Dear Roy,

I have discovered in the authentic path of human spiritual development that our mature response to life is not to believe, but to question why.

Belief is usually taken to mean our mind’s assent to propositions about reality, such as we find in the various creeds (and “credo” is Latin for belief). Jesus, like Buddha, however, is a wisdom teacher who is always asking questions. He is a person of abiding curiosity. His questioning, from my experience, is rooted in his basic trust of Reality. And that trust reflects his love.

You might consider your “loss” of belief as the beginning of your journey of an authentic faith rooted in curiosity. Faith is a matter of trust in your experience, which is far different from belief. I would suggest you be curious about the questions that matter to your heart; trust that they do indeed matter and are sacred. Jesus, as a Jew, was a person who followed his heart and its deepest longings and stirrings. For me, such a path is the heart of the Christ movement. I wish you well.

~ Kevin G. Thew Forrester, Ph.D.