One of the most condescending things atheists say about Christians, is Jesus is our imaginary friend. Our faith is in our imagination, it has no reality in the material world.
Well, yes of course it is. Where else can we encounter God other than in our imagination? We create works of art, find our way around our neighbourhood, study the structure of chemical molecules in our imagination. Why should we not encounter God there too?
I'm not saying God has no reality outside the imagination, just that our imagination is where we encounter God. Are atheists really saying the imagination is in some sense not valid? If so, they have a problem. If imagination is not valid, what are the implications for science?
Christians have a problem too. It is hard to claim God has an objective reality outside of the imagination because it is not possible to point to any evidence of God's actions outside of the impact imagining God has on human behaviour.
And that in itself is a big problem. Human imagination is not terribly disciplined - how do we know what we imagine is real, is right, is ethical?
Where the scientist has reality to check results of experiments, the Christian has few things to validate their position. Methodists identify scripture, tradition, reason and experience. Most traditions look to a similar list. But it is hardly surprising traditions cannot agree about everything.
Also our imagination is prone to run away with us. We project our repressed negative thoughts onto others and onto God. We project what we know, kings and dictators, onto God and turn God into a monster. How can we possibly know whether we are imagining the right things?
Comments