Faith from the Heart's Awakening (April 10, 2006)
A Buddhist's faith is different from the nature of faith as in a theistic religion. Our faith is not directed towards an omniscient godly figure, but to wisdom cultivated within, called the Dhamma. One principle of faith in Buddhism is Ehipasiko (come and see for yourself), in contrast to theistic religions that submit in the name of god. I find this principle of faith fitting my mental temperament as I would never believe in anything without visible proof. Therefore, to me faith is coming to believe in something that one's heart can confirm true. Religion is a mean to achieve a higher goal of life: eternal peace. It takes faith to believe in a religion.
Kelvin Liew Peng Chuan
Tangkak, Malaysia (Listens to SOF OnDemand)
What Is Faith? (November 14, 2004)
I look for a definition of faith. I don't see one. Faith seems to be a word which people assume they know what it means for everyone. I don't. When I hear the word bandied about, it seems as if it is always written in capital letters and carved in stone. I have beliefs: since I cannot prove them, (I'm not dead, yet), I would never consider shoving my notions down anyone else's throats, but that does not seem to be the same experience of other people who say "I believe." So, do they have "faith" and I do not? Or the opposite? Or neither? I'd like to know.
Mary Czolgosz
Indianapolis, IN (WFYI, 90.1 FM)
Faith as a Gift (October 14, 2004)
Thank you for being on the air! Thanks to all NPR and other ?officials? who allow this show to be produced and aired. It is extremely difficult for me to write these notes knowing that they may be displayed and thus become accessible to the public, but the chord this broadcast struck in me is rooted too deeply to be ignored.
Sixteen years ago I was given the greatest gift of my life, the direct, immediate experience of what I can only call God's Love. Actually there is no word in either English or my mother tongue (German) to precisely describe what I experienced; I just found the term ?God's Love? to be better understood by most people than anything else I tried.
In one of the other commentaries here I read:
Faith is not so much affirmation of a list of doctrines, or of beliefs accepted without empirical support, as it is a response to love.
Every fiber of my being screams TRUE to that. And I must add that since I had that experience I have added to (my?) definition of faith that is rooted, has its foundation in a deep inner knowing of a spiritual reality, of a spiritual truth that defies all attempts of definition. What I call inner knowing is far beyond questioning, is unassailable and has qualities of a driving force, in spiritual matters and for me at least.
In another comment I read:
You defined faith from only a religion framework. Is there faith outside of this boundary, such as philosophy, logic, and science? Are these frameworks inherently contradicted with the term faith?
To talk about religion seems to be almost impossible in this society, at least impossible without stirring strong sentiments. Talking about what I call faith is even more so and can (and does!) wake rejection. I don?t think that either of the above mentioned frameworks (or any other for that matter) is "…inherently contradicted with the term faith." Faith as I have come to see it is beyond all frameworks; it may even encompass them and thus have the potential to resolve presumed contradictions or differences.
I relish the fact that the English language allows me to distinguish between faith (as I see it) and belief as commonly taught in churches for example. I have come to experience belief as something that can be taught and written about, that is a matter of yes/no, right/wrong, in short a thing of the mind, of intellect. For me faith is beyond the mind, beyond all intellectual discourse; I can only offer to share it, like love. And just as with love I could have rejected faith. I am so blessed that I know and have both.
Eike Heinze
Hartford, WI (WUWM, 89.7 FM)
Extremely Relieved (October 11, 2004)
I would like to say that this was the first time I heard the program and to let you know how relieved I was to hear educated discourse on what is the most troubling issue of our time. I was raised by two Israelis in Berkeley, California and grew up a member of a conservative temple. I was barmitzva-ed, and studied the religion a fair amount. When I was about 15, I decided that religion was not for me, based on the troubles it creates throughout our modern world, and my parents were open to my new beliefs. Though, I always considered myself a person of faith.
After listening to Rabbi Kushner on your program, I found I do indeed live the life of a Jew. I have long explained to my friends that my Jewish upbringing made me the man I am today, explaining that it was not the belief in God but rather the moral teachings, based on living a deed-filed life, that had this lasting impression on my character. My friends then question "my Judaism" saying "if you don't believe in god or the Torah then you are not a Jew." I have longed to find an apt response for this reaction. When Rabbi Kushner said the basis of Judaism is living a life of mitzvah first, I stumbled upon exactly that, and it sparked something inside of me. I am a JEW.
I continued to listen [to "Violence and Crisis in Islam"], hearing the passage of Muhammad and Gabriel I realized what my upbringing had given to me. A basis for becoming a faithful person and the groundwork for eventually becoming spiritually excellent as the professor put it. I think that was a great way to end the show, relate to the world that religion is a starting point, not a final destination. Thank you for sharing the views of these four people with the public, I would feel greatly privileged to spend even five minutes talking with any of them, and will from now on continue to listen to your program. I only wish more religious people shared the tolerant viewpoint of these four, it would be a better world. Don't you think?
Aytan Benaderet
Berkeley, CA (KPBS, 89.5 FM)
Discussion at Church School (October 11, 2004)
Once again, a phenomenal program, so full of insight and profound wisdom. I recorded Sunday's program and took in the Lamott segment into my church school class, since our topic Sunday morning was to be that boring old conundrum, Faith
and Good Works. Your interview sparked some fascinating discussion among the class members!
The Works part of our discussion grew out of such wonderful mental images as the crucifix without arms… that we are Christ's arms, and feet and hands. I plan on sharing at least one other segment this Sunday as well. My guess is, in short: you'll have at least eight new listeners this coming Sunday morning. Thanks again.
Steven Smart
Royersford, PA (WHYY, 91.0 FM)
Is This Faith? (October 11, 2004)
Until I had my first experience of what I now call faith, I thought that "faith" was a belief in God that enabled "religious people" to live religious lives. (Perhaps, still, that's what faith is!) Nonetheless, my own first experience of what I now call faith was different. I was confronted with a choice. Somehow I knew that if I acted as I had in the past, I would miss an opportunity to change my life. I knew—with equal certainty—that missing it would make me extremely unhappy. Yet the opportunity that presented itself was terrifying. In some very real sense I felt as if I were going to die. There was little time for thought. I did make my "leap of faith" and the world did not crash in on me. I went forward from there.
Not all of my subsequent "faith" experiences have been monumental, but they were all tinged with some amount of fear. I always feel that part of me is about to die—and that's always painful. Isn't this how Martin Luther described faith? ("It kills the Old Adam and makes us completely different people.")
Nonetheless, if this is "faith," then why make distinctions between religious and secular? If religion can help us to make acts of faith, that's a wonderful thing; let's immerse ourselves in religion. And although the word "secular" nowadays seems to contradict the possibility of transcendence, if a secular outlook supports acts of faith, that's equally wonderful; we should remain blissfully secular. After all, the reality of our experience has its life well beyond the realm of such distinctions.
Thanks for another interesting program. Not to detract from the contributions of the other guests, I want to express particular delight in having the opportunity (my first) to hear Rabbi Lawrence Kushner. What a remarkable person! What an
inspiration! What a gem!
Bob Salmon
Cranford, NJ (WNYC, 820 AM)
Faith: Moral Failing or Moral Necessity? (October 12, 2004)
Faith is the sanctioning of collective irrational belief by institutions that have a vested interest in shared irrational beliefs. To believe in God, to believe that God speaks to me, to believe that I can know the mind of God, is a radical departure from scepticism fueled by forsaken humility. Why faith? What is the purpose of faith? What use is faith? Is faith a moral failing or moral necessity?
Jim Morrison
Duluth, MN (WSCN, 100.5 FM)
The Ground of Being for Action (October 9, 2004)
I enjoy Speaking of Faith very much, and look forward to listening every Sunday morning. The topics and interviewees are varied and always enlightening. I'm glad that Krista recommended two of her favorite books in this week's e-mail reminder about the program, and I've ordered them for myself. As the subject of tomorrow's program is about the meaning of "faith" and I just came across a favorite quotation by Edna St. Vincent Millay, I wanted to share it with you: "We have not invented God. We have developed faith, to meet a God already there." Thank you, Krista, for your wonderful programs!
Linda Hall
Wilmington, DE (WHYY, 91.0 FM)
The Ground of Being for Action (October 9, 2004)
Listening to three guests, each tied the faith to action. Anne Lamott called faith a verb. Both Rabbi Kushner and Sharon Salzberg saw their faith in their day-to-day actions. There is a connection between faith and action, which would be hard to deny. Yet faith differs from action. Exploring the difference bears much fruit. Faith forms the action of each of the guests, but each is known by their commitment to their faith.
Anne Lamott is a Christian. Rabbi Kushner is a Jew. Sharon Salzberg is a Buddhist. Their actions flow out of who they are. Faith is a way of being first and foremost. Father Henry Nouwen saw action or prayer ungrounded in being as vain. One would reach the limits of one's self quickly, and simply burnout. Being precedes doing. Throughout the show "faith" was used as something to be gotten. The "How do we get faith?" runs within the show, but misses the point of faith. When we answer the question of what our faith is, then we answer a question about who we are. If our faith is strong, then the question answers itself.
If I listen to any of your guests without their introduction, I still would know each guest's faith. To understand my faith, I can consult the mirror of relationships. If those around me see me as mostly concerned with politics, money or God, then my faith is in politics, money or God. We all have faith. Borrowing Anne Lamott's distinction, faith is a verb, and a transitory one. It has to have an object. We have faith, but in what? Money? Politics? Jesus? Our faith reveals the deepest part of who we are. It reveals what generates the ground of our very being. This ground of being creates our actions.
Ernesto Tinajero
Spokane, WA (Listens via Web Audio)
Faith Outside Religion (October 11, 2004)
You defined faith from only a religion framework. Is there faith outside of this boundary, such as philosophy, logic, and science? Are these frameworks inherently contradicted with the term faith?
Sanh Le
Greenwood, MS (WMAO, 90.9 FM)
Faith (October 10, 2004)
If your broadcast today included the remark made by the Quakers' Matthew Fox, I did not hear it. Fox said something like this: Faith is not so much affirmation of a list of doctrines, or of beliefs accepted without empirical support, as it is a response to love.
Keeping faith with the love God has bestowed upon us is my approach to the subject. I have been given a gift of recovery and participate in a pair of Twelve-Step programs. The candle I light in my heart is one of gratitude for that gift. I approach the world in the light of that candle. I attend to my recovery on a daily basis, and try to return God's love with love to my fellows. Hearing the water at the edges: wow.
Richard Adams
Chicago, IL (WBEZ, 91.5 FM)
Faith in American Culture (October 8, 2004)
People in today's world are hungry for guidance; our culture does not have the emphasis on tradition of family and values as an overarching fabric to hold us together; as a result, much confusion and chaos had ensued. Your program provides access to experts and, indeed, angels on earth who help us think and link to comfort, to answers, to support and to community. I feel a personal kindred spirit to this whole subject and am grateful for the opportunity to listen and learn. Thank you.
Denise Montroy
Ogdensburg, NY (WSLU, 89.5 FM)
Meaning of Faith in Writings of Saint Paul (October 10, 2004)
For Saint Paul, the big issue was getting justified with God (a 20th century theologian whose name escapes me translated it as getting "rightwised" with God). Paul tried justifying himself with God by keeping the Mosaic law. Then he realized that God was offering justice/justification as a free gift (a grace, "charisma" in the Greek, "gratia" in Latin, root of our word "gratuity"), as something undeserved, and which could not be earned. To receive the gift, one need only put faith in Christ, the means through whom God wants to give justice.
Reflecting on this often while I was in the priesthood, and trying to translate it into preaching that made sense, I summarized it thus: Faith is the realization that one cannot make oneself right before God, and the confidence that God wants to give righteousness as an underserved gift. One need only accept it humbly and gratefully. This respects the sovereignty of God, and keeps one from succumbing to the original temptation, "Ye shall be like gods." The good news is we don't need to be like gods; we're quite acceptable to God as we are.
Later I studied evolutionary psychology, which speaks of the dialectic (my word) between individual self-assertion and behaviors that contribute to the success of one's group. The rugged individualist in us doesn't want to admit it, but we receive much from membership in our tribe. Acknowledging that has a positively socializing effect on our behavior, and that contributes to the success of our tribe. I see this as analogous to the conversion of Saint Paul, from the self-righteous keeper of the Law, competitive and proud (see his letter to the Philippians, chapter 3), to the humble, faithful recipient of what he could not produce of and for himself, and then to the vigorous advocate of sharing that gift further and further.
Greg Warnusz
St. Louis, MO (KWMU, 90.7 FM)
Faith Is a Personal Relationship (April 14, 2003)
I faithfully practice Christianity and participate fully in the life of a local Lutheran congregation. My experience of the faith, however, is best described as a "personal relationship," not a religion. Faith, for me, is a relationship with Jesus Christ and a relationship with other Christians. These two relationships, with Christ and with the church, go together and cannot be separated.
The fellowship of the church is the community in which my relationship with Christ is born and is lived out. This relationship of faith is best described as "trust." I trust Jesus Christ with my life in this world and with my eternal future. This faith or trust is more than simply believing. For example, I may "believe" that God exists, but that doesn't necessarily mean I "trust" God. Faith, then, is more than just mental assent to certain religious principles. Rather, for me, faith is a personal relationship of trust in Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Harlen D. Menk
Ellsworth, WI (KNOW, 91.1 FM)
Faith for Everyone (April 12, 2003)
Saying that one has faith assumes that they believe. Now, I hesitate to use the term "believer," primarily because the expression is often attributed to the realm of Christianity. However, to recognize some form of spiritual authority and submit to its divinity is an endeavor that transcends not solely Christianity but all organized religions.
As was the nearsighted elder, who tirelessly searched all bounds for the clarity offered by absent eyeglasses; that became conscious of the glasses resting patiently on relaxed brow, so to is the believer. Being faithful and the acquisition of faith is to have a knowing that leads to understanding.
Jeremiah Witts
Duluth, MN (WSCN, 100.5 FM)
A Place for Me (April 11, 2003)
I have been able to anchor faith only in the greater cosmological story: the story that includes the unfolding of our universe without limit or expectation, that is a large enough story to contain whatever happens in my life and yet capable of being held in the "vacuum" at the center of the smallest particle of matter of my being.
I have a place in this story — always have and always will. It is a faith based in connection to all that is, held in the paradox of the repetitive cycles of nature and by contrast the unpredictable form that the creative force at the heart of it all takes with each new moment. It is a faith I can nurture and practice by simply being who I am. I wonder what will happen next?
Maureen Rocheford
St. Paul, MN (KNOW, 91.1 FM)
