Religion Versus Faith

Found this nugget in an article recently:

An "agnostic" is someone who doesn't believe that God exists, but isn't certain that God doesn't exist either.

And also:

"I wasn't born Catholic. I inherited my religion from my parents. It's too easy, even as an adult, to mistake who you are for who others expect you to be. [My friend] challenged me to think - rationally - about my place in the universe. More importantly, he taught me that a man must be brave enough to think for himself."

It got me to thinking that I'm not agnostic. I believe in God, because I believe that creation around us is real (versus some sensory delusion that exists in our minds), and also I have no logical answer for how creation - or the very essence of time - began. At some point there was nothing, and then  something came to be. If we could go back far enough in time, then we could witness it and know for sure. Meanwhile, I credit this to God.

Oh, sure, there may be many gods, or no god. But I choose to believe in one God. And I really like this creation around us. It's mostly pain-free, pleasing to the eye, social, inspirational and fun. So I believe in a loving God.

This belief of mine, in the absence of proof, is what I'd call my faith (and is laid out more elegantly in the right navigational bar here on Hidden Blog). And I suppose any faith could be classified as a religion, even if it belongs only to me. But I distinguish the two because, so far, I have yet to find a mainstream religion that embraces the faith that I do. I suppose it's mostly because of my reluctance to embrace the stories of prophets and miracles as unquestionable historical fact, as well as the idea that any particular future path is known with much of any certainty (except by God). This probably points out with some truth that my "faith" is narrow, limited to the high-likelihood unknowns such as the sun rising tomorrow, and the basic goodness of people. My belief is tied mostly to what I see in action or reason with my mind, rather than to what I see on a page or hear from others.

It may be shallow or selfish, my identifying God with the here and now rather than the hereafter, and with life's enjoyment rather than suffering. My support of almost any person's beliefs or biology, as God made them. What I can say is that my personal peace and happiness with God and others has steadily increased since I discontinued membership in religious organizations, and became devoted instead to surrounding myself with people who embody the best virtues this world has to offer so far as I see it - patience, kindness, love, gentleness, humility and so on. However long it lasts, I'll be forever grateful to God for this period of tranquility.