I Just Knew It!

I’m moved this week to write once again about faith. For my atheist and agnostic readers, stick around. This isn’t just going to be about God. It’s going to be about what we expect out of life. It’s about changing our thinking so that when we say, “I just knew it!” it will be an exclamation of joy for some wonderful event happening, and not a reminder that someone predicted gloom and doom.

Not long ago I met a couple who are complete atheists. They announced this to me while we were sitting in my office at Unity of Harrisburg, so I’m not quite sure what reaction they were expecting from a minister. I believed my reaction surprised them. I explained I love atheists because they are some of the people whom are the quickest to understand the principles I teach. You see, I told them, I spend an awful lot of time trying to convince my congregation they are, in essence, God. But atheists already know that!

The couple didn’t quite understand until I explained how most religions believe in a God that is distant, separate, not just a little judgmental and pretty fickle, if you ask me. Because of that, most people don’t have as much of a “faith” in God as they do a “hope” in God. In other words, people hope God will answer their prayers. They hope God will forgive them and they hope they aren’t going to hell.

I believe, however, in a very different kind of God. Since everything around us is one essence (proven by science through quantum physics and agreed upon by my new atheist friends), it means the power most people call God is part of our being. The Christian hell-bent on martyring themselves into heaven gives more power to the Devil than he does to God. In the absence of divine power the atheist, on the other hand, must accept that humanity is fully responsibility for our condition. That’s also what we do in New Thought.

The atheist’s faith rests in her own power and ability. In truth, so does the Christian’s, for our great teacher, Jesus, told us that it is our faith that makes us whole. A faith in something better, accompanied by the emotion of assured results, creates a new experience for us. It doesn’t matter if the person believes in God or not. How we expect things to turn out, how we believe in the outcome and how we act in the meantime will produce the exact result we are expecting.

Too few of us believe in the best outcomes in life. Most of the world is racked with fear of the outcome, which Ernest Holmes taught was “faith mis-placed.” Fear and faith are not opposites. They are the same. Our fears are merely faith in a negative outcome. Our speech, our actions and all our racing thoughts cause it to be so.

As we near the Easter holiday and the celebration of the resurrection, consider applying these thought to your own life. What thoughts from the past, still plaguing you today, will you be willing to crucify on Good Friday? And, to what new life will you be resurrected? Will it be a life full of great health, loving relationships, financial security and full self-expression in your career or retirements? Great! I just knew it!

In Spirit, Truth and Playfulness,

Terry