9 Mar, 2009 - Have a little faith...

A few news items caught my attention in the newspaper, which I thought I would share with you.

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Apparently, Italians have been instructed by the Roman Catholic bishops of Italy to go low-tech for Lent, cutting off all technological appliances and refraining from that apparently oh-so-Italian hobby of texting on one's mobile phone every Friday during this period. One diocese suggested that the faithful should not watch television for the month. This can be stretched, for the truly faithful, to cookers, microwaves, washing machines and all those little conveniences of life.

If one wishes to retreat to the true medieval attitude to Lent, one can purchase a washing wrangle, camp in the wilderness in a snow-cave or under bushes and perform some self-mutilation, all for aesthetic glory. Or the faithful could hire a maid for the month, thus fulfilling such requirements.

All this at the same time as the Church is stretching out of its borders and into the internet, with an official Papal YouTube channel. Pope Benedict XVI himself praised social networking sites such as Facebook for their ability to bring people together and spread the word - and yet, those who wish to have a non-face-to-face conversation, or sit blankly watching something on TV, are somehow deemed less "faithful".

Being "faithful" should certainly not be associated with how much TV one watches, or whether one owns a vacuum cleaner! Perhaps that's a personal view, but I think this may be stretching it a little too far. Encourage people to have conversations with each other, rather than with a box or a screen - but do not condemn those who don't! If such things are enjoyed in moderation, go for it!

I do not believe in giving up things for Lent. I am not Catholic, not Christian. However, I do follow Lent, to a degree. I do not give up something, or abstain from the little joys of life; instead I try to pick up something new - perhaps exercise every day, or have a healthier meal, or learn a new skill. Worship should not always be about sacrifice and fear. Sometimes we need a little joy, a few moments of fun and perhaps a little challenge too.

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The other article I noticed was entitled: "Stressed out? Have a little faith", and subtitled: "Religious students remain calmer in the face of errors, study shows".

There are massive flaws in this, which were immediately obvious. They tested 28 people, all of which were required to fit neatly into a named religion-box and asked questions such as whether they would go to war for their faith, or whether their faith was based on objective truth. May I point out, at this point, that neither of these questions quite answer the degree of someone's faith! War for faith depends on the threat presented, and I have never met anyone who could actually say, with vague cohesion, that their faith is objective! A religion separated from personal emotion and opinion - only presenting facts - is not a religion. A religion requires faith, requires that extra moment of emotion that guides your heart, that moment of belief and hope and all associated feelings. Religion for most peole is not rational - it certainly cannot be claimed to be fully rational for all people.

Despite these challenges, the results were that those who were of a strong religion, and thus had a regulated structure or lens through which they view the world were less likely to become stressed when faced with challenges. As far as I am concerned, this is rather obvious. There is less uncertainty, less judgement required in general situations and there is perpetually a wider picture, a sense of being one in a multitude, rather than an isolated unit.

Many Jewish survivors of the Holocaust experienced the same concept at a deeper level; their faith was persecuted because it is so strongly grounded in the here and now, in the truth of this moment and the authority of their traditions, thus prioritising their faith over the authority of the state. But it was precisely this grounding in the present moment that allowed them to survive more strongly and defiantly than the otherwise may have; each moment was, and still is a gift from God and each law must be followed in this moment, each prayer relates to the past and the future, but to both of those elements seen from the second in which the prayer is said. Their reality is daily, earthly and yet still sacred.

I would like to believe that many UU's have the same idea - focussing on the importance of living mindfully and kindly in this moment, seeing the past and future as part of that interdependent web of life that is not only material and spiritual, but also wonderfully temporal. I wonder, if we were faced with such persecutions, would we bear them that well and hold to the importance of dignity and worth? I hope I would. It is my dream to say, one day, that I am certain of that.