A JOURNEY TO FAITH

PART ONE
MARCH 08



A JOURNEY TO FAITH

Background. I was very fortunate to be brought up as a Christian by my mother. I have never doubted the existence of God our Creator, nor that our duty is to serve Him. However my faith was tested continually by church practices and the words of preachers. Their prayers and preaching had too little relevance to help in my busy daily life.
I offer opinions on areas which have been real or misleading in my Christian experience. It has been a long journey but eventually I escaped
and have been rewarded with a real and complete Faith.

Essay 1
WHERE ARE WE ?
We live in the physical world, which we can see and understand. Our behaviour in societies are regulated by rules and norms that we are familiar with. Our control over physical world is explained by rapidly expanding scientific knowledge
The spiritual World is where we have faith. We cannot see or measure the spiritual powers which we believe in. I have tried to reconcile that my beliefs are consistent with what I can see.

GOD THE CREATOR
The Christian message that our first duty is to love God is clear, yet as humans, we cannot even comprehend His nature.
In this new scientific age we understand an enormous amount of most aspects of our physical world. None of this contributes anything about the nature of our spiritual God.
We can know what He is not.
He is not, like we are, composed of matter i.e. compounds made up of atoms reacting together by chemistry. Therefore He is not controlled by time or space.
CREATION. We can however see the beautiful world He created for us to live in.
First there is life itself.
Our own bodies and minds are wonderful.
Our lives are full of pleasures, challenges and rewards.
There is beauty in the creatures, plants, landscapes and human relationships.
There are the gifts of art, music and laughter.
There are also the joys of food and the ownership of possessions.
The capacity to love is one of the greatest gifts.
Couples become intoxicated with each other when they fall in love. Love gives them caring and tolerance for their mate when they share their lives in marriage.
Parental love gives care and concern for the well being of offspring.
Alcohol is enjoyed by many, it is a good friend but a bad master.
As Louis Armstrong used to sing “What a wonderful world “
THE EARTH itself has unique characteristics which are essential to life. The moon, by revolving around the earth allows it to rotate so that we have day and night. Other planets, which do not rotate, roast on one side and freeze on the other.
Night also allows most creatures to sleep and refresh themselves mentally and physically from each day’s exertions.
Our atmosphere contains the oxygen for life, it keeps out harmful rays and it allows water to remain on earth in liquid form. These and other essential conditions for life have not yet been seen elsewhere by astronomers. This does not prove that it all evolved by the design of our Creator, but it is consistent with the planned guidance of evolution by an omniscient spiritual power.

What was OUR CREATORS purpose?
He sent Jesus, to tell us how we should serve Him through loving the rest of mankind who He created. His simple messages of principle in Jesus’ parables are a comprehensive guide to His purpose for our lives. He shows His power in the lives of individuals through miracles of healing and help to those who pray for it.
Conclusion God’s nature is beyond the comprehension of human beings. We should be thankful for the many pleasures in His wonderful Creation. His Purpose is that mankind should live in harmony by loving each other unselfishly.
He promised the necessary help and strength to those with faith who pray to Him, to them He promised care after death.
Living by His Messages must be the important goal in our lives.
This is now my Faith.

THE ALTERNATIVE
(Atheists must believe that the whole process of evolution from the first single-cell organisms to man today are the result of happy chance.
Those who reject any Divine power or Purpose for their lives, it is each man for himself. However humanity needs some morality. If it is not from our Creator it will be from men. Without God they look to man-made doctrines such as communism or national socialism. Power becomes vested in human leaders. Might is right and there is no justice. They are alone and death is the end.)

DIVINE INTERVENTION
DISASTERS, which cause suffering, are not prevented by our Creator. Examples are the Tsunami, earthquakes, war and personal suffering from diseases such as cancer.These are the way the world is. God does not prevent them.
He does promise help to hose who suffer. They can pray for and receive help and strength in their ordeals. Numerous miracles over centuries show that He has real power to help individuals.

SPIRITUAL REALMS
Two spiritual realms receive attention in many churches. Neither are part of the physical world so that their true nature cannot be known.
Heaven is believed to be our destination when our bodies cease to live. Jesus promised care after death to those who believe in Him. Since it is not a material place, like our world, it is impossible to comprehend its nature.
It is inconceivable that our loving Creator does not have a plan for who serve Him when they depart the wonderful physical world
SATAN Many Christians believe in the Devil, as an active evil spirit, who is supposed to tempt people to evil. This is inconsistent with our loving Creator.
Yet evil does exist; where from?
Jesus said that evil comes not from without but from within.(Luke 7)
We all have a large variety of social, emotional and physical wants and desires. These lead to the temptations which are contrary to Jesus’ Teaching. We sometimes fail to resist them. This is where evil comes from, It is not the work of an evil spirit. We all have this devil in us.
An extreme example of wanton evil is the paedophiles who vent their lust on helpless children. This is not the result of an active evil devil. Rather an example of people satisfying their selfish wants regardless of the effects on others.
We all have emotions such as anger, aggression, envy and hatred which are involuntary reactions in our dealings with other people. We have to overcome and control these feelings to achieve His purpose.

Conclusion Jesus did promise care after death to the faithful, we cannot conceive the nature of that care. As Jesus said, he came to the world to save sinners. He promised forgiveness to those who repent.
Beliefs in the nature of non-physical concepts of Heaven and Satan can only be speculative. Certainly the capacity for evil is real in mankind.

WHERE WE ARE
We cannot comprehend the nature of our God. We can see his creation. We are blessed to live in a world offering us wonderful rewards and pleasures.
Our Creator, through Jesus, asked only that we enjoy them with restraint and also have love and charity for others.
He promises forgiveness when we fail, help to succeed in future and care after death to the faithful. Living according to His purpose ought to be the primary goal in our lives.
These conclusions are remarkably simple and they provide an adequate basis for my faith and for living a Christian life. However they do not include the doctrines, mythology and folklore which are man made additions to the worship I was brought up with.
The intervention of benevolent powers of the spirits of saints and clergymen are not included. God cares for every human and can be worshipped directly without human intermediaries.