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Notes -
One of the things that I think is true of life in general is that your faith will be tested. And sometimes logic, no matter how prettily written down, is not what comforts the heart. Sometimes no amount of clear reasoning and pat answers can prepare you for the devastation life has to offer or teach you how to respond to life's frustrations.
I think it's interesting that we can have these sorts of conversations where, if we are willing to wrestle with the text in faith, we are rewarded - not always with clear answers, but with a reason to be encouraged and to continue engaging. (As I certainly have been here, thanks to you and other Mottizens!) I don't think a book that only has crystal-clear answers can do that - only a text with problems, or one that is often unclear or mysterious or even seemingly paradoxical can do that.
And when the times come in our lives where syllogistic arguments fail, that process of being rewarded for being willing to engage in faith even if the results are unclear might be the thing that shows you how to hold fast to what you believe in. The process of wrestling might be the thing that unbeknownst to us was teaching us how to hold on. I wouldn't say this process is limited to religious texts, either! Perhaps looking for perfect clarity in a book that aims to build character is like looking for a textbook without unsolved problems.
Food for thought (for me as much as anyone!)
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