Faith Matters August 2024: Leighton Linslade Churches Together
Finding truth is difficult, though many claim to have it. Living true to your faith is harder still.
Is true faith more about right beliefs, right words, or right actions?
The many different beliefs in world Faiths can lead to conflict and sometimes violence. Believing that you have the truth can make for dogmatic attitudes and intolerance. But it does not have to be so. Searching for truth with an open mind, while holding on to one’s own convictions, is possible.
The words used to express faith are also often divisive. It is difficult to find the right words sometimes for what we believe. And words change over time, so holding into the same words from the past is no guarantee that they still speak truth.
But it is our actions which count most in living in faith. How can a belief in love, and words of love mean anything unless they are shown in how we live and act?
Faith is not private and inner, nor just words however sincerely they may be spoken. Faith must be lived out in public, with honesty and integrity.
We are living in a time when disinformation is spread rapidly. Today there is violence on the streets and wars across several countries. So, being open to finding truth and being committed to living with integrity is more important than ever.
Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury, in his book “Faith in the public square” writes about Ghandi’s commitment to non-violent resistance. His “central principle was that our behaviour must witness to truth whatever the cost – and this witness to truth can never, of it’s very nature, involve violence.”
We have an opportunity now to move towards a culture of integrity in the media and politics. Instead of threatening others and imposing our truth, we might seek “kinder ground on which to disagree and enable a shared quest for truth.” This was the message of British Quakers when they met earlier this month.