Is Religion Complicated?

The world's a complicated place, isn't it?

I remember taking a college course that I thought would be a breeze and would help me fulfill my science requirement. You remember those classes, right? "Rocks for Jocks," "Physics for Dummies." The particular class I hand-selected from the course catalog was called "Einstein and Others" and was a history of science course - not even real science! Perfect for me, a self-styled humanities ace. The class would focus on the towering scientific figures of late 19th and early 20th century: Curie, Einstein, Bohr, Planck. Cool, fun, easy A.

Not. The class was so far above my head, it might as well have been in orbit. Case in point: on the midterm, one of the two essay questions was:  "Explain the Theory of Relativity." I chose that one, because, as I recall it was the easier of the two. I couldn't explain it then. I can't now. It was not easy. I did not get an "A."

In retrospect, I'm glad "Einstein and Others" wasn't a pushover. The best, most important things in the world for us to spend time thinking about are complicated. They take years of study, hard work, and an healthy measure of awe to decipher.

Quantum physics, it turns out, is complicated. Love and relationships are complicated. The biological processes of the earth are complicated. Becoming good at something you love to do is complicated. God is complicated. Jesus? Yup, he's complicated, too.

I get a little frustrated when people turn religious belief and practice into something simple: "5 Simple Steps to Know God." "Simple Faith." The most egregious example in the Christian world is the so-called "Sinner's Prayer," by which a person is supposedly "saved." Ugh. I understand. Sometimes all of us go looking for an easy A. But woe to the person who tries to provide it. Einstein deserves better.

So does Jesus.