Round 1. Ribs vs. Back

I wish I knew the statistics on how many Christians actually doubt the things they say they believe. If I had to wager a good guess (yes, I am a gambling man) on what percentage of Christians actually doubt something that they say they believe or have been taught to believe, I would have to say that the number would be pretty high. Maybe as high as 80%

Recently, I was at a gathering with friends and had an in-depth faith based conversation about “back bone” issues.

Side note: there are two kinds of issues in the Christian world concerning belief. Rib Issues & Back Bone Issues.

A back bone issue is aptly named and WAY more important than a rib issue. If I had to define a back bone issue it would look something like this. “A salvation breaking issue or something of that importance that all Christians have to agree on regardless of denomination before they can proceed in conversation with you”. Ex. how to obtain salvation, is the bible God’s whole & absolute word, is Jesus really God’s Son. You get the idea.

A Rib issue isn’t as important. A good example of a rib issue is whether or not you should be baptized. You can walk around with a broken rib but not so much a broken back.

Now back to the gathering…I was brutally/fearfully honest with everyone and went out on a limb revealing a few of my doubts about the bible and Christianity in general. Surprisingly to me, I was met with about a 50% approval rating. I was floored! I didn’t expect anyone to admit in front of other Christians that they shared similar doubts on “back bone” issues. Was I being a bad influence, was I starting a heretical movement, or was I onto something? A very unique thing happened, a door opened for honesty.

All of a sudden, the back bone issues became rib issues. There was an indescribable physical change in the atmosphere. The hackles went down, flags were lowered and the majority of the group was able to have a meaningful conversation without trying to prove with scripture why they were more right than others. We laid down the things that we had been taught to us and had a conversation about what we knew to be true based on experience. The best part is that there were no arguments.

It was AWESOME! It changed my downcast attitude that I was fighting an uphill battle. Things can change for the better without war, be it physical or emotional. The great thing is that my hope for the future was restored.

Since then I’ve had a few others from that same conversation come to me and express their “back bone” doubts. The most amazing revelation I’ve had from all of this is that whether or not we are willing or allowed to admit it…we doubt, and it doesn’t diminish our faith or our Lord.

I will do a blog at a later date on my actual doubts. I think you will find that you most likely share the same if not similar doubts.

One last thought: I LOVE RIBS!