Mariner’s last post was a tongue-in-cheek consideration of how Jesus and flying reindeer fit together. Responder Ben said appropriately they don’t. But why do they remain related? Because faith is a deep-brain reasoning skill; because faith is an emotional base for our sense of worth; because faith will deliver hoped-for objectives; because faith is derived from memories and outcomes, not logic.

Humans use faith to define self value. A very clear example of this phenomenon are those individuals who have a deep faith in the importance of Donald Trump. Mariner has in his neighborhood four Trump believers. You cannot disparage his value in front of them; you cannot propose any logical thought that questions him; they immediately consider you ignorant and abusive; Trump believers have a deep-seated fear about the future that is largely instinctive but leaves their lives insecure in some way. They are known as the MAGA voters. They have faith that Trump is the prophet that can change the world and eliminate fear.

When used with conscious purpose, faith is a powerful emotional force that redefines right and wrong, truth and falseness, purpose and duty, in an effort to establish personal security and a sense of personal worth. These forces are rooted in the subconscious experiences of a lifetime. One can imagine many intellectual reasons for a faith through religion, psychology, sociology and physiology but faith is not an intellectual exercise. However, “Faith will make you whole”.

What binds Jesus, God, flying reindeer, Santa Claus and celebration is the common faith that the celebration, both holy and existential, represents a successful life and the experience of being saved by Grace – a happiness that will last a lifetime.

Ancient Mariner