doubt
I am currently re-reading The Genesee Diary by Henri Nouwen, and feel like I will post a couple of quotes over the next little while including this one:
…although Thomas did not believe in the resurrection of the Lord, he kept faithful toi the community of the apostles. In that community the Lord appeared to him and strengthened his faith. I find this a very profound and consoling though. In times of doubt or unbelief, the community can “carry you along,” so to speak; it can even offer on your behalf what you yourself overlook, and can be the context in which you may recognise the Lord again
I find this incredibly profound. Here combined are what I feel are the two key and abiding elements of my christianity (not necessarily the ideal ones, just the ones that often come to the fore for me) - doubt and a strong belief in the value of community.
December 6th, 2003 at 2:50 am
I have been wondering about this subject. Maybe it would be a good book for me to read!
Take this for example:
What if there was a person who was a sex addict. This person became connected with a community and sowly, over time, almost every day was spent within this community. If the person still had consistent (though maybe not continual) thought of his addiction, though his community never gave him the chance to act on these thoughts, and for the rest of his life, he lived and learned and served in this community without ever having the chance to act on his impulses, could he be considered “healed”?
I know this analogy is slightly off-subject to what you are talking about, but my question may not be so obtuse: Does God place us within communities in order to allow us the strength that we could never have on our own?
I understand that confession is an important factor in our journey, but after confession, so many times we fall again. Maybe community is possibly an alternative to true healing… Or, maybe community IS true healing?
What is your take?