These two words – Faith & Belief – have always been with me as I have journeyed along my path. How do they fit? Do they fit? Do they compete with one another? Are they complementary? Where do they reside in me?
In her opening words to the COP17 this morning Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) quoted Nelson Mandela, “It always seems impossible until it is done.”
‘We have faith’ is displayed boldly in every corner where the Faith Secretariat has a considerable presence here at the COP17.
The first and only other time I’ve visited Africa was in 2000, in Ghana representing The United Church of Canada at a gathering of African lay centres. And as soon as I stepped onto the continent again yesterday, memories of witnessing the deep faith of Africans were rekindled.
I have come, after much thought, to the realization that there is (for me at least) a fundamental flaw in the atheist-theist debates that rage on Wondercafe and elsewhere. The problem, as I see it, is that both positions, especially in the extreme forms that tend to start and get involved in these debates, are based on an old-fashioned notion that one's faith is binary: one either believes in God or doesn't. In computer interface terms, it's a checkbox labelled "God" that you click or you don't.
Some time ago, I submitted a post in which I said the clergy should use some of their sermons tp relate our faith to situations here - to. for example, politics. I noticed that the response of clerics ranged from tepid to high Arctic. So let me try an example - using the very touchy issue of Islam, Judaism and Christianity. The core of the sermon would be the meaning and importance of forgiving.
We have people visit the cafe, after receiving a sudden shock having lost someone or something.
Whether it be a life taken unexpectedly or someone facing a serious illness....a job lost or a relationship broken,....we often walk together in this stages.
Yet, we aren't always here, nor do people always wish to communicate.
