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asaris · 11-08-2004, 08:58 AM

It depends what you mean by "whole-hearted" faith. We are supposed to always act as if we believe, but it's ridiculous to think that we should [b]feel[b] like we have faith all the time. C. S. Lewis wrote that he has moments where the whole enterprise of Christianity feels like so much smoke and mirrors, but that when he was an atheist, he had moments when he thought Christianity was true. It might be worth comparing it to a marriage. No one is ever going to always feel lovey-dovey towards their wife. But one should always act as if one felt that way.

And a number of thinkers have believed that questioning one's faith is not only okay, but necessary for the increase of that faith. Jacob was only given the name Israel after he had spent the night wrestling with God. At the end of Job, God commends Job for speaking rightly of him -- after Job had spent the whole book complaining of his treatment.

And throughout the history of Christianity there have been hordes of people who have, on the one hand, used rational thought to try and understand Christianity -- people like Augustine, Aquinas, Duns Scotus, Jonathan Edwards, Alvin Plantinga, and many more. And, on the other hand, people who have used rational argument to try and get people to see the truth of Christianity. C. S. Lewis, who I think is right as often as not, makes the good point that, while arguments are not sufficient for faith, they are sometimes necessary when someone has thrown up intellectual obstacles.

Perhaps faith is "wholehearted belief, whether or not there is empirical/objective justification", perhaps not. But very few people have ever said that there wasn't, as a matter of fact, empirical/objective evidence for Christianity. It's perhaps worth noting that fideism, "a system of philosophy or an attitude of mind, which, denying the power of unaided human reason to reach certitude, affirms that the fundamental act of human knowledge consists in an act of faith, and the supreme criterion of certitude is authority"[1], is condemned by the RCC.

[1]http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06068b.htm

11-08-2004, 08:58 AM	#4 (permalink)
asaris Mad Philosopher Location: Washington, DC	It depends what you mean by "whole-hearted" faith. We are supposed to always act as if we believe, but it's ridiculous to think that we should [b]feel[b] like we have faith all the time. C. S. Lewis wrote that he has moments where the whole enterprise of Christianity feels like so much smoke and mirrors, but that when he was an atheist, he had moments when he thought Christianity was true. It might be worth comparing it to a marriage. No one is ever going to always feel lovey-dovey towards their wife. But one should always act as if one felt that way. And a number of thinkers have believed that questioning one's faith is not only okay, but necessary for the increase of that faith. Jacob was only given the name Israel after he had spent the night wrestling with God. At the end of Job, God commends Job for speaking rightly of him -- after Job had spent the whole book complaining of his treatment. And throughout the history of Christianity there have been hordes of people who have, on the one hand, used rational thought to try and understand Christianity -- people like Augustine, Aquinas, Duns Scotus, Jonathan Edwards, Alvin Plantinga, and many more. And, on the other hand, people who have used rational argument to try and get people to see the truth of Christianity. C. S. Lewis, who I think is right as often as not, makes the good point that, while arguments are not sufficient for faith, they are sometimes necessary when someone has thrown up intellectual obstacles. Perhaps faith is "wholehearted belief, whether or not there is empirical/objective justification", perhaps not. But very few people have ever said that there wasn't, as a matter of fact, empirical/objective evidence for Christianity. It's perhaps worth noting that fideism, "a system of philosophy or an attitude of mind, which, denying the power of unaided human reason to reach certitude, affirms that the fundamental act of human knowledge consists in an act of faith, and the supreme criterion of certitude is authority"[1], is condemned by the RCC. [1]http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06068b.htm __________________ "Die Deutschen meinen, daß die Kraft sich in Härte und Grausamkeit offenbaren müsse, sie unterwerfen sich dann gerne und mit Bewunderung:[...]. Daß es Kraft giebt in der Milde und Stille, das glauben sie nicht leicht." "The Germans believe that power must reveal itself in hardness and cruelty and then submit themselves gladly and with admiration[...]. They do not believe readily that there is power in meekness and calm." -- Friedrich Nietzsche