My Mommy Told Me So

I had finished 2 1/2 years of college and some work before I went on active duty in the naval reserve.  But the world I encountered was far more complex than what I had seen up to that point.

As I began to get to know the guys on my ship and discuss my beliefs with them I realized that I was ill-prepared to answer all their questions.  I had been a Christian for years already but had never encountered real challenges to my faith.

As I began to meet the guys and get to know them I encountered the following.  One guy was a red-blooded Christian who believed the Vietnamese (who we were in a war with at the time) were just like dogs.  He wanted to kill them all.  He believed that's all they deserved.  Though he professed to "loving" Jesus I couldn't stomach his pure hatred for other creations of God.

Another fellow I met was practicing voodoo on board the ship when we were out to sea.  He would go out to the rescue boat on our ship after dark and practice his religion.  Although I never chatted with him much I heard about his "faith".

Two other fellows were obviously effeminate.  They shared their plans with everyone on the ship as they were preparing to get out of the navy.  They were going to leave their wives and join two other men and live as homosexual couples.  Again, not something I had talked about in Sunday School.

One of the other guys was a professing Mormon.  Seemed like a nice guy, quiet, clean cut but didn't seem to mix with the crew very well.

The guy who challenged me the most was a fellow who professed to being a metaphysician.  I was vocal about my faith as any good Baptist raised kid was.  I knew enough to get someone saved.  In fact, I probably had a PhD in salvation from all the biblical sermons and altar calls I had experienced in my growing up years.

But this guy really stopped me in my tracks.  As we shared our beliefs, he would always challenge me with the question, "How do you know God exists?"  That's when I realized that the best answer I could give him was because "My Mommy told me so!"  That's how deep my theology was at that time.

It was about this time that we encountered the backpackers in Athens, Greece at the English-speaking church service.  They pointed me to Francis Schaeffer and his book The God Who Is There.  It gave me the framework to begin understanding where the metaphysician was coming from.

Francis Schaeffer had come to his own crisis of faith in his early 50's and spent 3 years reading his Bible and pacing around a chalet in the Swiss Alps.  He arrived at the conclusion that God did exist and the Bible was true.  Subsequently, his children began to bring their college mates home and he developed a way to help them see the end of their philosophies.  They fell short in their claims and he led them to faith in Christ and belief in the Bible.  His home in Switzerland became known as L'Abri and young people from all over the world began to flock there to find faith from an intellectual base.

After reading Schaeffer's book and others as well as a trip to Switzerland (I'll share about that some other time) I began a time of discussions with the metaphysician.  We would stand on the bridge (an unoccupied space when in port) and discuss the reality of God and what I saw him doing in the world.  There was always a crowd of other guys standing around listening to us discuss.  That fellow never came to faith that I am aware of but the discussions impacted others on the ship and the body of Christ grew among us.

I had finally owned my own faith and it was deeper than the pat answer I was able to give before...because "My Mommy told me so."

I've often wondered--Who is carrying the mantel that Francis Schaeffer did in that time?  Who is answering the intellectual questions of those God-seekers who are searching for truth and reality.  Speaking to them in tongues probably isn't going to bring them to faith.  Neither is the flashy, loud, screaming TV preacher.  Who is helping those of us with a rational mind find a child-like faith in the Father?