I had the good fortune to be raised in a household where the determination of what to believe about the great questions of life was largely left up to me—save for during one perplexing summer. When I was in the fifth grade or so I was made to attend a Presbyterian “Summer Bible School.” This was rather confusing to me, as we had never attended any church before. I knew that my cousins were Catholics, and I had always wondered what it was that kept them so long on Christmas Eve. Why couldn’t they just get over to our house so we could open our presents already? Never mind the fact that I never asked about the meaning of Christmas itself. To a little kid, any holiday graced by tons of food and wrapped presents from your relatives was not to be messed with or questioned. My parents, not being at all religious, had not shared with me any of the stories of the holiday’s origin (save for letting me watch the Rankin Bass “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” every year). So imagine my confusion as a child raised in what could only be described as a secular home suddenly being required to go to school (in the summer, no less!) at a church, of all places. Whatever. Not one to question authority (at that time of my life), I went along with it.
One day after the summer class ended, I asked my father outright: “Daddy, why don’t we go to church?” My father looked at me quizzically for a moment, and then said, “You want to go to church? Okay, let’s go to church.” Alright then. We attended a Sunday morning service at the same Presbyterian church where the Summer Bible School had been held. I only remember sitting in the great big room with dozens and dozens of not-so-comfortable chairs set up in endless rows, where we listened to a man in a robe drone on for an hour or so about some guys in the Bible. When it was over and my mother, father, and I walked out, I felt my dad’s hand touch my shoulder. I looked at him, and he laughed as he said, “There. Do you feel holier now?” Suffice it to say we didn’t go to church again.
Years later when I was a teenager and my father and I were having a conversation about the mysteries of the world and universe, I brought up the Summer Bible School thing once more, asking why it was I had been sent there. “Son,” he said, “our job was to introduce you to God. You have to do the rest.”
“Don’t you ever feel like going to a church for real, though? Like Don, Tom, Joe, and aunt Charlotte do?” I asked.
He shook his head. “When I go outside, I am in church,” he said. Sounds like a Spiritual Naturalist! We never spoke of it again.
My spiritual journey since that day my dad said that has been one of constant experimentation, insight, and enlightenment. I have read the sacred texts of many traditions, and found great value and wisdom in all of them. I have encountered other things I have disagreed with, but is not that to be expected? Our beliefs evolve and transform with new facts and new learnings. One day, those disagreements may totally disappear once the right amount of learning and listening has been done—or not. The key to any journey is that it is in the control of the person who is actually on that journey.
“I have the good fortune to work with young people of many different backgrounds every day. Their beliefs vary widely, which I think is what lends such strength to any community of learners. They get to listen to different perspectives every day, and it broadens their understanding of the world in which they live by hearing how others explore the great questions of life. My role is to help them explore ideas, ask questions, and think critically. It is NOT to in any way try and tell them what to think, but rather to encourage them to ask for clarification and work to expand their own understandings about issues in the world. What they may spiritually believe is exclusively their domain; I wish only to encourage in them the critical thinking abilities to navigate new information, to evaluate it, and to find value in it where it stands up to rational scrutiny. My journey is not their own; it has very much been enhanced by listening to their stories. I hope that by facilitating discussions of the world’s literatures I have opened their minds to the myriad of diversities our world contains. They must choose their own paths, as I set out on my path when I left home in search of my place in the world.
That was a long time ago. My journey of discovery has come a long way since then, and my beliefs have evolved with the passage of time, the reading of books, and the multiplicity of experiences that all lives encounter. So what do I believe? When asked this question, most would assume it refers to spiritual or religious belief unless qualified by something, such as “What do you believe about (fill in this space with an issue of choice). Let me start by briefly exploring what I would like to believe.
I would like to believe that the life force of the Earth is comprised of one expansive and interconnected energy field, not unlike the “Force” from “Star Wars”, or the Great Link from “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.” I would like to believe that when any living thing dies, its energy is simply re-assimilated into that energy field, where the raw materials of the physical form of the being that has died are reclaimed by the Earth to further nourish the living entities that still possess a form in need of such sustenance. I would also like to think that the energy that is “me” would be reassigned and reborn—reincarnated, if you will—into a new physical form of some type. Someday. Perhaps first, my “essence” would be allowed to inter-mingle with the essences of all beings that have come before me, knowing their minds, being able to somehow commune with them and share in their wisdom and experiences. Then, I would like to believe that I could choose when to return to physical form, and what form that would be. Now, here’s the problem. I don’t believe any of that. I said I would like to believe it—but I can’t.
I believe that all human beings must call into question what they know and have learned, and be willing to alter their beliefs accordingly when more convincing arguments than those supporting their current beliefs present themselves. I believe in expressing awe for all of the wonders of the truly magnificent universe in which we exist. I believe it is okay to say, “I don’t know—yet,” without feeling I have to fill in the gaps in my understanding with wishful thinking or the fantasy of preference. I believe that we make our lives meaningful, but not that they have a predetermined meaning of their own. I believe in the power of love to improve human relations. I believe that we all have a sacred duty to serve as stewards for this unique and beautiful world of which we are but a small part…
Today, I do belong to a church community. It is a small Unitarian Universalist congregation full of free thinkers who are on their own individual journeys to discover the truth as it works for them. We are not bound by a creed or do not subscribe to a specific dogma. We listen to one another, discuss issues with one another, and revel in one another’s diversity. Nothing and no one tells any one of us what to believe; we explore different beliefs, looking for common wisdom across philosophies that speak to our shared values of dignity and justice. Over the years, my conversations with members of this remarkable community have helped my beliefs to evolve and change as I listened to their stories and perspectives. Above all, I have learned that my beliefs are never and can never be set in stone. There is always something new to be learned that could fundamentally alter what I currently believe. I am always open to considering different perspectives and listening for that argument that makes me go “Wow. I had never looked at it like that before. I’ll meditate on that, and adjust my belief accordingly.” As Andre Gide once said, “Trust those who seek the truth, but doubt those who say they have found it.” Exactly.
So…what do you believe?
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References:
https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/s/sam_harris.html