Religion vs faith

Faith and religion are like a two sided coin. Is faith religion or is faith something different to religion? These are questions which can be confusing. Let's take a look at religion first.

So religion is a philosophy of a specific group of  people.  Religious people mostly follow the thinking of a great leader who may have had supernatural powers and experiences and have a specific manuscript, which they use as a guide for their life. Religions follow traditions, rules and ceremonies of many centuries and are part of a large groups with many subgroups.

Most world religions had their beginnings in the Middle East.

Most people think about a Religion as the following of a Higher Being or Deity with a long beard or no hair, sitting on a throne somewhere in a place far away and watching and recording everything humans do. They have different names for the Deity which I will not mention here as these names are sacred to them and I am not writing my thoughts down to critize them, but to discuss the issue at hand.

Religions have small differences when it comes to the basic understanding of love, hope and peace,  but when debated in depth the differences about their perceptions of  a God can cause wars between religions, as these origins of differences are often politiced and are used to gain power over people and over land. Many wars have been fought and a lot of blood has flown in the name of Religion.

Religion can become a curse rather than a blessing, especially when it is used for the benefit of the politicians and church leaders to manipulate the men and women in their countries. A Holy war is a terrible merciless act. Where brothers who follow different religions kill each other without a heart. They believe to fight and die for their leaders. This is a deep conviction which is admirable but can also be very scary, because the person is no longer thinking about his loved ones but fights for some higher 'out there' cause. Religion can break families apart and enstrange children from their parents and separate brothers from sisters. It can be a power tool.

Faith is a personal attitude towards life. One can have faith in yourself or in others or not. Faith may be part of religion but in another context. Faith in a Deity or God is different than following a specific religion.  It's a personal approach. Faith in human kind. Faith in my daughter's ability to become a successful and happy person is a deep felt trust and hope in her abilities. Faith in God is a personal relationship with him and does not need a leader to guide you but listening directly to Him. Faith cannot be taught in a classroom or in a building it's a way of life outside the buildings. It lives through us and is part of being alive.

The moment faith becomes less or dies, the person is not in a good place. If you loose faith in a friend because he disappointed you by talking behind your back, you feel miserable and disappointed in that person. Good relationship, work ethics, respect for each other and God are all based on good faith.

When things get rough financially or you loose your mother by the hand of a murderer what keeps you going other than faith? Faith in your ability to be able to get out of the financial crisis and faith that the murderer was acting out of insane alcohol infused reasons and that your mother was called by God to join her in his heavenly paradise. Without faith we are nothing. Faith is what keeps us together emotionally and spiritually because we are not only body and mind but also spirit.

Looking at the bigger picture. Religion without faith cannot exist because without faith in the leaders and their cause, it would not continue. Religion could crumble any time as civilizations have come and gone. But faith can only die when a person gives up.

So, since we are not always on top of the world after a bad night's sleep or maybe a slight cold we can become very negative and upset, where is faith  then? Did it die? No, faith is alive and will not die but it steps back so you can experience all aspects of negative emotions just to come back again when the rain is falling softly from the skies.

Faith is what makes the world go round, makes civilizations evolve or stay where they are. Faith is the hope in something you cannot see but believe and that is much deeper and higher than a packaged religion. Ffaith is our direct life line to God's love which will never be disconnected because our souls and spirits are from His breath. Even if the body dies the spirit will live and so will faith.

It's being alive and blessed beyond all circumstances. Faith is not a religion but a direct link to living a hopeful trusting life in the presence of our loving Creator, from whom it comes.

Religion without faith is nothingness. And faith is trusting in our loving God who will guide us to follow the right way and to believe that everything wil turn out well. It is well in the Lord. Your faith will help you.