Friday, October 19, 2012

The simplest faith is more than sufficient

     I cannot believe as true that God expects anyone to master theology, to master any religious custom, to become an expert about metaphysics, philosophy, science, mathematics, or anything else in order to be at peace with Him (I'm being conventional not dogmatic about "Him.").  I cannot believe that God expects anyone to have no doubts about Him.  I can believe that the simplest faith (consisting of doubts and all) of the simplest person in the simplest of circumstances is more than sufficient to warrant believing that one is at peace with God.  

     I can believe that such faith will not remove anyone from having to deal with this earth in this universe and with circumstances in which and through which he/ she must live.  Such faith will not guarantee that one will easily find answers to every (or any) problem.  Such faith will not guarantee that many problems will not be left unsolved.  Such faith is NOT a quick-fix for anything.  It's simply the avenue to peace with God in spite of any doubts and questions that one might have about God or anything relevant to God.

     I can believe that such faith is not an excuse to abandon ones senses and / or to avoid reason.  Rather, it is an invitation to make the best use of ones senses, to be as scrupulous with reason as one can, and simply take a chance and believe that God is.

Christianity never asks anyone to deny their senses, but....

          Christianity never asks anyone to deny their senses, but challenges everyone to make full use of their senses and get to know all they can about life and where we live as we can know it all. It reminds us we will come to know good and evil, sickness and health, joy and sorrow while living this life and that all situations represent opportunities for us to demonstrate charity.   It also asks everyone to consider the possibility that other senses and dimensions can exist that we can't rule out and that we can't fully appreciate yet.  It reminds us that the absence of evidence does not equate to the evidence of absence.  It invites us to believe that we will live beyond the grave and know who the ultimate Lord is.