As far as we know, we are the only animals in this kingdom to have faith in a god.
It would be bizarre to see a lion give up his instinct and instead, put all of his trust in an idea he never had for himself in the first place, in the hope that all would work out well for his pride. It would be even more bizarre if he then began to convert other lions to his faith, threatening them all with certain hell if they did not.
It would never happen, lions are too busy living (and not nearly as gullible as we are!). All creatures have instinct and demonstrate a willingness to follow that instinct. Instinct is the keeper of survival, and survival is the guardian of life.
All of us are born with built-in internal guidance system that warns us against burning, getting hit by buses, falling into rivers etc. We sense a multitude of dangers with our gut reactions, and we never have to learn these skills, they naturally develop (with supportive guidance, of course). We are born with instinct hot-wired into our bodies; just like animals we have built-in fight or flight mechanisms.
But where human beings differ from the rest of the animal kingdom, is we are the only creatures that believe having faith (again, as far as we know) will get us home safely. Does a rabbit prey that it’s hunter won’t catch it? If a rabbit manages to run free, does it thank god?
To have faith is to have confidence or trust in an outcome, but often faith stems from a belief that is not based on proof nor substantiated in anyway by evidence. How is it possible to have confidence in something that cannot possibly be proved? There is simply no way of knowing whether things will work out well in the end, or whether or not faith makes one bit of difference.
It is possibly “nicer” and securing to think things will work out well, but as Voltaire put it “faith consists in believing when it is beyond the power of reason to believe.”
Does it actually serve us to have faith?
Faith has become synonymous with religion, (religions have been referred to as faiths since the late 13th century.) All of the major religions pretty much agree on the fundamental idea of there being one god, and if it were not for the slight differences in their faith, would probably get along very happily.
But because faith cannot be proven it is a very dangerous tool in the wrong hands. Especially when you consider that a suicide bomber is working to prove his/her faith in god, and to slay others who contrast with the practices of their faith.
America, the world’s most visible superpower, is referred to as one nation under god. Yet hostility from the religious right (due to misguided evangelism) shown to homosexuals, women who have abortions, Jews (endless list) demonstrates yet again how faith divides god’s people.
Is this what god would want? Would the almighty not prefer his flock to be living in faithless peace rather than ripping our selves into dogmatic pieces because of minor differences such as which direction to prey towards and what names to give prophets?
No one knows what god wants, and therefore, no one can judge another. I think Michelangelo said it best when he said: Faith in oneself is the best and safest course.
There is a saying: let go, let god that I have always loved. (I interpret this as not referring to the god of the religion, but to god as life itself.)
To let go is to ride the wild current of life, as we are born with nothing and we die with nothing, so how can there be anything to lose? The purpose of life is to live.
To let god is to not resist this current, be yourself and allow all that is good about you steer you, to master this process is to be god-like. The more we trust in life, the more faith rewards us with greater and more satisfying experiences. Life is the only god. It has no opposition: death is the opposite of birth. Life encompasses all, put your faith in that.
“As your faith is strengthened you will find that there is no longer the need to have a sense of control, that things will flow as they will, and that you will flow with them, to your great delight and benefit. “
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