In a recent Times magazine some letters of Mother Teresa were discussed. These letters pertain mostlly to a time in Saint of Calcutta’s life when she struggled with her faith and feelings of seperation from God.
In the following issue many letters to the editor pertained to the publication and discussion of those letters. These ranged from Christians to atheists. But there was one letter that made me raise my brow, and one line in that letter that really made me wonder. It said “If she had been even more courageous, she would have admitted she was an atheist.”
While I have not read these letters, and never plan to do so (Mother Teresa never wanted them to be viewed publicly), I immediately question the above statement. If a Christian doubts their faith or feels that God has left them, can one automatically assume that the person doesn’t believe in God and that God does not exist?
I say no. You cannot question the basis of truth on whether or not you believe it to be true. The truth is the truth, and that universal principal holds true even if you believe it to be false.
Dictionary.com defines atheism as ‘the disbelief or doctrine that God or supreme beings do not exist’ (abr.)
I highly doubt that this is a feeling that Mother Teresa ever felt. If she felt that God had forsaken her, she certainly did not forsake His vision for her.
I’m still mulling this over as more questions come to mind…
