Security and faith

I've just been heavily vetted by security to fly. Whilst queuing up I considered why everyone was being subjected to such screening, such inconvenience. This isn't a post about security and unlike the woman behind me I fully appriciate the reasons why I was checked for a bomb as such she didn't she obviosuly felt the urge to argue the toss about the bottle of water I'd just bought and was being asked to surrender.


I've been having a crisis of faith recently, my faith is something pretty personal, I don't evangalise to other people - I don't even talk about it much with others. However I'm part way through a podcast by Sam Harris - The Future of Ideas. I'm only a few minutes in but he is describing how there are hundreds of religious books, and how because some people interpret them we are currently in what has been descirbed by some as a religious war. Christian versus Muslim versus Jew.

Coupled with that I am reading a book on innumeracy and another one called the "pale blue dot" which has spent some time describing in detail quite how small and insignificant we are and how that leads to the possibility that in the entire expanse of the universe we're not that special and therefore why would a God bother with us if one exists.

So all these ideas are set up against religion and it has been causing me to question mine. However, I recently attended a wedding of two friends. Both have an amazingly strong faith, they met at our University's christian union. That entire group had such a faith I had never encountered before, even though I attended three faith schools, two catholic institutions. I always played the "cult" card when refering to that group of my friends. However secretly I was very jealous. How they could have such inspiring unfaltering faith in Jesus Christ. The closest I'd ever gotten before was a friend of mine who is not training to become a priest himself - that was a doctorinal faith.

There were numerous mentions of Christ, God, Jesus etc. at the wedding and in the various speeches. This encouraged me, whilst I won't ever be a bible carrying catholic who's every decision is correctly led by the teachings of the "good book" it did make me consider that for all the alleged harm that religion and faith has done around the world, at the same time it is so inspirational and strengthening for these two people and many of their friends. If Christ's teachings can do that for them, surely the prophet mohamed and the teachings of David must have the same effect on some Muslims and Jews - does that offsets all the bad stuff ?

Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Shoe