Having a 3D Faith

Have you ever asked yourself WHY you believe in matters of faith? I'm not asking you to define WHAT you believe, but WHY? Is it because you were taught to? Because the bible tells you so? Because your parents believed it, so you will too? Because you are more accepted in your community because you agree with the majority? 

Dig deeper. WHY?

I asked myself that very question today. My faith has changed significantly over the years. I grew up a freewill baptist, one of most conservative of all baptist faith's, yet later, I questioned the existence of God altogether. I wondered if atheists were right all along, that there is no God and considered myself agnostic for a while. I am a big science buff, and one would think that being into science would make me naturally dismiss the idea of God. However, in the last several years, I changed my thinking. And I am asking myself now, why? Why did I change? Why am I choosing to believe now?

Faith, is by its very definition, something for which there is no proof. As the Bible says, it is "the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." So I cannot tell you that a miracle happened to change my mind, or God came down to earth and visited me in a dream. Nothing so dramatic.

I think I believe because it is in my nature to believe. If you look back in time, it seems every culture has some type of faith. They rarely agree on the "what" of believing but on the fact that they do believe in something. Someone once suggested that perhaps the need to believe in a god is ingrained in our DNA. It has become part of us and part of our survival. I think in a way, that could be true. Believing is as much a part of me as my own DNA.  I cannot really imagine me without faith. 

I guess another reason I believe is because it makes sense to me. I just don't understand a beginning and an end. I only understand the world as being all made up of the same stuff and all interconnected in some way. I only understand the world as a being part physical matter and part energy that we cannot see but creates the real essence of who we are. The more I study science, the more I believe in my own faith. Science is no threat to my faith, it only makes me understand just how amazing my God has to be in order to create this thing called life. 

I also believe that one of the best things I did to strengthen my faith, was to challenge it. I challenged it so much I stopped believing it for a while.  That was AWESOME because I see my faith from the other side. 

I saw my faith from an agnostic point of view. I stepped out of the comfort zone that was my parent's faith and into a very uncomfortable position (for me) of having no faith.

As ridiculous as this may sound, looking at my faith from the outside was beneficial. I equate it to the general who can never win a battle until he understands the strategy of his opposition. He must learn to think like the enemy, to see the battlefield from their point of view. He must understand them so well, that in his mind, he can imagine the battlefield through the eyes of the opponent. In doing that, he can see the flaws in his own strategy, see the weaknesses in his approach and he can develop a better battle plan.

I by no means equate anyone of any faith or with no faith as my enemy. That is not my point. But when I can step back and look at the field of faith from a different perspective, then I can figure out my own faith strategy. I may need to regroup, to change a few things. I may need to sit aside old ideas, and pick up new ones now that I have more information. 

I cannot be afraid of this change. I can't be afraid to get out of my comfort zone. I cannot be afraid to challenge my faith. I cannot be afraid to learn and to think outside the box. 

I really believe that people who are afraid to challenge their own faith are really afraid that if they do, it will break. It will prove weak and untrue. To those I ask, "Is your God really so weak that he can't handle a few questions?" "Is he so cruel that he will be angry for being challenged?" That sounds like a dictator, not a God who wants you to grow close to him and to grow in your faith. 

The best artists never paint a picture by looking at a photograph. They go to the subject they wish to paint on their canvas so they can feel the essence of it. So they can see it from all sides. Otherwise they will produce a boring one dimensional object without any definition, with no shadows. In the same way, you must look at your faith from all angles to really understand it and to define it. Your faith must become 3D. 

So again I ask you.....Why do you believe?