Wednesday, October 03, 2007

sometimes, faith can suck


I have read all over the blogosphere about this new Mother Teresa book and it’s revelation that she was, heaven forbid, human. As in, maybe she was not the super god chick we all thought. Get this...she actually wrote in some 1950’s era journals about some doubts she had in her faith and so forth.

Wow. I didn’t know Mamma T was emergent? I wonder if she drank micro brews and said ‘fuck’ too.

I have yet to read this Mother Teresa book, but I can’t wait. Maybe our local library has that one.

As usual, every four to six months I seek out new writings on my hero Uncle George. I go through faith crises more often than that, but reading up on George Muller two or three times a year boosts my hope that maybe there is something beyond this wilderness era of mine other than tree trimming, odd jobbing, identity searching and praying or whining for all provision.

The library at my local alumni university (that I hope to have all of my personal information eliminated from someday...please, let me fade away into relative obscurity) has half a dozen or so books on Uncle George. This latest one I’m reading by Basil Miller, “George Muller: Man of Faith” could be kin to the new Mother Teresa book. It is revealed that Uncle George was indeed human

Perhaps all of the other Uncle George tales I have absorbed were easy to ignore his actual trials, since his faith oriented outcomes seemed so extraordinary in print.

Basil Miller starts off chapter XI: Trials By Faith with, “The building of Mr. Muller’s spiritual life was a constant conflict. While outwardly he displayed a calm attitude toward circumstances, inwardly he battled to obtain this inner peace”.

It goes on to explain that the man who prayed for every provision for himself and thousands of orphans actually went through hell in the waiting for his prayers to be answered. Often he wondered if he was doing the right thing in life.

Go figure. He wasn’t a Billy Bible Guy with all the answers.

I currently wish to obtain this outward calm attitude while I strive for “scarcely a tremor” inwardly (p. 87, “GM: Delighted in God” by Roger Steer).

1 comment:

Beth said...

George is awesome!
I've read the MT book (from the library) and unfortunately it has been grossly misrepresented in the secular press by a lot of writers who don't understand what the categories/assumptions are in that RC model of spirituality. ("Doubts in her faith," in particular, is nothing like what she went through, but you know, the people *writing* the secular articles just don't have any other paradigm, so you can hardly blame them for shoehorning her into their worldview... or maybe projecting their own issues onto her.)
I think I can just about 100% guarantee that anyone who knows those RC categories and reads this book will be *more* convinced of her heroic sanctity, not less.