{"id":344,"date":"2010-09-15T09:57:00","date_gmt":"2010-09-15T09:57:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/2010\/09\/an-exercise-in-arrogance\/"},"modified":"2012-08-28T15:09:43","modified_gmt":"2012-08-28T19:09:43","slug":"an-exercise-in-arrogance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/2010\/09\/an-exercise-in-arrogance.html","title":{"rendered":"An exercise in arrogance"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

This post is one in a series about Diane Duane\u2019s <\/em>Young Wizards series.\u00a0 I am using the books as a frame for talking about what kind of religion I might feel comfortable in.\u00a0 Check out all posts on this topic at the series index.<\/a><\/em>
\n
\n<\/a>
\nThe adventures of Nita and Kit in Diane Duane\u2019s Young Wizards<\/em> series have a fierce urgency.\u00a0 No matter whether they are called on to save a planet or to save a single person, they always have a duty and a purpose they gladly serve. \u00a0As is the case in most YA books, every character, even side characters, prove to be indispensable. \u00a0I wished to able to follow the example of Duane\u2019s characters and be able to bring my talents, whatever they were, to bear in epic struggles.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, Christianity has practically the opposite message for me: the complete insignificance of my own efforts contrasted with the power of God.\u00a0 I have a hard time stomaching Christian ideas of humility and irresistible grace (the idea we cannot earn salvation or be in any way deserving of forgiveness).<\/p>\n

C.S. Lewis\u2019s excellent book The Great Divorce<\/a><\/em> is well known for its diverse portraits of sinners who reject God\u2019s offer of grace, and I\u2019m pretty sure I know which one I match.\u00a0 I most closely resemble the theologian from early in the book.\u00a0 As a scholar, he claims to be willing to enter Heaven, but he has some stipulations:<\/p>\n

\u201cI am perfectly ready to consider it.\u00a0 Of course I should require some assurances\u2026 I should want a guarantee that you are taking me to a place where I shall find a wider sphere of usefulness\u2013and scope for the talents that God has given me\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d said the other.\u00a0 \u201cI can promise you none of those things.\u00a0 No sphere of usefulness; you are not needed there at all.\u00a0 No scope for your talents; only forgiveness for having perverted them.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Obviously, my discomfort with this idea is not a disproof, but I do find it extremely off-putting. \u00a0If I believed Christianity were true, I would have to accustom myself to this kind of humility, and I suspect I would find it extremely difficult to do.<\/p>\n

I am a person who likes to be of use. \u00a0I like solving problems, not merely for the sake of a puzzle (though I do love that aspect), but also so I can perform a service for my friends and others. \u00a0I like to be able to think I am necessary, that I managed to help my friends more than I burdened them.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, I can\u2019t imagine a god looking at the wretched creatures described by Lewis and other apologists with love instead of simple pity.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This post is one in a series about Diane Duane\u2019s Young Wizards series.\u00a0 I am using the books as a frame for talking about what kind of religion I might feel comfortable in.\u00a0 Check out all posts on this topic at the series index. The adventures of Nita and Kit in Diane Duane\u2019s Young Wizards […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":127,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,68],"tags":[203,132,133,174],"class_list":["post-344","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-apologetics","category-epistemologyphilosophy","tag-presuming-gods-way-to-scan","tag-pride","tag-undeserved-grace","tag-young-wizards"],"yoast_head":"\nAn exercise in arrogance<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This post is one in a series about Diane Duane's Young Wizards series.\u00a0 I am using the books as a frame for talking about what kind of religion I might\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/2010\/09\/an-exercise-in-arrogance.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"An exercise in arrogance\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This post is one in a series about Diane Duane's Young Wizards series.\u00a0 I am using the books as a frame for talking about what kind of religion I might\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/2010\/09\/an-exercise-in-arrogance.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Unequally Yoked\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-09-15T09:57:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2012-08-28T19:09:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/tracker\/4256452356987023523-8638539654205297461?l=www.unequally-yoked.com\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Leah Libresco\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Leah Libresco\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/2010\/09\/an-exercise-in-arrogance.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/2010\/09\/an-exercise-in-arrogance.html\",\"name\":\"An exercise in arrogance\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2010-09-15T09:57:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2012-08-28T19:09:43+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/#\/schema\/person\/17ee17592b35b40040d5f5f7ea5ab464\"},\"description\":\"This post is one in a series about Diane Duane's Young Wizards series.\u00a0 I am using the books as a frame for talking about what kind of religion I might\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/2010\/09\/an-exercise-in-arrogance.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/2010\/09\/an-exercise-in-arrogance.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/2010\/09\/an-exercise-in-arrogance.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"An exercise in arrogance\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/\",\"name\":\"Unequally Yoked\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/#\/schema\/person\/17ee17592b35b40040d5f5f7ea5ab464\",\"name\":\"Leah Libresco\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/20e1e6a3a94c4e7928687804a41d888d?s=96&d=mm&r=r\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/20e1e6a3a94c4e7928687804a41d888d?s=96&d=mm&r=r\",\"caption\":\"Leah Libresco\"},\"description\":\"Leah is the author of Arriving at Amen and Building the Benedict Option. Her further writing can be found at leahlibresco.com.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/author\/leahlibresco\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"An exercise in arrogance","description":"This post is one in a series about Diane Duane's Young Wizards series.\u00a0 I am using the books as a frame for talking about what kind of religion I might","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/2010\/09\/an-exercise-in-arrogance.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"An exercise in arrogance","og_description":"This post is one in a series about Diane Duane's Young Wizards series.\u00a0 I am using the books as a frame for talking about what kind of religion I might","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/2010\/09\/an-exercise-in-arrogance.html","og_site_name":"Unequally Yoked","article_published_time":"2010-09-15T09:57:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2012-08-28T19:09:43+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/blogger.googleusercontent.com\/tracker\/4256452356987023523-8638539654205297461?l=www.unequally-yoked.com"}],"author":"Leah Libresco","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Leah Libresco","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/2010\/09\/an-exercise-in-arrogance.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/2010\/09\/an-exercise-in-arrogance.html","name":"An exercise in arrogance","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/#website"},"datePublished":"2010-09-15T09:57:00+00:00","dateModified":"2012-08-28T19:09:43+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/#\/schema\/person\/17ee17592b35b40040d5f5f7ea5ab464"},"description":"This post is one in a series about Diane Duane's Young Wizards series.\u00a0 I am using the books as a frame for talking about what kind of religion I might","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/2010\/09\/an-exercise-in-arrogance.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/2010\/09\/an-exercise-in-arrogance.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/2010\/09\/an-exercise-in-arrogance.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"An exercise in arrogance"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/","name":"Unequally Yoked","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/#\/schema\/person\/17ee17592b35b40040d5f5f7ea5ab464","name":"Leah Libresco","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/20e1e6a3a94c4e7928687804a41d888d?s=96&d=mm&r=r","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/20e1e6a3a94c4e7928687804a41d888d?s=96&d=mm&r=r","caption":"Leah Libresco"},"description":"Leah is the author of Arriving at Amen and Building the Benedict Option. Her further writing can be found at leahlibresco.com.","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/author\/leahlibresco"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/344","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/127"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=344"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/344\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=344"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=344"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/unequallyyoked\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=344"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}