Faith
Normal to find seeming contradictions; important how to respond[edit]
"Thus, it would not be surprising if, during the course of one's life and as one's understanding and perspective evolves, from time to time one finds aspects of the Faith that seem in conflict with one's best understanding, particularly insofar as that understanding is informed by the broader society or culture around oneself. How one responds to such episodes is of critical importance to the maintenance of one's faith. The task is to seek a larger context in which to understand the issue which is disturbing and to seek to prayerfully accept what one cannot for the time being understand. This is different from adopting an antirational or romantic posture whereby one believes in all sorts of nonsense. Quite to the contrary, what one is doing in such a case is accepting the Teachings of One whose authority is acknowledged to be from God. This is the light of faith which enables a believer to weather difficult situations in which he cannot see his way clearly by the light of reason alone. It is an attitude which flows from a recognition of the finite nature of one's own mind and the inevitable limitations of one's experience. Bahá’u’lláh Himself urges us in the Hidden Words to "Pass beyond the baser stages of doubt and rise to the exalted heights of certainty.""
- (Universal House of Justice, Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1986-2001, a letter to an individual believer, 1994 August 1)
