“Faith”

c. 2017 Rod Ice

All rights reserved

(8-17)

Religion. A personal tradition of belief.

It is a subject with such nuclear properties that I rarely address it in print. One which I just as infrequently speak about in polite conversation, unless sharing thoughts with someone close to my heart. Most of the world’s great disciplines address the need for evangelism directly. There is logic to the idea of spreading ‘gospel’ truths. And a basic sort of self-preservation in avoiding the same as part of a diverse and colorful nation of immigrants with differing views.

But, here I go………………..

The Christian Bible says: “Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.” (Matthew 5:15) Buddha expressed this idea of sharing enlightenment in a similar way: “Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared.”

The Quran speaks of tolerance and kinship in different paths toward enlightenment: “Say: Oh you that reject the faith! I do not worship that which you worship. Nor will you worship that which I worship. And I will not worship that which you have been accustomed to worship. Nor will you worship that which I worship. You have your way and I have mine.” (Quran 109: 1-6)

The Indigenous Peoples believed in a ‘Great Spirit’ some called ‘Wakan Tanka.’ Lakota hero Russell Means believed this name translated to ‘Great Mystery.’ Their worship was largely of the planet itself, as a vast church that represented the blessing of a higher power.

The Dalai Lama expressed his own faith in a basic, yet elegant way: “My religion is simple. My religion is kindness.”

Common themes exist among the various prophets and their peoples. Community, cooperation, self-sacrifice. Hope and healing. Discipline. Joy in being alive. Love for one another in the spirit of an all-seeing creator. And respect for the creation. These truths ought to unite us like the stitching in a garment.

Yet believers often seem to focus on the disparities between us all.

To my friend Janis, who grew up in Ashtabula without attending a church of any kind, expressing this human inclination to strive for enlightenment was difficult. It was necessary to speak in clear terms, not unfamiliar scriptures. I finally asked her to think of a bumper sticker we’d seen when going out for Chinese food in Geneva:

“DON’T BE A DICK.”

I reckoned that, using the coarse language of our times, this rough admonition accurately reflected the core philosophy of most religious faiths. As the Dalai Lama said: “Our prime purpose in this life is to help others. And if you can’t help them, at least don’t hurt them.”

Janis spoke her mind on the subject without fear. “I have no problem with Jesus,” she quipped. “It’s his fan club I can’t stand. That goes for all religious people.”

The Christian Bible says: “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” (John 13:35) One might observe that people of faith, anywhere in the world and of any tradition, should be able to make that claim. But in modern times, religion is often associated with other things not bearing the genuine imprint of their prophets. Loud voices, raised in raucous rhetoric. Political ambition. Media careering. Brute force, with cultural division. Extremism and discord sewn like thistles among the crops. Violence in the name of holiness.

Buddha said: “Love is a gift of one’s innermost soul to another, so both can be whole.” His quote represents another familiar thread. The notion that not only is life a gift, but indeed, that love also qualifies as such.

Human nature has caused many believers to focus on ritual behavior, rites and sacraments, and legalistic habits. Or on the history of an organized group. It is a method to self-identify in a tangible way. But these common messages have lingered. Words with greater importance than any repetitious code of conduct. Even the Wiccan Rede takes aim at this most basic belief of civility in faith: “Eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill, an it harm none do what ye will.”

Many friends from my days in New York expressed various religions as being like spokes on a wheel. Each spoke ultimately led to the same hub. To the center. Their concept was that all of us look upward toward the face of God and receive a vision that we find familiar.

My friend from Ashtabula had never been to church, or thought about spiritual things with much interest. But the expressive bumper sticker, and a few words from the theological cosmos, had us engaged in a deep conversation that yielded a greater friendship in the balance.

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