FAITH
by J. Ben Water
What does it do; where does it come from; how do we get it; will we need it; could we lose it; and how do we use this thing called Faith?
A wise person once said, “In a fox-hole there are no Atheists” (people who do not believe in a god). This outcome is most likely, because while it is in the nature of a human to rebel against any parent figure (higher power), it is also in the nature of that same human, when faced with overwhelming fear, to cry-out for help from his parent figure (higher power).
Although, if it is in the nature of a human to occasionally need super help (a miracle), how does he think to ask for it; how will he know this help is available; why does he know how to use his Faith?
This happens if:
a human has been taught from birth to ask for this kind of help, while talking to a higher power (the human who is taught to pray...prays),
or a human has repeatedly received this kind of help in the past when needed (babies who cry and get help... will seek help by crying),
or a human has been influenced by hearing about someone else receiving this type of help.
Okay, I heard that groan. What I describe above is also how Superstition, and Religion, may be learned and passed on. So how do we sort-out Religion, and Superstition, from Faith?
Here we need to clarify: Faith is not the same as Religion.
Religion has borrowed and misused this term Faith; so there is much confusion surrounding the word Faith. And in order to reach Truth, we should attempt to define both concepts:
Religion: a set of rules, or laws, made by humans to gain power, or, to promote the worship of anything (yes...even the cult is religion... there should be no difference in definition).
Faith: is Trust, or Belief. This Belief may be right, or wrong, weak, or strong, but it must be Belief, and not Hope; Hope is not Faith.
Hope: is not knowing for sure; Hope is a wish you are unsure of, and is empty if not grounded in Truth. Using Faith causes you to be sure; sure is replaced by unsure; Faith is sure Belief.
The sure Belief (Faith) is normally grounded in knowing from experience. And it must always walk through that fire of Truth. If it cannot, then it is doomed for failure and will be discarded as a Superstition.
All-right-ee, if you can now plug-in Trust for Faith, and Rules of Worship Made by Man for Religion, you then may understand how a human comes to struggle with Faith (Trust).
If a human is taught from birth to place Trust in Rules Made by Men to Worship, then he is not placing his Trust in God, but in the rules made by men (he will trust men... not God). And if some of those rules fail to contain Truth, so will the Faith fail. The Religious rules then will hinder the Trust- Faith (Religions contribute much to societies... although they often rob the individual of a true Faith in God...they cause men to put Trust in men...not in God) of that human.
So when a person puts Faith into Religious rules not grounded in Truth, they may gain some comfort from them (they believe all will work well for them... if they follow those rules) until those rules fail. Then the confused person may question using any Faith at all. This is what happened to the Catholic nun Mother Teresa (and many other religious people... also).
Over time Mother Teresa started questioning her Belief in God, and reached a point where she no longer talked to him (she quit using this part of her Faith entirely). Although she seemed to hold fast to her Religion, and continued to live under the domination of it.
But would this break in Mother Teresa’s Faith really cause any difference to her life, or the quality of it? Yes, if you read her letters they are heartbreaking, with an overwhelming sadness that comes through. She repeatedly begs her superiors for answers, that they never provide. Even I felt depressed for her; it was clear, she was in a deep state of depression.
So yes, Faith is important, because losing Faith causes mental problems for humans. And when Faith is lost, depression fills that void (when Mother Teresa quit praying to God... she gave up the most valuable tool a human possesses).
Although if the loss of Faith causes depression in humans, then what about our Atheist? Before he climbs into that foxhole, he lives Faith free also. So why is he okay; where is his depression; why shouldn’t he have questions; how is he different from Mother Teresa; and why does he get to skip that depression part?
Well when our Atheist climbs into that foxhole, he uses plenty of strong Faith to get there. His Faith is just not in any god (higher power). He has his answers already. His Faith is in himself, and he functions well with this Faith. Although when he needs a miracle (foxholes are usually that place) his fear causes him to lose Faith in himself also (he cannot do miracles). So he loses Faith too, but quickly replaces it with more Faith. He turns to a higher power, as in, “Oh God, please save me now”. So he uses even more Faith than Mother Teresa, and that is why he will be fine.
So yes, Faith is very important to every human. The human who does not form some basic Trust, will never function well (if the sun will not rise again... why sow seed... why create... why build... why have children... why plan for anything but a slow death). And because the normal human needs to Trust, they can often be mislead. That is really what our Atheist tries to guard against. And is also why a Scientist, or Mathematician, will declare that they believe only in what they can prove, through experimentation, or, numbers. They too are attempting to protect themselves against being mislead.
Okay, now that we have called up our Scientist and Mathematician. We need to examine where their Faith goes. What are they really saying, and what are they Trusting in?
Let's start with some definitions:
Mathematician: a human who studies patterns
Scientist: a human who finds, and studies patterns
So any Mathematics, or Science, is just a study of patterns:
The Mathematician deals with the pattern of repetition, where numbers stand in and represent the repetition of a pattern (the apple repeated itself X times... there are X amount of apples).
And a Scientist will find and study patterns, in order to determine true answers (a rubber ball bounces X times when dropped X times).
So now you see our Mathematician and Scientist, attempt to trust only in patterns. But if you want to solve any problem for Truth, you must go beyond a pattern. You must find the underlying principal for that pattern. It is not enough to see a pattern; you need to understand what makes that pattern happen.
Pattern: that which always repeats in the same manner.
Underlying principal of a Pattern: the reason (the why of it) a Pattern always repeats in the same manner.
So let’s look at the Bible, and find that underlying principal for Faith.
When you look at the Bible you find that the laws of God, and the laws of men (Religion) collide. But there they are, mixed, residing beside each other. This is why Faith-Trust is in confusion. Although if you apply scientific reasoning, you can find and understand what the true laws of God are.
First you must decide if God is our creator, and if he has made the heavens and earth. If your answer is yes, then his laws are biological, physical, and verifiable. The laws of evolution, physics, biology, and mathematics (all patterns), are his laws. If you do not believe they belong to him, then you are saying he did not make us, or create them, and he is not the true creator. If he is the true creator, then his laws must hold to the pattern of Truth; he will deal only in Truth.
So let us find that Truth. And in the interest of Truth, I must now tell you what my belief is, and how I came by that Faith.
At the age of five, I witnessed a ceremony preformed in the house where I lived. It was explained to me by my eight year old sister, as THE LORD’S SUPPER. It was performed with wine, and unleven bread. At this time I had never been inside of a church, because my father vowed never to go back into one.
My father had become angry with his church, because he had asked for their prayers (my sister was five... I was two...his wife was dying...he needed a miracle) and they had refused him, because he had committed a sin, and would not repent. His sin was a broken Religious rule, of no music in the house of God, on a Sunday.
He had been asked by another local church, to play an organ in their church, on a Sunday, and he did (ironically the gift of music he used... came naturally from his creator... he played many instruments... but only by ear ... he did not read music).
His church would not forgive him, and he did not forgive them (many years later by a turn of events I would learn... the church and grounds he boycotted... had been built and donated by his father... my grandfather).
By the age of seven, I had seen the insides of many churches, even more than the most devout; I knew all the rules, to all the major Christian Religions; I had learned them from the inside; I could by the age of eleven, quote large portions of the Bible correctly (not by choice... by the age of six... I would no longer be in the care of my family); and at the age of sixteen, I was fit to debated any seminary student; but my Faith came to me as a small child, and has remained the same, through all the ordeals that I have experienced.
My Faith came from the words of Jesus Christ:
King James Bible:
22 And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God.
23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
Mark 11:22-23
Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?
John 11:25-26
6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
John 14:6
All three of these quotes use the same underlying principle to create the best outcome for a human, and that principle is what makes these words true.
As a small child I could not know the real power in these words. And I did not know, or understand, the underlying principle that causes them to be true. I could only see what that pattern should be, until I found the underlying principle in the words of Christ.
Once I found this principle, I began looking for it everywhere. I found religious and new age leaders like blind men, describing the elephant. They knew small parts of it; but could not see, or fully understand it. But the words of Jesus Christ explains this principle in full. And you can know his true words, because his true words, will never cause you to violate this principle.
This principle in design, is similar to the laws of DNA.
What I mean is, on the surface everything appears wildly diverse, overly complicated, and chaotic. It looks like a puzzle that cannot fit together. But the laws of genetics are both simple and elegantly made, one source designed to create unlimited outcome, and so is this principle the same. And like genetic law, and the law of gravity, it is the principal that governs all human life. And it is the key to understanding your fate on this earth, your fate after you leave this earth, and the ultimate fate of the human race itself.
When fully understood, this principle:
may make our Atheist happy, because he will understand his fate comes entirely from his own heart-mind-mouth.
may make the devoutly religious person angry and defensive, because it may go against how they have been taught to religiously think (they may not fully understand how to keep a clean heart-mind-mouth).
will give you true freedom, and power, as in, “The Truth will set you free”. Free from the rules of men, who would control you for their own benefit.
and should defuse that ticking time bomb of a future antichrist, who will come to take power from you, instead of giving power to you.
These predictions come from what I know did happen, when Christ first explained and taught this principle.
Two thousand years have passed from that time. But this principle remains unchanged, because Truth does not, cannot, and will not, change. Truth is unchanging.
What was true, is true, and evermore will be true. So let us find and uphold that Truth, and always live in a true Freedom.
J. Ben Water
These essays explain how this principle works WHO'S GOT GOD read WHO WAS JESUS read THE ANTICHRIST read
and this essay THOUGHTS ON THOUGHT read explains basic Truth.
