Don’t flay the sheep.

sed credo ut intelligam

 My confirmands and their mentors are working on faith statements right now. I’m making the mentors write a faith statement alongside their confirmands to give the poor kiddos a sense of camerarderie, but also to model the idea of the continually moving target that is the Christian life.

So, I’m having lots of fascinating discussions with adults around the church about their writing. That they’ve never done this, that they can’t believe how much they learned, that it took them  long time or didn’t take too much time at all. Honestly, I’m almost more entranced with the process for the sake of the adults than for the sake of the confirmands.

But over and over, I think I’m hearing echoes of modern-day Anselm of Canterbury. I’ve loved this quote for a long time, and I believe sincerely that most of us Christians really aren’t smart enough to get all the intricacies of theology. But that doesn’t make it a lost cause for us, nor does it make theology useless. It’s just all part of this fantastic, beauiful tangle, and becuase we believe we want to spend mre time trying to figure it out:

Neque enim quaero intelligere ut credam, sed credo ut intelligam. Nam et hoc credo, quia, nisi credidero, non intelligam.

Nor do I seek to understand that I may believe, but I believe that I may understand. For this, too, I believe, that, unless I first believe, I shall not understand.

Anselm of Canterbury

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