Faith, and the Phoenix

Soul Fugue

All things must end,
but is the ending
an absolute?
Is not that end
a shining doorway
that opens to a new beginning?
Does not the phoenix spring,
singing,
from its' ashes
into a different sky?

Nataraj dances
while the cosmic wheel turns:
endings and beginnings
are defined
by point of view.

—James D. Fanning

The Merriam Webster online dictionary defines "faith" as:
1 a : allegiance to duty or a person : LOYALTY b (1) : fidelity to one's promises (2) : sincerity of intentions
2 a (1) : belief and trust in and loyalty to God (2) : belief in the traditional doctrines of a religion b (1) : firm belief in something for which there is no proof (2) : complete trust
3 : something that is believed especially with strong conviction; especially : a system of religious beliefs
synonym see BELIEF

Given the above definition, I must state unequivocally that although many possess the faith mentioned in 2 above, especially when they capitalise it as "Faith," others possess it as 1, especially as 1b(2). In "Soul Fugue" I feel the phoenix is singing because of a profound sense of surprise at her rebirth, not because she expected it. It is the same joy that she feels all throughout her 500 year life, and perhaps even the joy and wonder she feels as, at the end of that life, she bursts into glorious flame. I feel that it is important to live life to the fullest, to embrace life, and to attempt to communicate that joy to others, through kindness and civility.
As a child, the religious upbringing that I was given left me with a sense of guilt, of fear, of being unworthy. The older I got the more I felt that the "faith" that was being taught me was more a doctrine of fear and intimidation than a lesson of love and hope and forgiveness. This was, perhaps, not the fault of the religion, but of the actual sect, or the minister: I am not sure.
As my life progressed, and my travels expanded exponentially, I saw that the dogma that I had been taught was invalid in my global community. I met people who, although good and moral, would have been condemned to eternal hell and damnation by the religion of my youth. My readings of the lives of various ancient (as opposed to the more recent) philosophers and humanists , including Jesus, Gautama, Mohammed, K'ung Fu tsu, Lao tsu, and of various doctrines, including the Veda and the Bhagavad Gita, have led me to believe in a broader concept of good and evil, of yin and yang, of chaos and order, than was taught me in my youth.
The Buddhist concept of Now has long appealed to me. To try to condense this concept into a few ineffective words is difficult, but the Now concept teaches that we must live THIS MOMENT to the fullest, doing good, loving, helping: in short, a form of moral 'be'-ing. The thought of being moral simply to atone for past sins, or to avoid future retribution is an alien concept. A micro battle between good and evil is residence in each of us: how each fares in this battle is dictated by choices made, irrevocably, that makes each "now" moment either our heaven or our hell (rather like Zoroastrianism on a non-cosmic scale!).
For some, strong adherence to a religion strengthens them, and makes it possible to live good and moral lives. To these good people, Faith is a cardinal focus of their lives, and it works for them. For others, the pursuit of knowledge is sufficient to prevent the infinite vastness and mystery of the universe from crushing them. For still others, like our phoenix, it is enough to live each glorious moment to the fullest, both constructing and inhabiting heaven on a daily basis. In the words of an old song, "Whatever gets you through the night, it's all right, it's all right." (John Lennon)
Phewww! That turned out to be much more than I intended, but, once started it was difficult to stop.