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Belief in faith is needed for society to succeed
To the editor:
After reading Star Parker's "Faith and freedom go together" in The Sentinel on June 23, I would like to add some comments.
Tragedy, adversity, misfortune, understanding our reason for just being born and why we die are all reasons for religious beliefs.
The debate over these reasons is as old as time itself. Whatever we don't understand, must be under the control of a higher power.
Science has answered most questions except that of faith and its affect on an individual. When your life is good, what do you do? You enjoy, but few stop to reflect and give thanks. When life gives you tragedy, what do you do? All but a few will ask what did I do wrong, why me, why did this happen to my loved one? The few who believe in nothing profess their strength by their own superior independence. This arrogance will fail them.
There is an old saying "there are no atheists in foxholes." When anyone is alone facing imminent death, they will pray to a higher power!
We all need help in our lives. Faith is not essential to survive! Faith is needed to make us responsible for our actions, to treat each other with respect. Faith keeps anarchy at bay. Look around! Is there is a connection between the fall of faith and the state of our society?
Our founders left Europe where religion ruled people for centuries. After Gutenberg printed the Bible for the masses, Martin Luther defied the Pope, and then Henry VIII could not get a divorce so he broke from the Catholic Church. He started his own church and gave himself the divorce he wanted. He replaced church authority with his own. Our founders knew the history of religious authority too well. They knew it was imperative to separate religion from government when forming our republic. This way we could worship or not worship as we wished. Commitment to a particular religious practice is not required for our republic to thrive. Only through faith via organized religion, will the good of our common society endure.
Most all cultures around the world have one common thread -- belief in a supreme being! It is a worldwide belief in all religions. There is no right or wrong in these various beliefs. Only a common faith in a power that is greater than us is revealed. How you worship and where your faith lays is your own personal choice.
Freedom of religious faith was a major influence in America's beginning. Its separation from government is one of the cornerstones for the survival of our republic. Without a strong faith, we will continue to decline. In God we Trust is not a catch phrase on a dollar bill!
Michael C. Spahr
Lewistown