believing

believing
Much has changed in the last hundred or so years since Robert
Browning penned his famous lines, “God’s in his Heaven / All’s right
with the world.” Not many of us have such a cheerful view of
things on our planet today and indeed, because of the happenings
of our century, countless people have turned from faith, doubting
the very existence of both God and heaven.
Certainly, we cannot show or see the God we worship. He is God
for us just because we can know him but cannot see him. In his
works, in all the movements of the universe, we perceive his
power always, whether in thunder, lightning, an approaching
storm, or in the clear sky.
And you believe that this God knows nothing of the doings
and dealings of men? You believe that from his throne in
heaven he cannot visit all men or know individual men? Man, in
this you are mistaken and deceived.
In all of us there is the need to relate to something or someone
greater than ourselves, a striving to elevate our human condition
above the daily struggle for survival. There is a yearning for a
power that can impart vision, meaning, and purpose to life, provide
comfort in times of need, and promise life after death.
Prayer is not the exclusive domain of Christians. Many think that
prayer to anyone other than “their” God is idolatry. This attitude is
typical of the arrogance with which many western Christians regard
the rest of the world. But surely God listens to the longings of
all those on earth. As the Psalmist declares, “A broken and contrite
heart, O God, you will not despise.” We cannot be so narrowminded
that we fail to appreciate God’s working in other religions
and movements—indeed, in every heart that is open to his spirit.
True, all beliefs are not the same, yet I believe there is something
of the divine in every culture, and that every religion thus has
something to teach us. The Gospel of John assures us that “the true
Light gives light to every person.” And if that is so, I should be able
to learn something of God from every seeker I meet. Rabbi Kenneth
L. Cohen writes that, “when religion causes us to forget that other
people are created in the divine image, when we are prepared to
sacrifice others on the altar of our beliefs, we become fanatics. When
we use religion to make God small like ourselves…we are fanatics.