I was told the other day, by a very reliable teen, of a Christian school Bible curriculum that said something to the effect of this: "It's just as easy to believe as to not believe, so why not believe."  Putting aside the ridiculous superficiality of this argument, it appalls me that this is being taught by Christian educators.  Quite frankly, anyone who's truly tried to follow Christ for more than a few minutes must see the stupidity of this statement.

Tell John the Baptist, as the sword is about to sever his head from his body, it's just as easy to believe as not to.  Tell Stephen, as the crowd is smashing his body with rocks until he dies, that it's just as easy to believe as not to.  Tell Polycarp, as the flames are scorching his body; Tell Dietrich Bonhoeffer as he's walked to the gallows of the Nazi concentration camp, tell Martin Luther King as the dogs are turned loose on his nonviolent marchers;  Tell Mother Teresa who gave up a life of affluence to bathe lepers on the streets of Calcutta; Tell Rachel Scott and Cassie Burnell, who were murdered at Columbine High School for their strong beliefs in Jesus; Tell faithful teens and single adults who are trying to save their virginity to be a sacred gift to their future spouses in a culture that mocks them; Tell it to Christians in North Korea, Iran and Sudan.  If we were able to, they would wonder where we got such a laughable notion and  agree instead with writer Flannery O'Connor: "It's harder to believe than not to."

Of course, even a little experience with the Scriptures confirms O'Connor's words.  We're told to lay down our lives, carry our crosses, go the extra mile, turn the other cheek, take the narrow way, and that we're not our own.  We're told to love our enemies, pray for those who persecute us, always forgive, welcome the outcast and rejoice when we're persecuted.  We're told to not only worship, but imitate a homeless Rabbi whose life was brutally cut short due to trumped up charges, the betrayal of a friend and political maneuvering. 

I agree that mentally assenting to a theology- often the extent of the suburban Gospel- is just as easy as unbelief, but assenting to theological ideas is not faith.  The biblical concept of belief is better described as discipleship... believing to the point of giving up everything that might get in the way and following with our whole lives.  There's nothing easy about that, but when we encounter the flood of grace Christ wants to pour over us, it is so worth it.