Do you have faith?

faith -noun  1. belief in someone or something that you cannot see. 2. belief that is not based on proof.

I have heard from many people that have difficulty with the concept of having a higher power or believing in God. Many want proof or some scientific certainty. For some, this desire springs from a skeptical nature and for others it's because they've had difficulties with organized religions.

We've been raised in an age where we demand proof. We want double blind studies to show the scientific certainty of a theory before we will believe it.

But isn't it true that every generation's new technologies replace the scientific certainty of the generations gone by. Wasn't the world once flat at least according to the scientific and political leaders of that time?  Didn't the universe revolve around the earth at one time (geocentrism)? And then later, the universe revolved around our sun (heliocentrism)?

Here's the point: If we rely on scientific certainty for the basis of our beliefs then our beliefs will be fleeting where faith can be enduring. Does this mean that we must become anti-science or subscribe to a particular belief system? Not at all.

Emma Darwin, the wife of Charles Darwin, author of evolutionary theory, had this to said about her husband's work, "May not the habit in scientific pursuits of believing nothing till it is proved, influence your mind too much in other things which cannot be proved in the same way, and which if true are likely to be above our comprehension?" Her husband wrote, "...many times, I have kissed and cried over this."  Was he tormented about his conflict with her or was he afraid that she might be right? We'll never know because his note was found after his death.

The ancient mystics and philosophers frequently sought to understand the origin and structure of the universe, and the nature of man.  They relied on thought experiments as they attempted to think their way through problems because they did not have the methods and tools to conduct actual physical experiments.

In other cases, the ancients were unable to prove physical laws of nature because it lied beyond their comprehension. Sometimes, they didn't even know the right questions to ask.

So, beliefs that we can not prove because we don't have the methods or tools to prove, or beliefs in things that lie beyond our comprehension can still be true.

When we turn on a light switch we know that electricity causes the light to go on but do we need to fully understand electricity to believe this to be true?  (Although we know a lot about how an electrical charge reacts and behaves no one fully understands what an electrical charge consists of.)

When we turn the key in our car do we need to fully comprehend internal combustion engines before the car will start?

So what does this mean for faith? It means that it's ok to believe in both science and the spiritual realm. 

What's within our grasp today has given us powerful tools and has in many ways improved our lives. I love that I live in an age where I not only know people around the world but I can talk to them for free (Skype).  I'm glad that people much smarter that I have figured this out.

But can't we learn something from history? Isn't it  fair to assume that someday we will be the ancients and many of our scientific beliefs may be proven false? 

For me, the one timeless thread is a belief in a higher power. It's clear that from the ancients to today, many have believed that this higher power lies within us.

"The kingdom of God is within you." -- Jesus Christ in Luke 17:20.

"You are God yourself." -- Buddha.

"Be still like a mountain and flow like a great river." -- Lao Tzu

I believe there are many paths to the mountain-top.  I have seen the miracles. I have seen our "unprovable beliefs" in action. I have seen people healed from the ravages of drug addiction. I have seen people cured of cancer and I have seen with the twinkle in an eye and I know that they know. 

For me I'd rather hold in wonder the belief that a greater power lies beyond my complete comprehension than to never have believed at all.  To paraphrase Einstein, there are two ways in which to live -- you can live as if nothing is a miracle or you can live as if everything is a miracle.