The Voices in my HeadTheology of Chocolate Cake
January 11th 2007 01:24
What is the best way to understand the Christian religion? The absolute and concrete belief that the Bible is the inspired Word of God?
This is the assignment I am working on at the moment. My feeling is that trying to understand a religious thought process that is different to your own is a bit like being at a bakesale and at this bakesale, there is a smorgasboard of chocolate cakes. Some are pretty basic. They look average. Nothing inviting about them that makes you want to sink your teeth into them. Some are layered and have rosettes and thick layers of icing. You think they are pretty and some people might want to eat them but you know by looking it just involves too much of everything and would be too much for you to eat. Then, you look, and there is one in the center of the table that is really beautiful. Lots of layers, not too much icing, and you see from the sample that it has a deep center of fudge inside. There is some substance to this cake. It catches your eye, there is something different about this cake. A quality of quality about it.
Now, you may not want to eat the cake. Maybe you just appreciate the fact that the cake is so well done, different than most of the chocolate cakes you have seen. Maybe you just want the recipe...just in case. Maybe you just want to be able to say you understand how to make a cake like that. Whatever the reason that this cake appeals to you, you want to talk to the person who made it.
You may not have ever made a cake before but to make a cake, you do not necessarily need to speak to a great pastry chef. You just need to talk to someone who knows how to make one the way that you can understand. So, you find the person who has this cake, and you ask them for their recipe. They are glad to talk to you about it.
As they are speaking, you may have a desire to jump in and say, well, couldn't we substitute egg whites for eggs? Or 2 cups of flour for the 1 1/2 the recipe calls for? You may be surprised by some of the ingredients. Some may not sound desirable at all. There is mayonnaise in some chocolate cakes. Some call for applesauce. You may be appalled by the idea of putting mayonnaise in a cake. Maybe you hate applesauce. However, if you want to understand how to make that cake, you need to keep those opinions to yourself and listen. Not question immediately. Not try to prove them wrong. You simply need to listen.
I think it's alot like this when you are talking to someone with great differences in their religious beliefs than yours. If you want to truly understand why they believe the way they do, you have to be willing to listen and not argue with them.
You have to listen without the intention of proving them wrong. This doesn't mean you have to ever make that recipe. It doesn't mean you can't make a few modifications to the recipe once you get it home. Your modifications may make the cake taste even better to you personally. However, it took some understanding of the person's process to be able to make the cake at all.
A process that should be respected and appreciated, even if you don't follow their recipe to the letter.
This is the assignment I am working on at the moment. My feeling is that trying to understand a religious thought process that is different to your own is a bit like being at a bakesale and at this bakesale, there is a smorgasboard of chocolate cakes. Some are pretty basic. They look average. Nothing inviting about them that makes you want to sink your teeth into them. Some are layered and have rosettes and thick layers of icing. You think they are pretty and some people might want to eat them but you know by looking it just involves too much of everything and would be too much for you to eat. Then, you look, and there is one in the center of the table that is really beautiful. Lots of layers, not too much icing, and you see from the sample that it has a deep center of fudge inside. There is some substance to this cake. It catches your eye, there is something different about this cake. A quality of quality about it.
Now, you may not want to eat the cake. Maybe you just appreciate the fact that the cake is so well done, different than most of the chocolate cakes you have seen. Maybe you just want the recipe...just in case. Maybe you just want to be able to say you understand how to make a cake like that. Whatever the reason that this cake appeals to you, you want to talk to the person who made it.
You may not have ever made a cake before but to make a cake, you do not necessarily need to speak to a great pastry chef. You just need to talk to someone who knows how to make one the way that you can understand. So, you find the person who has this cake, and you ask them for their recipe. They are glad to talk to you about it.
As they are speaking, you may have a desire to jump in and say, well, couldn't we substitute egg whites for eggs? Or 2 cups of flour for the 1 1/2 the recipe calls for? You may be surprised by some of the ingredients. Some may not sound desirable at all. There is mayonnaise in some chocolate cakes. Some call for applesauce. You may be appalled by the idea of putting mayonnaise in a cake. Maybe you hate applesauce. However, if you want to understand how to make that cake, you need to keep those opinions to yourself and listen. Not question immediately. Not try to prove them wrong. You simply need to listen.
I think it's alot like this when you are talking to someone with great differences in their religious beliefs than yours. If you want to truly understand why they believe the way they do, you have to be willing to listen and not argue with them.
You have to listen without the intention of proving them wrong. This doesn't mean you have to ever make that recipe. It doesn't mean you can't make a few modifications to the recipe once you get it home. Your modifications may make the cake taste even better to you personally. However, it took some understanding of the person's process to be able to make the cake at all.
A process that should be respected and appreciated, even if you don't follow their recipe to the letter.
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Comment by katyzzz
Photography Tips
Health Focus
Poetry Lighthouse
MS Paint Art
Good to see you,
This is a wonderul post, more about listening than anything else and an area in which I fall down.
Not only is this a very insightful post, it even tastes good [sorry, just couldn't resist that]
katyzzz.
If you do your assignment as well as you have done this post you should do very well indeed.
Comment by KylieW
Celebrity Obsession
Great post. And so true. You can totally respect someone else's religious views, even if you don't believe in that view at all.
Sadly tolerance is a is a virtue that seems to be overlooked often. It's 'my way or the highway'. But personally, I don't think happiness lies down that particular highway!
KylieW
Comment by Damo
For the Sake of Argument
My Apologetics
You love cake a lot I see.
So does this mean we can have our cake and eat it too?
Comment by The Voices in my Head
The Voices in my Head
Great to see you, too. I have been holed up with my assignments and a nasty illness that I can't seem to shake. I have seen several of your posts in the previews and can't wait to come and comment on them.
My Theology professor is a stickler of a man, not sure if he will like my take on it but we will see.
Thanks for commenting...glad the post tasted good to you, it means you like my recipe. Great thing for a writer to hear. *smile*
Come back,
Voices~
Comment by The Voices in my Head
The Voices in my Head
Good to see you, my friend.
As for tolerance and all that, it's a trait that all of us not only need to work on in our own lives but we must also realize the definition of it. Once we get that down pat, world peace will ensue...which is to say, that it will likely never happen. lol
I like your reference to the highway... the nice thing about highways is that they go in all different directions. We may each take the one that is best for us to get us to our ultimate destination of happiness. Even better, happiness is like the name of a town on a map. It can be found in several different places with a variety of different routes. *smile*
Come back,
Voices~
Comment by The Voices in my Head
The Voices in my Head
I knew that would be coming from someone...here's my take on it.
Just because someone can throw some stuff in a bowl, mix it and bake it, and have it come out looking delicious doesn't mean it will taste good. I guess it depends on how good a baker you are...my question is this...would you want to eat your cake or serve it to others? lol
Come back,
Voices~
PS I do love chocolate cake...I just don't make it very often.
Comment by Damo
For the Sake of Argument
My Apologetics
Comment by JoshZ
A Simple Christian
JZ
Comment by KarenC
Genghis Gal
I like this take on Christianity and religion in general.
Just to throw a few little curve balls in there (hehe, and I'm not even American):
I like soy sauce in my chocolate cake: the Nestorian Christians. These guys believed that Jesus was two people, both divine and human, not one divine human.
Nestorian Christianity_wikipedia
I don't believe in chocolate cake and if I did I wouldn't eat it anyway: the hermit monks (AKA stylites, ascetics). These guys had a special connection to God through complete isolation (ie sitting on the top of huge pillars in the desert) and often refused food and water for weeks on end, just as Jesus did in his 40 days and nights in the desert.
Stylites
I'll fight for my right to eat chocolate cake and chop your head off with a sword if you get in my way. Oh, and I'll also see if I can revive you after I've chopped your head off, after all, I'm a caring guy: the Knights Templar and the Knights Hospitaller: These guys were crazy fighting Christians (kind of goes against the whole spirit of the religion, but hey, let's forget about that for a second) and sprung up out of the Crusades (one of Christianity's less than shining moments but has given me years of historical pleasure) They also looked after people and set up hospitals.
Templar
Hospitaller
This is by no means an exhaustive list -
heretical sects
My point in this little traipse through wikipedia (apologies for relying on that - my connection is slow and this was the easiest site to search links) is that for me the best way to understand the Christian religion (and any religion for that matter) is not just to accept that people have varying views on religion, but to see what has been rejected and embraced along the way and why it has been rejected or embraced along the way. Chocolate cake itself would have been a process of trial and error - hey, chilli / mushrooms / paper etc really sucks when you add it to this cocoa mixture - and what we have now in all its current variations (mayonnaise works for me, applesauce works for you) has come about because of what has been rejected in making it.
When you see the doctrines that Christianity has rejected and accepted, it makes it a lot easier to understand the religion that exists today. Anyway, my little historical view on the question you're working on.
BTW, nice to see you again, Voices my sweet. I hope everything works out for you.
Karen
Comment by The Voices in my Head
The Voices in my Head
LOL Very nice. If someone ate all the cakes.....? Hmmmm. The word confused comes to mind. *smile*
Come back,
Voices~
Comment by The Voices in my Head
The Voices in my Head
Thank you, good to see you!
Come back,
Voices~
Comment by The Voices in my Head
The Voices in my Head
I loved your response. Very insightful.
It is true that there have been many, many changes to the core foundations of Christianity over the years. However, I don't believe that it proves Christianity incorrect. I think it proves Christianity to be a honest, humble pursuit of God. Sort of..."there have been errors in our faith, but we will continue to pursue the correct path, we will correct our errors, we will continue on from here."
On the other hand, there are some religions out there, which claim to be unerring, correct, no apologies, no mistakes. One in particular, and I have no faith in their faith. Let's just suffice it to say, I've tried their cake...and it was putrid to my tastes. *smile*
So much there to be taken from your response. I am sure I will read it several times and may comment on it again.
Thanks for stopping by, it was great to see you.
Come back,
Voices~
Comment by tinkster
Tinkster
Comment by The Voices in my Head
The Voices in my Head
Stop talking! *smile*
It's perfectly okay to be set in your ways and to be strong in what you believe in. Where it becomes a problem is when you can't accept that another religion or belief may also have some merit or that another interpretation may also be correct. That's why we have groups like Al Queida.
Much of the misery in third world countries stems from some maniacal religious belief. Of course, those religions or beliefs are not based on an understanding of God at all, in my opinion, and I really don't think I need to sit down with Osama to figure that out. lol
Come back,
Voices~
Comment by KarenC
Genghis Gal
I hope I didn't come across as being critical of current beliefs - that wasn't my intention. I don't think where Christianity is at this point in time is wrong - just a sum of its very divergent past. For my little historical mind, I can't help but be nostalgic about the sects that have passed and the gospels that have been discarded and imagine what Christianity would look like if the Judas Gospel had prevailed over the Gospel of Mark.
Neither wrong nor right, just a product of circumstance.
Karen
PS. Keep pushing yourself - you can achieve great heights. It took me 5 years to complete my Masters (a 3 year degree) but I did it in the end and it was worth it.