The late Christian pastor and apologist Tim Keller says, “Only if God can say things that make you struggle will you know that you have met a real God and not a figment of your imagination.” It is a somewhat familiar line of argument within evangelical circles.
To me, that argument is a fallacy. Just because you struggle emotionally with an idea does not mean that it is any more real than any other idea. Conversely, just because you do not struggle with an idea does not mean that idea is any less real. Take phobia, for example. A phobia is a figment of one’s imagination and yet something that one struggles with — which goes to show that struggle is no sign of reality, just as the converse is true also.
Theology is thinking and imagination too and in itself cannot justify whether it is pointing to something real or not. Whether or not I struggle with this or that theology is no indication of whether the theology is or is not a figment of my imagination.
Image credit: Thich Nhat Hanh.
