Is Thanksgiving for Non-Believers?
Google Image |
(This blog was originally published in 2014. I did some updating for 2018, but it's mostly the same. The sentiments, especially the hope that readers will have a thankful Thanksgiving, are also the same.)
I was a columnist at one point in my newspaper career, and for several Thanksgivings, my whole column comprised a list of names of people to whom I was particularly thankful.
I had
thought about doing that with this blog, which will be posted on Thanksgiving
Day, my favorite of all the holidays. But in the interest of privacy, which is
becoming a rarer commodity, I decided against it.
You know
who you are. You’re family and friends and the readers of this blog, including
the people to whom I send weekly e-mails about the posts, my Facebook
friends and the unknown number who see it on Google+ and Tumblr. I am particularly
grateful to Jim Stessman, my friend and former newspaper colleague, for looking these blogs over
each week and providing valuable feedback.
I
realize that although I do all I can to make them readable, you may not always
be in the mood to read them. The topic requires thoughtfulness and a
willingness to look inward. For our own mental health, that’s not something we
may always want to do.
You
might be interested to know that, according to Blogger, I’ve had just under 41,000 page
views since starting this blog in the summer of 2013. With 281 blogs posted so
far, that’s an average of 146 page views a week. It’s far from “viral,” but I’ll
take it gratefully. One thing that I would like is more feedback, which readers
can do from the blog site or by sending me an e-mail at carneyconsulting@msn.com.)
Google Image |
As the
plug under the blog’s title says, Skeptical Faith is a “discussion of faith,
belief and religion for people who have given up on God and/or religion. It’s meant
to show that faith and skepticism are not mutually exclusive.” Along with Pope
Francis, I don’t believe believers and non-believers are natural enemies. We’re
fellow seekers of God, even though non-believers may not describe the object of
their search in that way.
So why
don’t people like me just leave the non-believers be? First, because like the
woman in the gospel who sweeps her house and finds a valuable coin that she had
lost and when she finds it calls together her neighbors to rejoice with her, I feel
compelled by my faith to share the joy and peace that faith has brought me. People
are free to read it or not.
Second,
I believe that many non-believers have as much doubt about their disbelief as
many believers do about their faith. I might be able to shed some light on the
subjects of faith and doubt.
One of
the reasons I like Thanksgiving is that all of us, believers and non-believers,
can share in the gratitude the holiday signifies. We all have much to be
grateful for, even if we may disagree about where to direct our gratitude.
Most
believers are, first of all, grateful to God, the prime mover, the ultimate
creator, our Father/Mother. And we’re grateful for our brothers and sisters, in
and outside the faith. I think most non-believers are thankful, among other
things, for the people in their lives and for life itself. So being grateful is
something we can share.
Here’s
hoping that we can relax and gratefully share this holiday with whomever we’re
with, and that believers and non-believers come closer to the object of our
search.
Comments
Post a Comment