LogosTalk: Fathomless Faith

I have become very aware of all the god-imagery we have had/and still employ--and I realize the source of most of it, in that it spouts right out of our minds. Still, there's a consistency, or should I say an *insistence* about all this phenomena that has accompanied us down through the ages. It would seem to reflect our spiritual growth and development on one hand; and, on the other hand, it bespeaks of a Quality that will not be put down no matter our circumstances or level of understanding.

I have Faith in this Quality--or underlying Essence--that some describe via their own particular myth or selected religion--and which I have devised in my own way, a way that incorporates ancient thought with modern science and theological theories to express this Essence. Hence my work on the Stoic Logos, as well as the ancient related version of the Cosmic Christ, blended with new cosmological and ontological discoveries.

To proceed, one of my favorite saints is Anselm of Canterbury. Years back I once wrote a paper on Anselm, considering that he was actually one of the earliest scholastics. But what really intrigued me was his idea, to paraphrase, "Because I have faith, I need to understand." This idea gripped Anselm and led to his many efforts trying to formulate an "ontological proof" of God.

In a nutshell, as I read it, Anselm's ontological argument boils down thinking of God as That Which is Ever Greater than what we can know and think. Well--this kind of approach is utterly *fathomless.* It goes beyond deep into depths infinitum that we can only continue to plunge into and explore. But we will never really find the proof, though we might find countless intimations.

As for our archaic faith systems, well these days we can more readily see their welts. Still, we cannot presume that all "believers" are scholarly by nature. Throughout this world, up to this very day, we have different operational mindsets ranging from magical to mythopoetic to medieval to modern to multidimensional. Our mental progression has not been a steady upward climb, leaving one rung for the next. Rather all these different mindsets blur into one another, and there's nothing like one's faith (or belief in God) to illustrate this strange set of affairs.

Our synagogues, our churches, and our mosques all reflect these various mindsets throughout all the different cultures in our world. People struggle, grope, try to come to some sort of meaning in their life--and for many, it's God in all sorts of forms and imagery.

As for those who have carried forth into this Fathomless Faith journey, for whatever reason, there is risk. God is the Great Abyss. Those who plunge head-on into this Abyss, might not only lose their Faith but themselves. Still we humans are explorers and have an insatiable need to understand. The great avatars, prophets, and saints in times past unto this day have somehow managed to retreat from the Abyss still somewhat intact--though not always. :) They attempt to explain what they have learned; but often their first-hand accounts are taken by others and turned into something else: usually something embellished with rules and rituals for those who are not God-explorers.

That's the way this Faith game has been played down through the generations.

Still what fascinates me is Faith itself. Some *really* have some deep sense of Faith in what remains Mystery. And as we probe, this Mystery is always a step beyond. It never lets us really know or fully understand. The ontological proof will never materialize, no matter how we try. So why bother? Mainly because Faith seems branded into some of us.

The Great Abyss would seem to be an Attractor, if you will. It attracts us via Faith. Those more faith-filled are at the greatest risk. But by taking the risks, they evolve and gain more understanding--and sometimes compassion. In a sense I look at this Attractor, baiting us with Faith, as a beacon, an Ahead beckoning us forth towards ever more civilized ways of be-ing. In archaic terms it can be likened to the Holy Spirit hovering over and within us, mothering us along unto full growth.