Faith
There is very much a need for faith in this world; but, we need to define it and think about it rather than follow it blindly. An article I read recently said, “Faith means not thinking.” Faith does not mean following parables, myths, metaphors, analogies and the like literally. I believe that faith should be a synonym for positive mental attitude and optimism.
Jesus was a man who taught us about loving each other and being optimistic, but we cannot believe that he literally walked on water, cranked out loaves and fishes for a hungry crowd, or that he was literally was the son of God. He didn’t claim to be some kind of magician. He was a teacher, who taught in parables, myths, metaphors, and analogies. When he said that “you can move a mountain if you believe that you can,” I doubt that he meant it literally. He was telling you about the “power of positive thinking,” as Norman Vincent Peale put it 1,930 or so years later. Be optimistic and you are more likely to be able to accomplish something. A kid playing baseball steps up to bat and if he doesn’t believe that he can hit the ball he may not swing at it. As we well know, if you don’t swing at the ball you definitely won’t hit it. If the ball is too high or too low, or too far to the left or right, you don’t want to hit at it; but, if you keep your eyes on the ball every split second you will know when to swing and be very likely to hit it.
Positive mental attitude, or faith if you prefer, is not an easy concept to fully understand. It takes thought and practice. Enter into it with optimism rather than blindly believing what someone has said.
Religions are often called “faiths.” Your religion is what you believe. How in the world did we ever get started believing myths and so forth as literal? That is just plain stupid. Let’s have a little faith in logic and common sense.
Jesus was a man who taught us about loving each other and being optimistic, but we cannot believe that he literally walked on water, cranked out loaves and fishes for a hungry crowd, or that he was literally was the son of God. He didn’t claim to be some kind of magician. He was a teacher, who taught in parables, myths, metaphors, and analogies. When he said that “you can move a mountain if you believe that you can,” I doubt that he meant it literally. He was telling you about the “power of positive thinking,” as Norman Vincent Peale put it 1,930 or so years later. Be optimistic and you are more likely to be able to accomplish something. A kid playing baseball steps up to bat and if he doesn’t believe that he can hit the ball he may not swing at it. As we well know, if you don’t swing at the ball you definitely won’t hit it. If the ball is too high or too low, or too far to the left or right, you don’t want to hit at it; but, if you keep your eyes on the ball every split second you will know when to swing and be very likely to hit it.
Positive mental attitude, or faith if you prefer, is not an easy concept to fully understand. It takes thought and practice. Enter into it with optimism rather than blindly believing what someone has said.
Religions are often called “faiths.” Your religion is what you believe. How in the world did we ever get started believing myths and so forth as literal? That is just plain stupid. Let’s have a little faith in logic and common sense.
posted by Dale at 7:45 AM
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