I am someone who is, in essence, a Skeptic & Non-Believer. I don’t really believe in belief. I’m essentially an atheist, even though I identify as an agnostic because I’m open to the possibility if we can ever find some hard solid evidence of some form of deity or deities. (Some would call me/that form of agnosticism soft atheist, but I choose not to use that label.) I’m really not into woo-type stuff… energy and crystals and magick and the like, frankly, gets under my skin. I’m big into science and what can be proven. If I have to take it on faith, I’m likely to not take it at all.
Mark Twain, sarcastic fellow that he is, said:
Faith is believing what you know ain’t so.
On my more cynical days, I lean that way. However.
One thing that I do try to do is notice patterns in world religions, and, when I see one, even if it’s not something I personally believe in, I try to see what message I can get from it. All those people were obviously onto something, and maybe I can figure out where the value is without the signal getting lost in the noise.
And one of those patterns is the concept of faith.
Having faith, keeping the faith, a statement of faith, a non-creedal free faith… this concept, faith, means a lot to a lot of people. But it’s not a concept that has had much meaning to me as an adult. I’m too much of a realist when it comes to my own life, perhaps some would say even a pessimist.
Now, I get what people mean when they talk about faith in a secular context. People believe in their friends. In their significant others and their children. They even believe in their favorite sports teams. They have faith that whatever entity can DO IT! whatever IT may be. And sometimes that entity is themselves.
But… for those of us that have had a hard life, and one that has been full of disappointments, deceptions, struggles, failures, broken trusts, and broken promises, the concept of having faith in anything seems like just another opportunity for our hearts to be dashed and scattered across the floor like broken glass.
However, I knew that somewhere, there MUST be some meaning in this word “faith”. What could faith be for someone like me, a person who doesn’t believe in anything?
And after a long period of reflection (and simply living more), an idea worked its way into my head, one that I rather like.
Faith for the non-believer is simply trusting that the ideas we came up with about life, the universe, and everything when we were feeling ok, still hold true now that the shit has hit the fan. It’s trusting in the thoughts & decisions of best version of ourselves when we’re anything but.
Example. The first Principle of Unitarian Universalism is the inherent worth and dignity of every person. It is easy to believe in this principle when your life is going ok and you are feeling fine. However, it’s much harder to affirm this when, say, your best friend breaks your trust, or your wallet gets stolen, or you watch someone abusing their dog.
It is in those times that we need our principles & our ethics the most. So faith is standing back and going “ok, if this is still true now, how does this play out?” And so you remember that your friend is a good person at heart who made a mistake out of fear. You remember that the thief may well be a troubled soul through no fault of their own or that they might have needed the money for legitimate purposes. And you remember that the person abusing their animal was probably abused themselves and is acting out a lot of pain and fear in an attempt to gain some control over their past.
Of course, it’s perfectly ok and just to let your friend know how much they hurt you. It’s expected that you do what you need to do to get your wallet back & have them catch the criminal. And we are called to stop abuse where we see it happening.
This isn’t always easy. Sometimes it’s damn near impossible. However, I’ve found the more I do it, the easier it gets. When shit hits the fan, I don’t have to have a crisis inside… I get to just follow the guidelines I set for myself in happier times. I have something to turn to when life gets rough… my principles that I have chosen for myself.
Maybe that’s what faith is all about. Maybe that’s why people like it so much and some folks need it so. Because it allows us to not have to panic. It gives us something to trust in. For some, it’s something greater than themselves. For me, it IS myself.
Some may call that “The Divine Within”. I just call it me.
