Faith With or Without God, Gods or Goddesses
Faith is the bedrock of civilization and the fountain of creation — but not the way you may think it is
Emma Serena Lavin, a friend of mine on Medium, writes that she grew up in an age and culture dominated by religious reactionaries who rail that faith is “the bedrock of civilization and the fountain of creation.” So did we all.
The religious reactionaries are right, so Emma asserts. But they are also wrong.
Believers of most of the great religions in the world claim to be walking the one and only path toward righteousness. Everyone, they say, must be allowed, guided — or forced — to walk the one and only path. In so doing they present a painfully reductionist view of the infinitely varied and wonderful world we live in. Emma calls it “power-over” faith.
Power-over faith is having somebody else’s freedom of religion beaten into you. Real faith, which Emma calls “alpha prime” faith, is your own faith, which can only come to you when you let go of what you have been conditioned to believe.
You can choose what to believe that is worthy of you — with or without God, gods or goddesses, inspiring images, or talismans to hold onto. You can let go of the need to be right all the time and foist your…
