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Except for the severest of unbelievers, it is rare to find a person who does not relish a tale of spiritual transformation, an account of the soul’s progress from winter to spring. A favorite of mine from this genre involves Dr. Francis S. Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, who is now doing with religion and science what Steve Jobs did with computers and cell phones.
It began in his 20s, when, as a medical resident, Dr. Collins observed the faith of the dying. Though he thought religion was irrational, a relic of an unscientific era, he wanted to know why his patients believed in God. This led to conversations, then to books (cue Mere Christianity) and, eventually, the cross.
Every year, I discuss Dr. Collins’s conversion with my students, and every time I am reminded of something I easily forget: Faith takes time. Conversion is a multi-dimensional, life-altering evolution in worldview that implicates knowledge, experience, other people, self-reflection, humility, mystery and grace. And that is just the start. For most, conversion occurs in stages and depends upon the presence of certain conditions, certain habits of mind and heart, which enable a person to accept, and to live out, a transformed, divinized life.
These habits of mind and heart can be referred to collectively as “preambles” to faith (see my article “Help Their Unbelief,” Am. 9/10/2012). The development of these preambles and the accompanying faith journey bring to mind the Book of Exodus. Before the Israelites could enter the Promised Land, as part of their formation to accept the covenant, Yahweh had to prepare them. He had to expose the futility of their false gods, the emptiness of Egyptian authority and the fickleness of human nature. He had to teach them about temptation, strength and fidelity, a process that involved a period of confusion and frustration but in the end permitted the Israelites a rebirth of faith and freedom. Continue reading
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- Image: Faithful Bloggers
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