the LORD and his strength; seek his face always.
Nicole, that is a very good observation and argument. I suppose it is a matter of whether the prayer springs from faith or not. Am I correct in thinking that a heathen saying the common table prayer shouldn't expect anything; but a Christian, even if mindlessly saying the prayer by rote, can still expect God's abundant blessings?
ReplyDeleteI would argue that when we mindlessly say a prayer, we're not really praying at all; now this doesn't absolutely mean that we couldn't realized the blessings of prayer as God is limitless in his grace and power. My thought was simply that I have, and we can, at times, use prayer just as we have abused the beautiful symbolism of Catholicism. If you stop and think about the traditions of the church, so many which we have thrown out the window for some reason or another, it is easy for us to practice them for the wrong reason. And in my case, I was using prayer for the object of recitation which I believed to be aiding me, instead of what all the traditions and symbolism and prayers are to ultimately point us to, Christ.
ReplyDeleteJared, you missed the point completely. 11/11/11 is the day The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is released.
ReplyDeleteEducate thyself: http://www.elderscrolls.com/skyrim/
How creative. Chris is writing a blog on Cameron that I follow so this would be great. How often do we mindlessly say prayers in church and not really concentrate on what we are saying. However, our Father knows what is in our heart as we are his children from when we were baptized.
ReplyDelete