2010 Poem ‘Faith and Superstition’ by Walter Lerchner, U.S.A. from the Book ‘Realizations’ Pages 38 to 41

One person’s faith is another person’s superstition
This is as true for the faith in the rational
As it is true for the faith in the supernatural

So what is the difference of a healthy faith and superstition?

Healthy faith is like a scientific hypothesis
It develops and evolves, adapts and changes
Constantly challenged and trained by new experiences

Allowing understanding to gradually increase
by learning and by listening
without and within ourselves

Faith can become superstition
When it gets rigid and stale
habitual and resistant to change

Faith has become superstition
when we forget that we have much to grow

When others become wrong and we are always right
When fear has replaced the will to listen and to learn

The scientific method can help us with our faith
If we stay aware that results
should not be confused with facts
Like experiences, they are just pieces
in support or challenge to our faith

Faith is needed
when information and experiences are not enough
to completely prove or disprove of our hypotheses

Science itself is quite limited when it comes to truth
Experiments give results when controlled and reproduced

Occurrences in nature, though
are seldom controlled and mostly quite unique

The supernatural, if it exists
would be resistant to control and difficult to reproduce

Single events are easily dismissed
if they don’t fit a pattern, outliers so to say

Something would be supernatural
when it’s beyond our control and current understanding

Its existence open to our faith
open to experiences, open to interpretation

Where does this leave us in our desire for the rational
desire for the truth?

It was said that love is truth and truth is love
Love to give and love to get
Truth and love result from understanding
Often far beyond the simply rational