The Power of Belief

In this blog, I want to contemplate Dr. Williams' short saying "I believe in the power of belief." I think there is a lot to unpack even in that short statement. Now, I don't have a particular structure or even end-goal in mind as I write this blog. Instead, I am just going to write out and process through the thoughts that come to mind.

Upfront, I think that Dr. William's remark is profound. As I said just above, though it is only seven words and seems straightforward on the surface, I think there are many different angles of analysis that can be taken. I think it is an astute observation to notice that regardless of what people are believing, the sole fact that they do sincerely believe something is a forceful action. When someone actually believes in a cause or a movement or an ideology or a political system or a religion, that person's telos, so to speak, is fundamentally changed. Their orientation, their "end goal," their vision of "the good life" is altered and transformed by what is they believe. If you believe strongly in the importance of education, then your life will have an orientation or direction that is aimed toward advancing education, whether through reforming the educational system, providing opportunities for education to be more accessible, increasing the quality of education, etc. In such a way, you are captured by some hope of education reaching a better state, and your life is motivated unto that end. The same thing can be said for politics. For people that truly believe in the Republican or Democratic Party, I think it is easily observable how that belief equates to a commitment to the ends and purposes of the party. A belief in the values of the Republican Party (for someone who sincerely is dedicated to those beliefs) will change and transform the way that a person interacts with the world. In other words, our beliefs oftentimes function as a filter or frame of reference or lens in how we interpret the world. Yet, at the same time, belief is not only contemplative but active, changing the way in which we interact with and mold the world.

Another fascinating point of reflection about the statement is how the statement is not "I believe in the power of true beliefs." No, the validity or veracity or cohesiveness or thoroughness of beliefs is not necessarily a constraint on the power of those beliefs. Though it certainly is one causal component in the power of belief (ex. we don't believe that a spaghetti monster runs the world because that "clearly" is outlandish), it is not a dominating force. Instead, there seems to be some relationship (perhaps paradoxical, though that is speculation) that exists between your belief in something and the truthfulness of it. Perhaps the apparent truthfulness of said belief causes you to move from a state of total skepticism to partial belief. Then, as you partially believe, the lens in which you see causes you to see more that makes your confidence in the truthfulness of that belief increase even more, feeding off of each other. In this way, Dr. Williams' statement is not bound necessarily by the truthfulness of beliefs, because the act of believing can propagate itself.

A skeptic by nature, I see why even these reflections can lead people to cynicism about every belief or claim. I can see why this "unhinged-from-truth" nature of belief can harden skeptics away from belief. At the same time, belief, even for the skeptic and cynic, is unavoidable. Even those people believe in their own assessments of belief. They are motivated by their belief that belief is untrustworthy and dangerously potent. Their own telos is altered, their fundamental orientation of being is shifted in a way that is incredulous and perhaps even haughty because of their belief that people who believe (anything) are foolish. Enter, irony.

How, then, shall we live? In a simple, not very well thought out blog, I certainly don't have the totally correct answer. My initial hypothesis is that being cognizant of the power of the belief shouldn't lead us to cynicism but caution. We need to not treat belief as something to scoff at but rather to revere, understanding that the things that we do believe will drive and lead our lives. In light of the "dangers" of belief handled inappropriately, I advocate that we do not swing to a position of being anti-belief but rather honoring of belief. As creatures who seem to be driven by belief (in anything), a life without belief would almost appear to be no life at all (if even possible). Instead of, then, convincing the skeptic in ourselves that we can avoid beliefs, I think a richer, deeper approach is believing (and believing deeply) but only at the same time that we grow in contemplation, introspection, reflection, and humility. Why humility? So that we can admit when our beliefs are wrong, and instead of doubling down, moving forward.

In my faith-journey, I have wrestled with Jesus' claim to believe in Him, to have faith in Him and be saved. Now, some of that certainly comes from my inflated ego and that I think I have competence that ought to merit something apart from "mere" faith. But, some of my hesitation is because belief has always appeared so "spiritual," almost irrelevant. Yet, in light of this reflection, I see the contrary. Belief is the driving force in our lives. In the call to "believe in Jesus" or "trust in Jesus" is a beckoning to give your life up to Jesus.

It appears that Jesus also believes in the power of belief.