Not everyone is aware that the cherished view is merely an interpretation attributed to the aura of infallibility. You confuse interpretation with biblical statements and think that the statement must express this or that, namely exactly what you yourself think. It is a religious short-circuit, a projection of one’s own thoughts onto the words of the Bible, which then suddenly become universally valid.

However, I also understand that any shake-up of cherished views is perceived as a threat. That is unsettling. Perhaps one could deduce from this that many people seek a sense of security in their beliefs that they would otherwise not have. Self-reflection led me to this statement.

The search for reliability

My search for God was once a search for reliability. As a teenager, I had discovered that my understanding was limited. At the same time, I realized that this was true for all people. Where can I find reliability? That was the starting signal for me to go in search of God. If there were a God worthy of the name, it would perhaps be without human imperfection and limitations. I wasn’t sure about that, but it would be worth a try to ask.

Security or reliability were important to me and I recognize a similar theme in many other people. Does faith merely conceal one’s own insecurity? Some draw the reverse conclusion, that faith is merely a way of concealing one’s own insecurity in order to discredit faith. However, that would be an almost naïve simplification. People evolve. There are topics of importance in this development. They have to do with ourselves, what makes us tick and what we have experienced so far. Confrontation is part of being human, and all experiences play a role there. There is often a starting signal, an occasion, an initial question to prompt a rethink. In my opinion, this applies to every new direction in life, to every “conversion”.

Insecurity is an issue for many people. This is often concealed with arrogance, narcissism, know-it-all attitude and the like. Jesus, for example, repeatedly had to deal with the self-righteous religious leaders of his time. Even today there are people who think they are better, more right, more sinless and holier than others. They are most likely to be seduced into thinking that “Jesus sees it the same way I do”.

Does Jesus think like me?

Hardly, is the answer. This misjudgment simply shows ignorance. It is an ignorance of both the Bible and one’s own tradition. Anyone who interprets their current knowledge as Jesus’ opinion and final truth has elevated themselves to the status of God. Those who seek absolute knowledge or are led to believe that they have it are under pressure from this expectation. Religious demands can put people in great distress.

If we think about the insecurity that many people struggle with, it is a false sense of security to see oneself or one’s own understanding as the measure of all things. It does not mean that we cannot know anything, but that expecting absolute knowledge is neither realistic nor helpful. Another argument against this is that sectarian and ideological views should never be questioned. Their greatest attraction is their infallibility, their supposed security. In fact, this is merely a projection.

The way out of this trap does not have to be a farewell to faith. As long as we seek security in knowledge, we cannot let go of knowledge. If one can instead place security in God himself, then knowledge does not necessarily have to be part of it. People would be free to adapt their understanding without this affecting their personal understanding of faith.

There is a third way: we accept our existence in this world as God-given and take our human existence as our starting point instead of imposing religious expectations. We are human because God created us that way. We can and may fulfill our humanity because this is the only way we can live here. This is not a religious view, but a pragmatic realization. How we live as human beings in this world is yet another question. It is not the starting point, but the elaboration of the starting point. First of all, it’s about what our lives are anchored in.

These three possibilities speak of the anchoring of our lives:

1. Anchored in religious assumptions, as an ideologue (“believing something”)
2. Anchoring in God, as a believer (“someone” to trust)
3. Anchoring in this world, as a human being (sober starting position).

Many Christians will say that we must follow point 2. We should be anchored in God. I can agree with this, but I think that this can never be the starting position. We are human first, before we can think anything as a human being. Adam also had to be human before God could speak to him.

The order of these points should perhaps be considered in reverse order. We are human beings first, who can only trust, namely believe, as human beings and perfectly imperfectly. Anyone who gets bogged down in juxtapositions such as right and wrong and certain views can become an ideologue.

Perhaps the trick is not to take the last step, but instead to always remain willing to learn. This last step is critical because it gives rise to sectarian attitudes. Whoever is caught up in this does not live from trust, but from the approval of rigid ideas.