Faith… Belief in an Impossible Truth (an opinion piece)

“How do Faith and Truth fit together?”

Every culture has a religious element that believes they have the Truth! We know that this cannot be possible so how do we explain Faith and Religious Truth.

I believe Faith is belief in a seemingly impossible Truth! By this I mean that though we might try to logically explain or defend our beliefs, there are elements that do not fit logic and are totally dependent on Faith. As we enter the Christmas Season this become very evident in our celebrations. The concept of God becoming man through an immaculate conception, the belief that Jesus is the Messiah the savior of the world, the shepherds receiving the birth announcement from an angel choir, the wise men (astrologers) from the East who saw a bright star and followed it to find the baby who was to become King. And then the miracles throughout the life of Jesus, his death, burial and resurrection are all things Christians believe to be their understanding of Truth! Even belief that the Bible itself is the Word of God is based on Faith in a seemingly impossible truth. 

Impossible Truths

Accepted, believed by Faith

Words to live by

***

Faith: Belief in an impossible Truth

Love should bind us together

Without Love our Truth really is impossible

***

Cologne Cathedral Photo: Dwight L. Roth

 

 

Light in the Darkness

Reach for the Light

Trees reach for the light

Following the sun

As it reclines on the edge of the world

Knowing that without light

There is no life

In a world filled with darkness

My soul rises toward the light

Evil presses in to overwhelm me

Terrors of darkness distract

Let your spirit rise with mine

Reach for the (sun)/son

An example for everyone to follow

Source of Light and Life

Always shining never hiding

Spirit touching spirit

Reflecting the Light of God’s Love

My escape

From the eternal darkness around me

Towers of Babel

How quickly time covers

structures once thought permanent

lost and forgotten

leaving them now crumbling

as nature swallows them up

***

Time and nature

having been here before us

will win in the end

***

As we foolishly

think our towers of babel

will be our answer

KONICA MINOLTA DIGITAL CAMERA

Photos: Dwight L. Roth

The Weave of History

When I was very young, I am told there was a rag man who came from house to house collecting pieces of cloth that no longer had much use. He took those pieces and wove them into rag rugs which he then sold to earn money. For many years my mother had one, very similar to the one in the picture, on the floor in front of our kitchen sink! 

Everyone wants their stories told about what happened to their ancestors in the past. Obviously, we cannot tell every detail of every story, so bits and pieces of the truth are woven together to make what we understand to be our collective history.

History is woven like a rag rug

pieces woven together to make a solid tapestry

Colorful, yet never of one truth alone it seems

but of many colors, versions, and perspectives

all woven into a solid mat that we can stand on

to protect ourselves against the cold hard true reality

that we would rather not experience in detail

Rag Rugs found on:  https://www.etsy.com/

Lighting a Fire… or Putting it Out

Today, I painted two watercolors that are memories from our trip we took a few weeks ago. The first one is a little red fireplug that was by the sidewalk as we strolled leisurely along, and the other is the Little Stone Church on Mackinac Island. At the time, I did not see any parallel between them, but the more I thought about it the more it stimulated my imagination. So, this poem is about opposites and similarities.

Little red fireplug waiting alone

for the time when its purpose will be fulfilled

A time of connection when the water inside

can flow forth with such force

that it will put out a fire

saving a building from physical destruction

***

The Little Stone Chapel sits high on the hill

standing out in the morning sunshine

waiting for a time when its purpose can be fulfilled

An inviting place where all are welcomed

to hear the good news of faith and hope

A time of heavenly connection

that when accepted by faith can light a fire

in one’s soul

saving them from spiritual destruction

***

Watercolor Paintings: Dwight L. Roth

 

Sharing this on d’Verse Poets Pub open link night

Join us at: https://dversepoets.com

 

 

The Heart of Politics

The Bible says,

“The heart of a man is desperately wicked,

Who can know it?”

This seems to be very true when it comes to politics

As I listen to the campaign ads on TV

it does not take long to realize

that the heart of politics is lies and twisted truth

Just enough truth to salve itching ears

Just enough of a lie to make you a believer

As we come now to the midterm elections

we have again witnessed all of the above

So, what is one to do?

Most of us are smart enough to see the deceit

We recognize the half-truths

And in the end

We compromise

Every vote is a compromise

In our democracy each has a right to his/her opinion

What it comes down to, in my opinion, is this

Which candidate’s policies will do the most good…

for me, for the country, and beyond

We know we won’t agree on everything

So, to vote is to compromise

Something long lost with our lawmakers it seems

***

Photo: Dwight L. Roth

Drunk on Politics

Perhaps you might consider your vote to be

like a seed cone of hops in the giant political cauldron.

fermenting and condensing together with others

yielding something far more potent when brewed…

A mix of ideology… a blend of change and diversity.

*

It flavors society as the sour mash boils

evaporating and rising, cooling condensing

contained and chilled, giving a colorful heads-up

to all who partake… who choose intoxication.

*

It is repulsed by others who don’t care to imbibe

Those of “clear thinking”… and “God on their side”

Hard-line, immovable… a Jack Daniel’s of a different kind

Cooking four more years and extremely intoxicating.

It’s all about their vote, their ideology, and their guns

and… “Making America Great Again”

Photos from Manheim, PA –  Dwight L. Roth

Today Lisa, at d’Verse, brewed up a new prompt for us today. We are to consider fermentation in any form we choose. I decided to go with politics. Seems fermentation goes on there on a daily basis!

Join us at: https://dversepoets.com

Actions

All of us react… some have courage 

Not equal and opposite, but forceful and empowered

Physics doesn’t apply to the soul being challenged

Stirred or spurned, the reaction is the same

Courage rises to the occasion, finds a way to overcome

To rise from the ashes and stand firm in what we believe

Find the courage to react, rather than do nothing

Your actions can change the world

~ D. L. Roth

Painting: Dwight L. Roth

Posting for d’Verse open link night….   https://dversepoets.com

Gargantuan Words

I never understood the obsession with big words

calling it logolespy instead of just being a word freak.

Is bigger always better … more impressive?

Only in Texas, I believe.

To me it is just a lot of excited burbles

a gibberish of sorts much like a baby might speak

when playing with blocks on the floor.

I like laconic words… short and sweet…

chosen words that mean something to the reader.

Writing poetry is ikigai the reason for being

that can only be understood when speaking plainly.

Scintilla that sparks of inspiration takes us

down the yellow-brick road looking for the great OZ,

thinking his name should be twenty syllables long…

instead of just one.

No, gargantuan words don’t impress me much.

So… you know something none of the rest of us know

There has got to be a word for that…

Oh yes, that would be eniteo!

“I am distinguished most eminent … look at me shine!”

I say strikhedonia … it is all hog wash!

Simple words are susurrus to the soul…

light as a soft gently breeze.

The expression of belle-ame … my beautiful soul.

***

Photo: Dwight L. Roth

Today at d’Verse, Mish shared some of the new words she has come across on social media. She gave us a long list of them with their definitions and asked us to write a poem using at least three or more of these new words in our poem. I am not a fan of using words that are meaningless to the reader in my poems, and almost skipped this prompt. But then I thought, why not illustrate what I dislike about them in a poem. This is what came out!

For the words and definitions, we were given, join us at: https://dversepoets.com

Choice… or No Choice at All

“Hobson’s Choice,” they say, “is no choice at all.”

Much like the choices of our digital world

Do you “agree” or “disagree” seems to come with

every new social media site or equipment driver

Be sure to read the agreement before clicking…

Yeah, right…Who is fool enough to do that??

“Agree” is a “Hobson’s Choice”… no choice at all

An ultimatum you can’t ignore nor refuse

It is “agree” or send it back!

Who wants to do that?

So, we make our choice to have none

***

Who knows what our choice allows…

Perhaps selling our information?

Listening to us and gathering information?

Spying on us through our camera?

Or… giving up our rights to everything imaginable!

But we will never know… till it’s too late.

***

Photo: Dwight L. Roth

Today at d’Verse our guest host Christopher Reilley asked us to write a poem using the word choice. I liked his definition of Hobson’s Choice which is no choice at all!

Join us at: https://dversepoets. com