AS WE ALL return from Christmas vacation to begin a new semester here at U.Va. - a clean slate if you will -, I want to take the opportunity this week to do something that I don't usually do: I want to tell a story. While my editors are no doubt grinding their teeth at this liberty that I have taken, I feel that what I have to say here far transcends anything I could ever write about class registration or faculty hiring freezes. This is quite possibly the most important piece of writing I will ever do.
For those of you who have read my column before, many will know that I have spent my life in varying extremes of atheism. For a variety of reasons which I have not the space here to detail, I could never really believe in God. Those of you to whom I am truly speaking do not need me to outline these supports; you have them already, you have thought of them yourselves.
|
A few weeks before winter break, something incredible happened to me. I was fortunate enough to meet an unbelievably kind man, who I will keep nameless here for his own best interest. He gave me a book by the famous author (and longtime atheist who converted to Christianity) C.S. Lewis called "Mere Christianity." Out of my deep respect for this man and my own desire to again seek God, I read it over Thanksgiving break. Even my painfully logical, cynical mind could not deny the structural validity of his arguments. In spite of myself, I was forced to question my own disbelief.
This man and others in my life spoke to me about the case for Christianity which Lewis proposes, and encouraged me to attend church and fellowship meetings with them. Skeptically, but with a glimmer of hope and belief growing inside me, I went. I found that the more I opened myself to the possibility of a Christian God, the more He showed Himself to me. For the first time in my 20 years on this earth, I began to feel God's presence in my life, and His spirit acting through me. Even my logic surrendered. The change that I have undergone in these few short months finally has shown to me that there truly is no need for logic in faith. Logic is formed by the mind, faith pours forth from the soul.
It's true that it is not easy to take that first step toward becoming a Christian. In "Mere Christianity," Lewis likens human beings to "obstinate toy soldiers" who fear being made real due to the fact that - in their limited perception - all they can see is the dying of the tin of which they are made. For this reason, we, like the toy soldiers, only able to understand the life we see before us, cling to our self-will and self-centeredness with desperation, shutting out all that is beyond and above us. Once the first step past this state is made and we come to embrace God's will over our own however, new worlds open up to us. Back in my atheist days, this statement would have gone totally over my head, and I would have somewhat frantically replied, "what if that is wrong? I will throw my whole life away!" This is because I tried to understand God with my mind instead of feeling Him with my heart.
How can one feel something in which they cannot believe? This answer is surprising: imitation. Lewis advises us, if we do not feel the truth of the Christian God, to merely act as though we do. Though this sounds strange, I promise you this: It will work. It was this simple and seemingly ridiculous practice that changed my life and changed my soul from the inside in a way that twenty years of intellectual struggle could never do. Throughout my life I have studied all the world's major religions, but I never made any real progress until I let Jesus Christ into my heart.
For all of you who are reading this right now who are either atheist, have never felt they understood faith, or have never felt a closeness to Jesus Christ and to God, I implore you: for just one week, go out into the world trying to act as Jesus would have instructed. Be kind to all around you as best you can, and see that all people, despite what they may think or try to pretend, are weak without God. Understand that people are fundamentally good, and see every moment as a chance to help others - whether it be in making them feel good about themselves and thus aiding them in their own self-actualization, or in a more obvious way, by helping them satisfy an immediate need. Realize that you will fail in this - no one can ever act in a Christian way all the time, but know that you will be forgiven for these failings.
Go to church. Go to fellowship meetings. Find Christian friends who you can talk to about this, and if you don't have any - make some. If you want to, you can even email me. You will be overwhelmed and touched by the willingness these individuals will have to aid you in your quest. You will wind that when you seek Christ, doors will be flung open, and that you will quickly find a joy you never could have imagined before.
And so, as the semester begins, I beg you to - just for one week - try in earnest to take my advice. I promise, it will not take long for you to see that you have made the right decision, and once you find God, you will never turn back. Without Him, there is only instability, suffering, and bitterness. With Him, there is only comfort, air and light.
(Laura Parcells' column appears Fridays in The Cavalier Daily. She can be reached at lparcells@cavalierdaily.com.)
Read More
PARTING SHOT: Confessions of a nepo baby
By Grace Thrush | 7 hours agoWhile I can’t point to one specific “aha” moment where I finally started to dispel my self-consciousness and claim my pride for the paper, I got there gradually over the course of my term as managing editor.
PARTING SHOT: Asked and answered
By Honor Wood | 12 hours agoLooking back, the answer has been abundantly clear all along. I did it for the people.
PARTING SHOT: Risk and reward
By Charlie Healy | YesterdayThe college newspaper was nowhere on my radar, and I had no previous experience with journalism.
