The Question
Yesterday, at our Faith and Science group, we got into a discussion about “when do our beliefs turn into certainties?” As always, when we try to approach these things from an intellectual point-of-view, our inquiries fail to reach a satisfactory conclusion.
Why is that?
One of our group often suggests that we need to ‘think with our heart’. And I feel that is the best route to take, especially in these matters of faith.
One Possible Answer
To say “I know” is to imply an intimacy with the subject matter. In reality, we do not appreciate the object of our interest until we make it part of ourselves. As long as it is ‘out there’ we cannot feel it ‘in here’.
When it comes to religion, we are the same. If I think about God as some white-haired old man sitting ‘up there’ on a cloud, I’m not going to have a sense of a lover ‘down here’ in my heart. And that is what makes us seem alienated from the Kingdom of Heaven, and each other.
My Conclusion
When we recite The Lord’s Prayer or the 23rd Psalm by rote, we are saying the words but not appreciating their wisdom. Others who have come to a realization of their significance have spoken these words aloud and listened at the same time.
By doing that, they ’embodied’ the truth of their experience, and the energy of Love has moved through them.
That is when they can truly say, “I know that my Redeemer lives“.
Amen.
