Wisdom for a Better World (eBook)

On Faith and Certainty

A STORY:

Once upon a time, there was a land very much like ours. The peoples of that land teetered on the brink of war because the leaders of their religious sects were up in arms over whether or not there existed any absolutes about which people could be certain. The believers in the infallibility of their church doctrine accused the other sects of heresy. What could be done? The supreme leader of the land called on his most trusted citizen to venture forth to the sacred cave in the wilderness that was the site of their world’s most powerful oracle.

You, in a previous life, were living in this land, and you were the one called to consult the oracle. Your people have been granted one question to help them resolve their differences, and you have arrived to ask it. You enter the cave and kneeling before the priestess, you ask, “Is there anything in this world our people can be absolutely certain of?” In response the priestess rises to her feet and shouts, “Nothing, no thing!” Then, laughing, she adds, “Absolutely nothing!” Now you, appointed messenger for your people, must return and share this wisdom with your people in the best way you can to prevent the outbreak of war.

We live in a dynamic world of change. There are no nouns, only verbs. Given enough time, civilizations, species, mountains, planets, solar systems, even galaxies come and go. Nothing in this material universe is permanent. Not only that, we can’t completely trust our imperfect memories to provide us with much certainty about what has already happened, not to mention our ability to predict a future that has yet to be created. While we are capable of learning a great deal about how the world works, the great mysteries of the cosmos are much too great to be contained within our little brains. The wise understand that every existing object we study is in the process of change. We may journey down a road seeking the Truth, but we never arrive because the Truth is not a possession to be found at the end of a rainbow or any other destination. Certainty is an illusion. Truth is revealed to us not in final form but in glimpses and intimations for us to pursue. Life, including the pursuit of wisdom, is an adventure.

We are all susceptible to closing down and grasping for certainty especially in times of upheaval when our fears are getting the best of us. Dogmatism may protect us from experiencing fear of the unknown by providing us with a false sense of security, but at a great cost. Certainty kills curiosity and exploration. When we use our imagination, we leave a world of certainty behind and enter a world of infinite possibilities. Our lives become infused with wonder.

Many have been told that doubting the truth of their religious beliefs is a failure of faith, that the “Word of God” is not to be questioned. But it is certainty that spells the death of faith. Certainty closes the door for the awakening power of awe and wonder that inspires faith. Insisting that religious writings must be accepted as the unquestionable literal word of God without any need for exploring the interpretations of these religious testaments is to engage in idolatry of the word. Truth reveals itself through questioning. Faith without questioning remains shallow and weak.

Skepticism opens the door for deeper understanding. May we withhold our assent to unproven claims because credibility matters.22 Healthy skepticism, unlike the cynical kind, is anything but irreverent when it involves the longing to know for oneself, caring not to be misled, taking responsibility for discovering what is worthy of our worship, and devoting ourselves to nothing less.

“Those who believe in God without passion in the heart, anguish in mind, uncertainty, doubt, and without sometimes feeling despair, believe in only the idea of God, not God.”23 The greater your faith, the more you can manage doubt, uncertainty, anguish, and despair without your world totally collapsing. For when our world is darkest, that is the most important time for us to stand in the light of our faith. For faith is the light that gets us through the darkness.

Faith does not require optimism. Nor does pessimism indicate a lack of faith. Faith based hope is not about being optimistic or pessimistic with regards to unknown future outcomes. Faith is a stance towards life in the face of fate and its uncertainties. Faith based hope does not vacillate based on forecasts about the future, however gloomy or glorious. With faith based hope, you work for something because it is good.24 The foundation of faith does not depend upon expecting a good outcome, but rather upon trusting in the abiding presence of divine love.

Even the most faithful among us, will have moments if not years when they feel forsaken. In the Christian story, the Son of God, while being crucified on the cross, calls out, “Why hast Thou forsaken me?”25 Trusting that “Thou art with me” whether or not I‘m experiencing the presence of the divine in the moment is one of the great mysteries and challenges of one’s faith journey. The divine does not show up at our bidding but appears as an act of grace.

Without faith, when flooded with doubt, despair and anguish, our hearts may harden rather than break open. Beware of this fork in the road, one leading to violence and destructiveness, the other leading to compassion and acts of kindness. Rather than curse his persecutors, Jesus calls out from the cross, “Forgive them for they know not what they do.”26 The world’s great religions exalt mercy as a core virtue. May we refuse to take revenge for our sufferings and take the path of forgiveness.

Despite what many of us have been taught, the strength of one’s faith does not depend on holding onto iron clad beliefs. Please do not be confused. I am not referring to the word “faith” that is commonly used to mean unshakable beliefs. Beliefs come and go despite our greatest efforts to cling to certainty. Rather, our faith is tested when our dearly held beliefs fall apart.

Many have been taught that “faith” is belief without proof. We find this meaning in our dictionaries. But who would advocate ignoring the facts? This would not be wise or prudent. It would be an indicator of stubbornly held beliefs. Let us not confuse faith with dogmatism. Faith that includes doubt is so much greater than that. For it is faith that enables you to be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and to love the questions themselves.27

An important part of becoming wise involves learning to recognize the kinds of questions that lead us to a deeper understanding of ourselves and our world. Your response to these questions will help guide you toward living a meaningful and fulfilling life. One important question we can ask ourselves regularly is: “What is being asked of us?” Faith that does not inspire good works is dead and in need of resurrection. Hear this story:

There once was a sincere person struggling to find meaning in life who ventured into the wilderness, climbed to the top of the highest mountain in the land, and cried out, “What is my purpose in life?” And the answer came, “Your purpose was being fulfilled when you took that extra hour to listen to the little child tell you about his life, when you helped the elderly woman carry her heavy package, and when you returned that fledgling to its nest. Beware the pitfall of equating your purpose with achievement. The universe isn’t interested in your achievement, just your heart. When you act with kindness, out of compassion for others, you are already aligned with your true purpose. No need to look any further!”

May we keep our religious practice alive by humbly seeking to experience the divine mystery that will continue to transform our lives through unending revelations in our ongoing intimate relationship with Creation. Ideally, worship is the submission of all our nature to the divine. It is the quickening of conscience by holiness, the nourishment of mind with truth, the purifying of the imagination with beauty, the opening of the heart to love, the surrender of will to divine purpose - and all of this gathered up in adoration, the most selfless emotion of which our nature is capable and therefore the chief remedy of that self-centeredness which can lead us astray.28

While we all should aspire to be effective in order to achieve our goals, our first priority is to be faithful. Pragmatism has its limits. There are times when faith defies familiar proportions, precautions, and expectations. Sometimes we need to act because it is the right thing to do even though we have little hope that it will be effective. Win, lose, or draw, we can act to preserve our integrity. We may risk appearing foolish in situations that seem hopeless in terms of desired outcomes. But the power of faith shines when people persevere and triumph over what appear to be impossible odds. Consider this story:

Once upon a time, an old man was walking along the seashore after a big storm. The beach was littered with starfish stretching in both directions as far as the eye could see. Off in the distance, he noticed a little boy bending down to pick...