By William Grimm
Why do people believe?
For many believers, maybe most, it is because once upon a time our parents drilled belief into us. It would be worthwhile to ask them why they did it. What is so important about belief that they turned us into church-goers, sometimes against our will?
Ultimately, the answer is God.
I suppose some of us have an unshaken faith in God. I am willing to bet, though, that most of us do not. We are seekers, like the man who said to Jesus, “I do believe. Help my disbelief.” Our belief is a mixture of faith, hope and doubt. Mine certainly is.
We wrestle with doubts and live with doubts. It is interesting that non-believers, atheists, tend to be more dogmatic than believers. They are sure they have the answer, that there is no answer. Believers are not so sure of ourselves. And that is as it should be.
Atheists look at suffering in the world and ask, “Why?” Just as believers do. They look at the vastness of the universe and doubt there could be a God who would care about insignificant us.
Believers look at the same suffering, the same science, the same messiness of the world and yet say, “You know, I’m not so sure there’s nothing or no one behind it all.”
For some people, God is a sort of cross between Santa Claus and a cop, someone who will give us presents if we ask nicely, but who is also out to catch us when we do wrong. However, the sincerest prayers are often fruitless and those who do evil often thrive.
So, what sort of job description should God have? One who prevents anything bad from happening? Where should we draw the line at “bad”? Cancer in children? OK. Rainy weekends? Hmmm. Ultimately, that God becomes a puppet master, running the show and making sure that nothing goes wrong.
But, in that case, our actions or even the workings of nature have no real meaning since God will fix it all, or even prevent it from happening in the first place. In other words, our lives would be playacting without real consequences or freedom. What would love mean then, if there is no freedom? Would it even be possible?
I am with the atheists in disbelieving in that kind of god.
I believe not because it makes absolute sense to me, but because the alternative makes even less sense. A believer must always have doubts, especially in the face of suffering and God’s apparent failure to do something about it.
But the unbeliever must always have doubts as well. Just as we have to ask about suffering and the seeming absence of God, unbelievers must try to account for beauty, love and our responses to them. They must also ask themselves why suffering seems wrong, even though by their lights that is the normal way of the world. Believers do not challenge unbelievers as much as we challenge ourselves. We leave them in their complacency.
Where does the “ought” in life come from? Even the sentence, “Children ought not suffer” must depend upon some absolute norm from outside nature. Otherwise, why be upset at the suffering? Why bother protecting whales or trees? Why ought we care about posterity, future generations. (As the saying goes, “What has posterity ever done for me?”) Why ought I be concerned about the welfare of others and scorn selfishness?
There is an “ought” built into us that generally pushes us against our own comfort or even what seem to be our best interests. Where does it come from? It is certainly not based upon experience. It comes from outside of us. But from where? Or whom?
Then there’s the order of the universe. Understanding its mathematical structure has no survival value for us, yet something in us enables us to desire to understand it, to grow in understanding it and to marvel at how rationally organized it is. In that connection, it is worth recalling that the Belgian astronomer George Lemaitre who first proposed what is now called the Big Bang Theory of the origin of the universe was a Catholic priest.
Then, the basic question: Why is there something rather than nothing?
In the final analysis, it comes down to a choice. Neither choice is absolutely sure. That is why it is an act of faith for the believer and the unbeliever alike. But, the choice for belief seems to deal with reality more radically than atheism does. And it seems better able to live with doubts and outright counter evidence than atheism can.
Believers are willing to make a choice for belief. We form communities because that choice needs to be renewed and supported constantly in the face of the evidence that works against it.
Mature believers realize the necessity to understand the implications of that choice. They honestly face doubt and the necessity to always grow in understanding because if we exist on purpose and for a purpose then everything in our lives must be shaped by that choice, by our willingness to live the adventure of belief. – UCA News
*The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official editorial position of UCA News.
