This topic contains 3 replies, has 3 voices, and was last updated by 
David Hayward 1 year, 3 months ago.
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On another thread, I raised the important (to me) issue of questions being more important than answers. I think there is a lot more worth exploring on this. At the same time, I posted a blog post about the way that churches like words far more than action. I think these two are related. Churches like questions and answers because they like to have the words, the principles, the procedures, the doctrines sorted out. If anyone has a question, they like to have the formulaic answer.
Catechism is not limited to more traditional churches – there are a set of acceptable questions and acceptable answers in ANY church, which define the core beliefs of those churches.
All of which tends to mean that important question are rejected. If you start to ask “why do clergy wear stupid clothes?” or “why are there no young people in the church?” or “why is the music so interminably CRAP?”, the responses all seem to include phrases like “community”, “unity” or “others may be like that, but we are different” (they are not, whatever they say).
So yes, questions are important, not answers. Questions are the things that make people change, if people pursue the questions until they have really found direction – not answers. Answers mean that you have stopped asking the questions.
The thing about words is the assumption that words define answers. Imagine a week of church life without words? It would be fantastic! But it would be very different, because words are so much a part of the “church culture” – becasue words define and construct – provide answers, without giving a chance to actually explore questions.
No?
The unanswered questions aren’t nearly as dangerous as the unquestioned answers!
Peter that is a terrific statement which I have often found to be very true. Unquestioned answers are for those who do not want to think. For the rest of us they totally suck the life out if we let them.
Steve I think this is a great topic. Just in the last day or two I had a conversation over on Naked Pastor with a fundamentalist who is frequently full of unquestioned answers. In this particular discussion I was seeking to get him to actually question his statement (and very firm belief) that God chooses some for faith and not others. That God actually does the choosing not us. (Yes he actually said this) This is also in the context of a belief in a literal hell with eternal conscious torment. When trying to get him to acknowledge that this means the god he believes in would actually torment a soul for eternity when it was this so called god who denied them the gift of faith in the first place (what a bastard his “god” must be) he came back with the response of, “God is a real God and real God’s do what they will do. If you have a problem with God choosing some and not others, you’ll have to take it up with Him when the time comes.”
Unquestioned answers make my brain want to explode.
I love your quote Pete. And I agree Steve. Fasting from words is useful. I’ve tried it when I learned Gandhi took one day a week to not speak. It drove people crazy, but he found it effective.
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