Have Faith!

The topic of religion often comes up within the various forums on SooToday, usually quite incidental to the topic being discussed. My last column was a case in point.

In discussing whether paedophiles deserve the death penalty a number of posters raised the issue of religion, both in an attempt to justify calling for the execution of those who would commit these most heinous and repulsive acts, and to insist that all killing is wrong.

A number of posters expressed their concerns regarding the fallibility of religion, and their own doubts as to the existence of God. One poster, Sojourner, went so far as to describe religious belief as "a kind of mental illness," and claims that believers "are all delusional!"

In response to that I can only say this: we are all free to choose to believe in God, or Mohammed, or Buddha, or some other religious deity, or not. Likewise, we are all free to express our opinions on matters of religious faith, whether that be to try and convince others to embrace our beliefs or to convince them of the error of their ways.

However, I don’t believe in attacking people simply because they choose to embrace religious faith.

Yes, I may disagree with the tenets of a particular denomination and may, in the course of a discussion, present the reasoning behind my disagreement. But I would not even consider pronouncing anyone as being mentally ill or delusional for holding any particular religious faith.

faith n. Trust; unquestioning confidence; strong belief, esp. in religious doctrines. [Oxford English Dictionary]

I fail to see the harm in embracing religious beliefs, in having faith in a belief system which establishes a moral framework within which to live our lives.

Sojourner tells us that some social scientists state that religion is nothing more than mass delusion, and is concerned because so many "religious" followers are getting away with this mass delusion — which we label as ‘faith’ — we are unduly and inappropriately influencing the government to the point where our "insanity" is becoming almost infectious.

Another poster, teufel, finds religion to be somewhat "arrogant and condescending," and says: "Keep your faith but don't impose it on me or enshrine laws tinged with religious dogma."

I’m quite sorry they see it that way.

Religion, in one form or another, has been around for many millennia. It is neither a recent creation, nor is it only now beginning to have an effect on world governments. In fact many, if not most, world governments were founded on religious principles.

The preamble to Schedule B of the Constitution Act, 1982, more popularly known as the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is as follows:

Whereas Canada is founded upon principles that recognize the supremacy of God and the rule of law.

Similarly the First Amendment to the US Constitution (adopted 20 August 1789) states: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."

I will readily admit that there are those who have in the past used religion as an excuse for committing any number of atrocities. There are those who claimed to be "doing God’s will" who committed despicable acts, and who were most certainly mentally deranged.

There will always, unfortunately, be extremists, and those who follow a very narrow and aberrant interpretation of The Bible or other religious texts.

However, the majority of, if not all world religions share a number of fundamental moral principles: to treat others as oneself; to live with respect for all life; to lead an upright and moral life.

I can't help but believe that if we all followed these moral principles the world would be a better -- and much nicer -- place.

Personally, while I do follow the Christian system of beliefs, I also accept that other religions are equally as valid. Yes, there are those who dispute this claim, and I have had many a discussion with other posters on this point. But in my heart I refuse to believe that the Christian God, Creator of Heaven and Earth and of all life, whose message to us is one of Peace and Love, would condemn millions of souls to eternal damnation simply because of an accident of geography.

Similarly, I cannot believe that it is a mere coincidence that so many different religions, religions which share core values and principles, could have developed independently unless there was some underlying, unifying commonality.

I believe that there is only one god, and that each religion views their deity (or deities) through the filter of their own culture.

Even within the various religions there exist a variety of denominations, each differing to a certain degree from the other. I don’t find this surprising in the least; we are such a diverse collection of people to begin with, it only makes sense that we should have diversity in our belief systems, too.

My purpose here is not to debate the relative merits of various religions, and I hope posters will also resist the temptation to reprove any religions, or religious denominations, other than their own.

What I really wish to discuss is much more simple, and much more intrinsic to our very being: having faith.

Obviously I disagree with those who, like sojourner or teufel, deny the existence of God and denounce organized religion. They are, of course, entitled to their own beliefs… or lack thereof… even if their belief is only in and of themselves.

If self-reliance and the belief that their existence spans only their natural lives brings them comfort, then who am I to insist they are wrong? Likewise, for those of us who do follow the tenets of a particular religion, who are we to tell the followers of other religions that their beliefs are wrong?

Let us lead our lives in the best way we can, following whatever belief system brings us the greatest sense of inner peace and comfort. Live and let live.

I will not lose sleep because I cannot prove the existence of God to the satisfaction of an Atheist, and neither will that lessen my own faith.

There’s nothing wrong with having faith. Whether we are satisfied simply believing in ourselves, or turn to a higher power, we all need something — or someone — to believe in. For many of us, it is our faith, and the faith system we follow, which provides the moral framework within which we try to live our lives.

"Religious people" aren’t perfect; I know I’m certainly not! While some may strive for perfection, most recognize that all we can do is our best.

Maybe I am deluding myself into believing that there is a God; that God created the world and set the universe in motion; that God offers me many choices in my daily life; that God forgives my mistakes; that God loves me.

But, I don’t believe I am.

My faith brings me a great deal of comfort, and that comfort usually comes at times when I need it most, and most frequently it comes unasked-for.

If my faith does nothing more than give me this comfort, and compels me to try to lead my life in a way that is caring and respectful of others, then I’m good with that. I can't see how my faith is in any way detrimental to others.

I do hope that others can find a similar comfort in their lives, however they define their own faith.

You just gotta have faith!

But… that’s just my opinion.