THE PLIGHT OF FAITH IN THE PRESENT AGE By: Mirza bashir ahmad, m.a. First of all, I want to express extreme regret at the belief in God held in common by some people in this age. On the face of it, all religions of the world believe in the existence of God. Their followers profess the same faith, except for an insignificant minority which openly denies His existence. But when we carefully examine the situation, we find that belief in God is based on form rather than substance. People have inherited this belief from their ancestors and feel obliged to adhere—albeit ostensibly—to the fundamentals of their religions. They do not want to abandon it lest society disintegrates but, in their heart of hearts, they do feel that God may indeed exist. For these reasons they dare not deny His existence and
believe that they have a God. But in reality they do not believe in God and their hearts are as devoid of faith as a deserted house is of inhabitants. This is not only true of some particular country or religion; it is rather true of all religions and of the entire world. The poison of disbelief has penetrated deep into the followers of all religions: be they Zoroastrians, Buddhists, Hindus, Jews, Christians, Sikhs, or Muslims, etc. The searing and noxious winds of materialism have reduced every orchard of faith to ashes. If anyone seeks verity of this claim, I can adduce such evidence that cannot be denied by any fair-minded person. To those who doubt it, I will ask just one question: After analysing the state of their own hearts and of
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