A Modern Journey to Faithlessness
Faith is a complex and enduring concept, probably existing for thousands of years. It has been researched and expressed in many ways. Yet, despite its many variations, or even our will to admit its subjective existence, faith appears as a fundamental mechanism of our experience, our default mode when we don’t have any logical explanation. It carries the burden of what’s beyond everything we know and understand.
Sadly, our modern society tends to primarily value the logical mind, nothing is real until it has been proven, treating faith as a childish, ignorant approach. Furthermore, many religions, developed over the past few millennia, seem to struggle to keep pace with our rapid scientific and technological advancements. As a consequence, most of us don’t buy it, logically block it away, back into our “comfortable” seat at the table of minds, which in many cases is associated with anxiety and depression. Are we missing something here?
Perhaps delving into my personal journey will shed light on this matter and help us think it through. As an Israeli Jew, I grew up in a traditional family immersed in religious thoughts, behaviors, and governmental rules. We celebrated the holidays. Every Friday we went to the synagogue to pray to receive the “Shabbat” forthcoming with a lovely family dinner. Our Saturdays were calm, a day off dedicated to rest, usually spent at the beach. Our daily routines encompassed various guidelines related to food, blessings, and more.
Don’t get me wrong, the Jewish traditions are beautiful. I could recognize and appreciate a clear physical, psychological and sociological value in many of them. Moreover, the knowledge and understanding behind those values, which rooted in a profound ancient culture that guided individuals through life’s challenges - fascinated me.
However, alongside these apparent benefits, I often experienced personal anguish as a child within the context of those traditions. Many times I found myself unable to comprehend why people faithfully cling to some religious rules. Whenever I got confused and asked them about it, the answers were unsatisfying. It seemed to me as most of them didn’t even question why they follow some religious rules, and those who did, only got so far. As a curious and sensitive young boy, I often felt how devotion to those rules blinded my loved ones from giving me the care and attention I needed emotionally, all in the name of what no one understood. It has insulted me and my intellect, gradually leading me towards being skeptic and nihilistic, caring emptiness and contempt.
While I can’t claim this was the sole reason for my deep-seated mistrust at the world, it certainly played a significant role. I vividly recall the repetitive arguments with my father, inflating our family time into a collective of pretty ugly moments, causing all of us huge distress, especially to my mother who consistently did everything she could to keep the family united. Perhaps more importantly, I frequently felt like I didn’t have a place inside of me to turn to when I felt alone, misunderstood, and frustrated from being itself.
I guess I’m not shocking you when I share about religious hurtful expressions. Much more harmful consequences on a broader scale appear within a religious context throughout our history. Horrific actions, “In the name of God”, lead to the massacres of the Christian Church, hundreds of years ago, or to the Islamic suicide bombers in the 21st century. Many people treat the mythological aspect of religions too literally, which can push them towards extremism when coupled with psychological distress. Additionally to the extremist side of the literal interpretation, we can encounter an ignorant side, more commonly expressed in our modern day-to-day lives, usually accompanied with the feeling of missing the point, missing the essence of the mythological stories. That approach creates a hard time the logical mind to give it a chance and take it seriously.
As I reflect on my personal journey and observe the changes occurring in our global society, it seems that Nietzsche didn’t claim “God is dead” for nothing. As science took the wheel, and religions don’t update as fast as our technology and culture, the way God was presented is dead and no longer relevant. Even so, what it stands for is highly relevant. More than that, in an individual atheist society, distanced from religions and powered by logic, people need more than ever a modern path to faith and spiritual guidance.
Once we remove barriers such as taking mythology literally or intertwining faith with violent extremists, which abuse such concepts, we can start to embrace and incorporate the goodies of that accumulated knowledge, leading to significant life enhancement.
In the forthcoming articles, we will explore what we can learn from the idea of God, the ideals of different religions, and how intellectually we can find our way toward spiritual development. Consider this as your first faithful step, trusting there is a way to develop your faith as a modern believer.
Stay tuned!
