Why do people need to believe in God. Do modern people need faith? Religion is salvation or opium for the people

Now I am wandering along a long road that will end in a terrible judgment. I'm not afraid of him. I am curious. I dream of asking God only one question: What was the plan for me? It seems to me that He will answer all my questions about me. And what talents I have been given. And how can I develop them? And could I immediately become smart and avoid these tragedies that lead me out of gullies onto this difficult yellow brick road? Or maybe the road is different?

I really believe that I can talk to Him. Even though I don't deserve any mercy. Because I'm a bad Christian. You can point your finger at me, or place my biography in textbooks in the "Do Not Do" section. I am one of those who learn from their mistakes. I just need a doctor. Therefore I want to know THERE at least the diagnosis.

The table conversation smoothly flowed into questions of faith. Who hurts...

“Girls, I feel good already, why do I need faith? No, what are you, I do not doubt that God exists. But all these prayers, fasting, efforts… They seem to interfere with simply rejoicing…”

Yes, why do I need faith? Why do I need rituals? Fasting, prayer, coercion? I am 26 years old, I am young, beautiful, free, talented. I have so many friends and interests...

Of course, I got lucky in a way. The idea that God exists, and He is one in three persons, was born with me. The soul-Christian constantly reminded of itself. I have always known what is good and what is bad. But, for some reason, I was drawn to the latter. ..

My first churching happened at the age of 12. My mother, having gone through all the wilds of Eastern philosophy and Russian esotericism, finally took the right course towards Orthodoxy. She took my hand and led me to church.

I still remember my first confession. .. At first, my grandmother read some endless prayers, and I stood in the corner of the room in this stupid scarf and looked at the clock every 5 minutes. I didn't see the point. And without it, I just can't.

Then I had to repent of my sins. I had conversations about obedience to elders and the dangers of television. After that, I honestly told the priest that I was not a very obedient girl and would not mind watching a movie. Why do I need a confession - I did not understand.

When I turned 15, I gave my parents an exemplary scandal that on Sundays I now have my own plans. Let them go to Sunday school on their own. I had fun and good outside of the church.

Fine? Funny?

Then I was afraid to walk next to the roadway. But she could calmly strike her wrist with a blade and see how blood dripped from there. I had to constantly step over my Christian soul in order to live like my friends, I ran away from my own conscience into the unbridled optimism of depravity, and then, at night, I cried into my pillow, unable to do something with myself. And in fear I looked at the icons, of which there were plenty in our Orthodox house. I tormented myself with thoughts why THEM can, but I can’t. Why do my friends calmly take everything from life, and do not bother with questions of conscience. I can not do that!

I was incredibly lucky to grow up in the late nineties. Had I been born 10 years earlier, I would hardly have survived. Now I know what the Lord kept. And then...

I knew that I had renounced everything in my soul: piety, church, sacraments, obedience. But I could not deny Christ Himself. It was too much for me. I knew He was near. I physically felt that He was here. I was spinning from the mere thought that He would not leave me. But as long as a drop of faith lived in the soul, there was hope. Not from my side, but from His. There was also love on His side.

At the age of 19, I was preparing for the wedding. Perhaps it was then that my first conscious confession took place. I wrote out in small handwriting all my sins in a notebook (so as not to hide anything, not to be scared at the last moment). I was confessed by a random priest, whom I no longer saw in our parish. He read my outpourings and said, "Poor child!"

I often say that I have discrete brakes installed. Or am I just not good at using them? According to an old Russian tradition, I walk so that the chips fly. But I also pray, bruising my forehead. After the wedding, I began to build my family with pioneering enthusiasm. All the Orthodox books donated on the occasion of the wedding were studied. A model of behavior called “Orthodox family” was built in my head. It seemed to me that if I keep fasts, lead a lawful way of life, obey my husband, keep inner purity, then the Lord will not punish me. In every transgression, I tried not to anger Him. After all, from what cloaca He pulled me out! But, something still wasn't right. Now it seems to me that I lived according to laws in which I myself did not believe. I suffered myself, harassed those around me. At the same time, I tried to be a normal girl, walked in decent clothes, dyed my hair in fashionable colors and sincerely believed that I was free from church prejudices. And childhood around the church always provides such food for rebellion ...

I often hear from my girlfriends: “What a happiness it is to become churched in childhood, to live in Orthodox family. Take an example from your parents. I always answered them the same thing: “Girls, what a blessing it is to be able to choose your own path, to be responsible for your choice and to know for sure that by choosing God, you can go with Him to the end.”

Now I am sure that everyone should choose the path with God, even those who have been in the church since infancy, who have both parents and parents of their parents inside the church fence. Because every person is free. And before everyone, sooner or later, the question arises - who am I with?

I had such a question especially acutely at the age of 24 years. I remember sitting in the kitchen and not understanding what was happening. My husband left me. During the crisis, I lost my job. I am sitting in the center of a foreign city, I have no money for food, I have a dubious past and a very strange future. Yes, I go to church every Sunday, regularly go to confession and communion, go on pilgrimages, help the destitute to the best of my ability. But. Where is my soul? Is it in church?

If I speak in human and angelic tongues, but have no love, then I am a ringing copper or a resounding cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries, and have all knowledge and all faith, so that I can move mountains, but do not have love, then I am nothing. And if I give away all my possessions and give my body to be burned, but I do not have love, it does not profit me at all. Love is long-suffering, merciful, love does not envy, love does not exalt itself, is not proud, does not behave violently, does not seek its own, is not irritated, does not think evil, does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; covers everything, believes everything, hopes everything, endures everything. Love never ceases, although prophecy will cease, and tongues will be silent, and knowledge will be abolished..

(1 Corinthians 13:1-8)

How often do we hear these words of the Apostle Paul. But personally, I began to feel them only then. Do I have love? To God, to yourself, to your neighbors?

Then I became so disgusted with my own gravitas. Yes, I seem to have achieved something. From the outside, my life seemed prosperous, happy, complete. But only I knew how disgusting it was for me to live. Be yourself. Getting up in the morning and feeling that I have to live another unnecessary day, spending it in worries, work, prayers - but in fact, just trying to force myself not to think. What difference does it make what pool I throw myself headlong into: into sin or righteousness. Both paths are fatal if one does not notice the light of the Star of Bethlehem point-blank, clearly indicating the path of the golden mean. But, if publicans who realize their worthlessness follow the first one, it was very, very difficult for me to get out of hypocrisy.

Now it seems to me that the era of the totalitarian regime has given rise to many unfortunate, unfree people with black and white attitudes and thoughts. Perhaps truly free people, to whom I have been drawn since childhood, were filled with a feeling of love. And I was filled only with a sense of law and order.

And so, I'm trying to get rid of this downtrodden little man in myself drop by drop. I sincerely try to be free. And I know for sure that I cannot do anything with myself without God and the Church of Christ. Learning obedience to Him, I open myself to the world, the sun and the opportunity to simply rejoice.

As I learned to trust the Heavenly Father, I was just beginning to feel like His child. Not a prisoner of the planet Earth, but a dear daughter, whom He led through trial and error, because otherwise this girl cannot understand. I know for sure, if you let God into your heart, in the Holy Trinity of the One, entrust yourself to Him not only with words, but also with a true pure heart, then ...

To be honest, when this thought occurred to me, I felt like a suicide. After all, trusting myself to Him, I am aware that His providence may differ from my desires. Giving my life to Him, I immediately subscribe to all the possible misfortunes and troubles that exist in this world. I let floods, earthquakes, terrorist attacks, hunger, cold, loneliness into my being… But at the same time, I finally let such luxury as faith, hope, love into my heart!

I am still a completely useless Orthodox. I go to church because it's not for Him, but for me. I take communion not because after this Sacrament my life is illuminated and I feel something there. By and large, I feel only that the Sacraments give me a chance not to die here and now, if not physically, then morally. I am far from even my own ideal. But I know for sure that the walking one will master the road.

I know for sure that faith in God breeds hope. And for hope, if you try very, very hard, sooner or later love will surely come.

I know that THERE, after my life, I will definitely see the Father. And no matter what I am, I will come to Him, lowering my eyes to the bottom, like a prodigal daughter. And He will judge me. He will ask about everything. And I will be very ashamed. No matter how correct I am.

Why do I need faith?

Is it really necessary to believe in God only within a specific framework, the strict framework of religion? Why can't one simply believe in God? Simply because He exists… And if a person believes in God, follows the commandments, and also strives to get rid of sins, but does this separately from the concept of "religion"… What in this case? Can such a person be saved? Or will he be punished for disobedience driving himself into the boundaries of religion???

Now, God is the one who causes admiration, respect and gratitude, because He is in the highest degree worthy of it. Look around, look at nature, at the world around you, here on Lifeglobe there are many articles revealing the beauty, perfection, simply unthinkable splendor of this world. What about man, his structure? Isn't it amazing that several small cells, clearly performing their functions, together represent such an amazing "machine"?

Someone said: "There are no unbelieving people. There are people who believe that God exists. There are people who believe that there is no God." But we all need to believe in something. And quite recently, a real sensation in world scientific and intellectual circles was caused by the discovery of scientists from the British University of Bristol, when they established that modern man is born with faith in God, the London weekly Sunday Times reported.

"We have established that the child's thought process includes an intuitive belief in the supernatural," said research leader Professor Bruce Hood. Latest Research research team from Bristol showed that without faith in God, neither Homo Sapience nor modern society could not be born.

The next question is: Why can't you just believe in Him? It is possible, and this is the right of every person. But then in this case, I do not quite understand the logic of this person. He believes in God, believes in his Prophets, scriptures, and at the same time refuses to follow them? Then why did God send us any instructions at all? For what purpose does He oblige us to ritual things?

Everything has instructions for use. You will not hammer nails with a china cup, you will not pour coffee on the keyboard, no one will try to hand-feed a wild bear, and so on. So God, as our "developer", who knows everything about us, all the subtleties of our structure, from physical to psychological, sends people "instructions for use" to ourselves - scriptures in which he explains to us how to live life most without unnecessary problems.

And if you think carefully, reflect on the "framework" of religion, you will see great wisdom in them. Of course, here you need to be a little strategist, be able to look at the root and see the future. The concept of Islam is built on the prevention of trouble in the "embryo". By not creating causes, we don't have to deal with consequences. So by wearing a hijab and behaving modestly, the girl protects herself as much as possible from encroachment on her honor.

You will answer that a civilized person already understands what is good and what is bad and it is not at all necessary to drive oneself into the framework of any one religion.

Here I disagree with you. For firstly, over time, the concepts of good / bad are very much distorted. For example, everyone knows that killing is very bad. But the words "honor your father and mother", how bad it is for us today. But this is one of the 10 commandments! And for God this is the same sin as murder.

God repeatedly speaks about this in all scriptures from the Torah to the Quran:

“Behold, we have made a covenant with the children of Israel that you will not worship anyone but Allah and will do good to your parents” (Sura “The Cow”, ayat 83).

“Worship Allah and do not associate partners with Him and do good to parents”(Sura “Women”, verse 36).

“Associate no one with Him, and do good to your parents”(Sura “Cattle”, ayat 151)

"Your Lord has ordained that you worship none but Him and do good to your parents"(Surah “He endured by night”, verse 23).

If used to be a girl got married and it turned out that she was no longer a "girl". It was a disgrace to her entire family. And today, the more popular the girl, the better. Another example same-sex marriage. At one time, it was for this that the peoples of Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed. And quite recently, the whole world could watch the wedding of happy newlyweds. In general, I will not continue, the idea is clear.

Secondly, it is knowledge, not yet known to us, the hidden wisdom of the Creator. Nowadays, there are scientists who scientifically explain something. And in the 7th century, people did not have such luxury and simply followed the instructions of the Prophet (s.a.s.). The most surprising example for me was flies. It is reported that Abu Hurairah (r.a.) said that the Messenger of Allah (s.a.s.) said: “If a fly got into your drink, then dip it completely in it, and then throw it away, because in one of her wings - an illness, and in the other - healing. Before, I would have laughed.

in 1932, a cholera epidemic broke out in India. It was so strong that there was a threat of extinction of the entire population of India. But suddenly, to the great surprise of the doctors, the population of one village began to recover. When a special commission was sent there, it turned out that the whole village uses water from one open reservoir, where flies fell. In the study of this water, it was found that for some reason, cholera vibrios were dying in it.

In the course of further research, it was found that a fly, when immersed in a liquid, secretes bacteriophages, that is, the same bacteria, but only devouring others. The second part of the word comes from the Greek "phagos", which means "devourer". These bacteriophages have microscopic dimensions of 20–25 microns and can only be seen through powerful microscopes. Professor Andy Beatty of the Australian Macquarie University, suggesting that flies that accumulate in places where there is a lot of dirt should secrete a powerful antidote to the microbes teeming around, began to study them.

It turned out that flies produce powerful antibiotics in their bodies. a wide range actions that effectively fight against any kind of microbes, from E. coli to Staphylococcus aureus.

The question arises, did the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) have microscopes and laboratories, or did research institutes exist in his era?! Naturally, none of this happened, but he possessed the knowledge transferred to him by the All-Knowing Creator. People protected their lives and their health by simply following the lessons of the Prophet (s.a.s.) (in today's understanding - the "framework" of religion).

In the brain of one who bows his head to the ground 80 times a day, blood flows rhythmically and abundantly. Therefore, due to the good nutrition of the brain cells, memory impairment and sclerosis are less likely to occur in prayers. These people lead over healthy lifestyle life, are not subjected to the so-called in medicine - the disease of dementia.

In the eyes of the prayer, due to the constant tilts and rises, blood circulation is more active. Therefore, inside the eyes, the pressure does not increase and a constant exchange of moisture is ensured in the front of the eyes. This prevents cataracts.

They also contribute to good digestion in the stomach and the normal secretion of bile, normal functioning pancreas and removal of constipation. By shaking the kidneys and stool pathways, the formation of kidney stones is removed and promotes urination. Regular prayer prevents arthrosis and lime deposits in the joints, blockage of blood vessels in people who do not engage in daily physical labor, activating blood vessels and joints. Namaz is the first element of sleep regulation.

I found a very unexpected article when preparing this material: “Here it should be noted that without a doubt the call to prayer for Muslims azan, and the announcement of the beginning of the prayer-prayer - iqamat, and the prayer itself - is actually accessible to everyone "the greatest secret of the East ", namely the "big secret" of hatha yoga and raja yoga."

Benefits of posting:

Even 1400 years ago, when fasting became mandatory for Muslims, people could not even imagine the healing effect that it has on the body, moreover, it was considered a mockery, torture for the body, but Scientific research in this area give amazing information about the therapeutic effect of fasting on the body as a whole. Today, science has unequivocally established that fasting is good for health; in this regard, in 1952, the USSR Ministry of Health officially approved fasting as a method of treatment. Even atheists, who until recently considered fasting as barbaric over health, under the pressure of experimental data, were forced to admit the health benefits of fasting.

So, for example, Soviet professors Nikolaev and Nilov in the journal " food products” in the article “Hunger for Health” back in 1967 they wrote: “Due to the deterioration of the ecology in cities, in order to be healthy, cleanse themselves of toxins and excess fat, a person must fast for at least three and no more than four weeks a year.” Science spoke about the benefits of fasting for the body only in the 19th-20th centuries, while the hadith transmitted from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) 1400 years ago said: "Fast - you will recover." Researcher Robert Bartlow, M.D., has experimentally proven that fasting has the amazing power to cleanse the body and even eliminate tumors in the body. initial stage. In particular, he writes: "Undoubtedly, fasting has an effective effect in cleansing the body of microbes." By observing the starving, scientists have found an inexplicable improvement in health and a cure for various diseases. It has been experimentally proven that fasting significantly reduces blood cholesterol, which reduces the risk of coronary heart disease, nicknamed the "killer of the 20th century." In the United States, it has been experimentally proven that fasting has a beneficial effect on blood sugar and gastric acidity, keeping it within normal limits without any drugs. Dr. Bill Shernber notes that fasting for one month of the year is the foundation of life and youth. This is all about the treatment of diseases by fasting and its benefits to the body. If we talk about neuropsychic health, then for him the benefits are considerable. The most important thing in this regard is the upbringing of the will and fear of God in a person. Suppressing the strongest instinct for one month, a person develops a powerful will, and his mind takes precedence over passions, he takes a step towards turning from a slave of passions into their master.

Moreover, as the associate professor, doctor of medical sciences of the DSMA M. Magomedov notes, it turns out that it is in the month of Ramadan that the change of annual human biorhythms falls. That is, at this time there is a biorhythmic reconfiguration of the body for the next year. At this time, all secretions of the digestive tract are suppressed in the body and, consequently, food intake during daylight hours, when digestive secrets have the least activity, the body perceives it very hard. That is why those who do not fast in the month of Ramadan experience an exacerbation of diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. Studies by scientists from the Odessa Medical Institute have shown that fasting removes poisons from the body better than any drug. For example, during fasting, ammonia excretion increases 100 times. Science will reveal many more wisdoms in the prescription of fasting, insha'Allah. (Abdula GADZHIEV)

Alcohol ban. I won't write too much here. I think many have already watched Zhdanov's lecture "Alcohol and drug terror against Russia." For those who haven't watched, I urge you to do so:

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If we talk about the spiritual side of religion. We are accustomed to appreciate the perceived benefits, material, and practically do not notice spiritual benefits. And if we imagine that for every prayer, fasting, someone just gives us 1000 euros, in this case, how often would we pray, fast? But the grace of the Creator is many times greater!

I recalled the words of Masha Alalykina, the singer of the Star Factory, who converted to Islam:

“I cried. I had never asked God before. It seemed humiliating to me to ask someone for help, since I was brought up that you should always rely only on yourself. Rise above other boogers just like me?

A person subconsciously feels belonging to something, so we devote ourselves to art, a woman or a man, we “worship” our favorite poet, Chinese porcelain, chess, playing the guitar. Then we look contemptuously and smile... "Praying" is so funny, it's some kind of fanaticism. And what about the ritual of worshiping the Sport Express newspaper – buying it every day, reading it in the metro voraciously, knowing by heart all the names of the players, discussing its contents with friends? Or a ritual of worshiping clothes, perfumes, money, fame ..? Doesn't this all seem silly?!

However, a person does not belong to a person, a newspaper, a rock band. He belongs to his Creator. Here is a chair and a table, and they have been made. And the man? Did it happen on its own? From a monkey? By cell division? Here already to whom what point of view is closer.

I can say with confidence that those whom the Almighty endowed with the ability to reflect and analyze, eventually come to something more than just get funds to buy food, clothes, pay telephone bills, etc. And so every day day... Why? To just die one day?

We walk, eat… It is hard to imagine a more absurd pastime in this fleeting life…”

Everyone must decide for himself Is the goal of a person just to get married, have children, buy your own house - is this the highest dream, for example, of an Australian? Is life just a job to pay bills and debts? Do we work to live or do we live to work?

Controversial. Polybookf.

"The Institute of Religion and Its Place in Society: Discord vs Appeasement?"
(or simply - "is it necessary ..?") - an extensive topic that deserves a separate discussion.

In the cognitive aspect, a private question is no less interesting:
"If we accept as an input, what is needed, then - for what?"
Interesting in terms of - "how it's done", along with or.

The traditional answer seems overly simplistic:
"Like anxiety, so up to God", "there were no atheists in the battle"- is the whole idea really just a substitute for not so difficult synthesized substances plant origin, known from antediluvian times, easier to use and with a more unambiguous effect?

As an epigraph,

- Two fish are arguing. For a long time, stubbornly, we got tired of arguing, finally one says: well, well, let's say there is no God. But who then changes the water in the aquarium?
- Does the "aquarium god" care about the experiences of the inhabitants of the tank? Do they believe, do not believe, with what attributes and body movements are they ready to confirm their belief, or do the "higher powers" not care, no encouragement for zealousness shines, no reprimands for doubters?

“What tasks should a teacher set for himself when working with believing students? It would probably be naive to hope that our lessons will lead to a student’s break with religion. Such a break is really possible, but this requires very strong psychological shocks (recall "Gadfly" Voynich). It is unlikely that reading textbooks or our explanations can give rise to them. Therefore, a realistically thinking teacher should set himself a more modest task: to overcome the student's prejudice against science in general and certain scientific concepts in particular. Without encroaching on religious views student, you need to try to convince him that the theory of evolution of Charles Darwin is not the intrigues of the Horned One, but a very respectable theory, the acceptance of which will in no way prevent a pious person from saving his immortal soul.

But allow me, a believing student will say, because in the relevant chapters of the Bible it is clearly said how and on what Day of Creation the Lord created these or other groups of living beings. And the Bible is a Holy book that cannot deceive in any way.

In response to this, a smart teacher can tell a parable.

« To one very smart dad, who has a doctorate in physical and mathematical sciences, a four-year-old son came and asked some smart question. For example, where did the stars come from?

Dad was very happy that he had such a smart son and began to explain to him the basics of quantum mechanics. When daddy wrote the Schrodinger equation on paper, the child raised a heart-rending roar, jumped out of the room and ran to his grandmother. Grandmother told the poor child a fairy tale about the frog princess and the boy calmed down.

Who acted smarter: a father who knows quantum mechanics or a grandmother? »

The student will answer without hesitation that the daddy described in the parable is a fool, although he is a doctor of physical and mathematical sciences. And such a responsible matter as the upbringing of small children cannot be trusted in any way. This is followed by a provocative remark from the teacher: “But daddy told the child the truth, and grandmother deceived. After all, we know that the frog princess does not exist in nature. And quantum mechanics is one of the foundations of modern science.”

Here the student will think and after some reflection will come to the conclusion that it is necessary to grow up to understand quantum mechanics. And for this, in childhood, you need to listen to fairy tales and believe them. Therefore, all the same, grandmother acted more correctly than dad, although from a formal point of view, one could make claims to her regarding the contradiction of her stories with the data of modern science. But for the development of a child, a fairy tale about a frog princess is much more useful than quantum mechanics. Grandma is not just smarter, she is wiser.

And now the teacher can strike the final blow: “And the Lord, who, as you know, is the embodiment of Supreme Wisdom, will he behave like a dad, or like a grandmother? After all, Shestodnev appeared in that era when people believed in the jackal Anubis and the cat goddess Bayet. Just like today, little children believe in different fairy-tale characters! Will the Lord in this situation retell scientific truths to people, or will he tell them, like children, an interesting fairy tale? And what will be more useful for people who lived in the second millennium BC?”

From the contradictions between certain Biblical stories and the modern scientific picture of the world, atheistic conclusions do not follow by themselves. The frog princess is a fictional character, but this fact cannot in any way serve as a refutation of your grandmother's Being. And the tale told in the Six Days really contains a deep and important thought for philosophy and evolutionary theory. It was very well formulated by the Rainbow Cat, who does not believe in God, locked up before execution in the basement of the Duke of Sura:

And He created Man in His own image and likeness. He created, the Creator. In His own image and likeness. This means that Man must be the Creator, otherwise he betrays the Main in himself. Someone calls this the Main God ... "(Ozerov. "Plutishka's Tale").

In order not to fight with windmills, the teacher must clearly understand the theses that the creationists defend .... "

The tackle, of course, is graceful, a five-seven-grade can not be objected,
but the practicality of "telling for the unreasonable" with the aim of spreading the beginnings among the masses
cosmology, sanitation-hygiene, ethics and judiciary - is doubtful.
Herbalists-healers-sudniks and other aids on astro-navigation spread well
as the cultural background matures,
the format of confession of traditional beliefs is not the most convenient for dynamically developing subjects.

But, the matter of teaching religious ideas is not one hundred years, if not millennia.
Methods are verified, questions are answered.

From the collection "Questions to a Kabbalist":

- Why does the Creator need (if he needs it, of course) that I study Kabbalah?

- Let's start from afar: why does a person come to this World at all?
Only in order to learn to love, although as a rule we do not suspect this. It is hardly possible to find at least a small number of people who formulate the purpose of their life in this way. Usually they don’t think about it at all, or they think that everything is in order anyway: in marriage, with friends, etc. The truth is that this is not the love that is being talked about, but an ordinary symbiosis.
Love means caring for the other without expectation of reciprocity - instead of caring for yourself and efforts aimed at maintaining symbiosis or self-affirmation.
Therefore, the first step forward is accustoming a person to actions that do not bring him visible momentary profit (fulfillment of the commandments).
The second step is not yet pure altruism, but the expectation of a reward not from people, but from the Creator, which requires faith in Him.

It is in Scripture that the Creator hides in such a way that through it one can come to His Revelation.
Otherwise, one is preoccupied with thoughts of pelephones, cars, politics, gossip and the like. And where there are thoughts, there is the person himself.
And even if he keeps the commandments without delving into the Scriptures - out of habit, or because of the pressure of the environment - all this is too weak a foundation and sooner or later he will leave the commandments.

The study of Scripture is not an end in itself, but a means. In the end, over a number of incarnations, a person gradually begins to understand what they actually want from him.
It is impossible to say right away, because it will be perceived as alien and incomprehensible, because a man comes into the world as a wild animal (which can be seen in the history of the so-called "material civilization").
Adds motivation and experience accumulating in the course of incarnations
disappointments in certain life goals - fame, money, power, etc.

Thus, we see that the Creator absolutely does not need a person to learn Kabbalah or something else -
this is necessary for the person himself, when he has reached a certain stage in his development,
achieved in the course of a series of incarnations, and is already able to understand what is required of him, and to make efforts in this direction.
And we must always remember that learning without works is dead, and faith without works is dead. Works must prevail.
In the language of Kabbalah, the desire to receive is called Kli (Vessel). And the pleasure it feels
with which the Creator supplies him is called Or (Light).

Comprehension of Light means that a person learns to love people - starting from a small one - a group, a family, and in the end, all of humanity, so that he will feel really and physically the thoughts, joys, pains and sufferings of all the people of the earth.
And even if a person does not have a group - it's not scary, he still has a place to apply his strength - a family, inner circle.

Since we do not have the slightest idea of ​​what the Creator is in Himself, without connection with the Creation, Kabbalah begins the description of the creation process from this connection:
The purpose of Creation was to delight the created Souls, to give them eternal, perfect Good.
Thus, the first thing that was created - something absolutely opposite to the Supreme -
namely, the desire to receive. In order to be able to please the creatures, it was first necessary to create in them a desire for this pleasure. This is a thing that is completely understandable to us: each of us can give his friend some unique, expensive thing, but if he does not need it, if he does not feel the need for it, it will not give him any pleasure.
So, we found out that the primary material of Creation is the desire to receive,
the same selfishness that we are so familiar with in this World.
(From here on, everything that is devoid of this desire is not called Creation at all,
because he lacks the basic characteristic of the created. For example, Angels that do not have an egoistic beginning are not considered to exist independently. In essence, these are spiritual robots that perform what the Creator has assigned them, without the possibility of deviating from the given path even by a hair.)
It would seem, at first glance, that the process of creation should have ended there.
After all, there is a Giver (God) and there is a Receiver (Creation), everyone plays their role and they are in perfect harmony.
However, as in the future, the Almighty prevented the occurrence of problems -
Creation cannot simply receive everything, it must achieve perfection, Similarity to the Creator.

Light not only saturates and delights the Vessel, but also gives it its own properties – the properties of the Giver.
A new element is added to the primary material of Creation - the desire to receive - the desire to give,
striving to become like the Giver.
However, these two qualities - to receive and at the same time to be as the Giver - are in conflict with each other.
The opposition “Creator – Creation” has now been moved inside the Creation itself. "

By Elie Lapid 
in abbreviation; adopted.

The purpose of creation is to delight your creation.
Religious practices lead to the comprehension of the amazing harmony of this world.

Aquarium - for the sake of the aquarium. Because it's beautiful.
The fish believes, does not believe, worships or rejects the idea of ​​​​a reasonable world creation - it does not matter for the aquarist.
This is important for the fish itself, if it is able to rise to "co-authorship" with the "architect" of the project
(in the sense that every reader or viewer is a co-author of an artistic canvas) - to digress from
vain concerns like "pecking order", equipping the nest with the most prestigious shell,
and to survey the gifted ecumene as a whole, to enjoy the elegance of the design.

Kabbalists claim that advanced perception can be achieved with the help of
careful and sophisticated immersion in the content of the Pentateuch and accompanying Holy Texts.

"The more I study nature, the more I stop in awe
before the works of the Creator. I pray as I work in the laboratory."
Louis Pasteur

"I do not believe in God as a person ... If there is something in me that can be called religious, then this is undoubtedly an unlimited admiration for the structure of the universe to the extent that science reveals it."
Einstein

"Is the world a work of art?"
"The Question thus posed leads us to other questions.
If the world can be considered a work of art, has this work done well? Is our physical world beautiful if we consider it a work of art?

Many creative people have found inspiration in the idea that the Creator could be, among other things, an artist whose aesthetic motives we can understand and share.
Galileo Galilei made the beauty of the physical world the basis of his own deep faith and recommended it to everyone:
"Greatness and triumph shines amazingly in all His creations, and it is precisely this that is read first of all in the open book of heaven."
Plato was also a great writer. At the heart of his metaphor "The Cave" is the belief that everyday life offers us only a shadow of reality, but that through the courage of thought and the development of the ability to feel, we can penetrate into its essence - and that this essence is clearer and more beautiful than its shadow. He came up with an intermediary - the demiurge, which can be translated as a master who embodied the world of impeccable, eternal Ideas into its imperfect copy - the world in which we live. Here the concept of the world as a work of art is explicitly expressed.

Different artists have different styles. We don't expect to find Renoir's subdued colors in Rembrandt's mystical twilight, or Raphael's sophistication in either of the previous two. Mozart's music came from a completely different world than the music of The Beatles, and the music of Louis Armstrong came from a third. Similarly, beauty embodied in the physical world is a special kind of beauty. Nature as an artist has its own special style.
To appreciate Nature's art, we must penetrate her style with understanding.
Dynamic beauty goes beyond individual objects and phenomena and calls us to comprehend the breadth of possibilities.
For example, the sizes and shapes of the real orbits of the planets are not simple. They are neither the (complicated) circles of Aristotle, Ptolemy, or Nicolaus Copernicus, nor even the nearly regular Kepler ellipses, but rather curves to be calculated as functions of time, varying in complex ways with the positions and masses of the Sun and other planets.
There is a delightful beauty and simplicity in this, but it is only fully apparent when we understand the inner workings. The visible manifestations of individual objects do not exhaust the beauty of the laws.

Galileo expressed it, as always eloquently, as follows:
"Nature is described in this great book which is always before our eyes - I mean the Universe - but we cannot understand it unless we first learn its language and understand its symbols with which it is written. This the book is written in mathematical language, and its symbols are triangles, circles and other geometric figures, without which it is impossible to understand a single word in it; without which you will wander in vain through a dark labyrinth.
Today we have penetrated much further into the essence of this great book and discovered that its later chapters use more inventive and less familiar language than the Euclidean geometry that Galileo knew. "
Frank Wilczek. The beauty of physics.

The path indicated in the cabalistic interpretation (to delve into the primary sources and bring good to the world), in order to imbue with persistent spiritual exercises the trembling harmony of the universe - is the answer to the very "Why?"
But - the way is not the only one. Doing science does not contradict the goal, on the contrary -
open the possibility of the most detailed comprehension of the beauty of the idea.

The confession of certain canons, without movement - has nothing to do with faith, this is an attribute similar to "nishtyaks",
intended for narcissism or as identification marks "friend or foe".

Louis Pasteur prayed through laboratory research; Kepler was in awe of the symmetry of the celestial spheres, Feynman: "Physics is like sex: it may not give practical results, but this is no reason not to do it!"
Faith is a movement towards Enlightenment, in a language accessible to the recipient.

1. Is there a God?

In our time, one often hears: there is no God, He was invented by the spiritual fathers in order to rob the poor and ignorant people.

Is it so? Is our people obscure and stupid to such an extent that it can be so deceived and fooled? And are the spiritual fathers so smart that they could deceive the people for thousands of years? To assert this is to deeply despise this very people and to have an exaggerated idea of ​​the mental faculties of the clergy and of one's own.

But let's turn to history. She tells us clearly and definitely that people at all times believed in God and offered prayers to Him.

Here is what the ancient historian Plutarch, who lived a century and a half before the birth of Christ, says: Go around all countries, you can find cities without walls, without writing, without rulers, without palaces, without riches, without coins, but no one has yet seen a city devoid of temples and gods, a city in which prayers would not be sent up, would not be sworn by the name of a deity.

Another ancient writer Cicero testifies: There is no tribe so wild, there is no person so lost in consciousness of moral duties, whose soul would not be sanctified by the thought of the gods. And this remembrance of the gods did not come from a preliminary agreement and agreement of people, was not established by virtue of state decrees or laws, no, this unanimity of all peoples should be revered by the law of nature.

In fact, no matter what people we take, we find in everyone faith in the gods and a desire to earn their mercy and favor. Whether we turn to the Chinese, the Hindus, the Egyptians, the Assyro-Babylonians, the Greeks, the Romans, and others, we find in all of them their religious beliefs, prayers, temples, and sacrifices. Ethnography does not know non-religious people (Ratzel, German geographer and traveler).

To this, perhaps, they will object to us: All these peoples also had their priests robbed, it was they who invented the gods in order to eat well at someone else's expense, to live in their own pleasure and clover.

Yes, let's say there really were priests, but how is it known that they invented gods? After all, if faith in God were a mere invention of the priests, how could it hold out for several millennia and be the property of all peoples? During the French Revolution, instead of worshiping the true God, the cult of reason was introduced, and the founder of positivism (an experimental trend in philosophy) Auguste Comte (1857) preached the religion of humanity, the personification of which he declared his cook de Bo as the goddess of humanity, however, both of these , so to speak, religions did not outlive their creators and founders and are forever buried with them. For only a child can believe a fairy tale, only a mentally ill person can accept his fiction for reality.

It will be objected to us: Is it not enough for a simple, dark person to have false, erroneous opinions and views? After all, he thinks, when thunder rumbles, that it is the prophet Elijah who rides through the sky in a fiery chariot, or that the earth stands on three whales, etc.

Yes, we say, common man Indeed, there are many false and erroneous opinions, and it is not for nothing that the proverb says: Learning is light, and ignorance is darkness.

Well, they will answer us, scientists do not believe in God. After all, books are written by educated people, and books say that there is no God.

The more I study nature, says the great scientist Pasteur, the more I stop in reverent amazement before the deeds of the Creator. The famous scientist Linnaeus ends his book on plants with these words: Truly there is a great and eternal God, without whom nothing can exist. The astronomer Kepler exclaims: Oh, our Lord is great and His power is great, and His wisdom has no limits, And you, my soul, sing glory to your Lord throughout your life!

Here's some more telling evidence.

The scientist Dennert interviewed 423 natural scientists: 56 of them did not send answers, 349 turned out to be believers in God, and only 18 declared that they were either unbelievers or indifferent to faith (Faith and Science, F. N. Belyavsky).

Many other testimonies could be cited in favor of the fact that scientists believe in God, but we think that these are enough.

We will be objected: Yes, there were and are believing people among scientists, but there are unbelievers among them.

Quite right. But this does not mean that God does not exist. It only follows from this that faith is a free matter: believe it or not, no one is forcing you.

If there is a God, then show us Him, some say.

We will answer this with a question: have you ever seen your thoughts and thoughts, desires and moods? Can you tell what color they are, smell, what is their length and shape? But do they exist? Of course yes! So is God. He exists, but He cannot be seen with bodily eyes.

How can you see that He exists?

This is evidenced, first of all, by the inherent confidence in man that God exists. And to such an extent it is sometimes strong in him that he cannot renounce it, even if he is told the opposite. Indeed, such a phenomenon is often observed: a simple person cannot prove that God exists, but still stands his ground. Where does such confidence come from?

They will say: From childhood they inspired him, so he clings to the old. But this explanation does not satisfy us. Why? Yes, because religion and faith require from a person a feat, self-sacrifice, constrain his nature, and therefore, if they were really an invention, every person would gladly throw off this heavy yoke, but in most cases he does not.

Then the fact that God really exists is evidenced by visible world. When we see a house, we think it was built by an architect, carpenters and masons; when we consider a picture, we say: it was painted by an artist; we walk in a beautiful garden, we think that a gardener planted it; we notice the car and claim that it was built by craftsmen and mechanics.

Well, what about the world? Where did he come from? Who created the majestic and vast universe, in which there are certain laws and order? Who created the heavenly bodies: the warm and clear sun, the bright stars, the moon?

Every house is arranged by someone, but God who arranged everything(; 4).

One scientist said: You have to be crazy to prove that a clock does not imply a watchmaker and that the world does not prove the existence of God.

Old tales, many half-educated people will immediately say. The world happened by itself. To assert this is just as ridiculous and stupid, and unworthy of a thinking person, as if someone said that this house was built by itself. Such buildings, if they happen, then only in a dream or in fairy tales, and even then in the latter not by themselves, but at the behest of a pike. Those who say that the world came into being by itself, expose themselves and, instead of the true God, invent another, false one, calling God the world, soulless nature, arguing as follows: there is no Creator, but nevertheless there is; God could not create the world, but the world could create itself. See how they confused themselves? It is fair, therefore, that the scientist Voltaire said: If there were no God, then He would have to be invented, because without the Creator creation could not appear.

If the world formed by itself, then where did the material from which it was formed come from? They say: Matter is eternal. But if matter is eternal, then the world is eternal in the same state in which it is now. Meanwhile, science, together with religion, says that the world is not eternal and that its state at the beginning was different: atoms, nebulae, chaos, the fire-liquid state of the mass, its gradual cooling to its present form. What force set this dead material in motion, breathed life into it? Could this be done by a blind and unreasonable force?

No and no. Can a blind and unreasonable force do anything reasonable, harmonious, orderly? It remains to recognize one thing, that there is, that there is a reasonable Creator of the world, and this Creator is God. They will say: The world was formed according to the immutable laws of nature without any participation of outside forces. But those who say this lose sight of the fact that their very assertion already contains a contradiction, or a negation of this assertion. After all, the laws of nature presuppose the existence of the world or nature, they can operate only when there is a world or nature. For example, Newton's law (the law of universal gravitation), according to which two material particles approach each other at a speed that depends on their mass and state. But when there were no bodies, there was no place for this law. Or the law of Archimedes: a body immersed in a liquid loses such a part of its weight as the liquid displaced by it weighs. And when there is neither a body nor a liquid, there is no place for this law. This means that the laws of nature operate only in the presence of nature or the world, without any hope of explaining its origin. The laws of nature also cannot explain their own existence.<сноска: Неодушевленная и неразумная материя не может ни сама себе дать законов, ни определить взаимное отношение сил и явлений природы.>. There remains a place for God, the Creator of the world, who governs it according to special laws.

Heaven will tell the glory of God says the psalmist, creation, but the firmament proclaims his hand (; 4).

And our poet Lermontov says under the influence of contemplation of the beauties of nature: And I can comprehend happiness on earth, And in heaven I see God.

The atheists cannot see God because they are blind in soul. They are like owl birds. Take a look at these important birds. With a thoughtful look they look at you with their expressive eyes, they carefully examine you, as if they are studying you with the zeal of a serious scientist, but in fact they see nothing in the daylight. You stand in front of these birds, yet you do not exist for them. They are sure that there is no one in front of them. They will look at the bright sun, and there is no sun for them, for they see nothing. Try to prove to an owl that there is a bright, beautiful sun in the sky, she will not believe, because she is not able to see it. So the spiritually blind cannot see God. It opens only to spiritually sighted, pure hearts.

Visible nature is a great book that bears witness to the wisdom of the Creator. God reveals himself to us in the clear azure of the sky, and in the dazzling brilliance of the sun, and in the colors of the rainbow, and in the greenery of the forests, and in every noble impulse and movement of the human heart.

I asked, says the blessing. Augustine, the earth, the seas and the abyss, and everything that creeps and lives there, and they answered me: We are not your God, seek higher. I asked the raging winds, and all the air with all its inhabitants answered: I am not God. I asked the sky, the sun, the moon and the stars, and they told me: And we are also not the God you are looking for. And I said to everything that surrounds me: You told me about my God that you are not He, so tell me about Him, and they all exclaimed in a loud voice: He created us (Confession).

But if all visible nature testifies to the existence of God, then the spirit of man convinces us of this truth even more, namely, his inherent aspirations for truth and goodness, longing for the highest truth, and, finally, his inner judge - conscience.

Where does this impartial judge, called conscience, come from in us, who condemns a person for his bad deed? Don't we know cases that a criminal who has committed a crime, for example, murder and escaped trial and punishment, buried, as they say, all the ends in the water, then tormented by remorse, very often voluntarily confesses to a crime and puts himself in the hands of justice? Does not all this testify to the existence of God?

After all, every law presupposes its legislator, and the higher he is, the wiser the legislator, and what human law can be higher and purer than the requirements of duty and the dictates of conscience?!

Let us take, further, the human desire for truth and justice. How often do we get indignant and indignant in life when we see that honest, kind and noble people suffer, suffer, and starve, while bad people prosper in every respect. Where is the truth? we ask.

Here, on earth, often with all the desire, a person is powerless to establish it; it means that there must be a just God who will establish this truth there, in the afterlife.

We will be objected: If your God sees how people are in poverty, starving, suffering, then why does He not put a limit to this here on earth? Why does he tolerate evil?

How this objection reminds us of the words of the unbelieving Pharisees, who, standing on Golgotha, seeing the terrible, inexpressible torments of Christ, mockingly said to Him: If You are the Son of God, come down from the Cross, and we will believe in You!

Yes, God, as omniscient, sees and knows all that evil, all those horrors and injustices that are happening in the world. He, as all-good and infinitely loving His creation and the crown of human creation, cannot look indifferently at human suffering and torment. He also knows that suffering helps a person, with the help of God, to be reborn and rise to a great moral height, and he endures for a long time, expecting correction and improvement from a person.

God, says the proverb, sees the truth, but will not tell soon. He will establish this truth there, in the afterlife, where he will reward everyone according to his deeds, and here, on earth, through sorrow and suffering, He enlightens a person. Thunder will not strike, the peasant will not cross himself, says a folk proverb.

A calm and serene life often puts a person to sleep, and he forgets about his high calling and purpose and buries the talents and abilities given to him in the ground.

Isn't God revealed in the life and activity of such people who burned with the fire of hot, fiery love for their neighbor, who lived exclusively for others?

Let us remember the great Christian ascetics and righteous people. Let's remember Rev. Sergius, Philaret the Merciful, archbishop. !

What did they work so selflessly for? In the name of God, Who commanded people to love one another, Who did not spare His only Son for them.

Yes, deep in the human soul lies the desire for God, the desire to live in truth and justice. And a person can never be satisfied with his position: he is always striving somewhere forward, he is always looking for something. It seems that some seemingly happy person: he is rich, and smart, and healthy, but still not calm.

What does he lack?

God is not enough, He is not enough, Who said about Himself: I am the Way, the Truth and the Life(John 14; 6), which, according to the word of the apostle, is not far from each of us, for By it we live and move and exist ().

Let us believe in God with humility and devotion of the soul, for the one who explores the depth of faith is overwhelmed by waves of thoughts, and the one who contemplates it in a simple-hearted disposition enjoys sweet inner silence (Blessed Diadochus).

Let us believe with unshakable firmness, not betraying our faith, even if for confessing it we had to endure hatred, persecution, and even death itself. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life, says Christ (; 10).

2. To believe or not to believe in God?

In our time, one often observes a hostile and unfriendly attitude towards our Christian faith.

Now one can often hear: It is time for us to do away with religion and faith, if we do not want to pass for ignorant and backward people. We have been kept in darkness for a long time, it is time for us to throw off this heavy yoke and yoke, this thousand-year-old prejudice and delusion, called faith. After all, it, this faith, fetters free human thought, prevents us from living on earth properly and for our own pleasure, constrains a person here, makes him worry about his fate beyond the grave.

And how good it is, they tell us, to be an unbeliever: nothing constrains you, live for your own pleasure and do not think about the afterlife, because it does not exist, it is an invention.

How, we ask, can an educated person manage in life without any faith? Is her confession a sign of ignorance and backwardness? Is it contrary to reason?

Of course, yes, unbelieving people will answer us.

But after all, allow me, we will object, does not every person resort to faith at almost every step? Don't we all believe in the existence of this visible world, ourselves and other people, in the existence of foreign countries that we have never seen, historical figures: Napoleon, Kutuzov and others who lived before us, and also in the fact that with With the help of our external senses: sight, hearing, touch, etc., can we acquire knowledge? Isn't the farmer guided by faith when he sows his fields and fields and waits for harvest from them in the fall, the merchant when he goes for goods, the navigator when he undertakes a long journey to foreign lands, the scientist when he works tirelessly in his laboratory and thinks that his classes will not be in vain, but will benefit people, will they be crowned with success?

Isn't a person guided by faith when, at the peak of his life, in the years of bright youth, full of hope, he embarks on the path of life?

What inspires him? Faith in your calling, in your strengths and in the success of your work.

Is it conceivable to start any business, even the smallest one, without faith in its success?

Would social life itself be possible without faith in each other and without mutual trust?

But that, they will tell us, is worldly, practical faith; it's not about her. We are talking about religious faith. We consider its confession a sign of ignorance and backwardness. At the same time, worldly faith is confirmed by life itself, by daily observations, but yours is not confirmed.

Is it so? No, we say, and we have witnesses who, by their lives and deeds, proved that our faith inspired people to great deeds and deeds for the benefit of mankind.

What inspired the great apostles in their selfless, restless activity, which conquered the world to Christ, if not faith in Him? In the name of what did the ardent persecutor of Christians, Saul, become an ardent preacher of Christianity, the great apostle Paul? In the name of faith in Christ. What inspired the Christian martyrs when they went to the stakes, to terrible tortures and torments? The same faith in Christ.

What inspired the great Fathers and teachers of the Church? The same faith. She, this faith, inspired many famous scientists, delivered and delivers great spiritual consolation to millions of believers. It inspires a person to a feat, reconciles him with worldly hardships, gives him bright hope and peace of mind.

What is faith?

Faith is a living, unshakable conviction in the existence of an invisible God, it is a hot impulse and a deep desire of a person to know his Savior and Lord with his mind, will and heart, to become closer to Him, to make Him the Master of his soul and life, it is a true Christian mood of thoughts , desires and feelings.

But is it possible, they will object to us, to know and see the Invisible?

Yes, let's say, but not with bodily eyes. But what? will ask us. Eyes of faith. In addition to the eye of the organ of vision, we also have the spiritual eye, our religious feeling. Like any mental faculty, it can exist and develop under the condition of proper exercise and education. Like conscience, it can die out if a person does not take care of it. Just as a delicate fragrant flower needs careful and thorough care, so faith develops and strengthens in that soul that does not look like stony soil.

In order to get closer to God, to know Him, moral purity is required. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God (; 8).

Just as a mirror reflects objects when it is clean, so a person can know God on condition of spiritual purity of the purity of his heart and conscience.

One of the best means to the knowledge of God is a good pious life. Faith depends on our way of life: if we arrange our lives according to the precepts of the Gospel, if we are guided by the commandments of Christ in our activities, faith will come to us, become our inalienable property.

Why do we need her? Why are you forcing it on us? will ask us.

Surely, in our turn, we ask, have you ever thought about the terrible riddle about our future fate? Did it seem to you that the death of a person was a completely natural phenomenon? Do you really think that the human mind can give you completely satisfactory answers to all the questions that interest and worry you?

Yes, we will be told, reason cannot give completely satisfactory answers to many questions, but on the other hand, it is a source of knowledge that is quite reliable, and faith is unreliable, and besides, it contradicts reason.

Is it so? Is faith hostile to knowledge? In no case. Don't we know that knowledge in its original principles rests on faith? After all, we believe in the existence of the visible world, the possibility of its knowledge and study, but we believe in the testimony of other people. But would knowledge itself and the existence of science be possible without this faith? What inspired those people who worked tirelessly in the field of science? Belief in the power of the mind.

Knowledge and faith, says one writer, are two flowers growing from the same root. Tear off one of them, and the other will perish: knowledge without faith will be doubt and despair; faith without knowledge will turn into a dream, a superstition, a delirium.

But if faith has such importance and a completely legitimate application in the field of science, then it is even more necessary in our life.

Only she, this faith, is the only indestructible rock on which all who are exhausted under the burden of doubts and perplexities can find refuge. Only she alone can serve as a reliable guiding star in this world full of painful secrets and various worries. Without the light of faith, without the thought of God, the world becomes an insoluble painful mystery, and human life loses its meaning and significance. Faith in God is our strength and our treasure.

Our life must be consistent with our faith, be its constant confirmation.

Like a body without a spirit is dead, says app. Jacob, so faith without works is dead(; 26).

Unfortunately, modern man often does not use this treasure. He seems to be sitting by a deep spring and complaining of thirst.

Unfortunately, we are witnessing that at the present time disbelief and indifference to faith are widespread everywhere and entail a decline in morality, an increase in vices and crimes.

Naturally, the question arises, where are the reasons for this sad phenomenon?

There are many reasons. And, above all, the false, erroneous view that faith and science are irreconcilable areas, mutually exclusive of each other, plays an important role here. But in reality, the enemy of religion is not true science, but narrow, superficial and one-sided science.

Only a superficial study of nature can move us away from God, while a deeper and more thorough knowledge, on the contrary, turns us to Him, said the great scientist Bacon.

Then, one should not forget that the paths and goals of religion and science are different. Science studies the visible world, it teaches how the world lives, while religion and faith teach how a person needs to live, it sets as its goal his spiritual renewal and salvation. The development of unbelief is also favored by the fact that religion constrains a person and tells him: Live not as you want, but as God commands. And this does not please many and encourages them to renounce the faith.

The success of unbelief is also explained by the influence of the spirit of the times and fashion. In life, there are often people who follow fashion in everything: both in costume and in lifestyle. They follow fashion and in the field of faith.

Whatever the last book says to him, it will fall on his soul from above. Believe it or not, it doesn't matter.

There are moments in the life of a people when all their thoughts and cares are directed mainly to the acquisition of wealth. Then the thirst for profit completely attracts the attention of a person, and he absolutely does not want to think about God, about the soul. But no matter how deeply a person is attached to earthly goods, his god-like soul cannot be satisfied with this and calm down, because man does not live by bread alone (; 4).

Only faith in God can give a person consolation and peace. Let us cherish our faith, steadfastly, courageously defend it and confess it openly, for this is the victory that conquered the world, our faith (; 4).

Let us stand guard over the Church of Christ, for it is pillar and ground of truth(; 15). She is not afraid of any storms. According to the Savior, even all the forces of hell will not overcome her. There are many waves, he says, and a strong storm, but we are not afraid of drowning, because we are standing on a stone. Let the sea rage, let the waves rise, they cannot sink the ship of Christ.

With the fire of our faith, let us kindle the hearts of those who doubt, as well as those who deviate from true path. Brothers, teach us ap. James, if any of you err from the truth, and one converts him, let him know that who turns a sinner from his false path will save his soul from death and cover a multitude of sins().

3. What is faith for?

We are going through a difficult, difficult time.

Difficult not only in relation to the external, economic conditions of our life, in the sense of a decrease in the people's well-being and well-being, but especially in relation to the internal, spiritual state of society, in the sense of an extraordinary decline in people's morality. Self-love, this most important and universal vice of our days, guides all the actions and deeds of modern people. Everyone wants and seeks good only for himself, tries to live only for his own good and happiness. And since the other also strives for the same, human interests collide and contradict each other. This gives rise to discontent, enmity… Crimes against the person have become commonplace. Public life is hard, depressing.

The foundations of the modern family are being upset: conjugal love is cooling, the sanctity of marriage is being violated, divorces are increasing. Children rebel against their parents, the younger ones cease to respect and obey the elders. Discord, licentiousness and disorder invade family life. Life is scary: the hardships and troubles of life suppress the soul, deprive it of the necessary peace, bring it to painful excitement and tension.

Many seek solace in the use of drugs that destroy their body and soul. Very often, people's nervous and unwound mood drives them to suicide. Life is valued very cheaply by many. Sometimes the most insignificant reason is enough, and it is stopped without any regret. Failure at work, family grief, human injustice, the inability to cover up the traces of some dishonorable act, and as a result, often premature unauthorized death ... This indicates the extreme spiritual impotence of modern man, despair, a decline in faith in oneself and in others ...

Where is the way out of this difficult situation? How can we raise, improve and improve our family and social life?

Nothing is so necessary for this as the education of the people in the spirit of Christian morality. In the matter of landscaping and improving our lives, the center of gravity is our soul. Preferential attention should be paid to it, it should be disposed and attuned to good deeds, to create a desire for truth, honesty, philanthropy, and other virtues on which the peace and tranquility of society depends. Without our inner rebirth, there will be no outer order and peace. The most radical political reforms will not bring any benefit. It is unreasonable to treat one body when the soul hurts along with it ... When life is overshadowed by serious vices and crimes, it is necessary first of all to take up the soul and its healing.

But how to induce people to good and pious behavior; what means have power to restrain the vicious and sinful human nature? How to raise morality?

They will say: Civil law is able to do this ... Of course, state laws have great importance. By defining the rights and obligations of people, they contribute to the improvement of our lives. However, only in the event that people have a strong moral feeling, the consciousness of the holiness and obligatory nature of the law has not become dull. But the best law is completely powerless in relation to people who are obviously vicious, who have lost their sense of conscience and responsibility for their actions.

They say: Troubles in life often come from the ignorance and darkness of the people; Raise education, and life itself will go into the right direction.

But in fact, we see that education alone is not able to make people pious and virtuous. Education mainly has an impact on our mental abilities. Is strength and salvation in one mind? Is a smart and educated person, for that very reason, already the best person? Doesn't life often tell us quite the opposite? History also testifies to the same: sciences, arts, trade, etc. flourished among the ancient peoples. and at the same time the most gross vices and crimes reigned, which led them to death.

We will be told: Let a person obey the voice of conscience, and then he will be kind. Yes, conscience does not tolerate evil. With its inner spiritual torments, it protects us from moral falls, but only when it acts in us not on its own, but on behalf of God, as His voice. Separate conscience from the religious basis, sever its connection with faith in God, and conscience will lose all the power of its influence. What is conscience for unbelievers and atheists? False prejudice, the result of a wrong upbringing, an empty accuser, and he is forced to be silent. One conscience cannot make a person good.

They say: You can induce a person to behave well by striving for fame. But glory falls to the lot of only a few, and everyone must be good. Be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect(; 48), Christ says to all people, and not only to some. Very often, the search for glory not only does not elevate a person, but, on the contrary, makes him commit deeds unworthy and not commendable, infects a person with self-love, pride, arrogance, which is why a Christian is inspired to seek glory and honor not on earth, but in the life to come.

They will say: You can lead a good life for the sake of your own well-being and peace. Vice is evil, leading to many unpleasant consequences. It is possible to move away from sin because of the fear of it ... Yes, everything is possible. But such a life cannot be truly good and truly Christian. To avoid sin only for the sake of fear of its consequences means to live not for God and not according to His commandments, but for oneself and according to simple calculation and profit. This is how the pagans live. Guided in his life only by the rules of moderation and abstinence, a person cannot become morally perfect: he will avoid vices that are obviously disastrous and obviously dangerous for him, but in what will he find an incentive to refrain from such sins, the harmful consequences of which he does not fully recognize? clarity and clarity?

So, all the reasons that can be devised by the human mind in order to induce him to lead a good life, in fact, are not able to do so.

To lead a good moral life is a great feat of the soul, requiring many efforts and strains, much struggle with oneself, with the passions and lusts with which we have grown accustomed.

The motives for such a life must be very strong. You may not be a poet, but you must be a man. All people are obliged to be moral and virtuous, therefore, the motivation for such a life must be clear and convincing for everyone. Every person - educated and simple, rich and poor, young and old, man and woman - should know clearly and firmly why he should abstain from evil deeds and live virtuously.

Such motives are found only in faith in God. Without faith there is no morality. And without faith and morality there is no normal life, neither private, nor public, nor state. Look for examples nearby. You could rather build a city in the air than stabilize a state without religion (Plutarch).

Faith educates a person in goodness, inspires the rules of good, honest behavior, and keeps from bad deeds. Faith pronounces its prescriptions in the name of God, as His immutable and unconditional law, obligatory for all. It inspires us that a person is at all times under the all-seeing eye of his Creator, who knows all his thoughts and desires and who will one day require an account in his life. It directs all our thoughts and feelings to the heavenly, teaching us to live for the immortal spirit, and not for the mortal body. It suppresses narrow, selfish desires in the soul, fosters a sense of brotherly love for all people, even for enemies and haters. Faith is the only correct and only true means of influencing people, improving their morals and life.

They may say: The requirements of faith are too high and difficult to fulfill for a weak person. But is everything difficult to be rejected and recognized as optional, just because it is difficult? Is it possible to argue like this: A good man to be difficult, and therefore it is not necessary for them to be; it is easy to become bad, and therefore it is necessary to be so.

His commandments are not burdensome(; 4). In the prescriptions of faith, in the Gospel commandments, there is a grace-filled power that helps a person in their fulfillment. The teachings of Christ are not mere cold words, but spirit and life(; 63). The gospel law is based on love: If you love me, keep my commandments(; 15). Where love guides people's actions, there is no question of any difficulty or weakness. This most beautiful and greatest feeling facilitates every work and induces to a feat.

Only faith, informing us of a number of absolutely correct and infallible prescriptions regarding life and behavior, at the same time gives grace-filled help to strengthen us in goodness and piety: Everything is possible to the believer (; 23).

The modern world is going through an era of various crises. Industry crisis, Agriculture, capitalism, socialism, democracy, literature, science and art, religion ...

The modern world will either perish in the fratricidal war of all against all, or must return to the rejected Christ. No science, no philosophy has come up with a better law of life than the one proclaimed by Christ: As you want people to do to you, do to them. (; 31). Don't do to others what you don't want yourself to do(; 20). Love God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself(; 39).

In faith in God, the healing of our lives. The salvation of mankind from the disasters that have befallen it is in the revival of faith in God. Here is the overcoming of all kinds of crises.

4. Faith and man

Faith in God has existed for as many years as man himself has lived on earth for years. Despite the time during which one human generation was replaced by another, faith in God has never completely disappeared from the earth. All peoples, regardless of which tribes they belonged to and in which part of the world they lived, recognized the great truth that there is a Special Highest Being, God, Who invisibly rules the world and people. True, each nation thought of God in its own way, revered Him in such ways that they thought they were the best and pleasing to God. There were (and are) wild peoples who held thoughts unworthy of God; in their simplicity, they attributed to Him deeds and actions that were unusual and indecent. But even these false and distorted beliefs have their price: they clearly showed the attempts of man to find God; traces of those ways by which people tried to approach the Highest Being were found; manifested a universal religious need.

Thus, faith in God has always existed, everywhere and among all peoples. From this, the following fact becomes clear to us. In ancient times, the learned man Protagoras appeared in Greece, who began to say that he did not know whether God existed or not. This idea seemed to the Athenians so monstrous and harmful that they expelled the learned atheist from their possessions, and the books that contained his teaching were burned publicly. The Holy Scripture considers a person who denies the existence of God to be mentally ill, abnormal: (; 1).

What does the universality of faith in God testify to? What does it mean that everyone recognizes God, and if they do not always remember Him, they cannot forget Him completely? This means that the thought of God is deeply stored in the human soul and constitutes its necessary requirement.

About the origin of the first people, the Holy Scripture says: God created man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his face the breath of life, and man became a living soul.(; 7). From here we can understand what the soul is and where it comes from. The soul is communicated to man from God: it is, as it were, a spark and a reflection in him of the Divine Himself. Originating from God, having in Him a kindred Being, the soul by itself, of its own accord, turns to God, seeks Him. My soul yearns for the Mighty, Living God(). Just as the eyes turn to the light and are designed to see the light, so the soul of a person aspires to God, has a need for communion with Him, and only in God finds peace and happiness. A flower reaches out to the sun because it receives light and warmth from the sun, without which it cannot live and grow. Similarly, the constant, insurmountable attraction of man to God comes from the fact that only in God can our soul find everything it needs for a correct and healthy life.

Our spiritual needs are diverse and depend on the forces and abilities that the Lord bestowed on the human soul during creation. We have a mind that distinguishes man from other creatures of God. The mind seeks to understand everything around. Over the centuries, the human mind has worked hard to enrich itself with various kinds of knowledge. He tried to study and understand the world of God. With the help of arranged tools, he opened access to the sky and learned a lot about the heavenly bodies. On earth, he did not leave even the smallest part without his observation. With his curious gaze, a man penetrated into the depths of the earth. The man did not leave himself without attention either, he studied his body in every detail and discovered the means and methods of treating diseases.

But not everyone can understand and study our mind with equal success. There is a whole area, a spiritual area, in which he is not as strong and capable as in the study of earthly and temporal subjects. For man, as a being higher than other creatures and destined for eternal life, it is necessary to know not only what relates to temporal life, but even more so what relates to God, to heaven, and what concerns man himself and his spiritual nature.

What is God? What is the man himself? What is his duty and obligation to God? How to live in order to justify your appointment and not be held responsible before God? These are the questions facing man and awaiting an answer from him. These questions have always troubled the human mind. How much work, effort and effort has been undertaken to answer these questions. But all the efforts turned out to be in vain: people could not come to the knowledge of God by their own efforts alone. One ancient sage was asked what and how he thinks about God. The sage asked to be given one day to think, at the end of it he asked for two days, then two more, and finally confessed that the more he thinks about God, the darker the truth becomes for him.

The most diverse opinions also existed about such important subjects as the human soul and the person himself. According to the words, some recognize the soul as fire, others as air, still others as mind, fourth as movement, etc.: Either I am immortal and rejoice, then I am mortal and cry, then I see me disintegrating into atoms; I become water, air, fire; then I am not air and fire, but they make me a beast, or I turn into a fish and become the brother of dolphins. Looking at myself, I am horrified by my body: I ​​don’t know what to call it, a man or a dog, or a wolf, or a bull, or a bird, or a snake, or a dragon, or a chimera ... I swim, fly, soar in the air , crawling, running, sitting. Empedocles appears and makes me a plant ... In our time, scientists Darwin and Haeckel declared man to be a descendant of an ape.

All this suggests that the human mind is weak and limited in the knowledge of divine things, it is subject to delusions, prone to errors. Everyone thinks differently, everyone thinks they are right. Where is the truth? Whom to listen to? Who to believe?

In all the knowledge that concerns God and man's relationship to Him, one cannot rely on the human mind, fickle, vacillating, doubting. Only God Himself can be the guide and educator of man, only He can reveal and communicate the truth, firm, undoubted, obligatory for all. This truth was proclaimed by Christ the Savior. In His Gospel, Christ revealed to people everything they need to know about God, the world, about man himself, about the purpose and meaning of his life, his obligations to God and his neighbors. After Christ, there is nothing left for us, as soon as believe in the gospel (; 15).

In addition to the mind striving for knowledge, a person has a heart that yearns for happiness. Everyone dreams of happiness, everyone wants to be happy. But where to look for happiness? What does it consist of? Most often people consider it in wealth, in sensual pleasures, in honors and glory, etc. But for the most part, wealth is acquired through hard work and special long-term efforts, without bringing a person real peace and joy of the heart. Glory and honor are sometimes given undeservedly and cannot please a person who knows the value of human praise: ranks are given by people, but people can be deceived. And in empty people glory and honor give rise to a sense of pride, vanity, arrogance, and other vices. Is this happiness? As for sensual pleasures, they can only temporarily attract and conquer the heart of a person: often repeated, they produce boredom, satiety in their victims, upset health and lead to many other unfortunate consequences.

Thus, all temporary blessings do not bring true happiness to the human soul for the reason that they do not correspond to its spiritual nature, which has its own needs and requirements. People who have experienced all earthly pleasures in their lives have not found true peace and happiness in them. King Solomon, who spent his life among pleasures, fun and luxury, said: All vanity and vexation of the spirit(; 10). The English writer Byron calculated that he lived only 11 happy days in his life.

Nothing in the world brings true happiness to a person. Where is it? Is it accessible and possible for people? Is this unquenchable thirst for happiness invested in us in vain? Is there not an object in which a person would find his comfort and satisfaction? This object of all desires and aspirations of our heart, the object of love and attraction of every pious soul is God, the source of all good and happiness. Come to Me, all you who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.(; 28). Moreover, complete happiness awaits a person not here on earth, but in heaven. Eyes have not seen, ears have not heard, nor have they entered into the heart of man what God has prepared for those who love Him. (; 9).

Man, by nature, strives for holiness and piety. Although many lead a sinful life and do not think about holiness at all, however, every person prefers to be better good than evil, and if he serves sin, he does so out of passion, by mistake. Passion passes, and the sinful fog disappears, and the person repents, deeply mourns for his fall.

Establish, O God, the holy Orthodox faith of Orthodox Christians forever and ever. Amen.

5. Reasons for unbelief. Is it true that scientists do not believe in God?

If faith in God is just as necessary for our soul as food and air for the body, then, one asks, why are not all people believers? Faith in God has always existed on earth, but justice requires that unbelief also existed in the world, although not always to the same extent. There were times when it spread over the earth in a wide wave, for example, before the flood; it will be strong even before the second coming of Christ to earth: When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth? (; 8).

Nowadays, unbelievers can be found at every step. They have very little or no idea what faith is and what it obliges a person to do: they live in the world as they want, they do not recognize anything restraining and restricting their freedom, as if there is no God, there is no Judgment and responsibility. Others believe that faith is something difficult and incomprehensible for a person: they hesitate, doubt, they are not guided by it in life. Still others openly declare themselves enemies of religion: they do not recognize God, reject faith with all its rules and rituals, laugh at believers, calling them backward, ignorant. They try to infect others with the poison of their unbelief: they spread godless thoughts through the printed word, orally, even on the radio.

How to understand this sad phenomenon in people's lives - unbelief? How to explain its existence? How can he agree with the undoubted and proven fact - the universality among people of faith in God?

Unbelief is a painful, ugly phenomenon in human life. After all, there are people who have various shortcomings and malfunctions in their bodies, along with the healthy we also meet the sick: the blind, the deaf, the lame, the crippled. In the same way, there can be sick, crippled people and to their liking; here also in human family there are exceptions, as well as from the bodily side. No sighted person doubts that there is a sun in the sky. But how can you prove it to a blind man? That God exists is for the vast majority of people an undeniable, obvious truth. Never does not recognize her. This is a kind of vice and ugliness of the soul. Everything that we see and feel around us and within us, everything speaks of God and of His unceasing action on the world and our soul. The unbeliever does not see or notice any of this. This is inner blindness. Holy Scripture explains unbelief only by human folly: The fool said in his heart: there is no God(; 1). It is fair, therefore, says one of the ancient wise people Cicero: That God exists is such a well-known truth that I would doubt the sound mind of someone who would deny it.

To justify their unbelief, people come up with various reasons. They say: Faith is contrary to science. But what is science? The matter of the human mind, and the mind can make mistakes. And faith is a revelation of the Lord God Himself, and therefore contains only one essential truth. What is more to believe? Is it a human mind, weak and deceitful, or the infallible Word of God? Moreover, science has not yet finished its work and has not yet said its last word. The Word of God, reflected in the book of nature, and the Word of God, expressed in Holy Scripture, do not contradict one another, even though they apparently did not agree with each other: the natural sciences are only on the path of their development and have not yet reached their final perfection; the time will come when both of these books, i.e. the book of nature and the book of the Testament will come into perfect agreement (opinion of the congress of 210 English naturalists). No science can prove that there is no God, so real scientists never rebelled against faith and taught according to it.

Many Fathers and teachers of the Church were distinguished by great knowledge of worldly sciences, which did not prevent them from being zealous preachers and ardent defenders of Christianity. And among the secular scientists, very many are known for their strong faith in God and sincere, deep reverence for Him. Newton, who discovered the law of universal gravitation, when he said the name of God, got up every time and took off his hat. The famous Pasteur, who invented the inoculation against rabies, wrote: I studied a lot and therefore I believe like a simple peasant, if I became even more learned, then my faith would be as deep and ardent as the faith of a simple peasant woman. The famous Ampère, who created the science of electricity, wrote to one of his friends: Beware of engaging in only one science: with one hand explore nature, and with the other, like a child for the clothes of his father, hold on to the edge of God's robe. The famous astronomer Herschel says: All sciences bring a stone to the temple, erected to glorify the Creator our God. The great geologist Lyayol writes: In every study we discover the clearest evidence of the foresight, power and wisdom of the creative mind of God. The naturalist Linnaeus, describing all the plants, exclaimed: The Eternal, Great, Omniscient and Almighty God passed before me: I did not see Him in person, but His reflection seized my soul and plunged it into reverence. The greatest geographer Gitter says: We have not come into this world in vain: here we are ripening for another world. The learned historian Müller states: It was only with the knowledge of the Lord and a thorough study of the New Testament that I began to understand the meaning of history.

This means that true, serious science cannot lead to disbelief, but, on the contrary, it strengthens a person's faith in God and cultivates a religious feeling. Only half-knowledge leads people to godlessness. No one denies the existence of God, except for those who benefit from it, says the English scientist Bacon.

Another reason for unbelief, besides science, is doubt. The faith of Christ is a revelation of God Himself, sometimes not entirely clear and understandable to the limited human mind. Moreover, it requires obedience and obedience to itself, which is not always easy and pleasant for a sin-loving soul. This is where doubt arises. But is it reasonable for a person to renounce faith on the grounds that he has doubts about something? Whoever doubts faith has not yet decided whether it is right or wrong, true or untrue. The doubter argues as follows: Maybe what the faith of Christ teaches and requires of me is the truth, and it needs to be obeyed, or maybe all this is not true, and it should not be accepted and obeyed ...

When any thought or doubt takes us in everyday affairs, we strive to find out everything, we ask advice from knowledgeable people, we try to understand and study the matter, so as not to make a mistake, but to act correctly and reliably. And the more important the matter, the more zeal and care we strive to dispel our misunderstandings and vacillations. Observing caution and prudence in worldly affairs, we must also act in such a great and important matter as faith. Why does the unbeliever reject everything that faith teaches, without investigation, without deliberation, solely on the basis of his doubt? Everyone will agree that it is imprudent and dangerous to do so. But what if doubt is false and unjust, what if the faith of Christ tells us only one truth? By rejecting God, heaven, hell and the life to come, does a person not expose himself to the greatest danger of ruining his soul forever?

In the absence of reasonable and solid grounds that would speak in defense of unbelieving people, the latter resort to lies, all sorts of witticisms, ridicule, and blasphemous antics against religion. Of course, it is impossible to refute or destroy the Christian faith by such means, and then, where government is in the hands of unbelievers, the persecution of confessors of faith begins: prisons, exile, desecration, destruction and destruction of shrines, etc.

But if unbelieving people cannot justify or excuse their unbelief, then why do they hold on to it? A sinful life is conducive to unbelief. Some passions appear in the heart of a person, there is neither the desire nor the strength to fight them. To calm himself and lull the voice of conscience, the sinner resorts to unbelief. If he cannot completely free himself from thoughts about God, then it is more calm for him to think less about Him or imagine that He stands far from the world and does not see our bad deeds.

Does unbelief do any good to a person? Does it give you peace of mind? No and no. The unbeliever is the most miserable person in the world. Without faith in God, he is lost in understanding the simplest things: the world of God is a mystery to him. Where did it come from if there is no Creator? How does he stand in beauty and order if there is no God Provider? And people and their life for an unbeliever is nothing but a realm of wandering shadows, incomprehensible, meaningless. By refusing to accept as truth what faith teaches, the mind of the unbeliever is prone to assimilate all falsehood, superstition, and error. With the loss of faith, a person throws off every bridle that restrains his feelings. Evil inclinations get a full opportunity to develop, the taste for everything good and holy is lost, every good feeling freezes, shame and fear for one's actions are exterminated. Without the action of faith, conscience loses all power over a person: it falls asleep, and sometimes it reaches such damage that it justifies the worst deeds of unbelief. It is true, therefore, that a man without faith is a man without conscience.

Who would call this state happy? Who will approve him, envy him? Without faith in God, the loving Father of all people, without goodness and peace in the soul, there can be no happiness for a person on earth: longing, heaviness, torment, dissatisfaction ... And if disasters fall on unfaith? Where then will he find solace and protection? Where will he get the strength and courage to endure and endure the hardships of life, death itself? When a person is young and full of strength and health, he does not think about thoughts about God, his soul, his eternal destiny. But when life tends to decline, then he involuntarily turns his gaze to the end and cannot help but think about the question: what will happen to him next? Unbelief gives no answer. And then a painful state takes possession of the soul. A person strains all his strength to calm his indignant spirit, and cannot do this, he seeks light and does not find it. If the hour of death is terrible for every person, then even more so for the non-believer and the atheist. What can console him in the last moments of his life? In the past, he found all his happiness in earthly objects and various pleasures. But they are no longer available to the dying. Truly the death of a sinner (; 22).

Life after death is life in God, spiritual life, and the unbeliever is not accustomed to it and is not capable of it.

In the name of love for God and neighbor, every Christian must fight in every possible way against the disease of our age with unbelief. Brothers! If any of us deviates from the truth, and someone converts him, let him know that he who turns a sinner from his false path will save his soul from death and cover many sins (; 19).

There are many believers among us, but there are also many non-believers, many who are also staggering or wavering in their faith.

The latter either believe, or do not believe, and stand, as it were, at a crossroads, not knowing which path to choose for themselves: the path of faith or the path of unbelief. They rush about, achieve something and do not find what they are looking for.

They want to be presented with exact, almost mathematical, proofs of what is comprehended not so much by the mind as by the soul and heart, that which is beyond the limits of the human mind and remains a great mystery to us.

But even if you have doubts about your faith, you must strictly adhere to the faith of your fathers and grandfathers, you must try to lead your life as befits a good Christian. And that's why.

Where are those sages, scientists and philosophers who definitely proved that there is nothing else behind our earthly existence? There aren't any yet. This is just an unfounded assumption of a relatively small number of godless people. Will there be an afterlife? In that case, aren't you making the biggest mistake of giving up your faith? We, believing in the afterlife, will not lose anything if our faith were in vain. But you? Rejecting the possibility of eternal torment, fearing nothing in the future, you live in full pleasure. But what if you actually have to experience the severity of eternal torment? What will it look like to you then? What misfortune and misfortune will you then fall into? It will be too late to repent of your mistake.

Therefore, isn’t it better to believe, crying out: I believe, Lord, help my unbelief! (; 24)?

7. Christmas greeting to the atheists of the Serbian Bishop of Ohrid Nicholas

Stand back, faithful, a little aside. We turn to you every Christmas. You know what mercy and truth mean, just try to illuminate your life with them. And now we want to turn our word to those who have fallen away from our faith, the champions of atheism, brothers by blood and language, but alien in spirit and thoughts. You have stunned the world with a cry that faith is the opiate of the people, but in proof of this you have shown nothing on your part but blood, shackles and tyranny. Why never ask yourself: if faith is the opiate of the simple, how did the most famous philosophers get drunk on it: Descartes, Leibniz, Kant, Figner, Solovyov and thinkers like Pascal and Manzoni?

If faith is an opiate for fools, how could the most brilliant poets be carried away by it: Dante, Shakespeare, Milton, Hugo, Pushkin, Dostoevsky, Negosh?

If faith is the opiate of the rural poor, how can civilized citizens erect majestic temples of this faith in Constantinople, in Rome, in Paris and Berlin, in London and New York?

If faith is an opiate for servants and slaves, why did Tsar Lazar and Tsar Constantine go to death for this faith, and so many others famous princes and great people different peoples and languages?

If faith is an opium for the illiterate, the ignorant, how did the greatest scientists of the world, like Copernicus, Newton, Franklin, Mendeleev, Crookes, Pupin and Oliver Lodge take this opium?

If faith is an opium for the lowly and despised, how in the name of this opium have so many husbands and wives left crowns and possessions and wealth, and retired into solitude and poverty, in order to serve the faith as much as possible?

If faith is an opiate for young people, such as Rastko Nemanich and Joasaph, the Tsarevich of India, how could the wise and cautious elder St. Stefan Nemanja?

If you say that faith is an opiate for old women, how then can you explain that so many girls were intoxicated with it, like the holy martyrs Irina, Marina, Paraskeva, Euphemia and many others?

If you say that faith is an opiate for cowardly recruits, how can it be an opiate for the brave Minin and Pozharsky, Karađorđe and Milash, Washington and Garibaldi, Foch and Heg, and for the last four Serbian governors?

If, finally, oppressed by these questions of ours, you exclaim: Faith is an opiate for non-socialists, but not for socialists!, we ask you: How then could so many socialist ideologists and leaders like Saint-Simon, Aries, Frunier, Macdonald, Henderson, Lansburn and other staunch socialists and at the same time staunch Christians?

Or do you consider unbelief to be the exclusive property of Bakunin's Slavic socialists and expelled Russian seminarians?

If you say that the rich invented faith to keep the poor under their rule, then you have never looked at the cave of Bethlehem and Golgotha ​​and have not heard about hundreds of thousands of Christian martyrs, on whose sufferings faith was established in the world!

8. The Power of the Gospel

A European who does not recognize religion once said this to one of the Christian rulers of the island of Fiji:

“I am very sorry that you, being such an influential and strong prince, became a victim of a missionary. There is not a single intelligent person who would believe in the story of Jesus Christ. Now we are very developed and do not believe in such stories.

The prince's eyes sparkled, and he answered:

“Do you see this big stone? There were times when the heads of our slaves were smashed on it. Do you see a furnace nearby, near this stone? There we roasted the people that fell into our hands and ate them. Pay your attention to the fact that if the missionaries had not come to us, had not brought the Bible and taught us the love through which we, the people, have become the sons of God, then you would not have returned alive from this island.

“Praise God for the gospel, because without him you would have been smashed on this stone and roasted in this oven.”