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Suspending Your Belief, Disbelief, and/or Unbelief
Whenever you watch cartoons, fictionalized stories (like soap operas and “Gunsmoke”) ... or get involved with shows of magic and ventriloquism, you go through a mental process called the “suspension of disbelief.” Consider the definition given below that was taken from the Internet. Think about how often you might be going through this mental action in the course of a day. With that accomplished, connect it to the word unbelief and the commentary that follows.
Suspension of disbelief is the avoidance—often described as willing [avoidance]—of critical thinking and logic in understanding something that is unreal or impossible in reality, such as something in a work of speculative fiction, in order to believe it for the sake of enjoying its narrative. Historically, the concept originates in the Greco-Roman principles of theater, wherein the audience ignores the unreality of fiction to experience catharsis from the actions and experiences of characters.
Disbelief and unbelief are both related to belief, but have different meanings. Disbelief refers to unpreparedness, unwillingness, or inability to believe that something is the case. It is often used to describe a reaction to something surprising. Unbelief, on the other hand, usually refers to absence (or rejection) of belief, especially religious belief. It is less common than disbelief.
A Model to Study
Notice that the paragraph above that defines the difference between disbelief and unbelief includes the caveat that unbelief applies especially to religious belief. For that reason, we will study a widely accepted religious belief and determine if it is worthy of belief, disbelief, or unbelief. We will make this determination by com- paring its claim to the reality of Scripture. That done, you will get to experience a moment where you will have to either maintain your present belief, or suspend it, or change it. Relax and enjoy the spiritual moment of decision (John 4:23, 24).
In the Old Testament the seventh day of the week was set apart as the sabbath day (Ex. 20:8-11). The word “sabbath” means rest. So, “sabbath” refers primarily to the purpose—not to the number—of the day. One out of seven was to be a rest day (emphases added).
I will not identify the author or the denomination that put that message in its doctrinal “Faith and Message” book. Just understand that the denomination is one of the largest among denominational “Christianity.” That doctrinal statement could very easily apply to the faith of a majority of denominational “Christianity.”
Here is where your belief, disbelief, and/or unbelief will be tested. You will be given a few cogent scriptures to read so you can compare them to that doctrinal statement. Why? I want you to experience an “aha” moment that you might not have experienced before in your religious (or, non-religious) life. Here are the scriptures: John 4:23, 24; 5:39; 8:31, 32; Gen. 2:2, 3; Ex. 16:23-30; 20:8-11; Mark 2:27, 28; Luke 4:16; Acts 13:14, 27, 42, 44; 15:21; 16:13; 17:2; and 18:4. Now read Malachi 3:6; Heb. 13:8; and James 1:17. Write a brief summary of what you can learn from these scriptures relative to the above doctrinal statement.
The Explanation
Notice how the author of the above doctrinal statement frames his argument. He focuses on the meaning of the word “sabbath.” He pays no attention to Genesis 2:2, 3. What do vv. 2, 3 say regarding the “seventh day”? They say that the Lord God worked through the first six days ... but He rested (“sabbathed”) on the seventh day. Notice what else He did as a result of His “rest”: He blessed the seventh day and sanctified it. What does that mean?
Read Genesis 2:3. It says that He “blessed” the seventh day. The Hebrew term for “blessed” is barak. I have never heard the explanation I am about to give you, but I can understand why it could be true. It gives the idea that the Lord God knelt (barak) and expressed an act of adoration toward God. How could that be possible? The trinitarian concept of “God” would not allow such a thought. However, if you correctly understand John 1:1-3, 14, Ephesians 1:3-14, Philippians 2:5-11, Colos- sians 1:2-20, and 1 Peter 1:18-20, then you will understand that “God” is not a single being who manifests Himself in three different “persons”: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Pay close attention to the following.
John 1:1-3, 14 shows two separate “God” beings who companied with one an- other ... and one of them (the Word) became Jesus Christ. Ephesians 1:3-14 shows that the same divine partners conceived of and worked together on the concept of
creating humans and adopting them into the Elohim Family. Philippians 2:5-7 shows that the Divine Partners were equals, but the One who became Jesus Christ volunteered to give up that equality in order to be the sin-sacrifice for any sins the future humans might commit. His Partner agreed and gave Him total authority over the plan from start to finish (see vv. 9-11 and Col. 1:2-20). First Peter 1:18-20 shows that, before the creation of the orderly universe, the Word God was ordained to be- come the Christ who would die as a sacrifice for any sins the humans would commit (see also Heb. 10:5-7). Plainly, the One who became God the Father did not die for our sins ... which disproves the trinitarian concept. Just for “fun,” read also John 5:16-39; 17:1-26, and Matthew 25:31-34.
Would it be difficult, based on those scriptures, for you to believe that the Lord God (the One who became Jesus Christ) would take time at the end of His creative works on the seventh day to kneel before and speak to His divine Partner to ask His blessings on what had been created? It would not be difficult if you can suspend your disbelief and unbelief.
Being assured of that blessing and confirmation (formal approval) from His divine Partner that all of it was, indeed, “good” (Gen. 1:31), Yahweh Elohim sancti- fied the seventh day and made it holy. What does it mean that He sanctified the seventh day? The Hebrew word is qadash. It means that the seventh day was made ceremonially and morally clean and holy. Following the pattern in Gen. 1:5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31, we should see that the seventh day also consists of an “evening and morning” – what we know as a 24-hour period of time. What does this prove?
All of this part of the discussion proves that the author of that doctrinal state- ment not only played a “shiny object” trick by focusing your attention on the “rest” meant by the term “sabbath,” but he refused to acknowledge the importance of the number of the day. The more important thing is that his comments are a summar- ization of his denomination’s corporate agreement about that concept. And ... a majority of “Christian” denominations agree with them.
The Moment of Decision
With that information at hand, will you now choose to suspend your present belief? Maybe you do not have a belief about this matter one way or another. Maybe this has seemed too strange for your theological concept ... but you suspended your unbelief long enough to study through it. How did that work for you? Does it seem too strange for you to accept? Are you willing to keep it in the back of your mind until you have more information? Remember this: Disbelief refers to unprepared- ness, unwillingness, or inability to believe that such is the case. What are you will- ing to do about your lack of preparation, unwillingness, and/or inability? You can study it more and change your mind. How do you feel about someone using a bright, shiny object to divert your attention from God’s truth?
Contact me at larryf538@gmail.com if you would like more information. Go to our website: theseventhdaychristianassembly.org if you would like to study more of our literature. Tune in to our Christian Outreach radio program “Spirit and Truth” each Sunday from 1:00 P.M. to 2:00 P.M. for some straight talk and plain truth from God’s word of truth. Our goal in these scripture-based, Christ-centered discussions is to teach you God’s plain truth and increase your knowledge of it and faith in it.