Cat Faith

faith

fāTH 

noun  

1.  complete trust or confidence in someone or something.  -- Google

Witness the complete confidence of a cat. 

The ability to, nonchalantly, mount a rounded metal railing, ten stories above the ground, and "walk the walk."  Now the cat is focused on the photographer. This would be when the fire engine goes by on the street below, siren wailing. Camera pans to the engine below, then back to the cat. Imagine I am now standing behind the cat. I have taken the opportunity which mass noise has provided me and used it to my advantage. I am about to prove why man is the dominant species, top of the food chain, numero uno, and cats are lousy multi-taskers. That's right; as soon as the siren stops I'm going to lean in and let out a loud raspberry behind the cat. That'll shake up the ol' confidence level a tad. Cat'll be shaking for a good hour. Some touch up paint will also be required, to hide the claw marks that it will etch into the steel as it tries not to plunge to its death on the concrete below. Do cats really land on their feet? I think it depends on the height and the landing surface. Either one might render the answer a moot point.

But, that's the confidence of a cat.  Cat "faith," if you will.

I always hear of stories where cats fall from great heights and land on their feet.  I always wondered what the cat thought after it hit.  "Wow!  That was really stupid!"  "Wow!  That really freakin' hurt!"  "Wow!  Didn't think it looked that high!"  "Wow!  Stupid dog!  You die tonight!"  "Wow!  Scared the poop outta me, stupid human!  Vee av vays of making you pay... soon, but not tonight."

Would I raspberry this cat?  Oh hell yes!  That's the little devil in me.  But, I really love animals and I certainly wouldn't do it from a tenth floor balcony, nor on anything that may require work on my part to repair.  And then, one has to consider the whole "nine lives" thing.  I think it's a floor for each of the cats nine lives, so the tenth... well, I would never forgive myself.  The cat is going to exact revenge on me sooner or later as it is, at least my cat would.  That would be when I wake up at oh-dark-thirty with tabby on my chest, watching me while you sleep and thinking at me, "No. No, not tonight... but, soon."  And it creeps me out so badly I can't go back to sleep, and I end up playing Freecell until 5:00 when I finally give up on any thought of sleep, and go make coffee.  Yeah, cat revenge is insidious.

The faith of a cat is similar to what God expects of the faith of man.  Have faith that, no matter what happens in life, you have been given the tools which will enable you to rise above it and carry on.  It may shake you up for a bit, rattle your confidence, but you have been given the gift to rise up and forge ahead.  You have been endowed with superior knowledge so that when a moron sneaks up and scares the devil out of you, you know what you have to do with that tube of superglue.  Not tonight, but... soon. 

Okay, so maybe that isn't why God gave you the ability to learn and gather knowledge.  But you have what no other animal has the ability to comprehend - faith in God.

Right?  Right?

An elephant will return to the site where a young one passed, and mourn.  A monkey will adopt an orphaned young and mourn the death of another.  A pig will act as the eyes for a blind horse without prodding.  A lion will adopt the motherless lamb as a sibling, and other more amazing stories abound.  And we are left with the idea of "self-awareness" in animals, the concept of "feeling of mind," which many think needs to exist to have a concept of God.  Animals with a concept of God?  A faith in a God?

"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, 

Than are dreamt of in your philosophy."

William Shakespeare, "Hamlet," Act 1: Scene 5

Maybe I'll leave the cat alone.

Note from Pastor Tony, the founder of the Congregation for Religious Tolerance, as well as the author and editor of "The Path," the Congregation's official blogsite:  

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.

It is my fervent hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions and then engaging in peaceful, constructive, discussion and debate in an arena of mutual respect concerning the opinions put forth.  After over twenty years as a military intelligence analyst, planner, and briefer, 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 do afterward, and what we learn from the experience.
  

Frank Anthony Villari, Pastor