Nothings and somethings...

Certain concepts, beliefs, and fields of study are essentially Nothings. They exist only as they are seen and given interpretive meaning. These words are nothings and so is the very concept they are meant to embody.

All of History is essentially a nothing. It secondarily expresses action based first on partial evidence, rather written records or oral accounts, each is partial and certainly not impartial. Consider any recent significant historical event, the JFK assassination, the Bush/Gore election, or even the twin towers. Depending on who you talk to these are very different events whose details are varied and meanings are muddled. As time passes and history is reinterpreted through more modern perspectives and changing social norms, the event is no longer the event. The History has become a nothing, existing only in the expression of it regardless if its actuality.

So in the framework of faith and theology, we find the epitome of the Nothings. Individuals creating from their own mind and perspective a conception of deity to justify their means and manner of existence. Rarely is this form based on any actuality, rather on personal desire to feel connected to something. There is a longing to fill some hole within the self with something greater, perhaps to convince ourselves we are more than nothing.

Faith is often defined as believing without seeing, but too many take it a step beyond and believe without thinking, without meaning, even without any basis on an actual existence. Hearing a partial and hardly impartial version of some particular religious and so-called spiritual expression, they 'apply' some 'profound' nugget of 'truth' to their life as they would choose and would lead them as they desire in themselves. Whether it is the yogi, the motivational speaker, the latest self help book, or even the sunday sermon ~ if your 'FAITH' is little more than some part of personal development for your own edification than it is essentially nothing. A made up version, self constructed from yourself to grant yourself some fools dream of a peace by a piece.

Here is our challenge... there exists a book which claims for itself to be the very expression of God about God. The Bible is either something we should consider very carefully with diligent study and extreme thought OR it is a nothing. Sadly too few accept the latter view without even a moment of consideration or concern. Nothing could be more foolish when something may be there.