The Joy of Spiritual Discovery

This book is not a scientific book. Rather it explores the spiritual quality of religion. It focuses upon your personal path of spiritual discovery. Although it takes the basic approach of a religionist, it appeals to both the mind and the emotions. It suggests ideas uniquely acceptable as ideals.

Without rejecting the conventional view that one's religion is largely a matter of the heart--impressions, feelings, belief, and faith--it insists that understanding the role of these non-material factors is the basis upon which religion ought to make sense. Without in any way demeaning the role of these heart-felt elements in religion, this book propose that whatever we have faith about and in Whom we have this faith should expand our beliefs beyond knowledge without doing violence to that knowledge. Religion should never conflict with the things we know to be facts. We should understand what we know and how we feel about God, and why we know it or feel it.

Together, these books suggest answers to many deep personal questions. For those having unanswered questions about religion and personal spirituality it may be of less importance which answers you accept or reject than that the answers you accept as truth are those which you, and you alone, select. No one else can do it for you. No answer to any question about your relationship with God is worth anything unless it is your answer. Holy persons and holy books can propose answers but you, alone, can accept them.

This book is for those who think about spirituality. More particularly, it is for those who search with their minds for knowledge and beliefs, and with their hearts for meanings, values and truth. It is for those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, who seek broader concepts of good and evil. It is most useful to those who have serious personal questions about religion. The more questions, the more useful it is.

It is prayed that neither of these books will disturb anyone's faith in God. They aim to promote harmony among truth seekers, not to create new strife. It is unavoidable that serious critical writing about religion contains ideas that challenge strongly held preconceived notions and stir up intense emotions. These notions or emotions may be yours. If you find your notions, feelings, or beliefs challenged or threatened by any idea in these books, please withhold your judgment of it for a while. Master the idea in your mind before discarding it. For any book to be of maximum value to you, approach it with a mind sufficiently open to grasp fully each new--possibly offensive--idea contained in it. Reflect upon it vis-a-vis your old, challenged, idea. Weigh the competing concepts and consider the relative merits of the differing views. You will automatically adopt as your own beliefs only those concepts which impress you as being more nearly true.

If you are offended by any part of either book, protect your original views. Do not put aside lightly any existing belief. Reexamine the essence of your view and consider where it came from. Weigh it against the thrust of the offensive passage. Retain your original view as long as you can. Particularly, if any foundation belief of your religious faith is contradicted by any idea in these books do not discard your conviction lightly. Never cast aside an existing belief without replacing it with a better one, one more firmly held, one that you can more comfortably endorse as containing the superior truth.