In the August 13th issue of the Fort Worth Star Telegram, R. Scott Colglazier, compared the practice of religion to the individualized playlists on an iPod. The iPod is a stylized MP3 music player, and presently a cultural phenomenon. Note the following from Colglazier’s pen:
If we can learn and understand that faith is individualized because of our personal perspective, it inspires us to become more accepting of other people, especially those people who ultimately download different ideas about God into their spiritual iPods. This, of course, is problematic for those who think there is only one divine truth that should be accepted by all people.
Another implication is that the religious truth we finally discover says as much about us as it does about God. Just look at the variety of music on a person’s iPod and you’ll begin to see the unique essence of that individual. To acknowledge that our beliefs say as much, or more, about us as they do about God requires a healthy dose of humility- but in the end, humility is a good thing when comes to our religion.
Finally, if religion is about exploring our depth as human beings, then faiht will always be an individualized experience. Depth is our uniqueness, and living into our unique selves goes to the heart of the spiritual journey. This is true regardless of the difficulty it creates within religious organizations trying to spawn universal language and beliefs among its members.
Analysis:
In the preceding article, Colglazier expresses a common sentiment among religious people today. You will notice that he believes faith to be subjective rather than objective. In effect, he values the subjective perceptions of the individual above what is objectively taught in the Word of God. He is welcome to his view, but it must be recognized that his view directly contradicts what the Bible plainly says:
“And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:19-21).
“And consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation – as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you, as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.” (2 Peter 3:15-16).
The iPod may be a great thing, but an iPod religion is vain before God! (cf. Matthew 7:20-21).
