View Single Post
Old 08-09-2010, 11:44 AM   #11 (permalink)
Baraka_Guru
warrior bodhisattva
 
Baraka_Guru's Avatar
 
Super Moderator
Location: East-central Canada
Quote:
Originally Posted by Halx View Post
Well obviously. If someone were to point out something that I have faith in that I am wrong to (by this I mean that if I believe something that goes against observable reality) then I'd be happy to re-examine my beliefs. I am pointing out the more popular reality-contradictors.
So you mean, specifically, things such as a belief in God. There's a problem, however, with the fact that what people define as "God" varies, and so you can't get a single answer as to why they have faith and why they are wrong to believe in it.

It's common for nonbelievers to think that most people regard God as a white-bearded man in the sky, lording over His Children. There are many people who view God much like many of us would generally view the universe. As an example, Christians who believe in evolution and the importance of science will more than likely view God as the ultimate and full extent of the inner workings of the universe. What the universe is and how the universe works is what they consider God.

And so you get this empirical reality they tie into their spirituality. They see a seemingly infinite reality and they try to tap into it as they determine the best way they should live their lives. They use it to inspire their ethics and how they treat others, and how they struggle and try to overcome hardship. Many of these faithful look inward, not up to some Man-God. They try to feel a connection to the universe and to humanity, as they see links via experience and reality. It's more in tune to the senses and experience than, say, those who are constantly hoping for the return of Jesus.

I feel I haven't yet explained this to the best of my ability, but this is a start.

Quote:
Originally Posted by telekinetic View Post
Belief in something because of evidence is rational. Belief in something despite lack of evidence (or worse, in the face of contrary evidence) is faith. Faith is, by definition, irrational, or it would not require faith.
There are many situations where we have built up a certain amount of empirical data but still have no conclusive knowledge, and yet we go by a kind of faith regardless because it is promising. This happens a lot in issues of human health. The evidence, as it builds and changes, leads us to change what we think of things. Eggs used to be bad for you, now many of us believe they are generally good.

Also, I have not seen the evidence as to how air travel works. Does this mean it is irrational for me to have faith in that it will get me from Toronto to Vancouver in the sky?

But these are all in tune with material realities. The issue, I think, is in the realm of the non-physical: emotions, thoughts, communication, etc. Without any sort of faith, a human cannot hope to be a part of a society. Faith is based, in the very least, on trust in something one may not have any control over. Without a certain level of trust placed in various areas, I can't see how a human being can function on a healthy level.

Again, I don't know if I'm describing what I'm trying to say to the best of my ability. I'm currently taking a break from working on a book, so my head is swimming somewhat.
__________________
Knowing that death is certain and that the time of death is uncertain, what's the most important thing?
—Bhikkhuni Pema Chödrön

Humankind cannot bear very much reality.
—From "Burnt Norton," Four Quartets (1936), T. S. Eliot

Last edited by Baraka_Guru; 08-09-2010 at 11:46 AM..
Baraka_Guru is offline  
 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185 186 187 188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223 224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233 234 235 236 237 238 239 240 241 242 243 244 245 246 247 248 249 250 251 252 253 254 255 256 257 258 259 260 261 262 263 264 265 266 267 268 269 270 271 272 273 274 275 276 277 278 279 280 281 282 283 284 285 286 287 288 289 290 291 292 293 294 295 296 297 298 299 300 301 302 303 304 305 306 307 308 309 310 311 312 313 314 315 316 317 318 319 320 321 322 323 324 325 326 327 328 329 330 331 332 333 334 335 336 337 338 339 340 341 342 343 344 345 346 347 348 349 350 351 352 353 354 355 356 357 358 359 360