On Faith

By Khalila RedBird Post date March 12, 2016

Faith is the strength of my conviction that my understanding of All That Is is correct, that the Universe exists and continues from day to day in accordance with some set of rules that, if known, would – or, at least, could – make sense, and all that is – acts, experiences, and observations – remains consistent with that set of rules.

• Because this is true, the Universe is predictable.
• Because the Universe is predictable, I can be secure.

My religion is my personal set of thoughts, actions, and habits that clarifies my understanding and strengthens my conviction that my understanding is correct.

A crisis of faith occurs if and when a fact, experience, or observation is undeniable and invalidates my understanding and suggests the Universe is unpredictable in a way that destroys my sense of security and the validity of my religion.

When I view life through this lens of faith, I notice:

1. Science is engaged to discern the subset of rules we call natural law – those laws that can be quantified, tested, verified, or falsified.
2. Religions that prescribe a set of rules to be followed and assertions to be believed as fact carry a risk of inconsistency with undeniable experiences or observations, including observations of internal inconsistency among the rules and assertions.
3. Religions that incorporate flexibility to accommodate new discoveries of science, new experiences, new observations are less likely to be the focus of a crisis of faith but less likely to be consistent across broad populations.
4. Asserting a Supreme Being that is omnipotent and, at the same time, benevolent risks crises of faith when bad things happen to good people.
5. Asserting a Supreme Being that is omnipotent and, at the same time, an active participant in the day-to-day life of the Universe introduces conflicts with natural law and undermines compatibility of Science and an individual’s Religion, risking a crisis of faith.
6. Traumatic experiences can lead to crises of faith when undeniable fact conflicts with religious assertions.