The kids and I were supposed to go sledging this morning but the eldest isn’t well and so we are, instead, tucked up warm in front of the woodburner.
All is peaceful – I writing Christmas cards, eldest playing a computer game, youngest writing a story… when she pipes up why do people believe in God when there’s no proof?
Oh, think I. Nothing quite like a light conversational topic on a cold Monday morning.
Um, well, perhaps the belief itself is what’s important.
She doesn’t look convinced.
Well… if all you have is Faith, it can be anything you want it to be. And perhaps proof would spoil that – prompt too many distracting questions, impose too many restrictions..?
She’s still not satisfied. Says she’d be quite happy to believe in God… if only she had some proof.
But can you imagine what would happen? I said. People would then want to know more… what does God look like? what’s she eat for breakfast? what’s his favourite colour? And their faith might start to waver if they find out God likes blue and they like green. They might start to wish they’d never asked…
My youngest has an uncanny knack of tapping into my current moods. It just so happened I’d been up early working on a poem which dealt with Faith and Truth, though not in a religious context, and her question – my being forced to answer it – clarified the thoughts I’d been struggling with earlier in the day.
Sometimes Faith is more important than Truth. It frees us to be inspired, to move forwards. And Truth is often an immovable wall, which blocks that momentum and destroys our Muse. Truth can leave us with nothing.
Looks like it’s back to the drawing board with the poem…
Looks like it’s back to the drawing board with the poem…
sandie zand 
SO TRUE!And it's those leaps of Faith that (can) lead us to another way of seeing, another perspective, another colour… another shape. Faith can plug us in to a universe of possibilities; opening our eyes (hearts and minds) to more than just what's there. Without it we'd be left with only the arrogance of Truth. The Facts. Stark and bare, and so unpoetic 😉
I think Douglas Adams nailed it: "The argument goes like this : "I refuse to prove that I exist", says God, "for proof denies faith, and without faith I am nothing.""But", says Man, "the Babel fish is a dead giveaway isn't it? it could not have evolved by chance. it proves you exist, and so therefore, by your own arguments, you don't. QED.""Oh dear", says God, "I hadn't thought of that," and promptly vanishes in a puff of logic."Oh that was easy" says Man, and for an encore goes on to prove that black is white and gets himself killed on the next zebra crossing."
I see no need for proof or faith. Wonder abounds.Plus I made a delicious new cookie called "comets"Look like snowballs with a secret M&M center. Basically coconut macaroons with cream and M&M centers.
I admire your answers, but fear your youngest has inherited far too much of your DNA for ease of debate. Your day sounds idyllic, far more sensible than the vastly over-rated pursuit of sledging which has a 50/50 enjoyment ratio, at best ie worth every moment going down, rather less so trudging back up again. Bradley disposed of the initial subject in two pertinent sentence, moved on to more important matters. What joy it must be to have retained the taste buds of a toddler.
Thanks folks.Bradley: this "secret M&M center" requires a leap of Faith from those of us reading this. We have no proof your cookies aren't just empty shells…Kim: ha ha… I like it.Judith: Faith is always my Best Friend at New Year… when there is *always* a fresh universe of possibilities to be explored. Yeay for New Year, say I!
Jake: my youngest has inherited far too much of my DNA for her own sanity, that is true.
Kim is such a wise and clever woman, Lord Sugar must know by now he should have ventured further afield.