Faith

Faith is an in-depth exploration of the many meanings of faith and the various ways it affects human life, backed by the personal account of former US President Jimmy Carter.

Upon hearing the word “faith,” most of us immediately think about religion. Atheists may say that they don’t embrace any faith, just because they don’t believe in God.

However, according to Carter, the concept of faith is not limited to religious belief and permeates virtually all areas of human life. Almost everybody holds faith in something.

Consider a country you live in and the values upheld by its constitution. As a citizen of that country, you most likely have faith in at least some of these values, as well as the institutions reinforcing them. The concept of faith also applies to global agreements, which unite people worldwide in respect of basic principles like human rights protection.

On an individual level, Carter says, the first kind of faith we develop is the one for our mothers. We trust that they will protect and feed us, even before we have the mental capacity to realize it. Later on, we develop faith in other people from our most intimate environment: our father, siblings, friends, and teachers.

Finally, there is also the religious faith which is the most common connotation of the word. Religious belief, according to Carter, is not about a fixed set of dogmas that one accepts and never questions. Rather, religion should be a constant search for higher truth.

But such seeking doesn’t come without moments of doubt.

Carter doesn’t shy away from talking about the moments when he felt doubtful about his faith and God. Instead of being embarrassed, he frames it as a natural element occurring throughout a sincere religious search. Moreover, he shows that doubt can also be used as an opportunity to enhance one’s faith. His own life has always been guided by Christian values, teachings, and support. From his upbringing in a small Christian community in Georgia, he felt that religion gave his life a profound meaning. Jesus and God provided a sense of stability even when times were tough. However, when his father died at the fairly young age of 59, Carter experienced a period of doubt and questioning. He couldn’t understand why God would take his father from him so early on. Rather than allowing the event to erase his faith, he began to search for answers even more avidly than before. His search eventually led him to study the ideas of theologians, such as Reinhold Niebuhr. Theology encouraged him to develop a more open-minded approach to his faith. This was very much in line with his original Baptist denomination which doesn’t reinforce a…