Unbelief: A Path to Enlightenment
Clare Goldsberry
A father approached Jesus out of a crowd of people that always seemed to surround him
wherever he traveled. The man begged Jesus to cure his afflicted son. Jesus inquired how long his son
had suffered from these fits that often caused the young man to fall on the ground, gnash his teeth, and
foam at the mouth. “Since he was a child,” the man replied, begging Jesus to have compassion on them.
Jesus then said to the man, “If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.” Then the
father replied, “Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.”(Mark 9:21-24) At this point, his son was
cured.
The interesting thing about this comment is that the father didn’t stop with his statement of
belief, but went on to request help with his unbelief. This might indicate that a person’s unbelief could
be as beneficial to the path of enlightenment as a person’s belief, perhaps even more so.
Belief often indicates a rigid structure. The term “belief system” is often used to designate a
person’s religious affiliation. Whether or not one is a believer can indicate whether or not a person is a
true member of a specific religious group. Prior to admitting a person as a full-fledged member,
religious organizations often require a statement or profession of belief as an indicator of one’s
commitment to that religious organization’s doctrines or dogma.
However, from a theosophical standpoint, belief is something that is fluid, moving, living,
breathing, and can change as we journey along various paths of life. Indeed, the ability to allow our
beliefs to be flexible enough to lead us into new ways of being and seeing the world is critical to the
quest for Self and for God or the Divine within us.
Putting our beliefs in suspended animation long enough to allow us the opportunity to look at
something in a different light, and ask questions in the light of new learning or experience, is critical to
our spiritual progression. Enlightenment can never become a reality if we are trapped in the darkness of
a rigid belief system, unable or unwilling to ask the questions that can lead us forward into the light.
Many people find a sense of security and certainty in blind acceptance of their belief system.
Many religious belief systems discourage the quest, telling their followers that questioning can destroy
belief. Yet often, just the opposite happens. Questioning can open up new doors and new avenues for
self-discovery. Of course, religious leaders fear that if they encourage questioning and questing, it may
also lead one out of the particular religious organization to which one belongs. It might lead one to a
different religious organization or to no particular religious organization.
In his book The Soul’s Religion, Thomas Moore notes that people often use their belief system as
a basis for their faith. Yet, he says, “What they call faith looks like its opposite. Like those who whistle
in the dark, some seem to parade their beliefs precisely so they don’t have to face the anxiety of not
knowing the answers to the basic issues in life.” Moore agrees that belief should be fluid and flexible.
When belief is rigid and inflexible, Moore writes, “. . . there is no room for movement and no motive for
reflection. When belief is rigid, it is infinitely more dangerous than unbelief.”
I found tremendous resistance from my family, as my own journey led me beyond the belief
system of my childhood religious upbringing. In one outburst of rage at my newly chosen path, my
brother accused me of not knowing what I believed. My brother can recite his beliefs word-for-word, as
if out of a book. His chosen path lies in an organized religion that provides him with structure and
certainty, but discourages anyone from asking questions or taking on a quest of their own. Perhaps his
anger grows out of a fear that outside the structure of the organization, one becomes lost in a sea of
unbelief. Perhaps he fears that when the protective walls come down, one is left standing alone in the
darkness, when in actuality, the opposite often happens.
When the walls of rigid belief systems come down, the light begins pouring in and one becomes
free to seek enlightenment by asking the questions and embracing the answers; answers which, by the
way, might be in the form of more questions that propel one still further along the path. Becoming
comfortable with this process requires confidence in the quest and certainty in the path, rather than in
any particular belief system. Within the shadows of unbelief lies the openness to receive the light of
spiritual possibilities; within the fertile soil of unbelief lies the seeds of new faith that can grow into
knowledge and enlightenment. It is what led to the healing of the son of the man who asked Jesus to
bless his unbelief.
In the esoteric community, many people on “the path” disdain belief and the connotations it
holds as being a dogmatic stricture of the church or of Christianity alone, and think that somehow belief
precludes one’s ability to be a seeker of truth. That is not the case. As Larry Witham says in his book By
Design: Science and the Search for God, “One must believe in something in order to proceed to the next
thing.”
Belief is only the beginning. Belief is the first step toward understanding, as the father of the sick
child knew. St. Anselm, the medieval logician, said, “I believe so that I may understand.” As one moves
from belief, through the twilight of unbelief, one is ultimately led to the light of knowing, and to
enlightenment itself. Unbelief is not something to be avoided as one seeks enlightenment and selfknowledge—it is something to be embraced.
References
Moore, Thomas. The Soul's Religion. San Francisco: Perennial/HarperCollins, 2003.
Witham, Larry. By Design: Science and the Search for God. San Francisco: Encounter Books, 2003.
Clare Goldsberry is a member of the Phoenix Study Group. She is a professional freelance writer
for business and industry trade magazines, and also writes articles on religion and spirituality.
Clare is the author of A Stranger in Zion, a non-fiction book that received the 2003 Glyph Award
for Best Religion Book from the Arizona Book Publishers Association.