Faith!

Recently, Andrew Sullivan wrote a very appalling article on the rise of fundamentalism and basically provided his insight on what role religion plays in one's life. In that article, he compares President Bush with President Ahmadinejad and the levels of their spiritual beliefs. Describing Ahmadienjad's calm composure during his recent visit to the UN, he says: "It is a faith that is real, all too real--gripping billions across the Muslim world in a new wave of fervor and fanaticism. All worries are past him, all anxiety, all stress." Complete calm indeed comes from complete certainty.

Be it terrorists of Al-Qaeda waging a war or be it Western liberals trying to justify their political endeavors; they are all talking about religious certainty. We are in this new era of zealous and religious fervor that is outdoing political stratagem. Not to say that it's totally unreasonable but it depends on the circumstances and the roots of their certain beliefs which are truly certain but not necessarily correct and reasoned.

Whatever faith you practice, be it pick-or-choose or defined theoretical/scriptural version, it all boils down to a trust in deity aka God.

If God really is God, then God must, by definition, surpass our human
understanding. Not entirely. We have Scripture; we have reason; we have
religious authority; we have our own spiritual experiences of the divine. But
there is still something we will never grasp, something we can never
know--because God is beyond our human categories. Source

It is just not possible for us to grasp everything and be certain about the results which is why we have backup plans. Just because we know that circumstances can lead to anything, arguably of course, we have alternative strategies to deal with those oft-occuring situations. Uncertainty and ambiguity about ourselves in that case is not a hazard but instead an affirmative nod that becomes a prelude for us to manifestly believe in God.

True submission isn't blind but rather a postscript of a rational investigative process that only comes with not only questioning but also understanding the reason behind truth. With that, "practice is more important than theory, love is more important than law, and mystery is seen as an insight into truth rather than an obstacle" (Sullivan). And once we understand the meaning of true faith and true beliefs, we develop that very rational understanding of tolerating others' beliefs and comprehending others' viewpoints. It's all about communication from then on. Obviously, this isn't a mini-Bible towards a utopia but just my understanding of what role faith plays in a person's life.

Faith is not merely agreeing on a religious dogma but it is something that comes from within. It is that feeling of conviction that surpasses all your certainties about everything. It's that belief in God that becomes a foreword of your definiteness. It is not some unreasoned maniacal feeling but rather an identified sensibility. Afterall, faith is something that comes after intensive searching for truth. How can it possibly lead to something irrational or unjustified? You tell me.