Blog 3790 – 04.07.2026

On the Subject of Faith and Magical Thinking

In a quote attributed to the Apostle Paul, a man who according to the book of Acts was a man who hated the new Christian sect so much that he held the coats of those who stoned the their second martyr (Jesus being the first) Paul, who went out of his way to help stamp out the budding new religion or faith trying desperately to kill it in its crib. The famous quote I refer to is:

According to the book of Acts again, while on his way to Damascus to persecute Christians there Paul had a vision and was struck blind. In his purported vision he saw and heard Jesus of Nazareth, whom he had never seen or heard before. His whole claim to being a Christian and indeed an Apostle is based upon this vision. The letters attributed to Paul are the earliest writings that became part of the New Testament. The Gospels most Bible Scholars believe were written generations later.

In another of the letters attributed to Paul, that many Bible Scholars seem to doubt his authorship, Hebrews, defines faith:

The writer of the book of James seems to disagree:

It is my opinion that much of what people refer to as faith is just magical or childish thinking not based upon evidence but feelings.

Former Fox News contributor and long time Trump fan and defender commented in response to President Trump’s Easter morning post on Truth Social, which ironically is seldom if ever truthful or particularly social, the following:

Many, perhaps most Christian’s find the F word offensive. I do not. Many, find making fun of other people’s faith or magical thinking offensive. I do not. Yet, I do find war offensive and trying to justify war crimes, well criminal. Paul did not put away all the childish and magical thinking of his youth and neither has Donald Trump who envisions himself a big man, a winner, a successful businessman, and the smartest man in the room. He is none of those things, just a big baby thinking he can force others to do what he wants.

I would remind him and all who believe they are above the law, whose faith or magical thinking confers upon them, they think “special privileges” of an old saying that I heard as a boy that still rings true:

“You cannot do wrong and get by no matter how hard you may try.” 

All seeming evidence to the contrary, it is one of those adult truths that many of us have found to transcend magical thinking.

Your friend and fellow traveler,

David James White