A Faithful Nation?

Pondering faith in America. Or, more ramblings on faith.

We are a nation of facts. The modern American judicial system is built upon the premise that a man cannot be found guilty of a crime without evidence to support the accusation. Indeed, we are all to be assumed innocent of an accused crime until a court of law finds us guilty based on evidence.

We use facts as some use weapons, flinging them back and forth at each other as boulders were once flung over castle walls by catapults. Perhaps some of these facts are misrepresented, misinterpreted, and misused, but we let them fly anyway.

We are a nation that does not trust easily. How many countries would the average American list as our true allies? One, perhaps two. We mistrust other countries; we mistrust our media; we mistrust our politicians; we mistrust our neighbors; and we mistrust our employers. I could go on. With the misrepresented, misinterpreted, and misused facts flung far and wide, what else could we be but less than inclined to trust?

It is impossible to have faith when you cannot trust, when you cannot believe without evidence. Why, then, are more and more Americans flocking to churches? Perhaps it is not that they have faith, but that they need faith. Others seek to find faith in people, even when there is ample evidence that they shouldn't. I suppose that when individuals live in a society without faith, they find it desirable to find faith on their own, even as they foolishly hope for proof that their faith is true.

I don't know what all this means either. I'm rambling.

None of this is about me. I haven't been betrayed in the past few weeks. Things are pretty good right now for me. [Not so much for some I care about, though.] And I'm completely over the mess that happened a few weeks ago. This is more musings on faith in general than complaining about a betrayal.