Faith and life in a rational mind.
Socrates found the unexamined life not worth living. I agree, but only in part. For me, my faith, the people I love, and the beauty of the world make life very much worth living. But, an examined life can be intensely fascinating for the unafraid.
The Pew Research Center recently found that 27 percent of Americans think of themselves as spiritual but not religious. The New York Times calls them “Americans who seem to want some connection to the divine, but who don’t feel affiliated with traditional religion.”
As I stood, awkward and embarrassed, in front of the packed room, I had my first encounter with a fear that God does not know me. Why would every child in that line experience God, except me?
I’ve met Christians who never seem to experience doubt. We can call them blessed. However, God used Thomas’ doubt as a lesson for the rest of us.
Canada! As soon as I read it, I knew that was the answer. Proof positive that I am Canadian. With the help of that yellowed news clip I realized the truth that had always been there … hidden just beyond the obvious.
To be fair, I can be a bit of a dreamer with the bad habit of thinking aloud. And that’s the kind of thing that can frighten a blushing bride’s mother.
To be honest, there are labels I apply to myself. I am Christian and Catholic and would call myself both evangelical and pro-life. And yet I hate the idea that others believe they can understand much about me based on those labels.
If I had a near death experience, you’d think I’d know it. But, apparently I had one in December and was among the last to recognize it.
Is there life after death? The death of spirit? The death of one’s social identity? The living death of a priest wounded by his humanity, and shunned by the scandalized parishioners he once counted as family?