|
I have referred to myself as a faithful skeptic. "Faithful" implies I am, also, a believer, or one who trusts. Trust allows me to question beliefs, transcend all belief, and, still, have beliefs. This sounds paradoxical; in some sense, maybe it is paradoxial.
I have moved to be able to affirm mysteries within my Christian faith that I once could not affirm. I can affirm them without being certain of all of them. Faith, while including certainty, is not always the same as certainty. Then, sometimes, I can affirm teachings in ways different from before. I can disagree with other Christians in how they interpret these teachings, while we hold to the same teaching. I can affirm beliefs, likewise, without thinking that my interpretation must be imposed on everyone else. I see my own journey of belief, within a contemplative path, as just that, a journey, not a destination. To me, being faithful to the Spirit is more important than having a “correct” grasp of all the teachings. Love takes precedence over belief, but Love needs belief to express itself for good.
Have you ever met a person without a belief system, even if it was one they refused to admit? We are believing creatures.
In the 1991 comedy "The Fisher King," Jack, played by Jeff Bridges, is a former radio talk show host and now a depressed alcoholic. He meets Parry, played by Robin Williams, a homeless man who claims to be "God's Janitor." They have a special connection. Parry's psychosis was caused when his wife was the victim of a deranged killer at a nightclub. Jack had taunted the killer on his radio show the night of the rampage. Now, Parry wants Jack to help him in the quest for the Holy Grail, which he identifies as the symbol of Divine Grace, something Jack and Parry both much need. Jack refuses, but when he goes home that evening, Parry and the quest are on his mind.
So, Jack asks his girlfriend if she believes in God. "Do you know what the Holy Grail is?' Ann replies, "Holy Grail? Yeah, I know that one. That was like Jesus' juice glass." Then she remarks that she used to be "such a Catholic." Jack inquires, "Do you still believe in God?" "Yeeeaaaah, you gotta believe in God!," answers Ann. That is about as far as her belief goes, however. She tells Jack that she believes that men were not made in God's image, but in the devil's. Women were made in God's image, for they can give birth, a kind of creating. Women are attracted to men, she claims, because the devil is more interesting. Saints, Ann says, are boring. She finishes her self-crafted catechism by saying, "So the whole point of life is for men and women to get married, so that God and the devil can get together, and work it out."
|
|
Ann is not that different from many in our society. Now, it is the in-thing, the fashionable thing, from Hollywood to your neighborhood, to criticize anything that appears “traditional” or “traditional religion” and glamorize all kinds of group and self-concocted oddities of “spirituality” and rampant “do what I feel” and “I have my right to my ‘own’ opinion.”
Yes, I speak of transcending belief. But, we must have some solid belief system even to get close to transcending belief. And, likewise, transcending belief is not abdicating belief or creating some ideology that fits our preferences.
I am religious, and “proudly,” so. I admire a Christian who can respect her tradition. I admire a Buddhist who can honor his Path. I respect a Muslim who believes in his tradition in a way that betters the world. I compliment every Jew who is devoted to the path of Torah.
No, I am not advocating that all religions or religious beliefs are equally helpful. I am pointing out that having the reason and faith to believe something that is both helpful and traditional, even beliefs that one cannot prove or disprove, is a mark of wisdom and maturity. We can do this, without allowing ourselves to think we are always right or that we are the only right group. We can, even within our faith traditions, allow Love to lead us to learn from each other and not allow our differences to divide us. We must do this in our own traditions, or else, how shall we have compassionate understanding and loving tolerance across faith traditions? And, the latter is essential, in helping bring healing to our earth and its peoples.
I especially, today, write to my readers who maintain a system of religious belief, in which you are seeking to be faithful to the tradition of your faith in a way that betters our world. Never question the dignity of such respect for your tradition. Never reduce belief to what is convenient for us to believe. Never reduce belief just to what “feels” right. But, do not attach to the belief system, indeed, transcend it in Loving compassion for all beings. Be of open mind, but not impressed by all the myriad claims to truth. No, “tradition” and “orthodox” are not always equal to truth, but neither are they always equal to falsehood, either.
|
