Are you superstitious?
A few years ago, in Beijing, I noticed signs in public places warning against superstition. At first I assumed they meant religion, because that is often the Western reflex: if someone believes in something you do not, just label it superstition and carry on. But that was not what these signs meant. They were aimed at fortune telling, spirit rituals, feng shui consultations, and other practices regarded as irrational leftovers from the past. Which I found interesting, because it raised a more useful question than the signs intended: what exactly is the difference between superstition and faith?
As for me, I am not superstitious. I do not scan the horizon for omens. I do not make decisions based on unlucky numbers. I do not imagine that the future can be bribed with rituals, charms, or carefully curated vibes. I like evidence. I like rigorous enquiry. I want truth to be tested and claims to be examined properly.
That is why I do not see faith as superstition. Superstition is the belief that life can be managed by signs, rituals, lucky numbers, and small acts of cosmic negotiation. Wear this, avoid that, knock on wood, don’t tempt fate, and perhaps the universe will be in a better mood. Faith is something else. Faith admits that we are limited, that not everything important can be measured, and that mystery is not the same thing as nonsense.
I believe there is substantial historical evidence for the resurrection of Jesus Christ, a different sort of evidence to scientific enquiry. That does not trouble me. History is not chemistry. Love is not a lab experiment. History, love, meaning, and moral truth are not all known in the same way.
So no, I am not superstitious. But do I believe in God? Definitely. Not because I have abandoned reason, but because I think reality is larger than any one method of explaining it.
The Afterword 
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