A friend got into a discussion with me on the nature of faith and the existence of God. Having had a week to cogitate on the matter I’ll write a few words.
I can think of few better places to begin than the Gospel of John:
John 1:1-5 In the beginning, the Word existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. (2) He existed in the beginning with God. (3) Through him all things were made, and apart from him nothing was made that has been made. (4) In him was life, and that life brought light to humanity. (5) And the light shines on in the darkness, and the darkness has never put it out.
“Word” is a good starting place as to talk of this or any other topic we must use words. Word or in Greek logos is the force that creates and sustains the universe. It can be said that God’s Word is Law but Word in this sense is beyond Law. The Word or God wills, thinks or says a thing and it is so. God then is The Word that expresses the force that creates and sustains the universe. We believe or have faith in the existence of God because as part of this universe we acknowledge the existence of some over-arching force that not only lead to its creation but continues to hold it together. The fact that science can in some way explain how these processes work in no way diminishes God; in fact the more we learn the more we come to understand just how complicated the universe is and reinforce the belief that there must be some ultimate power behind it all. That churches and religious authorities throughout the ages have laid claim to the Word and attempted to harness and dispense it, often to their own advantage and in perversion of the true Word, and perpetrated abuses in so doing in no way detracts from the power of God.
In a world that claims to be atheistic and Godless man’s quest for purpose and meaning remains stronger than ever—we just seek it outside the doors of organized religion. The universe and the matter of which it is made exist, it is neither good nor bad; but when it is used for ill we call that act sin and the results of that act evil. Sin and evil have the effect of separating us from the life force; some would quantify this state as a place called Hell and posit an opposing force for evil personified as Satan or the Devil. The Christian Church has personified the force that makes those who have ‘sinned’ right with the universe in the person of God the Son, or Jesus the Christ. We may no longer believe in casting out demons to heal people, but no one can deny the restorative power of being made right with the world—whether it be by losing those 40 extra pounds, an addiction to smoking or drugs, a long-held grudge, or enmity with the world at large.
The search for meaning has led man, as a sentient being to believe in a life force that animates the flesh and molecules of which he is made. Many have called this presence man’s soul and the means by which it communicates with the ultimate being the spirit. Whether they would admit it or not human beings are creatures of habit and in order to become at one with their inner being or soul participate in ritualistic practices. Whether this be meditation, chanting mantras or group exercises the objective is the same. In the Christian Tradition fellow believers gather for corporate worship involving chants, prayers, and music; and since the sense of smell is our most primal and the last we lose in death, incense. Prayer is an expression of our soul’s two-way communication with the divine spirit—the power behind the universe. Whether or not it is efficacious depends on the faith of the believer.
In the Christian tradition these three aspects of the ultimate power or divine being have been expressed as the Triune God—God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit or Ghost. In spite of these three expressions of this ultimate being Christianity claims to be a monotheistic religion that believes in a single God whose dealings with mortals are expressed in different ways. Faith is a sense of a Spiritual presence that can’t be seen or touched, if one does not believe nothing can prove that it exists. Whether faith be superstition depends on the belief of the individual making the decision; however superstition connotes ignorance and most religious faith is undergirded by centuries of wisdom. As with every human endeavour religion can be used for good and evil—more wars have been fought in the name of religion than any other cause. A comic recently stated that since both sides always claim to have God on their side, God always wins; I don’t have a sense that either human side ever wins. The fact that religion can and has been used to motivate or control people in ways that are deleterious to their own good is a reality; however religion as an expression of man’s search for meaning remains a necessity for most thinking beings.
That the writer’s approach comes from a Christian, indeed Lutheran, tradition is obvious. I would, however, in solidarity with Alan Jones, Dean of Grace Cathedral in San Francisco state that Christianity to me is an approach to living and the questions it poses; not a set of dogma that a practitioner must believe and follow. I believe it an expression of the strength of my own faith that I can encounter those who take differing points of view without feeling forced to convert them to mine and indeed defend their right to hold them; recognizing that their system of beliefs is founded in the sum total of their own life experience and culture. I only ask that they accord me the same respect.
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