{"id":50797,"date":"2024-08-21T13:57:37","date_gmt":"2024-08-21T11:57:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kernbeisser.ch\/how-do-you-deepen-your-faith\/"},"modified":"2024-08-21T14:07:19","modified_gmt":"2024-08-21T12:07:19","slug":"how-do-you-deepen-your-faith","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kernbeisser.ch\/en\/how-do-you-deepen-your-faith\/","title":{"rendered":"How do you deepen your faith?"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column width=”1\/1″][vc_column_text text_lead=”yes” uncode_shortcode_id=”704136″]Sincerity does not protect against mistakes.<\/strong> In this article, I would like to point out a phenomenon that I have experienced myself and in many places. My own sincerity has not prevented me from taking a narrow view of things. The fact that I have experienced many things as “spiritual wealth” does not detract from this. Some of it was really good, but some of it was really weird. At a certain point in my life, the approaches mentioned here were helpful. But not later. How do you deepen your faith?[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text uncode_shortcode_id=”112537″]<\/p>\n

What is a deepening of faith?<\/h3>\n

I once worked for a Reformation church. Here, someone in a respectable position described to me, almost plaintively, that some people were always striving to deepen their faith. That alienated him, because he couldn’t imagine anything. Churchgoers who only go to church out of tradition, who perhaps praise a few good social aspects there but have no connection to faith themselves, are sometimes somewhat helpless in the face of expressions such as “deepening faith”. In free churches, however, this is a good basic tone. This is because it is preceded by a personal reference to faith. Logically, they are also more likely to take care of it there.<\/p>\n

In free churches, people are involved because it is precisely this personal connection that is important. A “deepening of faith” is then a matter of course. One should take care of one’s own faith, and cultivate faith as one cultivates one’s own health. A deepening of faith is then part of this culture of faith. Deepening and care belong together. That’s how I’ve always understood it myself. Faith and biblical content interest me, inspire me and I enjoy dealing with them. They help me to find a positive direction in my life. The good news of God’s grace, combined with a clear goal, helps me to live my life gratefully and regularly realign it.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text uncode_shortcode_id=”697493″]<\/p>\n

The beginning: More of the same<\/h3>\n

The direction of the deepening seems obvious at first. In a nutshell, it’s about “more of the same”. You deepen where you have already landed. This is also where you realize what you have dealt with the most up to this point. If, for example, Christian ideologies and subcultures are in the foreground, then the deepening is probably precisely in these areas. It does not automatically mean that you broaden your horizons, nor that you examine the biblical foundations of your own assumptions. It’s navel-gazing. The temptation to do so is particularly great and no one is immune to it. It seems to be a human reaction to first seek confirmation for one’s own assumptions. The closer the community, the narrower the possibilities for deepening.[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text uncode_shortcode_id=”949017″]<\/p>\n

The self-image: Biblical or traditional?<\/h3>\n

More and more of the same is particularly influential in evangelical circles because a strong black-and-white mindset prevails, in which the Bible is placed above all else, but practice testifies to the fact that people primarily adhere to ideologies (“rigid guiding principles”). This manifests itself in moralizing demands for a certain lifestyle, for pronounced opinions about what is right and what is wrong. There are also doctrinal hobbyhorses, such as things like “hell”, “free will”, “immortal soul” and the like, which absolutely have to be believed as “biblical” if you want to believe “correctly”.<\/p>\n

Those who propagate such things have never examined the Bible for them, but are part of a certain tradition. Why? These terms are not mentioned or explained in the Bible. Moreover, they were never taught by the prophets, Jesus or the apostles. They were often written centuries after the New Testament was completed. It would be correct to confess that one “adheres to traditional ideas”. This has nothing to do with “biblical”. This distinction is not about judging the respective statements, but about realistically assessing yourself and your background. Everyone is allowed to believe what they want for all I care, but it helps in conversation if you use appropriate labels for your own assumptions.<\/p>\n

Here is my hypothesis:<\/p>\n

“The deepening of the evangelical self-image must only take place within one’s own four walls.”<\/em><\/p>\n

The emphasis is therefore on “deepening”, “being allowed” and “your own four walls”. The image of deepening is that you grow more deeply into your own tradition. However, many do not realize this and experience it as a “deepening of faith”. It is often just confirmation of what has been learned so far. When you are at the very beginning, all learning is a great wealth. This should definitely be recognized. It doesn’t matter which tradition you grow up in. You can learn something everywhere. When you learn that something is “biblical”, this is initially part of what you have learned. This has still not been tested.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row row_height_percent=”0″ back_color=”color-731465″ overlay_alpha=”50″ gutter_size=”3″ column_width_percent=”100″ shift_y=”0″ z_index=”0″ uncode_shortcode_id=”137912″ back_color_type=”uncode-palette”][vc_column width=”1\/1″][vc_column_text uncode_shortcode_id=”200238″]<\/p>\n

The trap of orthodoxy<\/h3>\n

Right versus wrong. Black versus white. No shades in between. This shapes narrow thinking, in which there is no room for development or differentiation. Narrow-minded communities are often legalistic (legal) and define what is right and binding<\/strong> in their understanding. Sometimes it is only a requirement for the community. However, it can also come to light as a demand towards a society (such as ideas about marriage or abortion that are to be enforced through protest actions).<\/p>\n

Orthodoxy now persists in such assumptions of right and wrong and often defends them against the outside world, i.e. against people who do not necessarily believe in black and white ideas and who have a different mindset. It is not possible to deepen your faith in such an ossified environment. There, however, Bible teachers are often exalted who say and “deepen” exactly what everyone has always thought. This is the trap of orthodoxy.<\/p>\n

How do you recognize such a self-righteous attitude?<\/p>\n