Faith is believing in something without actually knowing to a full extent whether it is completely true or not. It has two definitions, one that is secular and one that is more religious in tone and nature:
faith
/fāTH/
Noun
1. Complete trust or confidence in someone or something.
2. Strong belief in God or in the doctrines of a religion, based on spiritual apprehension rather than proof.Synonyms
belief – trust – confidence – credence – credit
All my life I have struggled and continue to this date struggle with knowing what my actual definitive beliefs are. Though I was raised Buddhist, I remain to this date faithful in a moral code of ethics where I can derive different moral characteristics from all the world’s religions to create a personal means of achieving spiritual enlightenment.
In assessing this year’s system, I believed in a moral code of ethics that combined elements of Benjamin Franklin’s moral characteristics, the noble Eightfold path, as well as all the virtues listed in The Book of Virtues.
In the end, practicing my faith involves a willingness to explore other faiths and belief systems to in the end find my own spiritual awakening. My system of religion would obviously involve elements of tolerance and acceptance.
This week I specifically read some Bible stories to try to respectively see what other people’s faiths were, as well as explored various religious documentaries on Netflix (including Kumare, where a guy made his own religion and got various followers). To see the people believe in something that wasn’t necessarily “true” but something that personally made them better as people and happier was somewhat inspiring. Who am I to ever question people’s religions and faith as long as it ultimately makes them better people in the long run?
I hope at the end of the day I will continue to build upon the existing framework I have for faith which includes obviously:
1) tolerance
2) The Golden Rule
3) intertwining key moral characteristics from various Western/Eastern religions
The End Result: My faith is my faith. What I believe in is what I believe in. What I do to reinforce my faith is totally up to me. What you believe in is what you believe in. That makes this week ultimately impossible to even grade.
Next Week: Generosity
