A Personal Examination and Expression of Faith

I drew many meaningful insights from a book recommended to me one of my closest friends many ago titled Why Religion? A Personal Story by Elaine Pagels. How to go on? Pagels writes after a searing personal tragedy. She recalls Viktor Frankl's writing that when our lives or the world in which we find ourselves living turn out different from what we expect or would ever want, we have to do “what life expects of us”; "We need to stop asking about the meaning of life, and instead think of ourselves as those who are being questioned by life—daily and hourly…Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems, and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual.” Pagels writes: "I was startled to realize that somehow I still wanted to believe that we live in a morally ordered universe, in which someone, or something—God or nature?—would keep track of what’s fair. Was this a relic of Western cultural tradition that moralizes history, like those old Bible stories I’d heard, that suggest that doing good ensures well-being and doing wrong brings disaster?" So, I ask myself, personally, do we live in a "morally ordered universe.” I believe the answer is "yes.” To be sure, I recognize that my response is an expression of faith. At almost the same time I was reading Why Religion? I came upon a compelling statement bearing on the role of belief and faith in William James' Essays in Pragmatism. James writes. "Belief, as measured by action, not only does but must outstrip scientific evidence. In such questions as God, immortality, absolute morality and free will, (one) can always doubt his creed but his intimate persuasion is that the odds in its favor are strong enough to warrant him acting all along on the assumption of its truth". We may in the end find we are wrong, I reflect, but I have found it better to act on the belief it is true than a belief it is not. This is how I have long felt about my faith in a Supreme Power, in there being an ultimate good.” William James uses a common sense example to illustrate his point. A rock climber finds himself in a life-threatening predicament: he has to make a leap to another distant ledge to have a chance of surviving. It is a longer leap than he has ever before attempted. He has no evidence he can do it. He is faced with a choice. On the one hand, he can be so consumed by doubt, debating and delaying his decision whether to jump, to the point he loses the strength to do it successfully when he does try. Alternatively, he can decide to act on the belief, with the "faith" that he can do it. Needless to say, he is far more likely to survive pursing the latter choice. Just so it was faith that led me to push to open up Eastern Europe aggressively with P&G in the early 1990s. So it was with faith that we set out raise 100+ million dollars to build the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. So it is with faith that I pray to God for the wisdom to know the right thing to do and the courage and determination to do it. I do so uncertain if God actually hears my prayer, but I know that reaching out to God helps me act in line with my best instincts. As James writes: "There are cases where faith creates its own verification.” I have discovered that again and again. Pagels goes on to shine a bright light on our commonality as people. She recognizes our common passage on the journey of life. Here is what she writes: In the Gospel of Thomas, the “good news” is not only about Jesus; it’s also about every one of us. For while we ordinarily identify ourselves by specifying how we differ, in terms of gender, race, ethnicity, background, family name, the call to recognize that we are “children of God” requires us to acknowledge how we are the same—members, so to speak, of the same family. These sayings suggest what later becomes a primary theme of Jewish mystical tradition: that the “image of God,” divine light given in creation, is hidden deep within each one of us, linking our fragile, limited selves to their divine source. Although we’re often unaware of that spiritual potential, the Thomas sayings urge us to keep on seeking until we find it: “Within a person of light, there is light. If illuminated, it lights up the whole world; if not, everything is dark.” Emerging from a time of unbearable grief, (Pagels had just lost her husband after earlier losing her son), "such sayings helped dispel isolation and turn me from despair, suggesting that every one of us is woven into the mysterious fabric of the universe, and into connection with each other, with all being, and with God." Believing this is a matter of faith. Many would argue we are all independent individuals with particular characteristics of race and ethnicity developed over a long period of evolution—and not interconnected as "children of God" nor members of the same family in a true familial sense. I, of course, cannot offer irrefutable evidence that we are all are indeed members of the same family. But I believe it. And I am sure that belief, or faith if you'd prefer it, has led me to act differently than I otherwise would. It leads me to try my best to put myself in the other person's shoes, to try to listen to others carefully, knowing I have a lot to learn and that it is the greatest demonstration of respect I can convey to another person. And it leads me to truly believe and act on the truth, "Everyone Counts.” Once again quoting William James: "There are cases where faith creates its own verification.” The Gospel of Thomas, then, is all about relationships—how, when we come to know ourselves, simultaneously we come to know God. Implicit in this relationship is the paradox of gnosis—not intellectual knowledge, but knowledge of the heart. What first we must come to know is that we cannot fully know God since that Source far transcends our understanding. But what we can know is that we’re intimately connected with that divine Source, since “in him we live and move and have our being.”

"A Race to the Bottom". Trump Is Tearing Up the Fabric of Trust Among Our Allies and Friends

An Editorial in "The Guardian" (see link below) calls for Europe to acquire a"dose of patriotism" to combat the threat of populist powers. I agree 100%. The ability to achieve what the author is calling for, of course, was severely weakened by Britain’s leaving the EU. In fact, Britain must be part of creating the vision, leadership, and governance of a united Europe, committed to common economic and diplomatic norms. The question that cries out from his article is, who is the leader that can muster the confidence, vision, and energy to make what the editorial argues for happen This is even more important in the world of "power makes right" which Trump has elevated and endorsed through his actions, including on tariffs He is using tariffs as a sledgehammer to brutally require other nations, in this case, particularly Canada and Mexico, a few weeks ago, Columbia, to make concessions to him. He promises to turn next to Europe. He is decimating the trust among allies. It may bring him a short term, political win, but it is terrible policy for the long-term. It will give license to other countries with power to use that power to sledgehammer other countries into doing what they want. I think of China. If it has some raw material that the United States needs, and no one else can provide, it can sledgehammer the US. A small country could do this too, if it has an exclusive access for essential raw material. Trump’s talking about taking over the Panama Canal, acquiring Greenland, even making Canada a 51st state based on national security gives license to China to say it needs Taiwan for national security reasons. Putin can use it to justify the attack on Ukraine in order to avoid it becoming part of NATO. A rules based world is imperfect and it’s messy but history shows that in the long run, it is much better than one that simply relies on "power makes right". This is the attitude that leadsto war. Also, you don’t negotiate by bullying your best friends. They will turn against you in ways that will be hard to measure in the short term, but they will show up long-term. Our network of allies has long been a unique strategic advantage. The Trump administration is tearing it to ribbons as I write this. And iit not only the decimation of trust on the foreign policy front. Trust is being further eroded in our national institutions by Trump's appointment of unqualified people to lead them. ein https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/feb/04/threatened-by-populist-superpowers-europe-too-needs-a-dose-of-patriotism?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other