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FAITH MADE
OBSOLETE BY FACT
by
Laurel Steinhice
An
exploration of the relationship between Christianity and metaphysics,
adapted from a program given at Christ Church Unity in Nashville, Tennessee
Religions
and philosophies are both systems of belief which can provide insight
on human behavioral patterns and offer guidelines - some more restrictive
than others - for the development of personal and collective codes of
ethics.
A religion generally differs from a philosophy in that its
tenets, traditions and practices go well beyond behavioral analysis and
ethics, delving into the metaphysical as well. Religion postulates the
existence of a rational, intentional, powerful Creator and Sustainer who is
often described in terms that relate closely to human understanding: loving
… just … forgiving … jealous … generous … all-knowing … all-seeing.
We all need to believe in someone or something greater than our
everyday here-and-now selves. We need to believe there is an ordered
structure to the Universe, beyond our limited ken. We need the feeling that
somehow, somewhere, there is "someone in charge."
Aren’t these needs met by religion?
Isn’t this also “greater than physical,” i.e., metaphysical?
Without metaphysics, religion would be mere philosophy.
Judeo-Christian tradition is particularly rich in examples of
practical metaphysics. There are stories of Ezekiel’s wheel, Joseph’s
clairvoyant dream interpretations, Noah’s ark, Moses' parting of the Red
Sea, the story of creation itself (even when taken as an allegorical
representation for the evolutionary process), and of course Christ’s birth,
ministry, miracles, and resurrection. The list is almost endless.
The more we think about it, the more we must admit that
Christianity is metaphysical.
Yet so many Christian churches today are aligning themselves
against anything and everything that seems (to them) to come under the
heading of "metaphysics." They rail against new agers, one-worlders,
secular humanist, channeling, and so forth. How sad! How sad for the
church. By rejecting everything that doesn’t fit their narrow philosophical
and dogmatic molds, they insulate themselves against the deeper meaning of
their own history, and against the whole wonderful series of spiritual
experiences in which faith comes to be rendered obsolete by fact.
What is faith, to a Christian?
Tradition, as a means of transmitting the ethos of the past to
future generations? We speak of "keeping faith with the past" and "honoring
the traditions of the church," yet that’s all too often a shallow view.
Faith, in the context of tradition, is all too easily misinterpreted
from age to age. For example, the hymn text “Faith of Our Fathers” was
written by an English Roman Catholic poet at a time when Catholicism was
widely persecuted in England, and contained the line “ … Faith of our
fathers, Mary’s love will win all England back to thee.” Most of us who
sing that hymn today do so without the intention - or the slightest
understanding - that it refers specifically to the Roman Catholic
faith.
Is faith an exercise we must do, or a test we must face? We
speak of having a crisis of faith, or having our faith tested, and we quote
the scripture that says “I believe, Lord … help thou my unbelief.”
Is it comfort and strength in times of stress? Surely it is
that! Anyone who has undergone a deep personal crisis is likely to say “my
faith has seen me through it.”
Faith brings us evidence of things unseen; glimpses into the
unknown. It is all those things, and more.
Yet for me, the true meaning of faith is that its goal is to be
rendered obsolete by fact. When you have the fact, you no longer need the
faith. You no longer say “I believe,” but rather “I know.” And practical
metaphysics is the prime tool whereby this is accomplished.
We affirm the power of prayer. We study A Course in Miracles.
We speak of the power of positive thinking, and take Mastermind courses. We
learn from imaging systems, and practice affirmations.
We say “Use the Force, Luke!”
As is happens, I’ve had practical experience in seeing my faith
rendered obsolete by fact.
In June of 1989, I ran my lawnmower over a hidden piece of fence
wire, which was thrown into the top of my foot and had to be pulled out with
pliers. Sounds really gross, doesn’t it? That was my first impression of
it, too.
I feared I
had done myself a significant injury. When it hit, I felt the impact from
my toes to my knee, and thought a stray rock had broken my foot. Then I saw
the wire deeply embedded in my wounded foot, and immediately got my son to
take me to what he calls “Doc-in-a box” - an immediate care facility, near
our home.
There were other emergencies worse than mine that day, and as I
waited for the doctor on duty to get around to me I just sat on the
examining table feeling stupid, looking at the wire sticking out of my
foot. Instinctively, I prayed that the foot wasn’t broken.
Then, without any logical explanation, something happened. I
felt the wire shift inside my foot … and I started to go into what I
recognized as a shock reaction. I began sweating profusely, and started to
black out. Quickly, I did two things: I called for the nurse and said,
“Let’s have a shot now, before I’m in real pain,” and I made the
inward decision to deal with the situation metaphysically. I was given a
shot of Demerol, and I started saying aloud, “I’m manifesting non-pain … I’m
calm … I’m manifesting self-healing … my foot is not broken … there will be
no pain … there will be no lasting damage … “
Although I was not yet trained in Reiki or other healing
techniques at that time, I held out my open palms and visualized a ray of
healing Light flowing from them toward my foot.
Three minutes later, the nurse returned to check my vital
signs. “I know your pulse will be racing,” she said, but pulse, temperature
and blood pressure were all completely normal.
She looked at me and asked in amazement, “How did you do
that?!”
The interesting thing is that bringing in the Light not only
overcame the pain, but also the adrenaline - and the Demerol. I got one
flash of color off the Demerol, and then it was gone. To make a long story
short, the X-rays showed that my foot wasn’t broken (the doctor was amazed),
and I have since then realized that spiritual healing was already in
progress, initiated by my Guides and Angelic guardians in response to my
prayer, even before I officially called in the rays of healing Light.
The shift I felt was the wire being moved away from the bone, by
a miraculous unseen Hand. And I never had a moment’s pain, throughout the
whole experience - not even when they used pliers to pull the wire
out of my foot.
It’s also significant that when my metaphysical friends heard of
the injury, they meditated and sent Light immediately. I knew at the
moment that happened. I felt the Light coming in like a warm blanket of
reassurance. I received follow-up Reiki, Mahikari, crystal healing and
other applications of healing Light thereafter, and in each instance I
physically felt the energy flow into my foot. It’s a remarkably
tangible sensation.
That lawnmower incident was my first conscious experience with
spiritual healing as a tool whereby my faith was replaced by fact. When I
began calling in the Light, I had faith. I was instantly comforted and
calmed by the assurance that faith gave me. I believed I would be
healed. Yet moments later, there was no need for faith, per se, because I
knew I had been healed. I had the tangible, undeniable fact
of metaphysical healing in progress. That was a beginning for me, after
which I was able to address various emergencies in my family and among my
friends with complete confidence. And from there I went on to learn more,
and have since become a professional in the field of spiritual healing.
We all need facts to support our faith. With each venture in
faith made obsolete by fact, we prepare for successively greater leaps of
faith. And practical metaphysics provides the tools to make it happen.
The term ‘metaphysical’ covers a lot of ground, and I certainly
don’t give blanket endorsement to every practice or concept that falls
loosely under that heading. One must be discerning in the choice of which
metaphysical tools, traditions and disciplines are used, and
spiritually/ethically responsible in their use. I believe that metaphysics
at its best, however, is an integral and essential element of Christianity,
at its best.
It is the spiritual energy manifested in us which ensures that
our faith will continue to be made obsolete by fact. It is the power of God
in us, and in the faithful practitioners of all positive faiths and
philosophies.
©
Laurel Steinhice, 1989, 2001
P.O. Box 50145
Nashville, TN 37205
615-356-4280
steinhice@earthlink.net |
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