Political analysis
Faith Of Our Folly
- By Chronically Pissed
- February 01, 2007
What is the value of faith? This is my question for those who proclaim their profound respect for other faiths, insisting that faith itself – not any particular faith – is a fundamental element of an individual’s constitution. These religious libertarians seem to comprise the majority these days, from the new-age evangelicals, right down to the agnostically unaffiliated. Witness the American electorate, which, generally speaking, doesn’t seem to mind whether a candidate is Jewish, Catholic, Mormon or Muslim, just so long as he or she is a “person of faith.”
For some – let’s call them the Closet Crazies – this spiritual liberalism simply bespeaks a realization that religion becomes less palatable when its disciples publicly pass crude judgments about who is going to their respective versions of heaven and hell. This involves a cynical, fundamentally political choice to moderate the outward face of religion, despite any inwardly acknowledged “truths” that remain undiluted and fervently held. They’ll lure you in with mercy and charity before they mention, for example, that homos are God’s biggest concern.
For the Wholly Incognizant, this worldview exposes ignorance about the core tenets of one’s own faith. In my 12 years of Catholic education, I encountered very few individuals who understood that the church does not allow you to pick and choose from the doctrines and dogmas contained in its catechism. As far as Rome is concerned, you either accept that document in its entirety or you might as well start packing for Hades. Sure, you probably won’t be challenged by your parish priest (who is all too happy to have your weekly tithe…and your teenage boys), but that doesn’t change the precepts that lie at the heart of Catholicism – the precepts that say, in plain language, that you are not a Catholic if you find yourself in less-than-full agreement with the vade mecum.
For most, I suspect, it indicates a fundamental weakness in the very “faith” that is ostensibly so crucial to personhood, (possibly owing to the fact that some are intelligent enough to know, deep down in the cockles, that what they have accepted “on faith” is a heaping pile of obsolete, mythological horseshit). Nevertheless, this God-Lite crowd – often parents who are burdened (courtesy of youthful brainwashing) by the irrational belief that their children will somehow benefit from being taught fictions that make a mockery of the traditional standards for acquiring and validating knowledge – cling to the romantic notion of FAITH and perpetuate the aura of irreproachability that surrounds it.
For the purposes of this discussion, let’s disregard the Closet Crazies, partially because I never pass up a chance to condescendingly dismiss the far religious right, but mostly because these people actually seem to believe the shit they’re shoveling, for which they are owed some kind of begrudging respect. The latter two groups disturb me more. They are prolonging our suffering in the name of their gods without truly adhering to the half-baked, old-fangled mumbo-jumbo that would justify it all. They are passively lending credence to destructively archaic notions by suggesting that they need only be watered down (and less sadistically proselytized) to reveal the real word of their God – the version that is worthy of their brand of faith.
But if one is allowed to select, à la carte, from the many articles of faith that constitute any religion, doesn’t the concept of faith suffer a devastating blow? To what extent can individuals decide for themselves which dictums to accept, which to modify and which to reject? How does one determine whose interpretation of which translation of what ancient text to loosely base their faith on? If people have free reign in this realm, what’s the point?
Again, what is the value of faith? What is the substantive benefit of embracing some – any – metaphysical worldview? What does your child gain from the act of believing in something that may or may not be true, as far as you are concerned? What has a politician proved by proclaiming that he or she believes in things that may or may not be true as far as he/she/you are concerned?
What are others lacking who do not submit themselves to the ritual of subscribing to things that may or may not be true as far as anyone is concerned?
What is the value of faith?
What can be instilled through faith that cannot be instilled by laws, ethics, knowledge and example?
How much more important is faith than science? When does science trump faith? When does faith trump science?
Would you prefer that your fellow citizens follow the laws of your nation or the laws that they deduce from their interpretation of their faith (bearing in mind that your neighbors might be Christians, Muslims, Christian Scientists, Mormons or Scientologists)?
If your child were orphaned, would you prefer that he/she be raised in a poor home with faith or an affluent home without it?
In a medical emergency, would you rather be in the company of your minister or your doctor? Would you rather be medically treated or prayed for?
These are not rhetorical questions. They ask whether faith has some value or none. There can be no in between. What is the value of faith unless you believe that the things you have faith in are undeniable, inescapable, all-important truths? If you are a Christian, for example, you cannot escape this dilemma: Either the Bible is the true, complete, inspired word of God upon which you must stake your existence or it is just another collection of fairy tales which may have had some practical – if cultish, bigoted and violent – applications before humans understood all that we currently understand about the origins of the universe, but which will now only hinder our progress as a species until we begin to treat them as such.
Christians – if you are not prepared to abide by the advice of 2 John 1:10, which says “If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed,” what is the value of faith?
Muslims, the Quran 4:74 says “Let those fight in the way of Allah who sell the life of this world for the other. Whoso fighteth in the way of Allah, be he slain or be he victorious, on him we shall bestow a vast reward.” If you are not prepared to strap on those vests and fight the non-believers, what is the value of faith?
“And in that day, seven women shall take hold of one man, saying: We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel; only let us be called by thy name to take away our reproach” sayeth the Book of Mormon, 2 Nephi 14:1. If you, Mormons, have not multiple wives, what is the value of faith?
And so on and so forth…
Think of any cult. Better yet, think of a religion that you regard as preposterous. Isn’t it obvious that its adherents have been brainwashed with a bunch of malarkey? Don’t you wonder how they can possibly believe the things that they believe? I’ll tell you how they can believe the things that they believe – faith. They’ve all been asked to accept all of that fatuous bullshit on faith. And how do you think some of them become extremists? By accepting, on faith, the interpretation of another disciple who adapted and passed along the doctrine that he or she accepted on faith.
Smokers are often asked a variation on the question I’m chanting: “Why do you smoke?” “Because it relaxes me,” is a typical reply. (“Because I’m addicted,” a more straightforward one.) I suppose a similar argument can be made regarding faith – and for just a moment, I’m unsure of my argument. A smoker or a believer might very well turn the debate around and ask me, “What’s the harm in doing something that makes me feel better?” Tempting…but given the history of religion and faith in this world, I have the same answer for both: It’s killing us.
The value of a flaming $100 bill is less than nothing. It acquires negative value as wealth is removed from the universe. Faith is the flame that incinerates human progress and prevents peace. Knowledge has the power to forge new riches, but much is lost in the ashes.
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You can’t put a value on faith.
What is faith?
www.dictionary.com
1. confidence or trust in a person or thing: faith in another’s ability.
2. belief that is not based on proof: He had faith that the hypothesis would be substantiated by fact.
3. belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion: the firm faith of the Pilgrims.
4. belief in anything, as a code of ethics, standards of merit, etc.: to be of the same faith with someone concerning honesty.
5. a system of religious belief: the Christian faith; the Jewish faith.
6. the obligation of loyalty or fidelity to a person, promise, engagement, etc.: Failure to appear would be breaking faith.
7. the observance of this obligation; fidelity to one’s promise, oath, allegiance, etc.: He was the only one who proved his faith during our recent troubles.
8. Christian Theology. the trust in God and in His promises as made through Christ and the Scriptures by which humans are justified or saved.
—Idiom9. in faith, in truth; indeed: In faith, he is a fine lad.
Without faith, what do you have? Everyone has free will to believe what they want. There are as many “crazies” on the left as there are on the right. Faith is not killing or setting the world back, it is what keeps it going.
peas
706 days ago by Justin
Justin,
You’ve validated my argument by failing to answer the question. I did not ask for a definition of faith. I asked what makes it valuable. HOW does it “keep [the world] running?” If there are “crazies on the left” who believe things that are “not based on proof,” then my essay applies to them as well.
You asked “Without faith, what do you have?” Allow me to answer your question, as you failed to do for mine:
I have family and friends. I have the mind-enriching stimulation I get from reading books, playing and listening to music, writing and talking to real people about real things. I have Sunday morning free to sleep in with my family, make pancakes and watch Meet The Press. I have the peace of mind that comes from knowing that nothing will happen to me or my family that is not explainable by some branch of science. I have the joy of living a life that is not opressed by the fear of some fairy-tale god. I could go on indefinitely, but I won’t, because I have a hard drive full of porn and a piece of chocolate cake waiting for me in the refrigerator.
706 days ago by CP
Faith >noun 1 complete trust or confidence. 2 strong belief in a religion. 3 a system of religious belief.
Science >noun 1 the intellectual and practical activity encompassing the systematic study of the structure and behavior of the physical and natural world through observation and experiment. 2 a systematically organized body of knowledge on any subject.
Faith is based on the unobservable i.e. Superstition, while Science is based on observable, repeatable phenomena. You may believe the Sun rises in the West, however believe does not make it so. Observation proves the Sun rises in the East.
When there is a conflict between Faith and Science, the observable trumps the unobservable every time.
Science keeps the world running, Faith keeps the masses content
702 days ago by James E. Fish
My fellow human being, it is with the same enthusiasm that I challenge you to consider the possibility that you too suffer from the same human condition wired in the theists-Faith. You know, those simpletons that you seem to look down upon from your perch of knowledge. People like George Washington, Margret Thatcher, Dr. Martin Luther King, and of course that retarded physicist, Stephan Hawking.
Perhaps you find in Science the same comfort that the possessors of faith seek when trying to come to terms with their inner fear of the unknown, the gravity of one’s own mortality, and the realization of your insignificance in the story of mankind. After reading your position on faith, it would seem fitting to conclude that in fact it is you who handsomely wears the chastity belt of folly while you profess to the world that you drink a nectar taken straight from the universe’s tree of knowledge.
You see my friend there is a great mystery that even the hardest of sciences cannot unravel. The connection between how the universe operates and why it exists serve two different Masters.
702 days ago by MasterP
Master P, I congratulate you on a well written, lyrical, answer to the question of belief verses science. If I have given you the impression I am “Looking down from my perch of knowledge”, I am sorry. I have no knowledge, only questions, and questions must be answered rationally.
The concept of “free will” allows for “faith”, however faith is dependent upon many factors, among them social structure, tradition, and the teachings of others. It gains it’s power from an unquestioning acceptance of that taught by the arbiters of that faith. Faith is subjective, emanating from ones circumstances.
Science is based on observations made dispassionately through hypotheses that withstand repeated testing. Unlike faith, which is immutable, science changes as new observations prove, disprove or modify hypotheses.
You postulate a difference between “how” and why” the universe works. I am not clear what that means. It seems a destination without a difference.
I have no objection to faith. You may believe anything you wish. The problem begins when society is run by faith rather than rationality. This is the reason for the Constitution’s separation of Church, or faith if you wish, and State.
702 days ago by James E. Fish