kaleidoscope

FAITH? 

We all seem to agree that bringing faith, especially religious faith, into any discussion can turn messy to say the least. But Faith itself doesn’t have to be linked to a religion unless you want it to be. Just because I have Faith in Nature, it doesn’t mean I’m going to turn it into a God and build a statue of some kind so I can pray to it. As I said before, Faith is subjective. Jesus Christ was a Great Prophet who lived to become the symbol of Christianity. By the same token, Nostradamus was a Great prophet as well, and although for years societies have argued that  most of his prophecies have become reality, nobody has crowned him a God nor has he become a symbol of any religious faith. Throughout history societies have encountered many great men of science for example. I have faith in science and scientific research, but I wouldn’t think of turning Einstein into a God or making science a brand new religion to add to the many already in existence.

I believe people practice religion to look for inner peace. They also seem to find in religion an explanation for everything they themselves can’t explain: “It’s God’s will”, and whatever God imposes upon us it’s all right and we should accept it. He has His reasons. From where I stand,  religion has done absolutely nothing for me. More power to those who find happiness in religion and church. When I tried going to a prayer session with my mother, at her insistence, I found the experience very depressing and disturbing.Perhaps because the people in the group would cry a lot while praying. I did not see anyone happy in that prayer group.  I did however, sense that these were people with a lot of unresolved emotional issues. So before some of those issues rubbed off on me I walked out. 

Do I find any need to seek an explanation for my misfortunes? Nobody ever said life was perfect and we certainly can’t change the laws of nature. But we can learn to accept them and make the best of every situation. I chose to find alternatives around my problems rather than explanations, and I chose to look for it, not by seeking refuge in any religious faith but somewhere else. When faced with adversity most of us react out of fear, simple ignorance or both. If it’s unexplainable it’s either God’s fault or the devil’s? When nobody could explain Joan of Arc’s clairvoyance abilities, they blamed it on the devil and called her a witch, so they killed her. That’s insanity. Or should I venture ignorance? After all, nothing was known about psychic phenomena in medieval times.

 I respect everyone's faith practices regardless of crede, unless your faith turns you into a terrorist and leads you to commit such atrocities as those of 9/11. In this case I'll be first in the line of volunteers who will hunt you down so you can get what you deserve. I'll go for  "AN EYE FOR AN EYE" law of the arab world.  But that's an entirely different blog post altogether, one that I will pursue another time. However, if I am to continue respecting your faith, I must insist that you respect mine. Do not try to drag me into your church or preach to me about God and Jesus or Alah, Budah or the golden cow of Babilon. I promise you that if at anytime I feel the need to embrace religion again or go back to church I will do so, but on my own terms and of my own free will.