Belief or Unbelief; that is the question...

You don't have to be an atheist to be an unbeliever or operate on the basis of fear. Anyone can do that, it happens everyday. I think that the fear of belief boils down to being afraid to trust. Our fear of belief is manifested daily in our lives by the decisions that we make and the philosophy behind our decisions.

We are afraid to trust because we are afraid to face the pain that lurks around the corner. This is evident in our relationships as well as our religious, philosophical, or spiritual beliefs.

To face fear and overcome it, we first must learn to let go. While I am referring to our belief (or unbelief) of God, these words also apply to human relationships, decision making, travel, and on and on and on. I think the challenge for all of us is to face our fears and determine through our experiences whether there really is anything to fear. Is God real? Do we take a chance on love? Do we take a chance on believing that there really is an intelligent God?

The risk is very personal. If I open up to love, or to God, then I also open up to the strong possibility of being hurt or disappointed. Life insures that we are going to spend time in pain whether we believe or not; so why take on the mindset of the fearful? The answer is that pain is good, it assures us that we are alive, and we can, if we choose to, derive some very valuable lessons as a result of pain. Some of us fear to believe because the truth, when it is expressed in our lives makes us responsible to uphold it on any level.

Many of us express a fear to believe on some level, whether atheist, Jewish, born again, heads of households, and so on, because we limit the possibilities of what we can achieve when we believe. God is a higher power, as is love, as is faith. To believe is to act on ones convictions rather than hold a discussion about it. To believe is to let go and let God. To believe is to be fearless, and to be fearless is to feel fear, and take the plunge anyway. It is to experience all of the doubt that is associated with fear and unbelief and continue to perform those things that are often illogical.

To believe is to produce miracles, to fear is to talk about the miracles produced. When we let go and take the chance that there really is a God that loves us, or let go and allow love in our lives to heal us rather than reject it, we are on our way to uncharted territory, and that can be scary. Somewhere in that uncharted land we'll experience the evidence that is in opposition to our fears.

We all have a choice to make, remain in the security of our convenient fears, or launch out into the deep with the expectation of making a new discovery. The technological advances of flying (the Wright brothers), harnessing electricity (Benjamin Franklin), did not bow to fear, but rather took the Leap with eyes wide open, aware of the potential dangers. If we are to be true adventurers, we'll have to take the Leap. There is a greater, higher power evident in creation. Without it, we just could not be...

We through believing have the privilege of tapping into this greater power. Love, true love is just the beginning. I am not referring to the standard love for our parents, children, friends, and family. I am referring to the kind of love that forgives, creates, and when necessary will let go of everything (if need be life itself), unconditionally.

Fear would have us shy away from unconditional love. Belief, faith...are the things that unconditional love are made from.

Learn more about this author, Neil Woodard.
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