"Personal" Faith?

      We've all heard the saying that our religion, our faith, is our own personal choice, and it's no one's business to question it or challenge it. I used to think that too, but now I'm just pondering to what extent is that true.

     I do agree that faith is personal... but personal in the sense that we can't really say we believe in a God unless we have truly felt in our hearts and are convinced in our minds that there is a God. And yes, I do believe that faith is personal in the sense that we should have the freedom of choice to follow the faith our hearts and minds convict us of.

     But I find that it's quite misleading - and even inaccurate - to say that it's no concern of anyone else's what faith we make the stand to follow. Think about it logically, if we choose to put our trust in a God, it's obviously going to affect other people one way or the other! If all the decisions and actions that we take affect others, then a religious or spiritual decision would obviously affect others, and perhaps would even be the core element in the way others are affected. If our faith and religious beliefs shape us the way we are, then obviously it's going to affect the way we treat others.

     So you can't really blame others for questioning your faith or asking about it. Yes, a person should never shove his / her beliefs down someone's throat, but it shouldn't come as a surprise when someone asks about an individual's faith. You can't just curtly say "it's between me and God".

     Let's face it, faith is paradoxically both personal and also communal. Because it moulds your very character, it would inevitably leak into the way you treat your family, your friends, your society, the global community.

     If someone were to ask me about my faith (or lack of it), I would think that the best thing to do is not to just brush the topic aside and say that "it's personal". It's best to think about the answer long and hard, long before the question is asked. Because if I don't have an answer to that, I should think I should do some self-reflection and discover where I stand on the matter.