As many of you probably don't know, I considered myself an atheist for many years. I have stepped back from this stance because I began to notice that I was really not an atheist, but instead an "anti-theist." I was guilty of judging religions based soley on the actions of some, (not all) of its practitioners. I began to realize recently that this is not fair to those who practice their faith with compassion, tolerance, and understanding. I will still contend that fundamentalism of any persuasion and at any time is, in my opinion, dangerous. Many people do not know what extremism does to one's perspective, but it can potentially blind one to the true meaning and teachings of one's professed faith to the extent that one can drift completely off "the path" without ever noticing. Fundamentalism can also produce in others a sense that it is ok to judge others whom they deem somehow "unworthy," and treat them accordingly. This is a great injustice done at the expense of both the judge and the accused.
I have come to understand that one of the reasons many modern religions are in such trouble is that many of its practitioners (as well as many freethinkers) have misunderstood the true meaning of faith. One side considers faith to be a belief in something without substance, which is to believe in something totally lacking in any evidence or proof to justify the belief. The other side sees faith as a sort of belief in a set of guiding principles which one must follow precisely, as well as a belief in some kind of "higher power" as a source of ultimate creation, judgement, and authority. But at the root of both these definitions is the obvious conclusion that many people have completely misunderstood the very distinct differences between belief and faith.
Belief is essentially adherence to a set of fixed ideas and principles which do not change. This is to say that someone who has belief is someone who understands many things do change, but their core values and reactions to those changes, do not. Belief is more about denial than it is about acceptance. A person will cling to a belief in an unpredictable and often irrational manner, and will defend their beliefs vehemently from anything they construe to be an attack upon them. In my estimation, belief is a shallow and lifeless thing that does not affirm anything, but instead denies the ability to accept what is and what may be. A person of belief has "locked" themselves into one way of seeing things and cannot, or will not, accept any other possible perspectives or explanations.
Belief is more-or-less a "mutation" of our personality and ego. It is a conscious decision one makes to follow set of prefabricated ideas and never question them or listen to others who might challenge them. Belief is a method of "sorting" through the things that occur to us (and around us) and attempting to discard that which we do not approve and adhere to only that which we do approve (in reality it is not possible to do this, but those who have belief instead of faith choose to ignore that). Many people who think they have faith actually have belief, and the two are most definitely not interchangeable (it is also important to note that it is in reaction to belief mistaken to be faith that many freethinkers are prone to rail against many theists and theism in general).
It is my observation that belief is used by people in justifying actions, feelings, and thoughts, which are in stark contrast to the treating some people with even a minimum of human compassion or dignity. Treating others as we would have them treat us seems to be a moral axiom which many cultures and religions claim to embrace. Unfortunately, it seems many who have misunderstood belief to be the same thing as faith encounter great difficulties putting this axiom into practice universally.
Faith, on the other hand, is not so much about belief as it is about simply about letting go. Faith is to trust that things are the way they are, regardless as to whether there is ultimately a purpose to them or not. We all have the individual right to either choose to accept faith, or we may choose to deny it. Faith will have us give of ourselves unreservedly and unconditionally to ourselves, as well as others, sometimes even complete strangers. One cannot "cling" to faith as one can with belief. It has no "fixed points" at which one can hold onto. One can only let go and let it flow freely.
Faith also requires of us that we are willing to adapt, overcome, and improvise as necessary. It cannot be a fixed set of principles, but instead acts as a guide and a mediator as we learn and grow. To have faith is to take chances knowing full well that things are not always going to go our way, and that is often the difference between really living and just "going through the motions" of life. Faith helps us to face the unknown with courage, grace, and compassion for ourselves and all living things. Faith does not mean we are not afraid, but it does require us that we remain open and vulnerable to the world that will often unfairly bestow upon us various forms of pain and pleasure, triumph and tragedy, profit and loss, goodness and evil, and ultimately, death.
Faith is also a practice, it is never a "perfection," we can never completely "get it right" (nor can we, once we freely accept it, really get it completely wrong either). Thus we must do things to reaffirm and cultivate our faith, we must listen to its teachings, for it is like the wind: always whispering in our ears that which we most need to learn but often don't want to hear. It speaks to us softly, so that we are required to listen more carefully. We must also strive to put what we learn from and through faith into practice on a daily moment to moment basis. In this way, faith helps us gain a firmer appreciation of the moments in our lives and we choose not to discount them.
It is important to realize that faith does not isolate us from encountering difficulties and trying times, as things will often not go as we had hoped or planned. Unlike belief, faith does not require of us that we believe in anything specific, only that we recognize that we are a but small part of a much larger universe. Faith requires no defense, and those of true faith are fully aware that they need not justify nor defend themselves or their faith to those who choose not to understand or acknowledge it. Faith tells us that no matter how much time we have on this Earth, we will never be able to know everything there is to know nor be everything there is to be. Faith must be as unconditional as it is humbling. We cannot alter its nature just because there is something we do not like about it. We cannot "pick and choose" the aspects and teachings of faith we agree with and discard that which we do not. We cannot shape faith, but its gentle touch is like running water on stone, it slowly shapes us. This is the nature of true faith. It is open, naked, vulnerable trust and acceptance of what is rather than that which we would wish to be.
What does it mean to love another human being? It seems to me that love is to trust ourselves and someone else implicitly. Love is to be willing give up some of the things we used to reserve only for ourselves. Love requires that we must be vulnerable, naked, and open ourselves up to the possibility that this person may not love us back, or may eventually "grow out of love" with us. Like most things in life, love is a risk we must willingly take.
Love helps us to face the unknown with courage, grace, and compassion, but love is more than this, for it is also a verb. There are things we must willingly do to reaffirm and continue to cultivate our love for others. Love requires of us that we are willing and able to adapt, overcome, and improvise. It is not a fixed set of principles, but changes with us as we learn and grow.
We must modify our behaviors, perspectives, and choices to include those whom we love. We must consult with and work with those we love towards common goals, dreams, and aspirations. We also recognize that the people we love are far from perfect, just as we are. We must accept the fact from those we love that they are not always going to do things we like, but this does not change the fact that we share love and affection with them.
Like faith, love is unconditional, and it requires no defense or justification. We cannot alter our love, or those we love, to make things "more acceptable" to us we must openly choose to accept both for who and what they are.
When we look carefully at the true nature of love, we realize that it is nothing more than a kind of faith. When we look carefully at the true nature of faith, we realize that it is nothing more than a kind of love. It is by letting go of our judgements, angers, frustrations, and prejudices and accepting persons, places, and things as they are, not as we would wish them to be. We cannot force either love or faith to change according to our desires, however, they will instill within us the desire to modify some things willingly. We cannot force love or faith into being, they must be accepted and allowed to flow through us. Ultimately, to deny faith is to deny love, to deny love is to deny faith. We cannot risk love without faith, we cannot risk faith without love.