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    A Faith for the Future
    A Faith for the Future
    A Faith for the Future
    Ebook107 pages1 hour

    A Faith for the Future

    By Carol Mays

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    About this ebook

    Written in an engaging, wide-ranging, and at times provocative style, this book presents a novel approach for building a workable and emotionally rewarding faith in the 21st century. It also concisely addresses what the author perceives to be helpful and unhelpful aspects of various religions and philosophies. It describes ways in which mainstream society interferes with spirituality in general. At once critical of certain aspects of culture while being protective of the soul, it is a reliable, enjoyable resource for living spiritually in an increasingly complex world.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherCarol Mays
    Release dateFeb 28, 2016
    ISBN9781310851629
    A Faith for the Future
    Author

    Carol Mays

    A native of Massachusetts, Carol Mays was one of the first female United Methodist ministers in the state of Virginia. She left the church because of increasing conflicts between her heart and mind. She then spent thirty-five years exploring many religions and philosophies before finding satisfying answers. She is a poet and nature-lover.

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      Book preview

      A Faith for the Future - Carol Mays

      I

      Why Faith?

      In beginning this book, I’m wondering where you, the reader, might be coming from, in your perspective on faith. Of course there are many possibilities. Probably in your life you have been exposed to some sort of institutional faith or philosophy, but if I were to conjure up a backdrop beyond that, I would be speculating. I have no way of knowing if your exposure was positive or negative or both, minimal or intense or both, or what you are feeling or seeking for at present, if anything.

      You may be wondering where I’m coming from, too—a good question for a reader to ask of an author, especially on matters of faith. The answer is, many, many places, which I will describe in the next chapter.

      Another good question to ask at the beginning of a book on faith is, Why does it matter? Why should we care about the subject at all?

      According to the Pew Research Center’s 2014 U.S. Religious Landscape Study, less than half of those surveyed in their twenties and early thirties reported that religion was very important to them. Furthermore, Millennials did not seem to be growing more religious over time, as compared with their responses in the 2007 Religious Landscape Study. Although interest in religion is holding steady among older generations, overall congregational membership has been steadily declining since the early 1990’s, due to the fact that younger people are not replacing older members who pass away.

      Most people feel a deep-seated urge for some sort of larger context through which they can understand their lives, and some are assisted in finding this context by a religious or philosophical group. Many accept whatever answers their religious or philosophical group gives them.

      But many do not; many need to find their own answers. I am one of the latter, and that has led me down a very long and winding road.

      I have lived within many different faith and lack-of-faith perspectives, and I find that life is much richer, meaningful, more satisfying, and peaceful, if I can place it in the context of a larger sense of reality—not just in the context of my fellow humans, but in a universal context. This placement process is both very simple and very difficult, as this book will detail.

      Why is faith needed or relevant? One need only to watch or read the news to see that something is needed. The earth’s current troubles are largely the result of unbridled self-interest, ignorance, and a lack of awareness of, and investment in, the welfare of others and the planet as a whole. However, faith sometimes contributes to the problem by being too narrow itself.

      Also, a philosophy that focuses solely on the power of ethical behavior is not broad or deep enough to solve the problems, because to vitally sustain itself, a commitment to ethics must derive energy from a larger consciousness. At least that has been my experience.

      On an individual level, a lack of faith encapsulates a person and shuts him off from an expansive sense of reality, even the expansive reality within himself. Life becomes prosaic, and even a person’s own projects seem to lose their vitality and meaning, unless they are part of a larger identification or connection. As Huston Smith so aptly phrased it in The Religions of Man, "… the self is too small an object for perpetual enthusiasm."

      Faith gives meaning and value to who one is and what one does, and it provides vision and ideals.

      Atheism and agnosticism are born of a courageous stance against irrationality, but are based (by definition) on what does not exist or may not be known, rather than on a positive vision or connection. Therefore, unless the atheist or agnostic also aligns himself with some other philosophy, he misses out on most of the psychological benefits that a positive faith offers.

      At times we all long for something more than our daily routine-run lives. We want something that seems more intrinsic, soulful, exciting, meaningful, flexible, and promising. We want to transcend pre-packaged presets and rediscover an unvarnished world of possibilities, where we can see the magic and mysteries of life with fresh eyes. We want to regain our sense of wonder and open up to expansive feelings and dreams.

      Maybe Millennials are not finding these benefits in organized religion. Maybe life has not grown stale for them yet. But at some point they will start searching, and if their local churches have not been providing a context for these expansive thought processes to happen, these institutions are failing in their mission.

      Some churchgoers initially feel comfortable with the faith framework their church is offering, but as time goes on, they start seeing discrepancies between their own impressions of life and what the church is presenting as true. This can lead to a great deal of soul-searching and emotional dissonance.

      Some spend years or decades searching for a framework that fits them. During this exploratory process, they can feel ungrounded on a deep level—as though they are living in a series of psychological motel rooms and cannot find home. However interesting a vacation might be, most people like to know that they have a home—a base of operations—and they like to be able to spend time there.

      It has become commonplace to hear stories of psychological trauma on television and to see discussions of emotional and physical healing online, but in-depth discussions on the subject of spiritual distress are rarely heard or seen.

      I have no wish to add to the reader’s stress, so if you are comfortable in your current faith or philosophy and have no desire to explore others, this book is probably not for you. Fair warning—I know from experience that a book like this can wreak all sorts of havoc. If, however, you are questioning what you have been told or have believed, read on.

      One of my pet peeves is with authors who take several hundred wearying pages to say what could be said in twenty. Their books may look impressive, but after purchasing these tomes, most consumers do not really have the time to sort through so much chaff, looking for whatever wheat they may be hoping to find. Therefore, even though I will be giving you a summary

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