In the great philosophical masterclass that is Monty Python and the Holy Grail, King Arthur faces the Black Knight in a rather one-sided duel. Throughout their fight, the Black Knight loses limb after limb, yet continually believes he is a formidable opponent. After losing an arm, he boldly proclaims, ’Tis but a scratch!
It’s a laugh line, but why? For the same reason that it’s funny when Jim Carrey is unable to say the pen is red in the movie Liar Liar. We can clearly see reality, and a character humorously struggling to grapple with the truth we can observe, is funny.
The Black Knight says it’s just a scratch, while we can clearly see he’s lost an entire arm! We know Jim Carrey can’t lie in that scene, so trying to say the pen is red will be futile! But what’s funny on screen becomes less entertaining in real life.
For years I have been a part of certain Christian denominations that stretch the idea of faith to dangerous lengths. Hebrews 11:6 says, “Without faith, it’s impossible to please God.” If that’s the case then we need to be crystal clear in our definition of faith.
And more importantly, we need to understand what faith is not.
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