A Belief Statement for the New Millennium

By Kevin Wood

A Belief Statement or Belief System is briefly defined as a set of principles or a body of understanding that one uses to determine their personnel concept of self.  It is the basis of making up just who we are and how we interact with the world around us. It drives our aspirations, our hopes, fears and actions. Our beliefs make us who we are.

I myself have developed, to a point, my own personal Belief Statement and I wish to share it with others. This will in turn serve to refine and expound my own current "body of understanding".   Further this "helps" to satisfy my internal desire to teach and assist others.  If I may be so bold as to say to fulfill my own "calling".

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kevin Wood
• Release date: Aug 30, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223540663

Book preview

Preface

A Belief Statement or Belief System is briefly defined as a set of principles or a body of understanding that one uses to determine their personnel concept of self.  It is the basis of making up just who we are and how we interact with the world around us. It drives our aspirations, our hopes, fears and actions. Our beliefs make us who we are.

I myself have developed, to a point, my own personal Belief Statement and I wish to share it with others. This will in turn serve to refine and expound my own current body of understanding.  Further this helps to satisfy my internal desire to teach and assist others.  If I may be so bold as to say to fulfill my own calling.

It is made up of several premises some are as follows.

Observing, Questioning and Understanding.  These three actions are ones that each of us individually can and need to make on our own.  True understanding and true growth must occur on an individual basis.  Individual awareness is needed for true spiritual awareness.

Some additional characteristics that describe this endeavor are:

Expressed in simple terms

Is based on sound science which includes both the physical and humanistic sciences

Made with an open mind and open heart

Respectful of all cultural influences of man’s many societies and religions 

Additional premises include:

Usually the simplest answer is the most correct as well as the awareness that our understanding of science facts and processes as well as our spiritual insights are always growing.

It should avoid the use of any labels.  Nor should it use as a basis those concepts that are not rooted in true observation available to all.  Also it should avoid making inferences beyond what is reasonable.

Further any Belief System needs to enable the individual to grow and mature.  It needs to empower true individual growth, not just rule following or going along with the crowd.  I myself have found that nurturing the life within each of us enables true growth and maturity.

It is one that, if you will, is built from the ground up.  By observing our place in the world, understanding the basic components of our lives, we can resolve virtually all issues that arise. We can grow and mature to our full potential with the ability to cope with all that we may encounter in the world.

An additional premise that must be kept in mind is that we can never fully come to know everything. We can make observations, question and gain some understanding yet we must realize that we cannot know everything fully.  To use a phrase – there is always something more. 

Others will disagree with this Belief System that I am presenting for your review.  This endeavor is not meant for everyone.  Some of us though have this need to refine aspects of existing Religious belief systems to gain a more complete understanding of the spiritual questions that we have. 

Other belief systems are valid for those that hold them as true.  We will find that most spiritual endeavors of man have the same goal.  That is to grow into a mature state of spirituality. We can end up in the same place.  Some of us simply take a different route.

Is this right for you?

The following are some questions or concepts that you may have asked of yourself.

These seem to be things that people often ask of themselves that challenge their existing belief system or religious views. 

What I have found in common with almost all of these was a lack of understanding as to the basic nature of life and one’s spirit, hence the questions.  Once an understanding as to the nature of life and spirit is obtained then one can better handle these other unknowns or what-ifs.

These are in no particular order.  If you have unresolved questions like these you to may be interested in my endeavor. 

Prove that I have a soul.

Religions may say that you have a soul that lives forever but how do you prove it?  Do you have to have faith in this as its something that we can’t see or prove? 

Does God have a purpose for me? Why am I here?

Many of us have asked of themselves the age-old questions Who am I? or, Why am I here? For many of us we have yet to find satisfactory answers or guidance.  This questioning results from our having self-awareness and our desire to find expression.

With the advancements in cloning and stem cell research when does life begin or if and when is one’s soul present?

Medical science has truly been remarkable.  These new technologies force us to answer some very elemental questions concerning the nature of life.  These include questions concerning the beginning of life as well as it ending.

Does life exist on other planets?  What does that mean to our understanding of God?  Does that invalidate the world’s churches and our sense of God?  Who are we if we are not unique in the Universe?

With additional space exploration the search for life elsewhere has significant implications for many.  Our culture has largely developed as though we where alone in the Universe.  Many existing religions are not well suited to