Webster's Dictionary says antithesis means "direct contrast, opposition." 

When was the last time you had a conversation with someone who didn't even remotely believe like you without preaching to them and enjoyed it?

When was the last time you had a friend who was not a believer?

When was the last time you invited a Catholic or atheist or even Buddhist to dinner with you AND your family, just to find out about their lives and what was going on in it?

That is what this essay is about... getting OUT of our comfort zones and creating a little bit of antithesis in our lives!   

We need to allow our beliefs to be challenged so that we truly KNOW what we actually do believe!   To just say, "If it's in the Holy Bible, I believe it!" isn't enough!  That's wonderful that you believe everything in the Bible, but what about certain things in the Word of God do you believe?  There are many who do not believe that healing is for today.  What about the Holy Spirit do you believe?  Tongues?  Prophesy?  Miracles?  And what about reading other books along with the Bible?  There are many today who do not believe that you should read anything EXCEPT the Bible!!  Ok, ok, devotionals and concordances will be allowed!!  The churches I've been involved with, I haven't seen a whole lot of church folk today allowing themselves to be challenged, stretching their faith, even among the pastors.   

Because in all reality, it is the pastors who lead the sheep to fresh grass and clean water.  No one can bring revival or change to a church, it must come down through the pulpit.  And if it's not coming down from the front, believe you me... it'll never make it to the back of the church, reverberating through everyone.  So then, my reasoning is that pastors (leaders), are not allowing themselves to be challenged.  Therefore they have stagnant churches, that aren't going anywhere, except to the same ole stagnated watering hole.  

Anyway, I'll explain further!!  We all have our core beliefs.  These would be called our 'thesis.'  Then along comes a conversation or book that is exactly opposite of what we believe and we get mad!  This is called antithesis.   The conversation or book might shake us to our very foundation, oh NO... what do we do?  One of two things actually!  One, the antithesis might causes us to question what we originally believed and now, we must work through that so we will know WHY we believe what we do.  Secondly, instead of working that hard, we'll just chuck everything and "By Golly, stick to our thesis, come hell or high water."  I bet this person is a lovely conversationalist!!

Jesus KNEW who was in control and was secure in His Father.  And yet He never feared He would lose anything of what He believed by merely talking about those 'different' things that opposed His beliefs.  He had what you call "confidence" in His God and Father because of a relationship with His Father.  Nothing moved Him!  In fact, I believe He had more converts then any of us today!!  We must be as confident in Him, not in our opinions!  "Let the God that answers by fire be God!"  Let God through the fire of His Holy Spirit convince you!  "Let the WORD of God be true and every man a liar."

How do we know what we believe?  It's a proven fact in the education field that if a child is able to explain and teach something to another child, then the child doing the teaching truly does "own" that particular knowledge!  Even in the churches, so many get mad when they can't convince you of what they believe and call you a heretic or try to make you feel inferior in some way.  You know what I can't stand is when you disagree and the other person resorts to: My precious Lord is always faithful to comfort me!  He tells me that I'm running the good race and not to grow weary... or He always reminds me that wide is the path that leads to destruction and narrow is the way that leads to righteousness and few there be that find it. or you need to clear your mind of all the preconceptions that you have, get on your knees before God with prayer and supplication that the Holy Spirit will guide you.  Oh please!!!  What they are saying is that you are not running the good race, that you are on the wide path, nor do you get on your knees in prayer before the Lord!!  

So by logic standards, it seems that if you can have a conversation with someone who is in opposition to what you believe and explain what it is "YOU" believe without getting mad, then you own that particular knowledge!!  And I mean a conversation, don't just listen in arrogance.  Thinking that you feel so sorry for them that they don't know the truth. 

Now apply this to the church... the churches I've been involved with doesn't seem to own anything anymore... because when questioned or just wanting to converse on a certain topic, because we asked something different than they believe... if the pastor doesn't adhere to it, then the unwritten rule is "they" aren't allowed to talk about it. Ya know, maybe they're right... What do you think?  Do you think we should bow to 'whatever' comes out of the pulpit and receive it as The Gospel Truth JUST BECAUSE the pastor said it?  Well, if you were honest enough to answer yes, then please let me ask you... why don't we just go back to the Middle Ages where the priest and church totally ruled the people?  Examples: 

1.  The church leaders spoke the whole service in Latin, never mind, no one spoke it but them!  

2. No one was allowed to read the Bible except for the church leaders because they were the only ones holy enough to interpret the precious and holy word.  The poor couldn't read anyway, so they were to stupid and illiterate to understand such a wonderful word.

 
All you have to do is take it to it's logical conclusion!  No, you don't want to go back to that!!  Well... I know for sure that I don't.  

Hey, do you remember the fellow who declared God to be dead?  Yep,
that'd be Nietzsche. Of course, Christian America won't touch anything he's written because he is diametrically opposed to faith of any kind but in all actuality, he had deep convictions AND for one thing... he believed in allowing others to challenge his convictions!  {Whoa, what a concept!!}  The church today could take lesson from his quote... 

It's not enough to have the courage of your convictions.
You have to have the courage to have your convictions challenged.
Nietzsche's dictum

Has anyone ever noticed that as children get older they are "supposed to" receive more and more freedom so that they can grow into responsible adults?  In the churches today, we have many stuck in perpetual childhood!  Instead of giving them freedom and grace to make mistakes, to give them the ability to ask all the wrong questions, and even give them the freedom to read all the wrong books, and here's the best one yet... to visit other churches, therefore the church has squelched their ability to learn to think for themselves.  OH!.. But that gets into dangerous territory, doesn't it?  *wink* When people begin to think for themselves AND begin to trust their own judgment...

They can't be controlled then, eh! 

Well, anyway...

this is just one of my many opinions that has been confirmed as being wrong!!  {tongue-in-cheek}