Frederick the Great of Prussia (1712-1786) ones said that everybody should find happiness in the way he or she sees fit to do so. Even though it resonates with the “unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” he was specifically talking about different religious streams in Prussia at his time. Prussia was mainly protestant and still had catholic schools. And that was his response when he was asked if they should be closed. So what he was basically saying was: ‘You can believe what you want as long as you keep it to yourself. Let those who want to be catholic be catholic and let the protestants be protestants. I don’t care as long as nobody fights about it. Let everybody stick to what he wants as long as it is private.’ And that is something I have failed to understand: that faith should be a private matter.

When I say that I believe in God I mean that I am convinced that God exists no matter if anybody believes in him or not. I believe him to be a universal truth. So why should I hide that? Do I hide from lesser informed people that I believe in the existence of my old friend gravity and all his interesting properties? When someone in my presence says that heavy objects always fall faster than light objects, should I not correct him? Does everybody have the right to his own opinion about gravity? I don’t think so. If I find an appropriate way tell him the truth why shouldn’t I do so? Because gravity is a private matter? That is as ridiculous as it sounds.

A friend of mine lost his job a while back and the situation was not looking good. After he told me about it I said that I would pray for his situation until it had changed. And his reaction was: “But I don’t believe in God.” I have heard that kind of answer often enough by now to come up with a witty response: “The existence of my brother does not depend on you believing me that I have one.” In all honesty I have never used that response and probably never will. But it somehow amuses me to see that people think the mere existence of God or his ability to do something on their behalf would depend on them believing in him.  What kind of God would that be? I don’t even know.

To at least finish the story: My friend not only got a job, it is the job of his dreams. (Including “No we can’t pay you what you are asking for! It is too little. Let’s raise it by 400.” (Per month.)) I am convinced that it was God who orchestrated that. (Call from a friend on Wednesday, interview on Thursday, asked to start on Friday. He didn’t even apply for the job.) Was it my prayers? I can’t tell but I think they played their part.

So back to the topic. Why should faith a private matter? If I believe in a God who created the universe and loves us so much that he has done literally everything for us, who knows us better than we ever could, why shouldn’t that be the basis for everything I am doing? And if there is such an almighty being why would I have to act publically like there is none? If God exists it would be so fundamentally important for the way we live as humans, for how we form societies, countries, legal systems, and so on.

A comment I heard about believing in God was that it is a crutch for the weak. And of course with that notion I understand why it should stay behind closed doors. We all want a picture perfect word. A picture perfect appearance. Picture perfect behavior. A crutch of any sort would be out of place. It would ruin everything. But is it a crutch?

Let’s say that it is. Just for the sake of argument. It would mean that we allow the weak to find comfort in a lie. But that is surely not wise to do. If they are weak and should be strong a lie is the worst I can give them. At least on the long run. For somebody who lost a loved one it might help for a moment to tell him that his loved one still lives. But that doesn’t solve the problem. It postpones it. This crutch would not support you while you heal, it would keep you injured. It would be the exact thing that keeps you from getting well. And on the other hand, trying to take Jesus’ teachings and live them out is not really for those who have enough other problems on their mind. Of course God is the perfect place to take all your troubles (It’s the only good one.), but he will never let him be your crutch. For the simple reason that your wellbeing is his main concern. If he is your crutch then only the kind that supports you while you heal. And afterwards he will stop being your crutch.

If you really take into consideration that there might be an actual god, then it would be foolish to think that believing in him should be a private matter. It should be a public matter. The most public matter there is. But is there a god? I like that question. I like to talk about it. But I really don’t like the attempt to ignore it by trying to put the entire matter behind closed doors. Because it is one of the most important questions. Not only for every individual but for the entire human race. We are searching for the truth. And rightfully so. But then we should do it in all areas of life. And if we thing to know the truth we shouldn’t hide it. Because you can only keep your faith private if you don’t hold it to be true.