FAITH DEFINED

My recent critique on the underpinnings of Christianity may lead some to conclude that I’m somewhat akin to Richard Dawkins or the recently departed Christopher Hitchins.  Although I do find some of their deconstructions  of religion interesting, I’m actually far more influenced by authors such as Bernard Haisch. As I stressed earlier in the series, religion tends to inhibit true spirituality, which I’m quite passionate about.

I have certainly done my share of deconstruction of my own beliefs, but the question arises as to whether and what form of faith can endure once religious structure is stripped away.

What is faith? The 11^th chapter of Hebrews opens with, ”Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”. This seems as good of a definition as any.

The ubiquitous consciousness that pervades the universe, which Haisch postulates in his “God Theory”, is unseen by the materialist’s eyes. Haisch maintains that the theory is testable, and his book is really a modern affirmation of classic Hermetic thought.

So the spiritualist has “faith” that an unseen structure underpins the physical universe, and that certain “evidence” can be cited to support this belief. The evidence points to an immense and organized structure of reality, consisting of myriad levels and dimensions. We take the grand totality of this wondrous universe to be God, but the key difference with theistic religion is that all collectively is God rather than ruled over by a mercurial human-projected version of God.

As for the practice of placing one’s faith in Christ or various patron saints, the primary question to ask is whether or not this is of benefit to the believer. Powerful miracles are often attributed to prayer or beseeching upon a religious figure, and I’ve seen many such examples myself. But wherein does the power originate? Spiritual wisdom teaches that as souls, we possess unlimited creative powers. When we pour our energies into the archetype of our choosing – be it Jesus, Mary, Archangels, etc – we charge them with power. They become props on the stage of our personal reality. Whether these entities exist within their own reality is irrelevant, for it is largely our own power we are working with.

Unfortunately, by shifting focus to external deities and icons, religion disempowers the believer and encourages subservience to their particular hierarchy in order to obtain God’s favor. For those who find this works for them, so be it. For those who are curious to push their boundaries outward a bit, the Unknown Country awaits to be explored. It is for the latter that this is written.