To say the least, religion is baffling. It is quite frankly something I will never fully understand like some people do.
In all of my study of religion, I feel as if one quote has stuck out the most when pertaining to this topic. The protestant reformer Martin Luther once said, “Faith must trample under foot all reason, sense and understanding.”
When I first heard that quote my freshman year of college, it really opened my eyes. The one thing that I, along with many other people, lack is simply “faith.”
Faith, by definition, means “a belief in something not based on proof.” To me this is a puzzling concept. However, for the religiously minded, faith is the focal point of their life. Religion is not something one can feel, see or hear. It’s simply something you have to believe in. Faith drives people to believe in tales that can be larger than life.
The concept of faith has its positive aspects and negative parts. These strong beliefs can have total control over one’s life and lead people to do radical things. Ever heard the expression “drinking the kool-aid?” That arrives from the Jonestown mass suicide in November 18, 1978, in which 918 people died after drinking Kool-aid filled with poison.
Why did they do that? Because they had total faith in their leader, Jim Jones, who told his followers it would “liberate” them to a better place.
However, faith can be used for good. Millions of people have given themselves up to a higher power in order to get past their struggles. It has helped people pull through to sobriety, and helped those who were once depressed find happiness.
In my opinion, faith, like most other things, can be great, but only in moderation. We still need faith because, unfortunately, we don’t have the answer for everything. The concept of creationism can be justified as plausible as evolution due only to the fact that we aren’t 100 percent sure of the true answer.
As long as we have questions, we will always have faith. But again, faith should not blind a person to the point where their actions are not their own.
