Faith

What is faith?  This is a question I posed to myself and addressed in another of my posts from 2013: What is Faith?  This current post, then, is an expanded reprint of that post.  I hope I have added enough new, interesting meat so it isn't found to be too repetitive.

So, to the question of what is faith?  It's one of those questions that I find myself pondering at 2:30 in the morning as I stare at a ceiling I can't see in the dark.  Finally, I just say, screw it.  I roll over on my side and, like the preverbal "coyote" a man might take home from a bar when too drunk to think straight, I keep coming face to face with a thought I shouldn't have brought to bed in the first place.  I finally end up at the edge of the abyss and, if I do sleep, I wake up around 3:30 or so to make a cup of coffee and write about any answers I might have gleaned from staring into the void.

For me, "faith" is Joan of Arc holding firm to her beliefs.  It is Jesus enduring all suffering, knowing full well the outcome, yet having faith in salvation and everlasting life.  For both of these martyrs, it seems to rest on a belief in righteous morality and an infallible, unrelenting, faith in God.

Faith is a belief in something for which there is little or no proof.  Faith helps define the unexplainable "bullshit" in our lives.  If it can't be explained any other way, faith will save the day.  Our religious leaders have been copping to excuse for the unexplainable since Christ died for us, and our modern-day revivalists, the "Televangelists," are in fiscal love with having their congregation give all for faith while they feed answers that life is crap for a reason which only God is aware and, since God is perfect, you must have trust in His way.

Blowing smoke across the mirrors of belief keeps the focus of the masses on this hand, while something else happens in the other.  The magic tongues of clergy keep coffers of organized religion full.  I can hear their practiced spiel, "I can't really tell you why sending me your life savings will buy your spot in heaven, but, a pope of old stated it was true, so have faith!  Praise, God!"  And, the crowd goes wild!  The faithful yokels keep sending in the cash while they wonder where the next meal for their own meager table is coming from.  Meanwhile, Reverend Joe Bag O'Doughnuts eats at the finest restaurants, dresses in 5000 suits, and has a chauffeur.  But, not to worry, God will provide to those less fortunate.  Have faith!

I know a whole bunch of the Christian faithful are tuning me out right now:  Heaven forbid!  He has no faith!  Gasp!  But, by definition, I have loads of faith.  I have faith there is a God.  I have faith that Jesus was a great teacher and died on the cross to save us and to show us how much faith he had in what he was preaching.  I have faith there is an afterlife, even though it may be a rebirth back into this world in order to make amends for any sins from the previous incarnation.  I have faith that, if there is supreme evil, there must also be supreme good, and if a thousand people die in a catastrophe there will be a thousand babies born, somewhere, to bring the universe back into balance.

Let's look at some definitions of faith:

Faith is confidence or trust in a person, thing, deity, or in the doctrines or teachings of a religion or view (e.g. having strong political faith). The word faith is often used as a synonym for hope, trust or belief. In religion, faith often involves accepting claims about the character of a deity, nature, or the universe. While some have argued that faith is opposed to reason, proponents of faith argue that the proper domain of faith concerns questions which cannot be settled by evidence.

-- Wikipedia

And dictionary definitions:

• Confident belief in the truth, value, or trustworthiness of a person, idea, or thing.
• A belief that does not rest on logical proof or material evidence.
• Strong or unshakeable belief in something, esp without proof or evidence.
• A specific system of religious beliefs.
• Trust in God and in His actions and promises.
• Conviction of the truth of certain doctrines of religion, esp when not based on reason.
• Any set of firmly held principles or beliefs
• Belief in the existence of God.

Looking at many of these definitions, I would seem to have faith.  I seem to have a lot of faith.  I especially have faith that God wants us to fight to live, and not to go gentle into that good night.  I think the poet Dylan Thomas was really onto it: 

Do not go gentle into that good night,Old age should burn and rave at close of day;Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,Because their words had forked no lightning theyDo not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how brightTheir frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sightBlind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on that sad height,Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.Do not go gentle into that good night.Rage, rage against the dying of the light.                 

Finally, I have faith that God just wants us to believe.  Believe and hold to a faith in those rules of morality and righteousness which every world religion seems to hold dear.  We need to keep searching, striving to understand, to be the best we can be, and to have unwavering faith in something good!

If atheism is your belief, then be the best atheist you can be, but be a good person and live a good, giving, and righteous life.  If you don't believe in God but die saving others, is this not faith?  Is it not faith in the good of the many outweighing the good of the few, or the one?  For a Christian, for a human, for any living being, there truly can be no greater love than sacrificing your life for another.  For these good who choose to question the existence of a higher power, belief in God becomes a moot point.  I think my forgiving God will shake this out with those few in the afterlife.  How you live your life now speaks volumes.  I don't think you will be condemned by others to penance for your sins.  I think you will make the obvious choice to condemn yourself, and go back to try again until you get it right.

As with Alonso Quijano, Don Quixote de la Mancha, doubt is crucial is the faith of one's own "created" reality.  I give you an excerpt to ponder from "Faith, Doubt, Sanity, and Don Quixote," by James F. McGrath: 

So we focused next on another question. If being extremely deceived or deluded is (or is indistinguishable from) insanity, then how do we avoid having that happen to us? It was at this point that I was struck by the answer that students gave:

Doubt has been the least favorite of the three elements that make up the title of the class. Not that anyone is opposed to doubting – everyone doubts the truthfulness of hundreds of things people say that they a inclined to disagree with, and such doubt aimed at others is not incompatible with insanity. it is the doubting of one's own perspective that the students suggested is the key to avoiding delusion and insanity. As long as Quixote does not doubt that he is a knight, that windmills are giants, and other things he interprets in his unique way are what he thinks they are, not only is he out of his mind, but there is little hope that sanity and reality can get through to him.

And so it turns out that doubt is crucially important, and it is essential that, if we have been told that doubting the correctness of our assumptions and beliefs is inappropriate and destructive, we come to doubt that. Because unwillingness to do so eliminates one of the few effective means we have as human beings to remain sane and prevent strong and dangerous delusions from taking hold of us. Or at the very least, even if doubt may not be able to altogether inoculate us against loss of sanity, doubting our perception and our views seems to be something that indicates that we have not lost it yet.

Do you see the quandary?  Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Deist or Atheist, faith makes you right, but doubt? "...if we have been told that doubting the correctness of our assumptions and beliefs is inappropriate and destructive, we come to doubt that.  Because unwillingness to do so eliminates one of the few effective means we have as human beings to remain sane and prevent strong and dangerous delusions from taking hold of us."   Interesting.

Did deaf and blind Helen Keller (1880-1968) have faith?  Enough for her to overcome her limitations and become a reknowned author, lecturer, and political activist.  Unusual for a time in our history when people with her handicaps would have been, at best, minimalized, and at worst, institutionalized.  She was a lesson for us all in not being too quick to judge.  She once wrote:

“Death is no more than passing from one room into another. But there's a difference for me, you know. Because in that other room I shall be able to see.”  

This Sunday, or any day, over your morning cup of coffee or tea, open a dictionary and look up definitions of "faith."  Ask yourself if its really as cut and dry as that religious "leader," the one who'd like to lead you around by the nose, would like you to believe.  Or, does God expect more of you than subservience to a religion, organized hypocrisy, a "church" that was never asked for?  Subservience, to rules and demands that might not have been God's desire for us, more than it was the hidden agenda of ruling clergy?  Does doubt make you stronger because your belief in God becomes your belief in God and not someone else's definition?

My own doubts have given me a stronger faith in a more loving and forgiving God than that described in "holy" scripture inspired by God but written by men, for men, in a world controlled by men.  I have faith that God knows what is our hearts and minds.  As yourself this:  Why would God give me credit for following what someone else has discovered, simply because I believe they're right?  Wouldn't God give more credit to you for simply trying, on your own, to find your own faith, your own belief, even if you fall short?  It isn't whether you win or lose, it is truly about the effort you put forth in discovering God's truth.  

I leave you with one final quote:

"There would be no sense in saying you trusted a person if you would not take his advice. Thus if you have really handed yourself over to Him [God], it must follow that you are trying to obey Him. But trying in a new way, a less worried way. Not doing these things in order to be saved, but because He has begun to save you already. Not hoping to get to Heaven as a reward for your actions, but inevitably wanting to act in a certain way because a first faint gleam of Heaven is already inside you."

 -- C.S. Lewis, "Mere Christianity"

Note:  I invite you to check out this website, http://www.beliefnet.com/Faiths/index.aspx, and try their test to determine which belief best suits your answers.  It might mean very little but, then again, the results might be quite telling.  Remember, however, you can't walk someone else's path.  You can learn from them but, ultimately, you will have to discover your own path and teach others how to discover theirs.

Have fun! 

Editor's Note

(Re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card)

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch, it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either opinion any more right or wrong than the other. An opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form opinions of their own, if they haven't already done so. This is also why, occasionally, I will present an "opinion" just to stir an emotional pot. Where it may sound like I agree with the statements made, I'm more interested in getting others to consider an alternate viewpoint. 

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and while engaging in peaceful and constructive discussion, in an arena of mutual respect, concerning those opinions put forth. After over twenty years with military intelligence, I have come to believe engaging each other in this manner and in this arena is the way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we learn from the experience, and what we do afterward.

Pastor Tony spent 22 years with United States Air Force Intelligence as a planner, analyst, briefer, instructor, and senior manager. He spent 17 years, following his service career, working with the premier, world renowned, Institutional Review Board helping to protect the rights of human subjects involved in pharmaceutical research. Ordained 1n 2013 as an "interfaith" minister, he founded the Congregation for Religious Tolerance in response to intolerance shown by Christians toward peaceful Islam. As the weapon for his war on intolerance he chose the pen, and wages his "battle" in the guise of the Congregation's official online blog, The Path, of which he is both author and editor. "The Path" offers a vehicle for commentary and guidance concerning one's own personal, spiritual, path toward peace and the final destination for us all. He currently resides in Pass Christian, Mississippi, where he volunteers as lead Chaplain and Chaplain Program Liaison, at the regional medical center.