Tower and Town, June 2021

  (view the full edition)

What Do You Believe

The question asked of a religious person seems simple enough but the answer will depend not just on their religion but on which word is stressed.

WHAT do you believe? usually means what is the doctrine or creed of your religion? The answer can be easy and unchallenging. It is a safe answer and won’t raise eyebrows in one’s own religious community and won't surprise the questioner.

What do YOU believe? is more tricky for it asks how we, as individuals, interpret the faith we publicly declare. It asks how we visualise our God. For the Christian it asks if we regard bible accounts as historical facts, allegorical truths or political spin. It asks what we personally understand by eternal life, prayer, worship and, quite importantly, it asks what Jesus asked: “Who do you say that I am?”

This may sound threatening but it is healthy to examine one’s understanding of difficult concepts, and to either convert them into meaningful principles or replace them with a firmer foundation of one's faith. Whichever way, one can’t lose!

What do you BELIEVE? is the most challenging for it tests our individuality, our soul perhaps. We may verbalise the spiritual in human or divine terms, but believing is different. One believes because there is no acceptable alternative. One cannot believe what one sees as a mere possibility. Crucially however, one cannot believe and do nothing. For the Christian, if one really believes Jesus’ message and example, one has to react - one has to love one’s neighbour(s) (all of them) and one’s enemy also. Not to do so means distrusting Jesus and what then of faith?.

So we return to the big question, and suddenly faith in God and in Jesus can become very simple, far simpler than any formal religion permits. There are many writings on faith both within and without the bible that can be stumbling blocks to would-be believers. For the Christian… no let’s not theorise… for you, what are the truly life-defining things about Jesus? What are the things that directly affect how you choose to live? His divinity? His conception? His birth? His baptism? His temptation? His teaching? His healing? His life example? His sacrifice? His resurrection? Alternatively ask yourself, ‘if any of the above were myths, would your life, values and expectations change?’

Jesus' teaching tells us life's how and why; his healing shows the authority and power; his example is something to try to emulate; his sacrifice says how supremely important the message. The rest may be crucial for some people but for many they complicate a simple powerful message of love & humility. But, there is a difficulty: as faith gets simpler it becomes more demanding. We cannot hide behind church attendance, religious doctrine, social protocols and Sunday best; we have to live our faith… every waking hour of every day that we live.

Peter Noble