Believe the earth is flat, or I'll kill you. Are you able to ignore the evidence that says otherwise?

Eternal bliss or eternal suffering, each at a level so profound that we cannot begin to imagine the plenary ecstasy of heaven or the relentless horror of hell. This,  Christians contend, is what is at stake as we try to decide whether or not to believe in Jesus as God.

But even this “choice” misunderstands the concept of belief. Belief is not a decision, but rather an intellectual position to which we are taken by evidence (evidence which can include, I am told, personal revelations from God, a courtesy not yet extended to me). We can’t believe the earth is flat, even if threatened with death for that disbelief, because the evidence tells us it’s spherical.

Yet according to the Christian proposition, we must believe certain things to avoid damnation. What are they? Besides the…

Many Religious communities in our modern culture use the words faith and belief interchangeably.  This seems a misuse of language that does not describe two distinct attributes of Spirituality.  By interchanging the word usage, we lose sight of the difference between faith and belief.

Two authors have influenced my thoughts.  Richard Bach’s Illusions,  teaches that faith is imagination. The other book, Faith As Imagination , is authored by Gerald Bednar, but the book is about the writings of William F. Lynch, S.J.  As a quick review, both books are excellent.  Illusions is an easy, quick read that need not be taken literally. Its beauty lies in its theme, not in the plot.  Bednar’s Faith As Imagination, is a scholarly enterprise that cannot be skimmed.  The book is filled with the valuable insights of a profound 20th century religious philosopher William F. Lynch.

Both authors teach that faith is Imagination. The notion seems be…