LION AND THE LAMB: You gotta have faith!

Opinion

October 28, 2009

By Emerson Abts / Chronicle contributor The Crossville Chronicle Wed Oct 28, 2009, 08:52 AM CDT

"You gotta have faith!" So spoke old friend Bob Beasley, a north woodsman, when he gave us a sourdough starter. It came, Bob claimed, directly descended from a gold miner in the Klondike, circa 1890.

So I asked Bob how he knew it was authentic, and he smiled and related that he had asked the old prospector the same question. The miner grew angry, and swore, and then allowed "You gotta have faith."

People are very big on faith. They use the term most often when referring to religion. You must have faith in God. God is the source of blessing and will protect and give good life to all who have enough faith.

For Christians there is a book, the Bible, which is a library of 66 books. And if your faith is strong, you will find all the answers to life's problems there.

The skeptic will point out that there are many contradictions in the book, as well as statements that are simply wrong. No, says the unbeliever, the universe was not created in seven days, and Jesus did not walk on water, let alone rise from the dead.

And the quarrels continue. And many believers live by absolute, blind faith.

Religious faith is not the only kind of belief practiced by fundamentalists.

There's faith in democracy. We Democrats believe that the people, all the people, are best able to govern ourselves. And so we argue and debate and shout. And vote, and trust that the voice of the people is indeed the voice of God.

There's faith in society. We believe that the rules and laws by which we live are the most able to keep us prosperous and safe. So we drive our cars, believing that that car coming toward us will indeed stay in its own lane and not suddenly veer into ours.

And there is faith in capitalism. We believe that private ownership of home and business and tooth brush are basic rights. We believe that self interest is the natural state of humans and is the best way for humanity to live. We even may forget that love is still greater than faith or hope.

Then there is blind faith in capitalism. Many people believe that the capitalist system is the best and only way for society to exist. We must keep government with its greedy hands out of the Market and the Invisible Hand of capital will bring justice and peace and prosperity. Such a faith is just as blind as the belief that the Grand Canyon was formed in a day or so during the first seven days of creation.

Many capitalists have prospered exceedingly, especially since 1980. Once to be a billionaire was an unheard of thing. No longer. Once a man could get a job and support his family. No longer; today the wife must work as well.

Once, before greed became celebrated, a family paid their taxes without undue resentment. No longer; now any taxation is regarded as governmental theft of one's wealth.

Once capitalism, duly regulated, brought prosperity. No longer; now we have banks and financial institutions "too big to fail" and government must bail them out. It has been wisely said that we have socialism for the rich and capitalism for the poor.

Blind, unthinking faith is not a good thing. Our present financial miseries stem directly from our blind faith in the all-good wisdom of the unregulated market.

Much of our religious difficulty stems from our unquestioning blind faith in an inerrant Bible and attendant creeds.

Still, we are people of faith. We trust that God does indeed love us. We trust that, properly regulated, capitalism again will work.

Meanwhile, enjoy your sourdough pancakes. You gotta have faith that that sponge really did come from the Yukon. It's more fun that way.

Text Only

Opinion

Gary's World: The magical Star Wars summer of '77
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...

May 24, 2012
Lion and the Lamb: When politics and religion meet
Several wealthy contributors to the Republican presidential campaign are once again trying to figure out how they can use a video clip containing three words that the Rev. Jeremiah Wright used in a sermon on April 13, 2003. Wright, now retired, had been pastor of the 6,600-member Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago when Barack Obama was a member there.

May 22, 2012
Random Thoughts: Returning vets fight fire
Cemeteries are given special attention this week in preparation for Memorial Day next Monday. During the Civil War gracious ladies of the south laid flowers on the graves of fallen soldiers from both sides. The custom spread across the country and was called Decoration Day until the early 20th century.

May 22, 2012
Tidbits: Finding more time in your day
If we had another two hours in every day, we'd all probably still be begging for just a little bit more to get all our stuff done before that clock strikes midnight and it's game over.

May 21, 2012
Stumptalk: Hooray for the innovators
In his brilliant article in the Free Market, Daniel Sanchez says, “There will always be a one-percent. The well-being of the 99-percent depends on who makes up the 1-percent: innovative entrepreneurs or the state and its cronies. This in turn depends on the ideologies adopted by the 99-percent.” This is the way societies have always been organized and always will be.

May 21, 2012
GARY'S WORLD: Graduates, create your own opportunities
Time flies. One day you have a baby boy who is fascinated with stuffed Miss Piggy and Kermit rattles and the next day he wants to wear his cowboy boots and hat with every outfit no matter what the occasion. Before you know it, he's playing in the elementary school band, going into high school, learning how to drive, driving to school, going to prom and graduating.

May 17, 2012
RANDOM THOUGHTS: Truly a January in May
“It’s June in January” became a popular standard after Bing Crosby introduced the song in 1934. A strange thing happened last week. I call it a tale of ‘It’s January in May.’

May 15, 2012
LION AND THE LAMB: Our challenged nation
Three major social justice issues have been a source of contention in our nation over the years, and interestingly, each of them has involved the subject of equality.

May 15, 2012
WE THE PEOPLE: Repressing the ‘Grapes of Wrath’
Sometimes a hole appears, ever so briefly, in the curtain that hides the plans of those who control our government. One such opening occurred when Alan Greenspan testified to the Federal Reserve Board on Feb. 26, 1997. During that testimony, Greenspan revealed that “worker insecurity” was (in his view) a boon to the economy, allowing productivity to increase without causing workers to demand increased earnings.

May 15, 2012
TIDBITS: Never stop moving forward, grads
This week is a week of celebration. According to my files of graduating seniors, Cumberland County will see more than 550 students earning their high school diplomas this week. Now, those youngsters will venture out into the world, armed with the knowledge and character instilled in them by their parents, brothers, sisters, cousins, aunts, uncles, teachers, principals, classmates, coaches and others.

May 14, 2012
More Opinion Headlines

Opinion

Search Results

LION AND THE LAMB: You gotta have faith!

Site Map

Contact Us