Learning from Socrates

Ah, there he is. It's Socrates--Ancient Athenian Philosoper exraordinaire. Socrates undoubtedly has left a huge impact upon Western philosophy and culture--and we as Christian youth workers and members can learn a number of things from him as well.

What did Socrates spend his time doing? Talking and asking questions. And then asking more questions. And then asking questions about those questions. And then questioning the nature of questioning and the question of the questioner. To some it up, he was a man of many questions.

Maybe you've heard of the Socratic Method? It is still widely practiced today, and is essetially the art of asking questions. The idea came from Socrates' desire for his students to assume nothing, and seek greater and greater insight and understanding into the nner workings of well...everything.

If you were a student of Socrates, and you believed or saw anything, he would encourage you to probe it to the greatest depths imaginable, in hopes of gainin a better working understanding of the thing itself. The big question for Christians is, can we be willing to do that with matters of our faith.

We have all experienced times of questioning God--His existence, His motives, and often His goodness and love. What if, instead of avoiding these questions we were to seek answers? Our faith would not shrink, but burgeon and grow with each advance in our knowledge of God.

Sure, we know that God exists and that He is real, but why are we afraid of the tough questions? Are we afraid we will be caused to doubt if we pursue them? Do we fear the disdain of church members who would prefer to 'simply believe and recieve.'? There is absolutely nothing wrong with seeking answers from God and about God, and if you approach His throne with a sincere and genuine heart, He will be with you every step of the way.

The unexamined life is not worth living.

So said Socrates himself, having been accused of poisoning the minds of the Athenian youth and teaching them against the state religion. In reality, he had done neither, but only asked them(his students) to appeal to reason. Our faith is reasonable and we should not be afraid to ask questions so that we may also defend it. If you are unwilling to examine to inner workings of your faith, I fear (within good reason) that it may be because you lack true faith in the first place, and fear exposing the emptiness that is within your own heart. Faith in God that is false is not a worthwhile investment of your time, as it wil only grant you the wrath of God--not eternal life through His Son.