Monday, January 18, 2010

My spiritual manifesto

It occurred to me this weekend that it's often hard for me to explain what it is I actually believe. I hope this blog entry will clear up any confusion that may exist concerning my personal "statement of faith" as it exists today. Please note, my beliefs can be fluid as I tend to read quite a bit and may adjust my beliefs to reflect the new information I gather.

I can remember a day when I was afraid to explore the possibility that God might exist outside the traditional Judeo-Christian construct. As a Bible-thumping believer, I said things like: "God said it and that settles it," because I didn't want to consider the likelihood that we, meaning my church, my pastor, my tradition, my experiences, or my beliefs might be wrong.

As the years go on and I continue to witness tragedy, death, war, civil unrest, poverty, confusion, religious tension, and injustice in our world, I wonder why- if God is omnipotent- doesn't he just reach down and fix all of this.

The thought that God would simply allow his precious creations to suffer somehow seems morbid. That's why I believe there is a God, but not in the way that we've known or understood him in the Western world. I believe in God the love force, the life force, the peace force, the provision force, the keeper and dissiminator of Wisdom, the ultimate spiritual example of what humans can be at when we're at our best. God is an infinite and eternal being who communicates with humanity and intervenes in mysterious ways. He is the person with whom I commune when I choose to pray, and he hears me.

I believe that like Christ, we have a responsibility to help others hope in goodness, search for peace, and find unity wherever we can. We should embody the love force, life force, peace force, and justice that is wholly and truly God, even though we don't fully understand him.

I refer to myself as agnostic because there are so many things that I don't believe I'll ever know. For instance, I don't know the true nature of Christ. Frankly, no one does. I would like to believe that he was born of a virgin, was crucified and resurrected, was God, and will return, but I'm not totally convinced any more. The similar, yet competing contemporary legends of his day (such as Mithras and Buddha) lead me to believe that the Christ story may not be totally authentic. I also believe that much of what is recorded about him in the Bible could be mythological as it was recorded 40 to 90 years after his life by people who didn't know him personally.

At the moment, I believe it's more likely that Christ was a mystic, a teacher, a wise holy man, a revolutionary, and a man who challenged tradition in his day. I believe that he transcended humanity to tap into divine power in ways that often manifested through signs and wonders. I believe he impacted people and gave them hope. He was as Godlike as any human could be.

Finally, I believe the Bible is the story of how humans have tried to commune with God. The Bible is a collection of "why" tales, but not "how" tales. It has examples of why we have felt separated from God and how we handled it. It has stories of redemption, hope, and profound pain. It shows that humans have had tribal ideas about God since the beginning of time. It contains allegories about why we are the way we are. It shouldn't be viewed as the only written testament to the character of God or the life of Christ.

I am a Christian in the sense that I follow Christ's teachings, his example, and his mystic nature. I am agnostic in the sense that there's plenty I don't know about God, divinity, and Christ. I read the Bible and follow it to the extent that it offers many perspectives of God to which I can relate. I handle it carefully, knowing that there are verses in there that don't necessarily apply to our modern era. I accept that there are things about God, Christ, and life that I'll never know.

So this is my "statement of faith." It's all I can believe at the moment, and I am quite comfortable in this place.

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