"To the ones with broken dreams, and to the lost and hopeless,
to the ones that stand up for what's right to the world,
come meet your King!"
-For Today, The Advocate
One of the great things about being an Honors student is being able to have deep discussions about life not just in class but outside. For example, at dinner today I took part in a lengthy discussion with Cody, Ben, and Bethany Polinkas, the latter of which is not an Honors student, but very intelligent. We talked about everything from the meanings in The Passion of the Christ, the nature of science, and everything in between. More specifically, we discussed the nature of realism vs. existentialism. The realist observes something in nature and knows what it is because of what it is, but the existentialist asks "why" it is what is. For the realist, there is nothing we can observe in this world that is beyond what we can see in this world and what is observable through science. However, philosophy is the means through which we examine reality and the way we live, and what we determine from that is passed on to science to get a full picture of existence. However, as Cody and Bethany clearly demonstrate, realism does not exclude the divine at all, because a science based mindset only highlights the incredible power of God and the unexplainable mystery of faith and the resurrection. There is no possible why to prove this, allowing for a more faith dependent of life and even more ardent worship.
I say all of that to talk about Barth and his perception of faith. To him, to accept God is to personally meet with the Holy Trinity and see it in its glory and truth. In this meeting, the new man understands that God is God because He says He is and that He is sovereign to the point that the man's life is automatically forfeit. He is clear and present in the sight of perception of the new disciple. Now, this would not seem to make any sense to the realist. The Christian realist understands that God, in His supreme majesty, is something he cannot possibly fathom, for he is so limited as a human being. How can He possibly meet us? Yet it is this supreme strangeness that makes God who He is, for it is only when the Holy Ghost breaks into the world through the invasion of Jesus Christ, which points us to the majesty of the Father's creation, that the realist can understand who God is. One of the most important things that my dad has ever taught me, and I've mentioned this several times, is that the Holy Spirit is literally standing with you at any given moment, and Barth would say that that understanding that is the once and for all decision. Faith is the ultimate freedom, but only for those who are willing to accept it. I personally have come to understand that I can't always count on hearing His voice. I have to understand Him through the scriptures, which truly are the voice of God, but when I earnestly ask to hear Him and see His face, it never fails. I have to make the choice to tune into His frequency, so to speak, not just shake Him like an 8 Ball. I must go and meet my King, and His ambassador goes with me. That is faith, and yes, it is a science, for I observe it every day.
Thank you for reading, please feel free to comment or argue as you please, I commented on Meghan Johnston's We Are the 1%, But Sometimes We'd Rather Be the 99%.
Thank you for mentioning the few realists left in honors. On a side note, I agree with you here. We can't possibly know God, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't try to understand what he tells us. I quoted Kierkegaard in my post, but it would be of better use here. Enough of my talking though, I'm really just restating everything you're saying.
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