Dress up

[chriscomplex]

Do you remember when you were a child you might have played dress up, each child would find a costume and pretend to be someone else for the day. It is a great imaginative game for children to play, but when does the imaginative game stop. I've been finding it rather odd lately when grown adults label themselves as Atheist, Christian, Hindu, Buddhist or anything else that relies on imagination and belief. I wonder if people who hold fast to these identities are not playing the dress up game.

Science has proven something of interest about faith and belief, that it is directly linked to the emotion side of the brain, which gives the subject a better or worse feeling about ones position in life. It is just like those children who form a pretend identity purely for emotional fun, when they dress up and act like someone else. Some children feel good about the identity they form, others feel bad, then other don't join in altogether.

Which child are you?

 

[Quid est Veritas?]

From Mere Christianity by CS Lewis:

Lets Pretend:

"What difference does all this theology make? It can start making a difference tonight. If you are interested enough to have read thus far you are probably interested enough to make a shot at saying your prayers: and, whatever else you say, you will probably say the Lord’s Prayer.
Its very first words are Our Father. Do you now see what those words mean? They mean quite frankly, that you are putting yourself in the place of a son of God. To put it bluntly, you are dressing up as Christ. If you like, you are pretending. Because, of course, the moment you realise what the words mean, you realise that you are not a son of God. You are not a being like The Son of God, whose will and interests are at one with those of the Father: you are a bundle of self-centred fears, hopes, greeds, jealousies, and self-conceit, all doomed to death. So that, in a way, this dressing up as Christ is a piece of outrageous cheek. But the odd thing is that He has ordered us to do it.

Why? What is the good of pretending to be what you are not? Well, even on the human level, you know, there are two kinds of pretending. There is a bad kind, where the pretence is there instead of the real thing; as when a man pretends he is going to help you instead of really helping you. But there is also a good kind, where the pretence leads up to the real thing. When you are not feeling particularly friendly but know you ought to be, the best thing you can do, very often, is to put on a friendly manner and behave as if you were a nicer person than you actually are. And in a few minutes, as we have all noticed, you will be really feeling friendlier than you were. Very often the only way to get a quality in reality is to start behaving as if you had it already. That is why children’s games are so important. They are always pretending to be grownups—playing soldiers, playing shop. But all the time, they are hardening their muscles and sharpening their wits so that the pretence of being grown-up helps them to grow up in earnest.
Now, the moment you realise ‘Here I am, dressing up as Christ,’ it is extremely likely that you will see at once some way in which at that very moment the pretence could be made less of a pretence and more of a reality. You will find several things going on in your mind which would not be going there if you were really a son of God. Well, stop them. Or you may realise that, instead of saying your prayers, you ought to be downstairs writing a letter, or helping your wife to wash-up. Well, go and do it."

 

[chriscomplex]

From Mere Christianity by CS Lewis:

Lets Pretend:

"What difference does all this theology make? It can start making a difference tonight. If you are interested enough to have read thus far you are probably interested enough to make a shot at saying your prayers: and, whatever else you say, you will probably say the Lord’s Prayer.
Its very first words are Our Father. Do you now see what those words mean? They mean quite frankly, that you are putting yourself in the place of a son of God. To put it bluntly, you are dressing up as Christ. If you like, you are pretending. Because, of course, the moment you realise what the words mean, you realise that you are not a son of God. You are not a being like The Son of God, whose will and interests are at one with those of the Father: you are a bundle of self-centred fears, hopes, greeds, jealousies, and self-conceit, all doomed to death. So that, in a way, this dressing up as Christ is a piece of outrageous cheek. But the odd thing is that He has ordered us to do it.

Why? What is the good of pretending to be what you are not? Well, even on the human level, you know, there are two kinds of pretending. There is a bad kind, where the pretence is there instead of the real thing; as when a man pretends he is going to help you instead of really helping you. But there is also a good kind, where the pretence leads up to the real thing. When you are not feeling particularly friendly but know you ought to be, the best thing you can do, very often, is to put on a friendly manner and behave as if you were a nicer person than you actually are. And in a few minutes, as we have all noticed, you will be really feeling friendlier than you were. Very often the only way to get a quality in reality is to start behaving as if you had it already. That is why children’s games are so important. They are always pretending to be grownups—playing soldiers, playing shop. But all the time, they are hardening their muscles and sharpening their wits so that the pretence of being grown-up helps them to grow up in earnest.
Now, the moment you realise ‘Here I am, dressing up as Christ,’ it is extremely likely that you will see at once some way in which at that very moment the pretence could be made less of a pretence and more of a reality. You will find several things going on in your mind which would not be going there if you were really a son of God. Well, stop them. Or you may realise that, instead of saying your prayers, you ought to be downstairs writing a letter, or helping your wife to wash-up. Well, go and do it."

I'd op out on all the emotional dress up games with people just to find my humanity.

 

[chriscomplex]

Doesn't seem anyone is interested in this thread, you may delete it if you wish.

 

[least]

Do you remember when you were a child you might have played dress up, each child would find a costume and pretend to be someone else for the day. It is a great imaginative game for children to play, but when does the imaginative game stop. I've been finding it rather odd lately when grown adults label themselves as Atheist, Christian, Hindu, Buddhist or anything else that relies on imagination and belief. I wonder if people who hold fast to these identities are not playing the dress up game.

Science has proven something of interest about faith and belief, that it is directly linked to the emotion side of the brain, which gives the subject a better or worse feeling about ones position in life. It is just like those children who form a pretend identity purely for emotional fun, when they dress up and act like someone else. Some children feel good about the identity they form, others feel bad, then other don't join in altogether.

Which child are you?

Child of God (John 1:12-13)

Faith is a lot more than mere fantasy. For example, if we look at the evidence given to us by history, we can make a logical decision about how we view the Lord Jesus Christ. Some weigh the evidence and say it is not enough. Others weigh the evidence and find it overwhelmingly in favor of the Lord.

Now, we can pretend that certain things did or did not happen. That would be fantasy. But history shows that Jesus Christ was a real person and there were many unique circumstances surrounding his life. History shows that he was crucified. These things are documented by secular writers who were against Christians. So we know that Jesus lived and we know that he was crucified on the cross. This is not a myth or a fantasy.

But what about his resurrection? Here is where we may disagree according to how we judge the evidence. However, which way we go will take a measure of faith, whether faith that he rose from the dead, or faith that he did not. "Faith," we are told, "is the conviction of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1b). You and I have both never seen whether it did or did not happen, so we must believe one way or the other.

Therefore, if it is mere fantasy for one, then it must be mere fantasy for the other! But it is not. We must all weigh the evidence and make our choice: he either rose from the dead, or he did not.

As for me, the preponderance of evidence bears towards the resurrection! Thousands upon thousands of first century Christians were willing to die, and many were eyewitness of what Jesus did, whether in his life, death, and resurrection. The news of Christ spread like wild fire across the Roman Empire in less than a hundred years (and that is saying a lot in that day and age). So for me, the first thing is the testimony of those early saints, as well as the testimony of those who persecuted them, who found it strange that so many would die for the cause of Christ.

Another bit of evidence for me is my own testimony. The change that God has worked in me is nothing short of miraculous. I had a heart filled with hate, not only for people, but for God. As another thread pondered the question, so did I, "God, why would you even create me!?" I was full of anger and often got in fights, or considered how I might hurt others. I hated God, and I hated people, and it ate at me like cancer.

But then God opened my eyes to his grace. He made me realize that I was utterly hopeless in my sin. I called out to him to save me and he did. He gave me a new life that night and there were some immediate changes that took place. The hatred was gone. Not just hatred for God, but for people. I no longer wanted to hurt others, but rather, I wanted to learn to tell them about God. Now, I certainly did not become perfect, and I have surely dropped the ball my fair share of the times. But God has given me grace upon grace.

God wants to pour out his grace into your life as well. He has already made the provision for your salvation: it is Jesus. He died on the cross, was dead, and buried, and then he rose again on the third day, just like it says. He is willing that no one should perish. What must you do? Call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, believing that what he did was enough. If you trust in him, you will be saved.

I can assure you that faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is no fantasy or fairy tale. It is based on historical evidence, and you must choose to believe it one way or another.

 

[cuja1]

From Mere Christianity by CS Lewis:

Lets Pretend:

"What difference does all this theology make? It can start making a difference tonight. If you are interested enough to have read thus far you are probably interested enough to make a shot at saying your prayers: and, whatever else you say, you will probably say the Lord’s Prayer.
Its very first words are Our Father. Do you now see what those words mean? They mean quite frankly, that you are putting yourself in the place of a son of God. To put it bluntly, you are dressing up as Christ. If you like, you are pretending. Because, of course, the moment you realise what the words mean, you realise that you are not a son of God. You are not a being like The Son of God, whose will and interests are at one with those of the Father: you are a bundle of self-centred fears, hopes, greeds, jealousies, and self-conceit, all doomed to death. So that, in a way, this dressing up as Christ is a piece of outrageous cheek. But the odd thing is that He has ordered us to do it.

Why? What is the good of pretending to be what you are not? Well, even on the human level, you know, there are two kinds of pretending. There is a bad kind, where the pretence is there instead of the real thing; as when a man pretends he is going to help you instead of really helping you. But there is also a good kind, where the pretence leads up to the real thing. When you are not feeling particularly friendly but know you ought to be, the best thing you can do, very often, is to put on a friendly manner and behave as if you were a nicer person than you actually are. And in a few minutes, as we have all noticed, you will be really feeling friendlier than you were. Very often the only way to get a quality in reality is to start behaving as if you had it already. That is why children’s games are so important. They are always pretending to be grownups—playing soldiers, playing shop. But all the time, they are hardening their muscles and sharpening their wits so that the pretence of being grown-up helps them to grow up in earnest.
Now, the moment you realise ‘Here I am, dressing up as Christ,’ it is extremely likely that you will see at once some way in which at that very moment the pretence could be made less of a pretence and more of a reality. You will find several things going on in your mind which would not be going there if you were really a son of God. Well, stop them. Or you may realise that, instead of saying your prayers, you ought to be downstairs writing a letter, or helping your wife to wash-up. Well, go and do it."

The last part confuses me. Was C. S. Lewis saying you should keep saying prayers or that you should help your wife wash up?

 

[Quid est Veritas?]

The last part confuses me. Was C. S. Lewis saying you should keep saying prayers or that you should help your wife wash up?

He is saying if something is interfering with your prayers, you should first take care of it before returning to them.

 

[cuja1]

He is saying if something is interfering with your prayers, you should first take care of it before returning to them.

That makes sense now. Thanks.