new church life : march / april 2016
Abraham Lincoln was President during the Civil War ; that Toronto is about 500 miles from Philadelphia ; that E = mc2 ; that government should be by consent of the people ; and that your spouse loves you .
The first of those beliefs is a matter of historical record . The next one is a natural fact that we could check for ourselves by driving from one city to the other . E = mc2 is an arcane scientific theorem which is beyond the comprehension of most people , so our belief that it is true rests upon the authority of scientists who tell us it is . The belief about government is a philosophical belief , supported by reason and experience , although it can also be argued against . So we see there are various grounds for believing something , including : history , scientific evidence , authoritative opinion and philosophical principles .
But the most important item on my list of beliefs , the one that would matter the most to a person – believing in your spouse ’ s love – is the least susceptible to objective or scientific proof . Religious beliefs are like that : they are not conclusions arrived at by means of facts or natural reasoning ( though facts and logic can confirm them ), but they matter very much .
Religious belief is not just believing that an event actually happened as claimed , or of agreeing with a certain creed or set of doctrines – but it affects the will . It is a heartfelt belief . So the question is not just whether we believe in the Lord ’ s Resurrection , but the degree to which that belief touches our heart , enters into our thought , and affects how we live .
The most powerful truths are seen by the eye of love . For example : people don ’ t fight to the death just for the idea of liberty but for the love of it , from which the idea arose in the first place .
Knowing something from our own inner experience produces a deeper and more living kind of belief than believing something theoretically or even from external evidence . Believing in the Lord ’ s Resurrection just as something that happened long ago in history , or as a powerful myth , is inconsequential compared to experiential knowledge of it as a reality within ourselves , in the here and now .
But how can we come into such a state , so that the Lord ’ s Resurrection is something we see to be true from an inner conviction , from love ?
First of all : “ Those who acknowledge the Lord and love to lead a life in keeping with His commandments are enlightened when they read the Word – for the Lord flows into a person ’ s life and from this into his belief , but not into a person ’ s belief separate from his life .” ( Arcana Coelestia 10659 )
Reflect on the story of the Lord ’ s last few days of earthly life . The fickleness of the crowd . Judas ’ s betrayal . Peter ’ s denial . Pilate ’ s skepticism and willingness to compromise his belief in the innocence of Jesus . The disciples ’ fear and despair . Thomas ’ s doubt . The women whose devotion brought them to the
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