Religion
Suppose we take the Religion.com definition, i.e., “a set of beliefs concerning the cause, nature, and purpose of the universe, especially when considered as the creation of a superhuman agency or agencies, usually involving devotional and ritual observances, and often containing a moral code governing the conduct of human affairs.” I’m not so much interested in the broad aspects of this definition as I am in the part about believing in something greater than yourself, something that is behind all you experience, and how you experience it. We describe this all powerful being in different ways, but what evidence do we have that He exists?
Well, we certainly don’t have proof, if that refers to how we humans determine fact through human (ex. scientific method) processes we have discovered or defined. This is, after all, why the word “belief” is inextricably joined with the concept of religion. But do we really believe that if there wasn’t a God we would have invented one (famously attributed to Voltaire)? Do we really believe that the “still small voice” inside the great majority of us, that naturally seeks good and turns away from evil is coincidence, or an evolution in the way our DNA is wired? Do we not all, or at least most of us, from time-to-time sense something that seems greater than our collective experience? And feel peace, joy, love or sorrow that exceeds our human ability to describe it?
None of this proves the existence of a God, of course, as worshipped by a like-minded group of individuals who have a path and discipline for that worship. I certainly have wondered about this all my life, and frankly feel this is the normal pattern for a questioning human being. The book Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis has helped, in that it provides some non-intuitive explanations for Christ and religion (pivoting here to Christianity). The book is non-intuitive because it identifies unexpected or inconvenient aspects of Christianity that we wouldn’t have chosen if we were just inventing an orderly religion. It provides the warts, if you will, that make religion more familiar and believable.
As far as Christian religion goes, it is certainly true that I want to believe. For example, I want to believe in life after death that includes a much richer existence, where I will meet the loved ones that preceded me. I have the normal fear of all that I am and all that I experience just ending (with death). But a rational person will conclude that any fear and worrying will also end when life ends. Religion is one of the few thought processes that approaches death as more than biological cells extinguishing, and attempts to define what that “more” is. So, wanting to believe is just a necessary first step toward my growth into actually believing.
And it is certainly true for me that a church can provide the many benefits of community support that goes beyond what I can experience as an individual. It is, after all, a tenet of Christianity to seek the good in others and to approach them with humility. In doing so, you profit from the collective wisdom of a church community, and especially the collective love that can support and invigorate you like nothing else. This is a useful foundation, I believe, on which to build a personal religious goal, that of continually seeking your relationship with God through prayer and the life you lead. This seeking, i.e., the journey toward belief in something greater than yourself, the belief in God will take some effort. But I believe that effort will be rewarded in ways we can’t comprehend. And, if I can continue the thought, I believe that it was therapeutic to write about religion, even if no one else reads or is affected by it. … Except that now you have read it, so does this make sense to you?
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