What has to
happen to make you
lose faith in something?
I don’t have much experience with faith in the traditional sense of the word. I was raised in a home where religion was never discussed or thought about (my all time favourite anecdotes involves the time I saw my mom seriously ask my dad what religion he was–when I was 30), so I never had a faith to reject when I eventually concluded I didn’t believe in a higher power.
But that doesn’t mean I’m not faithful in other ways. In place of a specific spiritual system, I tend to believe in people and ideas. And it’s possible to lose faith in them as easily as it is anything else. I like to think of myself as loyal, but there are times when I’ve been pushed too far and I’ve had to abandon people who meant a lot to me.
Invariably it has been a matter of betrayal. The sense that my faith had been misplaced and–worse–abused. It’s a terrible feeling, so much so that I find it very hard to forgive, even though I aspire to be a more forgiving person (which is hard because my natural inclination is to nurse grudges).
Do you have a barometer of how far you can be tested before you stop believing? Whether it’s a person or a god or anything else you have faith in? Or are you unshakeable, unswayable and steadfast? Are your beliefs so strong that you literally cannot comprehend the idea of ever losing them?
Allan, Honestly, I have been batting this around for the last 3 years since abandoning a growing church that I co-founded. Two years ago I wrote about unsuccessfully considering agnosticism. I never fully embraced any irreligious belief, but just this week, I wrote another piece asking how many practices do I have to abandon before I’m no longer considered Christian. I haven’t entirely answered any of the questions posed, but there is plenty to consider. I wholeheartedly agree with you though. Betrayal reenforced my exodus from church, but without it, there are lessons in forgiveness that I might NEVER have… Read more »