[JoeRedskin]

This is something I submitted years ago in response to an editorial in the Baltimore Sun. In essence the writer questioned why any rational and intelligent individual could believe in God:

Re: How Can Anyone Believe in God? by Prof. Christopher Sartwell
Baltimore Sun Editorial Page, January 3, 2002

Dear Sirs:

In asking "How can anyone believe in God?", Prof. Sartwell appropriately challenges all who believe in a divine being to search themselves and their beliefs. In anticipation of the Prof. Sartwell's of the world, St. Paul taught that Christians must be prepared to state the basis for their belief. If we fail in this charge, our spirituality will become a matter of mere rote repetition without depth or meaning.

In answering Prof. Sartwell's question, I speak only for myself. Further, I will not attempt to convince Prof. Sartwell, or anyone else, that they too should believe in the God I worship. Instead, and in attempt to reduce my understanding of thousands of years of human wisdom into a three page letter, I will simply try to explain the basis behind my personal "leap into the abyss" of belief.

Essentially, based on my study of humanity's attempts to describe the universe in which it lives, I believe God exists. Further, by attempting to understand and know God, I believe individuals can both find inner peace and effect real change to the evil that exists in this world.

Based on my own analysis and contrary to Prof. Sartwell, the world appears to me be created by an "all powerful and perfectly good being". Does evil exist within the world? Yes. Are their inequities? Yes. Is their cruelty and baseness? Yes. Do bad things happen to good people and vice versa? Yes. Do the occurrence of these things negate the existence of God? No. At least, they do not negate the existence of the "all powerful and perfectly good being" in whom I believe.

Rather than attempt to define an infinite being by inadequately or incompletely stating what my God is, it is easier for me to state what my God is not. My God is not an owner of human pets. My God has given humanity the option to ignore, disobey and, ultimately, disbelieve in the ultimate being. In doing so, my God demonstrates love for us by treating us as equals rather than pets, slaves, or two -year olds.

Central to my belief in this God is my understanding of the nature of the universe. I believe that, despite the existence of evil, the universe has a rhythm, poetry, and beauty to it. Further, the rhythm, poetry, and beauty have an underlying ultimate and infinite Truth to them. I believe this Truth exists, but I could not fully describe it in an essay a thousand pages or book of a thousand poems. The creator and sustainer of this Truth is my God.

As evidence of the universe's beauty, humanity has seen and recorded some of the Truth as it is applicable to us. The Judaic commandments that we do not commit murder, do not steal and do not commit adultery are revelations into this Truth. Both Confucius and Jesus said that we must do unto others as we would have them do unto us. Jesus further asserted that to know this Truth we must "love our neighbors as ourselves". Following these commandments allows a person to truly find a "peace which the world cannot give."

"Ahhhh, but we are 'commanded' to do this," says the cynic, "I thought we weren't pets!" Sigh. Fine, go kill someone, steal from your neighbor, sleep around on your wife, and top it off with a little hatred. You probably will not be struck by lightning or swallowed up by the earth. Instead, you will probably end up in jail, divorced, and just a bit embittered.

The "commandments" given are for those who seek the inner peace which the Truth brings: if you want such a peace, here's what you must do (or not do). God, however, does not "punish" us for failing to keep these commandments. Instead, we punish ourselves, individually and corporately, by separating ourselves from the Truth of creation. This is not just some esoteric prattle. Rather, it is a statement of cause and effect. Diving into a lake of molten lava is sure to incinerate your physical body. Similarly, murdering and hating will have unpleasant consequences for yourself and others.

"Big deal," says the cynic, "I accept that humanity has recognized the need for ethical treatment. That does not prove the existence of God." This brings me to the leap which Prof. Sartwell is incapable of understanding. For me, rather than a bizarre "leap into the abyss", it is a leap of faith based, in part, on a review of entirety of the ten commandments and Jesus' "summary of the law and the prophets".

In accepting the wisdom of Moses and Jesus as to their ethical "commands", I also accept their assertion that a God exists. In reviewing the ten commandments, the first four relate to the existence of a being greater than humanity. The essence of these first four commandments are: God exists, do not place finite objects and desires above God, respect the existence God, and set aside time to learn about and meditate on God. Additionally, Jesus' commandment that we love one another is his second "great commandment". His first "great commandment" is that we love God.

Further, as a truism, I accept that paradoxical conflicts will arise when finite beings attempt to describe an infinite being. Throughout history and through literature, poetry, sculpture, philosophy and other forms of art, humanity has tried to describe the infinite being through finite means. In so doing, humanity's description of the infinite being often contains paradoxes: two descriptions of the infinite being, both asserted as true and both incompatible to our finite understanding. Thus, I make my leap with the knowledge that the infinite cannot be described by the finite.

For the reasons I have stated, I believe the creator of the universal Truth exists and this is my God. I will seek to better know this God and attempt to practice this God's Truth because I believe it is the "right" thing to do. In attempting to do so, I may be able to feel the rhythm of the infinite and, in so doing, allow others to experience the same.

Finally and just as others who have tried before me have done, I will undoubtedly fail in my attempts to practice God's Truth. As others have, I will undoubtedly misinterpret and misapply the God's Truth. These failures to understand, express and live in accordance with the Truth, however, do not negate its existence or its inspiration.

Undoubtedly, my response will seem inadequate to many. It is simply impossible for me to summarize thousands of years of Judaic and Christian debate in this letter; the wisdom of the ages is not easily captured. For that reason, we must constantly strive to understand it. I will gladly discuss the basis of my beliefs more fully with Prof. Sartwell over lunch sometime.