When 9/11 occurred, many felt they needed to point out the fact that when catastrophe struck, we should all look towards who is running towards the problem. The good people of the world were already aware. These same proclaimers of the obvious then started expressing their "faith," soon after denouncing others, seemingly unaware they worship the same god. Now we're facing an invisible force that is sweeping across the world. Our nation, which is handling it about as badly as one could (politically, not those on the front lines), is filled with people telling others to do much like Jesus would have done, but missing the entire point of what Jesus did for them. No, this is not a biblical lesson on Christianity, but is simply an editorial on faith.
Faith, in its most simple form, is belief without reason. In other words, it's simply a strong belief in something that cannot be proven, but with the hope it is true. In more religious terms, it is a sincere belief that God is in control and it will work itself out, despite no proof and often, proof to the contrary. All this being said, from my talks with people of the cloth, from various religious backgrounds and those who are completely devout, a majority of these people being Muslim by the way, it is a personal connection to God. It has nothing to do with declaring one's beliefs or publicly announcing them, and it certainly has nothing to do with social media posts. In fact, these copy and paste religious pleas are just about the least religious thing you can do. Churches, temples, mosques, and whatever other holy places of worship are more to bring like-minded individuals together than it is to truly prove one's faith. That is done when no one is watching.
For some of us, we have faith in science. We have faith in doctors and nurses. We have faith in humanity. Isn't then somewhat ironic that some believe what will happen will be God's will or his grace? We are told to be kind, but we never once questioned God's kindness. Would a kind god put us through test after test, knowing many of us will fail? Is one's faith so strong they feel a family member is expendable to justify God's will? If so, that is true faith.
Faith, in my humble opinion, is one of two things. It is a manifestation of fear and uncertainty, or it is a true belief that we have free will, thanks to God. Even free will is a mixed bag. Many believe it is a gift from their all-knowing god, but if he knows anything, isn't it simply the will to make choices? If so, every wrong choice is not God's infallibility but our weakness in the face of coercion from evil. That's a heavy cross to bear (pun firmly intended). So where does this leave us in a time of confusion and controlled chaos? God knows, doesn't he?
We also know, because history and science tell us we'll recover. We'll be hurt. We'll have lost many loved ones and friends. We'll find comfort in those around us and soon, it will be mostly forgotten. For those with faith, true faith, it will not. For those with generic faith, there will be a time of thanks, regardless of who they may have lost. People of true faith are tested daily, whereas the majority of those who claim faith, spirituality, or some other garden variety connection to an omnipotent being may say it, but for them, a test is giving up chocolate for 40 days.
Religion is a wonderful thing. It is a philosophy unlike any other, because wherein philosophy is a theory based on fact and experience, Religion is a philosophy based purely on conjecture. This is not to dismiss true faith. True faith, in my opinion, might be the only holistic therapy that works. True faith makes us matter, because we are part of a singular thing, one which we have concluded we have no real power in, other than to be the best part of it we can. Where this all gets silly is the literal belief by people that their Facebook post and another's life of devotion gets them all a seat at the same table.
If your beliefs get you through this weird time in the world, good For you. Just don't push it on other people. If your devotion leads you to believe this is a test and God will do what is just, good for you. If you believe science will catch up to this and find a cure, good for you. If you believe humanity will rise up and do the right thing to stop this virus and normalcy will resume, well, may I suggest belief, faith, or science. I have faith in many things, but humanity, during a crisis, isn't one of them. Not in this country.
Faith, in its most simple form, is belief without reason. In other words, it's simply a strong belief in something that cannot be proven, but with the hope it is true. In more religious terms, it is a sincere belief that God is in control and it will work itself out, despite no proof and often, proof to the contrary. All this being said, from my talks with people of the cloth, from various religious backgrounds and those who are completely devout, a majority of these people being Muslim by the way, it is a personal connection to God. It has nothing to do with declaring one's beliefs or publicly announcing them, and it certainly has nothing to do with social media posts. In fact, these copy and paste religious pleas are just about the least religious thing you can do. Churches, temples, mosques, and whatever other holy places of worship are more to bring like-minded individuals together than it is to truly prove one's faith. That is done when no one is watching.
For some of us, we have faith in science. We have faith in doctors and nurses. We have faith in humanity. Isn't then somewhat ironic that some believe what will happen will be God's will or his grace? We are told to be kind, but we never once questioned God's kindness. Would a kind god put us through test after test, knowing many of us will fail? Is one's faith so strong they feel a family member is expendable to justify God's will? If so, that is true faith.
Faith, in my humble opinion, is one of two things. It is a manifestation of fear and uncertainty, or it is a true belief that we have free will, thanks to God. Even free will is a mixed bag. Many believe it is a gift from their all-knowing god, but if he knows anything, isn't it simply the will to make choices? If so, every wrong choice is not God's infallibility but our weakness in the face of coercion from evil. That's a heavy cross to bear (pun firmly intended). So where does this leave us in a time of confusion and controlled chaos? God knows, doesn't he?
We also know, because history and science tell us we'll recover. We'll be hurt. We'll have lost many loved ones and friends. We'll find comfort in those around us and soon, it will be mostly forgotten. For those with faith, true faith, it will not. For those with generic faith, there will be a time of thanks, regardless of who they may have lost. People of true faith are tested daily, whereas the majority of those who claim faith, spirituality, or some other garden variety connection to an omnipotent being may say it, but for them, a test is giving up chocolate for 40 days.
Religion is a wonderful thing. It is a philosophy unlike any other, because wherein philosophy is a theory based on fact and experience, Religion is a philosophy based purely on conjecture. This is not to dismiss true faith. True faith, in my opinion, might be the only holistic therapy that works. True faith makes us matter, because we are part of a singular thing, one which we have concluded we have no real power in, other than to be the best part of it we can. Where this all gets silly is the literal belief by people that their Facebook post and another's life of devotion gets them all a seat at the same table.
If your beliefs get you through this weird time in the world, good For you. Just don't push it on other people. If your devotion leads you to believe this is a test and God will do what is just, good for you. If you believe science will catch up to this and find a cure, good for you. If you believe humanity will rise up and do the right thing to stop this virus and normalcy will resume, well, may I suggest belief, faith, or science. I have faith in many things, but humanity, during a crisis, isn't one of them. Not in this country.
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