Whether we think trust in God is necessary or not, we can choose to trust one another and be confident in our best intentions.
Since I write so much about religion and faith I don’t usually try to nail it down, no doubt because I have doubts there are firm definitions in these matters.
Charles offered one use of the word. He said, “I have faith you are a good person.” That use of the word is quite different, so we agreed to continue the conversation.
I appreciate that, but suspect that’s not what most people mean when they use the word faith.
He grew up thinking that faith and belief were attached to a particular religion. His thinking changed over the years as his questions increased and “the church didn’t seem to welcome my questions.” He felt that he lost his faith and stopped attending church.
Though I usually don’t use the word faith in the same way Charles does, I’m right with him on the way to “live faithfully” in the sense he describes.
There are a number of ways to define faith.
There are those who say nonbelievers are actually not faith-less but “have faith” in science or reason or the fact that the sun will rise in the morning. I don’t see it that way. To me that’s not faith but reasonable conclusions drawn from experiential evidence.
I’m confident (another trust word) that Charles and others like him in religious communities, who understand faith in this broader, creative and inclusive sense, can be open to walking and working side by side with freethinkers and nonbelievers.
When the living foundation is trust, and trust grows straight out of relationships, then creeds, theologies, churches, religions and beliefs don’t need to divide us.
Does this still leave serious questions about faith in our world? Sure it does. But we sense a clearer pathway ahead. Whether we think trust in God is necessary or not, we can choose to trust one another, be confident in our best intentions and trust the questions to be assets on the way forward.
Chris Highland served as a Protestant minister and interfaith chaplain for many years. He is a teacher, writer, freethinker and humanist celebrant. Chris and his wife Carol, a Presbyterian minister, live in Asheville. Learn more at chighland.com. His new book, "A Freethinker's Gospel," is available from Pisgah Press.