Reflections: What’s Your Faith?

By Dave Tiessen

I am unapologetically a person of faith. Which means I choose to guide my life by ideas, principles and values that I believe in. And, obviously, since I am a retired pastor, I am a person of Christian faith.

Now whether you are of the Christian faith or not, you are nevertheless just as much a person of faith as me. You are a believer!

You may well disagree and say you are most assuredly not a believer or a person of faith, rather an atheist or an agnostic or an advocate of science, or just a none-of-the-above.

A simple definition of the word faith is: “firm belief in something for which there is no proof.” I will gladly agree that my Christian faith is indeed a “firm belief in something for which there is no proof.” I cannot prove that God exists, that “Jesus loves me this I know,” that my sins are forgiven and I will spend eternity with God. But am I a fool to so believe?

A person who is an atheist says definitively there is no God, God’s existence cannot be proven, and that believers are foolish to believe otherwise. Okay, and your proof for these assertions is? 

The agnostic person says there may be a God but he is unknowable. Okay, and your proof for this assertion is?

The advocate of a scientific world view asserts that science explains everything we need to know and so religious faith is unnecessary. Okay, so science can explain where matter and life came from, why human beings have consciousness, what the purpose of life is, what beauty is, what love is?

For too long we people in the West, beneficiaries of the Enlightenment scientific revolution, have been told that faith and God are no longer necessary because science answers all our questions. There were always conscientious people of science who knew such claims were a dramatic overreach of science, but far too many others confidently believed and proclaimed and taught such in our schools anyway.

So it is that in our day and age many think it is only religious folks who (foolishly) live by faith while enlightened people live by the certainties of science. This is simply and totally not true.

Atheists are not able to prove there is no God but they “believe” so anyway. Agnostics are not able to prove God is unknowable, but “believe” so anyway. 

And scientific diehards are not able to explain many of life’s greatest mysteries but “believe” in science anyway.

And even though you may not see yourself as an atheist, agnostic or science diehard, you also are a person of faith. The way we choose to live – our decisions, values, choices, actions, emotions – are a product of the things we believe in. We are not primarily creatures of instinct; we do things for a reason, even though we are often not fully aware of those reasons. But when we look back across our past we will see that our life bears witness to the things we truly believe in, whether consciously or subconsciously.

We are all believers! There is no exalted intellect above the fray of having and living by faith.

It is quite possible to live as if you have no faith, but that is to live an illusion, to forever be a child blown hither and yon by the winds around you, by the beliefs of others. 

Obviously, the mature, adult way to live is to be as self-aware as possible of what you believe, to discard unhealthy beliefs, to choose and strengthen healthy ones, then to make thoughtful choices in keeping with these.

But how do you know what is healthy faith to live by and what isn’t? Pastor Tim Keller suggests beliefs are healthy when they enable us to live productive, satisfied, happy lives. He identifies four key factors.

First, healthy faith provides me with a satisfying explanation of the meaning and significance of life in general and my life in particular. This enables me to live for greater purposes than the satisfaction of my primal urges.

Secondly, healthy faith provides me with a sense of identity and belonging – who I am and who I am meant to be. This enables me to have a healthy sense of self with healthy boundaries which prevent others from steamrolling over me.

Third, healthy faith provides me with the ability to know right and wrong as determined by a higher power and to make choices accordingly. This enables me to be a healthy member of a society that nurtures the good and discourages the evil.

Fourth, healthy faith provides me with hope – that in the end meaning and good prevail and my personal identity will not be eclipsed by death. Hope for the future is an essential human need. Without it we are unable to endure suffering and hardship while with it we are able to endure immense difficulties.

So what’s your faith? Do you know what is the meaning and significance of your life?

Do you know who you are and who you are meant to be? Do you have a strong sense of right and wrong? And do you have solid hope in a bigger story you are part of that will provide you the strength to endure whatever suffering life throws at you?