Quote of the Day

As shown, Christians have reached very little consensus on who the "real" Jesus is, or was. At the same time, they cannot give up the quest. There is something about the man that is yet to be known, something unresolved, but something that must be resolved. For the same reason, the ceaseless yet fruitless attempts of Christians to develop an adequate description of their faith is a sign that its deepest and most compelling mysteries have so far eluded solution. To be sure, Christian history has been scarred by the rise and fall of belief systems devolving out of it, many of which have led to division, conflict, and even warfare. But then the belief systems repeatedly give way to fresh interpretations of both scripture and tradition -- as the bellicosity of the Crusaders was replaced with the peaceful scholarship and service of the monasteries, as Protestants and Catholics have set aside their brutal opposition in the recognition on both sides that neither is a closed system. This justifies the guarded conclusion this it is ignorance and not belief that is the source of the faith's vitality. What remains unsaid, even unthinkable, and what still inspires disagreement, is far more powerful than what is known and intelligible.

-- James Carse