Dear Fabius,

As always, your letter was received with great pomp and circumstance. My butler Gerome handed it to me but a scant minute ago. I did feel I should immediately respond as you seemed so concerned for my well-being.

To begin, I hope my previous correspondence did not lead you astray. The thoughts that inhabit one’s head do not necessarily jump clearly from pen to paper. I’m sorry if I led you to believe I had no faith in Jesus. For I do. He was a great man, a marvelous man and a man that has inspired quite a few inhabitants of this grand planet to lead spectacularly better lives. I will not argue that the world was in dire need of a living example of pious and charitable life. However, I find your argument for his divinity a little confusing.

What need has God to ascertain our thoughts, our devotions, our daily actions by way of human form? Surely He is cognizant of all these and more. After all, he did Create us, did he not? I wish there were some earthly analogy I could invent to describe the full spectrum of my thoughts on this matter… (but I’ll try.): We cannot say that when man ‘invented’ the airplane that he was mindful of every atom, electron, and element present in the make-up. Nor can we say that we are enlightened with the thoughts careening through the heads of our fellow men. But I cannot at this time assume that God required a human body to better love and understand his creations. From my personal perspective, it seems to diminish my belief in his omnipotence.

My distrust in the system, as you mentioned, is not unfounded. I find the prospect of attending a church at this point in my faithful journey leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I cannot and will not be told of the fiery pit of hell and how I have already obtained my passport. I will also not have another’s philosophy belittled or mocked in my presence. I accept that my faith is my own, possibly, though not necessarily, shared by others. I find it disturbing that so many religions have such similarities and yet so many insist upon burning, raping and pillaging over the interpretations that man has assigned to them. And as such I find it quite hard to readily associate myself with a religious-nomer.

But I digress. What I may have failed to bring to your attention in previous correspondence is that fact that I do have a strong belief system. Bluntly and concisely: I believe in God. I believe God created the heavens, the earthly ferment, the roaming animals, the abounding seas and the blue-print of man. I believe everything has evolved under His guidance. I pray to Him when I am in distress, when I need reassurance, when I request forgiveness, to name a few. I see Him in every aspect of my life and the lives around me—even those who do not believe in His existence. I feel His presence on the most beautiful of days when the trees have turned their leaves, the sky is blue and I have managed to avoid another overdraft fee. I feel His presence on the dreariest of days when the heavens are weeping and the ground is sodden and my overdraft fees abound. I feel His presence when I watch a child in the ER cling to his mother in confusion and pain. I watch His love move through the hands of the couple sitting in the ER with their child, complete in their faith that God will see them through.

But now that my faith has been in place for two full hands worth of years, I can look back and see the many ideas and philosophies that I have tried to add to my faith and either discarded or welcomed. Your faith is no more or less important than mine. What’s important is that we both recognize the significance God plays in our lives, whether we want Him to or not. We both, to varying degrees, follow the teachings of great men that we have welcomed into our lives—be it Jesus or a mentor or others of importance. And we both recognize the need for guidance amongst our peers.

Though I must add a sidenote that while my faith does not waver, there are always areas in which I could learn more about the smaller bits that so make up the larger picture. I enjoy your comments and always glean insight from your convictions.

Lastly, dearest Fabius, my comments are meant to spark discussion, not tempers. I hope this letter clarified my position on religion and a few of the intricacies that prevail.

And I, like you, do so enjoy our correspondence and hope that destiny sees fit to continue it.

Fondly,
Sally


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Possibly a bit of Childhood's End, Screwtape and various and asundry other works. Ragamuffin Gospel duly noted.