{"id":1565,"date":"2021-02-16T12:01:00","date_gmt":"2021-02-16T18:01:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hushbeck.com\/blog\/?p=1565"},"modified":"2021-02-16T14:28:40","modified_gmt":"2021-02-16T20:28:40","slug":"christian-idealism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hushbeck.com\/blog\/2021\/02\/christian-idealism\/","title":{"rendered":"Christian Idealism"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

I recently read an article by Eric Scot English, asking, \u201cDo Evangelicals Really Believe in God?<\/a>\u201d  English agued evangelicals have an Idealistic faith.  \u201cIdealistic faith is more about the ability to construct an idealized \u2018truth\u2019 about God rather than an actual truth. It\u2019s a faith that has more to do with us than God.<\/strong>\u201d (emp. in original).   While true of all, progressives, according to English, move past this taking a \u201cleap of faith\u201d to Christian realism. \u201cRealism allows for the demonstration of a faith that is authentically \u2018real\u2019 instead of idealized.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There is a lot of truth in the first part of his argument. English draws upon Kierkegaard\u2019s beliefs, for which there is a lot to be said.  Christianity is more about transformational experience than rational disputes over doctrine. Still, even though I agree with Kierkegaard on this, I do not follow him into his rejection of reason.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As such, I find English\u2019s second part artificial, if not a little self-serving. I think it can safely be said that no one understands God. As I write in my forthcoming book, Faith and Reason<\/em><\/a>,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In one respect, there is only one correct answer to the question, what do you believe about God? Not enough. After all, God is infinite; we are finite. How could we ever hope to have a complete understanding of God? Thus, a common experience when learning about God is realizing how much you do not know. Put another way, how much there is still left to know?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

This is not a question of realism vs. idealism. We all know too little, and we all tend to fill in the gaps in ways that best fit us and our existing beliefs. This tendency is why prayer and Bible study are so important. Done correctly, these challenge us; they change us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I would agree that far too often, we project our faith on others. As I write, \u201cA quick way to end up in trouble is to see the Bible as mainly discussing what others should be doing.  Sadly, this has been demonstrated far too often in history.\u201d  Still, I do not see this as an issue of realism vs. idealism, or even progressive vs. evangelicalism, but as a universal problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The solution? To realize there is God, and there is also the Body of Christ.  I do not assume everything I believe is correct or that everyone who disagrees is wrong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are all fallen and fallible, prone to mistakes and errors. This is where others come in. We all make mistakes, but we do not make the same mistakes. Discussing with others is the best way to discover your mistakes while helping others discover theirs.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Rather than labeling each other, we should spend more time talking to each other. This is talking to, not talking at. We may not agree; in fact, we probably won\u2019t. Hopefully, we will come to a better understanding of each other, our views, and why we hold them.  We can break down the stereotypes that exist on both sides.  In this way, we can get past our idealized views of why the other side is wrong and come to a better understanding of the real reasons they hold their beliefs.  Maybe even what we can learn from them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I recently read an article by Eric Scot English, asking, \u201cDo Evangelicals Really Believe in God?\u201d  English agued evangelicals have an Idealistic faith.  \u201cIdealistic faith is more about the ability to construct an idealized \u2018truth\u2019 about God rather than an actual truth. It\u2019s a faith that has more to do with us than God.\u201d (emp. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,17],"tags":[2071,2072,2000,2073,2074,1077],"class_list":["post-1565","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-christianity","category-faith","tag-christian-idealism","tag-eric-scot-english","tag-faith","tag-kierkegaard","tag-realism","tag-reason"],"yoast_head":"\nChristian Idealism - Politics and Religion<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/hushbeck.com\/blog\/2021\/02\/christian-idealism\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Christian Idealism - Politics and Religion\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I recently read an article by Eric Scot English, asking, \u201cDo Evangelicals Really Believe in God?\u201d  English agued evangelicals have an Idealistic faith.  \u201cIdealistic faith is more about the ability to construct an idealized \u2018truth\u2019 about God rather than an actual truth. It\u2019s a faith that has more to do with us than God.\u201d (emp. […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/hushbeck.com\/blog\/2021\/02\/christian-idealism\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Politics and Religion\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-02-16T18:01:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-02-16T20:28:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/hushbeck.com\/blog\/foo\/9781631997440_fc-682x1024.png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Elgin Hushbeck\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Elgin Hushbeck\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hushbeck.com\/blog\/2021\/02\/christian-idealism\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/hushbeck.com\/blog\/2021\/02\/christian-idealism\/\",\"name\":\"Christian Idealism - Politics and Religion\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hushbeck.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hushbeck.com\/blog\/2021\/02\/christian-idealism\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hushbeck.com\/blog\/2021\/02\/christian-idealism\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/hushbeck.com\/blog\/foo\/9781631997440_fc-682x1024.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-02-16T18:01:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-02-16T20:28:40+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hushbeck.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/1e0462ceb31a6ae267de916fb1fc1e6b\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hushbeck.com\/blog\/2021\/02\/christian-idealism\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/hushbeck.com\/blog\/2021\/02\/christian-idealism\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hushbeck.com\/blog\/2021\/02\/christian-idealism\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/hushbeck.com\/blog\/foo\/9781631997440_fc.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/hushbeck.com\/blog\/foo\/9781631997440_fc.png\",\"width\":853,\"height\":1280},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hushbeck.com\/blog\/2021\/02\/christian-idealism\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/hushbeck.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Christian Idealism\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hushbeck.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/hushbeck.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Politics and Religion\",\"description\":\"Comments on Politics and Religion\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/hushbeck.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hushbeck.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/1e0462ceb31a6ae267de916fb1fc1e6b\",\"name\":\"Elgin Hushbeck\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/hushbeck.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/111d2d9a9a7ff4ed5376638ef5042b381a6987855b6398bfb2d91b1cf750d4fe?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/111d2d9a9a7ff4ed5376638ef5042b381a6987855b6398bfb2d91b1cf750d4fe?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Elgin Hushbeck\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/hushbeck.com\/blog\/author\/admin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Christian Idealism - Politics and Religion","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/hushbeck.com\/blog\/2021\/02\/christian-idealism\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Christian Idealism - Politics and Religion","og_description":"I recently read an article by Eric Scot English, asking, \u201cDo Evangelicals Really Believe in God?\u201d  English agued evangelicals have an Idealistic faith.  \u201cIdealistic faith is more about the ability to construct an idealized \u2018truth\u2019 about God rather than an actual truth. It\u2019s a faith that has more to do with us than God.\u201d (emp. […]","og_url":"https:\/\/hushbeck.com\/blog\/2021\/02\/christian-idealism\/","og_site_name":"Politics and Religion","article_published_time":"2021-02-16T18:01:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-02-16T20:28:40+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/hushbeck.com\/blog\/foo\/9781631997440_fc-682x1024.png","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Elgin Hushbeck","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Elgin Hushbeck","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/hushbeck.com\/blog\/2021\/02\/christian-idealism\/","url":"https:\/\/hushbeck.com\/blog\/2021\/02\/christian-idealism\/","name":"Christian Idealism - Politics and Religion","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/hushbeck.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/hushbeck.com\/blog\/2021\/02\/christian-idealism\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/hushbeck.com\/blog\/2021\/02\/christian-idealism\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/hushbeck.com\/blog\/foo\/9781631997440_fc-682x1024.png","datePublished":"2021-02-16T18:01:00+00:00","dateModified":"2021-02-16T20:28:40+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/hushbeck.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/1e0462ceb31a6ae267de916fb1fc1e6b"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/hushbeck.com\/blog\/2021\/02\/christian-idealism\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/hushbeck.com\/blog\/2021\/02\/christian-idealism\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/hushbeck.com\/blog\/2021\/02\/christian-idealism\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/hushbeck.com\/blog\/foo\/9781631997440_fc.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/hushbeck.com\/blog\/foo\/9781631997440_fc.png","width":853,"height":1280},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/hushbeck.com\/blog\/2021\/02\/christian-idealism\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/hushbeck.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Christian Idealism"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/hushbeck.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/hushbeck.com\/blog\/","name":"Politics and Religion","description":"Comments on Politics and Religion","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/hushbeck.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/hushbeck.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/1e0462ceb31a6ae267de916fb1fc1e6b","name":"Elgin Hushbeck","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/hushbeck.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/111d2d9a9a7ff4ed5376638ef5042b381a6987855b6398bfb2d91b1cf750d4fe?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/111d2d9a9a7ff4ed5376638ef5042b381a6987855b6398bfb2d91b1cf750d4fe?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Elgin Hushbeck"},"url":"https:\/\/hushbeck.com\/blog\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hushbeck.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1565","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hushbeck.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hushbeck.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hushbeck.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hushbeck.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1565"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/hushbeck.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1565\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1572,"href":"https:\/\/hushbeck.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1565\/revisions\/1572"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hushbeck.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1565"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hushbeck.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1565"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hushbeck.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1565"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}