Believe in Something
Faith. The second definition in Webster’s Dictionary states that faith is the strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof. Do you have faith? And if not, then what do you believe? As humans, we need something bigger and better to believe in, in order to promote morals, to create community, and because it just makes sense.
A clear example of why we need religion is the promotion of morals and values. So where do morals come from and who created this idea of good and bad? Wouldn’t the world be so much more fun if we could rob banks and cheat on our spouses? Well maybe, but for most of us, something stops us. We have this “moral compass” that brings along a battle whenever we can’t decide between right and wrong. If my guilty conscience was my voice, I would say to myself, “Don’t worry about it, it’s not a big deal, move on,” but that’s not the voice I hear. I hear a bigger, more powerful voice telling me, “Don’t do it again, apologize, make up for it,” and I know that it’s Jesus or Allah or Abraham or Muhammed or some else, but certainly not me. And maybe I am wrong, maybe my brain is tricking me, but I know if I am, I still wouldn’t look back and regretted the way I live.
Another reason religion is essential is that it creates a community of like-minded people. Think about the people closest relationally to you, you probably have similar if not the same political views, you act similar, and you most likely have a similar philosophy on life. If you’re in the market for new people to surround yourself with, look no further than the people that attend the same religious gatherings because I know that the people I spend with my Sunday with, are a family, rather than a group gathering under one roof. Being part of a religion can bring you joy, simply because of the people surrounding you, and more often than not, these people want to do life with you. Life is done much better in a community rather than on your own so get plugged into a religion and get started on a new journey full of community, you just have to take the first step.
The final reason why religion is that it just makes sense. Theologians have created the Design Argument, which simply put, states that the universe is a design and therefore must have a designer. For instance, if you see a picture of a watch, you know it’s a watch, not because it looks the exact same as every other watch but because it has the same design as a watch. The argument goes on to say that every design has a designer, for example, you know that a watch is a watch because a designer made it to have the same design as other watches. Hence, we know that universe has a designer. The universe, however, is far too complex for a human to construct, so some supernatural force must’ve made it.
Religion, whether you accept it or not, promotes morals, creates community, and just makes sense. It doesn’t matter what or who you believe in but please just believe in something because without religion, without faith, what is there to live for? So I leave you with a simple question, what do you believe in?
