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Faith: The Space We Leave Open for Mystery
Faith is less a definite conclusion than an open space left within us for the mystery of life.
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Does God exist…? For me, the question holds little meaning, because I have faith in God. And faith does not require proof of existence.
There is, more often than not, factual knowledge unmistakably present in the background of belief. Without it, belief can hardly become firm. A doctor performing an operation on a patient trusts his skill, experience and acquired knowledge; the patient’s belief in that doctor, on the other hand, is based on authentic information about patients whom the doctor has successfully treated in the past. Faith does not require any of this.
It is also rather intriguing that sometimes even such authentic information—information that repeatedly underlines the futility of a particular faith—fails to destroy it. Despite the arrests of some so-called godmen and heads of religious establishments for their involvement in heinous crimes, the faith of many of their devotees often remains intact.
If life were to be lived purely in a rationalistic manner, entirely within the framework of scientific thought, there would perhaps be little room left for faith. I often wonder—is that necessarily a better way to live? Could it not be the beginning of making life rather dry and monotonous? So much of what is associated with a sense of curiosity, mystery, adventure or anticipation might then disappear from life.
To imagine living without faith feels to me like the process of feeling one’s way around a skeleton hidden beneath the flesh of a beautiful body.
God can certainly be spoken of as one of the most powerful and established centres of faith. I am myself a believer, but I have no evidence with which to prove the existence of God. Science offers no evidence for the presence of any God, manifest or formless, or of any supernatural power.
It may be interesting here to note that, while exploring the neural basis of spiritual experiences, the American neuroscientist Andrew Newberg suggests that, in situations of uncertainty, spirituality helps organise the human mental state and strengthens one’s sense of confidence. It is somewhat like the brain joining scattered dots into a definite and orderly pattern.
In such a situation, spirituality or belief in God ceases to be merely a matter of cultural conditioning or emotional weakness and begins to appear as something rooted in the very structure of the human brain.
According to Bowling Green University neurologist Kenneth Pargament, spirituality can be extremely helpful in keeping human consciousness psychologically stable during periods of intense mental stress. Dr Dan Siegel, an interpersonal neurobiologist, and American professor Lisa Jane Miller are among several scientists who have conducted extensive research into the relationship between spirituality and neuroscience.
As scientists, they may be able to explain the causes and mechanisms underlying spiritual experiences, but they certainly cannot provide evidence for the existence of a power such as God.
But then the question remains—is such evidence really necessary?
The usefulness of spirituality in human life, its positive effects, on which neuroscience has now also begun to shed considerable light, could that in itself not be sufficient reason to accept the possibility of a power such as God?
Belief is perhaps the mind’s acceptance, while faith is its deeper commitment.
For belief, it is necessary to accept a person, an idea, a statement or a fact as true; reason, experience or evidence may have a role to play in this. Faith, on the other hand, is a deep trust in a person, an idea, a value or a power in which not merely the intellect, but emotions and a sense of one’s very existence also become involved.
Belief accepts a truth; faith establishes a relationship with that truth.
And perhaps the most interesting difference is this: belief may grow stronger when questions are answered, whereas faith can sometimes remain intact even when questions remain unanswered.
If faith is not understood merely as religious belief, but as a deep trust in something larger than our immediate self-interest and reasoning—God, love, human goodness, nature, truth, art, or something of that order—then faith also brings into life a sense of wonder, anticipation and meaning.
One of the beautiful things about faith is that it frees us from the compulsion to understand everything completely. Something may remain unanswered, and yet life can still be lived. Perhaps that is why mystery, too, remains a part of life.
Belief says, “I know the answer.”
Disbelief may say, “I do not know the answer.”
Faith says, “I do not know the answer, and yet I can move forward.”
And perhaps the most interesting part of life lies in this third state—where certainty is limited, but the possibility of meaning is immense.
There are so many beautiful experiences in life that are difficult to contain within a formula. The full meaning of love cannot be defined; beauty cannot be measured by any scale; and we have no final answer to the question of what lies beyond death. And yet, despite these uncertainties, human beings love, they are moved by beauty, and they look towards tomorrow with hope.
Perhaps this is where the significance of faith reveals itself.
It does not necessarily provide answers to our questions; sometimes, it simply gives us the capacity to live with the absence of answers. It tells us that every mystery need not be unravelled, that every experience need not be put to the test of proof. An essential part of the beauty of life lies precisely in this uncertainty. If everything could be known, measured and proved in advance, life would certainly become more orderly. But there might be less room in it for wonder and mystery. SIn this sense, faith is less a definite conclusion than an open space left within us for the mystery of life.
Perhaps it is that space which prevents life from becoming merely something to be understood—and allows it, instead, to remain something to be experienced.
Disclaimer:The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of The Rift.
