How Can We Believe?
The Rev. Coleman S. Glenn
Editor’s Note: This originally appeared on
NewChurchPerspective.com. Reprinted with permission.
J
esus said, “Blessed are they who have not seen, and have believed.”
(John 20:29)
The gospel of John records Jesus speaking these words to “doubting
Thomas,” who only believed when he was able to see the risen Lord for himself.
Today, almost 2,000 years from that event, we are the ones who, if we are to
believe, must do so without seeing – at least not with our physical eyes. Can
we do that?
Some things may seem fairly easy to believe: for example, that we ought to
treat one another with respect, and even that there is an unseen force guiding
the universe. But can we believe the specific and the miraculous: that the Lord
Jesus Christ is God, and that He literally rose from the grave?
The belief that the risen Lord is the living God is a vital one. Jesus said,
“Blessed are those who have believed,” and then even more strongly, “Unless
you believe that I am, you shall die in your sins.” (John 8:24) This teaching is
affirmed in the Doctrine of the New Church (e.g. Arcana Coelestia 10083) 1.
If we want to have eternal life, we have to believe in the Lord. But what
if we find ourselves besieged by doubts? How can we do anything about that?
Can we force ourselves to believe? It can seem to be a hopeless situation, but
the Lord gives us hope that we can believe. In Scripture and in the Doctrine of
the New Church, He shows us how.
The first thing to know, if we want to have faith, is that our starting
assumptions matter. If we start with the position that we will not believe
anything unless it can be proven to us by physical evidence, we will never
believe. Arcana Coelestia calls this “the negative principle.” If we want to
believe, we need to begin with the affirmative principle: that even if we do not
understand something yet, it is true because the Lord says so in His Word.
Here is the description of these two principles from Arcana Coelestia 2568:
There are two principles; one of which leads to all folly and insanity, and the other
to all intelligence and wisdom. The former principle is to deny all things, or to say
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