Ian Markham on being a Christian
The Washington Examiner has interviewed Dean Ian Markham of Virginia Theological Seminary about his beliefs. There's nothing here for professional controversialists, just an intelligent person talking about his faith. A sample:
How can you trust that your Christian beliefs are correct?The way of the world is that all knowledge is provisional -- it is human constructs in conversation with experience. Therefore, all of us should hold what we believe about the world with some humility.
Now, why I believe what I believe is because it makes more sense of the complexities of human life than the alternatives. My experience of morality, of beauty, of love -- all these things point to the divine, which makes theism more likely than atheism. And then if you ask how can I believe in a God that allows so much suffering? Part of the answer is that I can only believe in God provided I know God knows what it's like to suffer -- and that is the Christian claim, that God knows human suffering. So, for me, it has the ring of truth, more so than the alternatives.
