Faith

Questions of faith have been rolling around in my head a lot recently.  What DO I believe?  That whole "flying spaghetti monster" thing? I don't really know.

I have been listening to the Jim Butcher series, the latest book is "Skin Game".  In it, Harry is forced to help an arch enemy steal the Holy Grail from Hades ( the god, not the place- although they do enter the Underworld)  The book has a lot more Christian theology in in than I remember in the last books.  It never occurred to me how much Butcher leans on  the imagery and stories that relate to the Christian faith.  He has had, at least this far into the book, a discussion with Michael Carpenter,  a retired Knight of the Cross, about the nature of his faith in himself and therefore his faith in the world.   It got me thinking, again, about the nature of MY faith and how it informs my behavior.

I am NOT going to get into what I believe.  Suffice it to say, I consider myself to be "plain-wrap Christian"  meaning I believe in God and Jesus as the son of God, but don't follow any particular brand.  As a kid I went to a church where the minister was Hell-fire and brimstone Baptist.  YIKES.  That's a good one.  SCARE people into behaving.  I could never reconcile the loving God they said sent his only son down to help us,with the same one that would smite you down with a bolt of lightening if you got out of line. It just never made any sense and I realized that I didn't really get all that much out of organized religion.  Do I pray?  Daily, sometimes constantly.  It helps.

Faith is not just about religion, it's more about trust than anything else.  When you give yourself over to faith in anything, you are entering into a contract of trust.  That includes having faith you will make the next light, not just a nebulous belief in a power greater than yourself.