Series: Dear Christians - Faith and Sight

Dear Christians,

Over the last week I've seen at least two of you wear clothing emblazoned with a bible verse - "We walk by faith, not by sight." And it struck me as a really ridiculous concept, so I went back to my bible and looked up some context. It's far more than ridiculous. It's dangerous. 

Here's the original passage:

6Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: 7(For we walk by faith, not by sight:) 8We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. 9Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. 10For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

This is from the original KJV, just to look at what the majority of conservatives believe to be the canonical version of the bible. So let's look at this.

For one, this is Corinthians, which is one of the letters of Paul. Paul was a terrible person, but I won't go into that this time. That means this is already a level removed from original intent or first-hand account. It is from Paul's letters and mission that much of the harmful rhetoric has come in recent days, and was notoriously restrictive. So we are already coming from a notably toxic source. 

But let's look at what he's talking about. This is a supposed dream of "Our Eternal Dwelling". When we look at what this passage is actually saying, it talks about the physical form being separate from the eternal soul, and that the physical form is a barrier to an eternal reward and represents separation. The specific passage we're examining refers to ignoring what you see or experience in favor of what lies beyond the physical. It also seems to ignore the concepts of salvation here - it says we all appear before Christ and be judged on our works and whether they please him or not. 

I'm going to ask you to separate yourself from your rhetoric here and listen to what this says. If we saw our children walking around with their eyes closed and bashing into walls, we would stop them. If we saw a blind person trying to cross the street without their cane, we would intervene because we don't wish them harm. Why would you advocate doing the same? Did not God create your body? Did he not say it is in his image? Why, then, do you hate and distrust it? Should you not be walking in faith in your sight, the sight granted you by God? 

And moreover, if we are given this life, why then do you hate it so? Why is it a barrier between you and your experience? Would a loving God wish you to pass through this life abhorring it and waiting to die? We have a word for that emotion - it's called suicidal. And we try to help those suffering from it. We don't want them to feel that way, to do those things that hurt them. Why would you choose that as a perpetual state of "grace"? To hate your life, to wish it to end so badly that you ignore all within it.

I can accept that there are some context bits here - Paul was writing in a time that was not exactly beneficial to human life. The average lifespan was about 35 in Jesus' time, and hadn't improved massively by Paul's. Life was short, bigoted, and harsh. Perhaps there was more to hate about life then, and more of a need to have a reward at the other end. But surely he wasn't talking about our lives. Our air-conditioned, 40-hour-work-week, cure-for-syphilis, 80-year-lifespan, McDonalds-around-the-corner existences. You live in a country that is built around your faith - it celebrates your holidays, it rests on the day your faith has determined, its morals and ethics were directed by your holy book, its history is steeped in the uses and abuses of your scripture, and your extremists believe that anyone who is not part of your faith should not even belong, in some cases should not be allowed to live. You have the high ground, but it is not the moral one. 

No, open your eyes. It's more than sight that this is telling you to ignore. Not trusting your eyes means not trusting your conclusions based on observation. It says that no matter how much proof you are offered, you should ignore that and cling to an outdated view. This is one of the roots of many of the problems of anti-intellectualism. People are so afraid of feeling dumb that they refuse to learn lest they fail. They need to listen to the truths we're exploring and learning, because those minds, those senses, that sentience, is just as much a design of God's as everything else by your rhetoric. Disbelieving what you've been shown goes against every precept Jesus ever taught. He showed his disciples so they would believe. 

So no. Open your eyes, and stop walking into walls. Stop hating your life because it isn't perfect and waiting for perfection to come for you after death. You were given this life - you believe it's a gift. And you throw it away so easily. Walk by faith in your sight. 

Sincerely,

A Paladin

p.s. No, really, Paul was a terrible person. 

https://tinycatpants.wordpress.com/2013/05/21/lets-be-honest-about-paul-for-a-second/

https://www.amazon.com/Paul-Behaving-Badly-Apostle-Chauvinist/dp/0830844724