Faith and Belief are Different Things
Faith and belief are words thrown around, and they become interchangeable, but they are not the same thing.
Belief is your opinion, and that’s all it is. I like this flavor more than that flavor. Faith is acting on your beliefs, or acting like your belief is really true.
Most people “believe” exercise is good for you. Most people don’t actually do it, though.
According to national health statistics, 47 percent of the population gets the recommended amount of exercise. This means about 30 minutes a day, five days a week. Only about 30 percent get both aerobic and muscle-toning exercises. A much higher percentage “believes” this is good for you, but a much smaller percentage has “faith” in the benefits of exercise.
But you could walk around 30 minutes a day while smoking cigarettes, and drinking soda pop while eating Cheetos, and decide that exercise didn’t do you much good. Belief in exercise is a good starting point, but you need a little education to sort out what really works.
First, you get the “belief” that exercise is a good thing that will benefit you. The next step is to learn about your body and what makes it healthy. Then you can exercise your “faith” in a way that will truly bear fruit.
There is a longer version of this story on the site, in the Spirituality section. You may see it by clicking here
Is it a Contradiction or a Paradox?
A paradox — or tension — is when two apparently conflicting truths are both true at the same time. This runs against the black-and-white, either/or thinking our culture pushes, but it’s the deeper path that often leads closer to truth.
The Bible is full of these tensions, and we get into trouble when we grab one side and discard the other. Both truths usually stand.
Some examples:
Free will versus election. If God is all-knowing, He knows the future. Does that mean our choices aren’t truly free?
Faith versus works. We are saved by faith alone, yet what we do still matters. Real faith works.
The Trinity. One God in three persons. How can three be one?
The first will be last, and the last first. True greatness comes through humility and serving others.
I used to hunt for neat resolutions to these paradoxes. Now I’m learning to rest in the tension. I believe God is sovereign, yet I feel the weight of real choice. I see both law and grace at work. I experience the Spirit moving, even if I can’t neatly define how the Trinity works.
Maybe that’s the point. Faith is not having every answer. It is trusting God while living squarely in the mystery.
What to do about controversial issues in religion?
AI Generated image
The debate over Calvinism and Arminianism comes up now and then on social media. The problem is that it quickly becomes a name-calling contest, with both dismissing each other as not really Christian. It doesn’t take a smart person to figure out this is not a very Christ-like way to handle a disagreement.
It involves trying to explain the nature of God and people, and how we relate to God. It’s very foundational, but it is not simple.
If God knows everything, that must include the future that we don’t know about yet. If God knows the future, how can we say we have a real choice in anything?
It is a tension, and it’s easier to pick one and reject the other. But the truth lies somewhere between the two.
Even so, there’s no reason to pick a side. You don’t have to pick one or the other, and I’m not sure it would affect your life either way. What you choose in this area says more about you than it does about anything else.
I have just posted a longer story on this issue. You may click here to read it.
You’re Not Evil if You Disagree
The moment someone disagrees with us, many people treat it as a personal attack instead of a normal difference of opinion. Conversation stops and combat begins. A lot of it is just my team good, your team evil, sort of thinking.
A tunnel for an old train track in a remote area of northern Kentucky.
One of the most toxic things on the internet is the “I have to be right” mentality.
The moment someone disagrees with us, many people treat it as a personal attack instead of a normal difference of opinion. Conversation stops and combat begins. A lot of it is just my team good, your team evil, sort of thinking.
We’ve largely lost the healthy ability to say, “We see this differently,” and still treat each other with respect. Everything gets turned into a contest that someone must win. That attitude kills curiosity, learning, and basic human connection.
I’m as guilty of it as anyone at times. But I’m trying to do better.
This site is my small pushback against that culture. I plan to share thoughts on mental health, spirituality, travel, writing, and everyday life. I don’t have all the answers. Some of what I write you’ll probably agree with. Some you won’t. That’s okay. My hope is that we can talk about it like grown-ups — honestly, but without the need to “destroy” the other person.
Agree to disagree. It’s still a good idea.
Hyperfocus and Websites
Day three of the website. I have had a bit of ADHD fueled hyperfocus the last couple of days, and I have gotten a lot done. The basic structure is in place. I am hoping to write a short thing here every day. It will be something inspirational, or at least thought-provoking. There’s way too much toxicity and negativity online, so I want to be a different kind of voice.
You all know ADHD can make a person appear unfocused and disorganized. But the other side of that is hyperfocus. It is a place where nothing else exists.
I wish I could flip it on and off like a light switch, but that isn’t how it works. You can nudge it a bit at times.
It has helped with putting this site together. I have had two websites over the years. Things have really changed since then. There’s a whole new language. And I have AI bots suggesting various things.
It is still a work in progress. It will have its growing pains. I plan to add more stories in the coming days and write some new material.
You may also sign up for a mailing list. You will get my daily blog piece and updates when new material is added. I have figured that part out. How to actually send the updates out is something I still need to figure out.
Why Am I Writing
Another angle is ego. Do I have something worthwhile to say?
I think I do have enough ego to say yes to that. It’s up to you, dear reader, to determine if it has value or not.
I am not offering answers. What I hope to do in inspire people to think about things, and maybe we can have some discussions on the things I write about here.
It is just putting my work out there. The site gives me a place to put what I write, and that gives me motivation to write more.
Looking through an arch at Arches National Park in Utah, Photo by james
I wanted to have a website for a long time, but the question of why kept me from getting started.
I want to sound all noble and say it’s not for the money, and it really isn’t. This site is free. I will probably put a donation button on at some point, but that isn’t my main motive.
Even so, any artist or writer wants to make some money or to get some validation from readers. It’s just human nature to want to get some positive responses. With the internet, everyone and their dog can be a writer and publish their work. It looks easy after all, but like I’ve said before, there are better and easier ways to make money than writing - or doing any art.
In the sea of millions of voices, what is one more? You can take that as good or bad. One more isn’t going to hurt, but it’s harder to get noticed in the sea of information that is on the internet.
Another angle is ego. Do I have something worthwhile to say?
I think I do have enough ego to say yes to that. It’s up to you, dear reader, to determine if it has value or not.
I am not offering answers. What I hope to do in inspire people to think about things, and maybe we can have some discussions on the things I write about here.
It is just putting my work out there. The site gives me a place to put what I write, and that gives me motivation to write more.
A third angle is exploring the world, both the world that exists out there, and my inner world.
I’m putting it out there. I’m inviting you into my world, and to ride along the journey.
I hope to post a short piece here every day, or almost every day.
I’ll try to figure out how to compile a mailing list, and you will be able to sign up and get it sent to your email when I do this, or when I post a new story.
So let’s see what happen, eh?
Living well in the gray
One thing that bothers me is black-and-white thinking. The idea that things are either-or, or that there is only one cause of everything.
Simplistic thinking is easy and comfortable, but it doesn't solve problems and isn't correct. This site is going to contain a lot of my writing, and a lot of that will be about my internal life.
One thing that bothers me is black-and-white thinking. The idea that things are either-or, or that there is only one cause of everything.
Simplistic thinking is easy and comfortable, but it doesn't solve problems and isn't correct.
This site is going to contain a lot of my writing, and a lot of that will be about my internal life.
A big part of this website is my search for truth and well-being.
A lot of well-being is mental health.
There’s lots of simplistic thinking and easy advice out there - and some even question whether mental health is even a thing. Most of the simplistic nonsense you hear is just that - nonsense.
I am not going to be giving you any simple answers. It is very complex, and even when you think you have something figured out, you can change one variable and the whole house of cards crashes.
This is my journey.
I don’t have it figured out and that’s ok.
An old song says:
Don’t ask me for answers
I’ve only got one
That a man leaves his darkness
When he follows the son.