I choose

The life of faith can be a bumpy ride for many.  Naïve thoughts about God, his providence and care are often the first's obstacle that needs to be jumped over, if one is to journey very far on the road of faith.  Set backs, illness, the death of loved ones, injustice, the loss of ones livelihood, or perhaps a catastrophe where everything is lost, like the victims of hurricane Ike are common.  It is difficult to let go of the thought that God will spare us from the ups and downs of life, if only we live a good and upright life. Yet it is all around us, the falseness of this belief, though it is often easy to fail to see.  Like it says in the New Testament:  the rain falls on the good as well as the evil.  So faith in God is not an insurance policy, life has to be lived, experienced, in time we all will have our turn in some form of suffering that will leave us asking, why?   Our childish attitudes, if not outgrown can lead to a loss of faith, or into bitterness and resentment against some small god, that never existed in the first place.

God is not a being among beings.  No, all being flows from God, but God is not a being, no form, no boundaries, no standing out or existing. No, God is something other, more, the mystery that calls us to dive ever deeper into its reality.  I understand atheism somewhat, though I could never embrace it, for to me it makes no sense.  I suppose if the Universe was eternal, then perhaps Atheism may have a chance of being real, but since it is not, that it had a beginning; then it is not unreasonable to believe that it had an uncaused, cause.  The generic name that is used is of course:  God.  From that acceptance of a first cause can come different ideas and beliefs about the nature of this uncaused, cause; which is why we have different religions and paths.  Then the development of the idea that this creator can reveal itself comes into play in theological circles.  In the East, we have ‘avatars'. In the west, we have ‘the messiah'; both for Jews and Christians, and the Muslims also have one that they are waiting for.  Of course then different writings were brought together, becoming scriptures; Holy Books that have a sacramental quality for those who believe in them, and are bound by conscious to follow the precepts within.  Of course this can raise a whole lot of questions about how these percepts were lived out, or not.

These cannons came into being as part of an historical development.  The Christian canon was put together by the Catholic Church in the 3^rd century.  This was done because of the plethora of books out claiming to be the authentic voice of what Christians believe, or what one has to do in order to become a Christian.  So the cannon was created, with many books left out.  So yes, the New Testament is a faith document stating what the experience of the early church was of the risen Christ, and is the guide of Christians to this day. Gnosticism was one of the forces that the church had to work against.  There were many sects, each at times at odds with each other over their beliefs, leading to more confusion.  Some say that the New Age movement is Gnosticisms return, could be, though it is a lighter version of what the early Gnostic's believed.  Though not being a Gnostic, I will not judge it, or the New Age movement.  I think some Christians can be overly simplistic about the movement, which only, again, brings confusion to some who are simply seeking the truth.  Making it all demonic only forces those who are searching outside, making them leave their tradition which could be mined for it own riches.   The fact of its flourishing seems to point to something the church did not deal with in the inner spiritual lives of their people.

We talk of immanence and transcendence when discussing God, which for some clouds the issue.  Yet words must be used, it is all we have, at least if we want to communicate what we think and believe.   Language is often controlled by unconscious processes, leading to simplistic statements about other beliefs, based usually on ignorance, or in believing what one is spoon-fed.  Then of course, communication can be angry, the communicator trying to convince themselves that they are free from the tradition that they were brought up in.  People often protest too much, as the saying goes.

Atheist often complain that to believe in God is the same as believing in Santa Claus, the tooth fairy and unicorns,  The examples they use make no sense to me.  Perhaps it is because atheist think of God as just another being, something that can be understood, explained, dealt with in a rational manner.  Deists do that, making God transcendent, uninvolved in creation.  Pantheist, make God totally immanent, material, impersonal, denying any kind of transcendence.   I find both very unconvincing, since transcendence and immanence have to go together when talking about God, at least for me.  Both are placed within time and space, which is absurd to me.  Time and space came into existence with the first moment of creation, today it is called the ‘Big Bang' who knows what it will be called in the future.  I have tried to think about the ‘before', when there was no time or space and all I get is a headache, a very big one, it seems we are not wired to understand such things.

Of course being a Christian, I believe that God reveals himself to us, and again, being a Christian, Christ is the complete revelation, showing us that God is love, using the metaphor of a loving father, to get us to at least begin to understand the mystery of infinite love.  Christ is the corner stone. To bad that it often seems that the corner stone has been misplaced, yet perhaps that is also part of the process.

Today, in order to be a mature seeker, or a believer in a certain religious path, study is a must, if not, well a defensive stance can be taken, that only makes fools of those who take it.  I am not talking about Christians here, but this happens in all groups.  People who malign my faith often do so out of ignorance, anger, or just plain hatred.  They can do what they please, for we are all free to do whatever we want, that is what it means to be human.  But if we really want a humane world, the first step is to strive to understand one another, and to try to put all the straw men and women to rest.  Each person is unique, boxes cannot hold them.  Each seeker, believer, atheist, Gnostic and Agnostic are also unique and different.  We are not all enemies to one another.  Those who want to live in a black and white, ‘Dawkian' world, be they whatever, well let them.  Their malignant influence can be offset by those who seek understanding about one another.  The old ways don't work anymore, we just need to read a little more, study a little deeper, and be aware of the human tendency to be tribal.  Ones faith is not lost in understanding other paths, it will only deepen it.  All people of good will are seekers, pilgrims open to the ever-expanding world that an open ended faith allows, we should support and encourage one another, not fight and belittle.

Of course I barely live this out myself, but it is good to have faith in the presence of God in the world.  That the Word, has always been present and is present now, in the hearts of all, yet it is faith that will allows us to see that.  In both our loved ones, our friends and yes our enemies.  Only love and understanding and yes a deep sense of who one is, and what one believes, can lead to a dialogue that is enriching for all involved.   There is nothing wrong in admitting to the mystery that life is for us, and that we each have a piece of the puzzle.  No need to demonize each other, for we are all brothers and sisters on a journey.  As a Christian, Christ asks all of his followers to love their neighbor as themselves, to treat others as they would want to be treated.  Well that takes thought, self knowledge and yes prayer and an openness to grace, from Christ the corner stone.  Perhaps if that were done, a great deal of confusion, anger, ranting would simply dissipate.