Assignment #5: Spirit Week: The Many Uses of the Great Big Book of Everything

     When I was little, I watched this show called Stanley and the Great Big Book of Everything.  The main character, a little boy named Stanley, would hop into this big book and go on crazy adventures in far away lands with talking animals.  The show had a little ditty that Stanley would sing every time he opened the book: "It's, the, Great Big Book of Everything, with everything inside!  See the world around us, this book's the perfect guide!"  It wasn't long before my brother and I caught on to the theme, and christened our Dad's one-volume Brittanica Encyclopedia The Great Big Book of Everything.  Now, my math-and-science-are-the-best-ever brother typically saw our Big Book as a gateway into the mysteries of Archimedes and Einstein.  Not me.  The monstrosity of knowledge that is the Brittanica Encyclopedia was a catalog of the best literature, most influential figures, and mightiest myths in human history just ripe for the taking.  My brother saw the encyclopedia as a book of "how"; I saw it as an answer to "why". 
     Andy Braner's first session in chapel caught me by surprise.  To be honest, I expected just another youth pastor who would probably say hi, cite a few examples, then launch into an inspiring, but familiar, declamation of the Gospel.  Maybe I'd cry a little, hug a little, and find a new favorite Scripture, but at the end of the day, nothing would truly change.  Andy really surprised me.  I have always been a "why" person; it's one of the main reasons I love reading and writing so much.  Those activities allow me to explore the reasons why, and to find whatever answers I can.  "How's" drive me crazy.  I hold a great respect for people who have the patience and knowledge to puzzle through the numerous "how's" of the world, but at the end of the day, it's not the "how's", but the "why's" I stare at my ceiling and think about  for hours before bed.  It's the "why's" that drive me to dig through massive volumes, searching for the smallest detail that will tip the balance of a debate.  It's the "why's" that I will never stop asking, especially to God.  
     The Bible is a book built for "why's".  Its story is so outrageous, so unbelievable, we can't help but ask why.  Why would Christ die for us?  Why would God let it happen?  Why is there sin in the first place?  Ever since I first became a Christian, my mind has been filled with questions like these, but I have hesitated to answer them.  I have been raised in a strong Christian home, but my church home was constantly changing.  Every time we moved, we'd search and pray for a new church, and usually God would provide us with a good one.  But not every church holds the same ideals as another church, even ones within the same denomination.  As a young Christian, I learned that when I had questions about God, I should ask my pastor or Sunday School teacher.  But then we'd move, and I wouldn't know my new teacher, and therefore wouldn't have the confidence to ask questions for fear of looking ignorant.  Then you'd throw in the occasional church that condemned doubt as sin, and pretty soon I came to the conclusion that asking questions about God was a bad idea.  And yet, what could I do?  I still had all those "why's" clamoring about in my head, begging to be answered.  I would try to subdue them, telling myself that "All things work for the good of those who love God" and that my questions didn't matter.  God knows what He's doing was my mantra when a new question arrived.  Soon I was stuck in a slough of passive reassurance, and my faith was suffering because of it.  
     This is not an unheard of situation.  New Christians are often barraged by doubts and questions, from both themselves and others.  But even mature Christians can still come across some new aspect of life that forces them to question what they believe.  On the surface, this can seem like doubt.  But in fact, asking questions is one of the best ways to strengthen your faith.  "Faith without works is dead", and faith without support is like Jello: wobbly, wiggly, and easily dissolved.  We have to know that what we believe is true, or in our minds, it won't be.  For example, say you were about to walk across a bridge blindfolded.  No one has told you anything about this bridge other than that it exists and that you have to cross it.  You don't know if it has supports, if it has guide rails, if it's colored blue.  What would you do?  Would you continue to walk across without any more information?  Or would you ask for more details about what you were putting your faith in?  Asking those questions does not show doubt in the bridge; it shows that you want to know what the bridge is like.  In the same way, asking questions about God does not display doubt.  Wanting to know more about Him is one of the goals of Christianity.  God is not an unknowable being who is separate from the world.  He wants to know us, and wants us to know Him.  Who can tell us more about God than God?
     Also, questioning your faith can not only help strengthen it, but also help you know how to defend it.  Our world is full of lies and real doubts; if we don't know what it is we believe, how can we defend it?  Questions and Christianity go hand in hand.  Andy addressed this aspect of our faith in a way I had not heard before.  He's not afraid of asking the "why" questions, and it has made his faith all the greater.  His discussions have been a great encouragement to me to keep asking questions, and to encourage others to do the same.