A couple of weeks ago, I read a set of interview highlights for the promotion of Ehrenreich's newest work, Living with
a Wild God: A Nonbeliever's Search for the Truth about Everything,
that caused me to consider her perspective at length. (You can read
the first interview/set of highlights I read here.)
First off, I want to say that no, I haven't changed my mind about Jesus. However, I did take the time to really ponder her statements beyond the surface. Many people, in their own way (and words), respond to a different set of beliefs by saying something like this: 'Oh, she/he doesn't believe what I believe? Well that's dumb and she/he's wrong and my belief is better!'
First off, I want to say that no, I haven't changed my mind about Jesus. However, I did take the time to really ponder her statements beyond the surface. Many people, in their own way (and words), respond to a different set of beliefs by saying something like this: 'Oh, she/he doesn't believe what I believe? Well that's dumb and she/he's wrong and my belief is better!'
Rather than doing that, I've
acknowledged her perspective, respected it, and responded to it by
concluding that I disagree. So...why write a post about it?
Well, we all search for something at
one point or another, whether that something is truth or love or
freedom, etc. We can all relate to Ehrenreich's struggle to
comprehend herself, the universe around her, and her place in it. I'm
sharing this, in part, because we all search, and we should all
search. (Yes, let me repeat that: I am shamelessly declaring that you
should search out Truth.)
I'm also posting this because I want to
offer my own adolescent journey and conclusions as a contrast to
Ehrenreich's journey and conclusions up to this point in both of our
lives...and I desire that what I have to say will also be considered
deeply.
Three major points about my journey: 1) My family did not offer me
spiritual guidance; 2) I had an urge in my heart that couldn't be
squelched, and questions that demanded answers, so I searched for
Truth with claimed openness and willingness to change; 3) I found
Truth (or, better phrased, Truth revealed 'Itself' to me and I
accepted it as Truth).
Ehrenreich's journey (forgive the
simplification): 1) She was a part of a generational 'legacy' that
denounced Christ, though perhaps saying the legacy denounced
Christianity as a valid way to live is more accurate; 2) She mused
about reality and had questions that demanded answers, so she
searched for Truth with claimed openness and willingness to change;
3) She did not find Truth (or, better phrased, she perhaps
encountered Truth and denied it as Truth).
When I read the interview(s), I was
confused about a number of things, but what really confused
and grieved me was the fact that she said she searched for decades for Truth. I searched for 6 years. Legitimately—with dedicated
pursuit and openness—for maybe 2-3. Again, my family did not offer
me spiritual guidance. Before I became a Christian, I was an Atheist,
too. Then an Agnostic. Then a near-Wiccan (I became a Believer just
before heading onto that path).
So what happened
with Ehrenreich? Why didn't she find what she was looking for?
Ah.
But maybe, in a way, she did
find
what she was looking for.
