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Your argument got me thinking. Why would a supposed omniscient, omnipotent, and all powerful “creator” let trivial old “sin” slip and taint the schema that will supposedly showcase “its” genius? If perfection is fundamental in the “great design” then putting in factors that will stain the “creation” with flaws won’t make the equation add up. Is perfection then, the core of what is to be the centerpiece of the blueprint’s final output?
I don’t have the answer. I can only weigh merits from arguments and try formulating notions based on what little information I can gather but hard as I would wish to get hold of strong evidence to back my stand, my efforts may probably only lead me to more questions rather than answers. The very nature of the subject dictates this most inevitable outcome because faith, much to the demise of humanity’s advancement, is still (and might even forever remain to be) intangible. It’s a concept, bluntly put, for lack of a suitable label. But a concept that many hold dear at varying degrees of conformity and passion.
Let’s say that religion is a hoax much like UFO sightings, crop circles, advanced yet fallen ancient civilizations, an anti matter, mythical creatures, evolution, the philosopher’s stone, the fountain of youth, demons, djinns, ifrits, or even psychological disorders as opposed to what is “normal” where normalcy is also dictated by the collective approval of (surprise surprise) “mere” humans. In the absence of anything tangible to hold on to, hoping to manage and hopefully counter harsh environmental elements, most would turn to an abstraction that is bigger than themselves. Something to temper folly because, in all humility, no one holds the ultimate best answer to every possibly opposable notion. This, my friend, is aptly called faith more than religion.
Faith, as opposed to religion, is personal. It can vary for individuals belonging to a congregation of the same religion. Its intensity may even differ for each person based on their prevailing circumstances. Faith is something that most people will continually choose to see and believe as a method to some madness. Madness driven mainly by poverty, incompetence, hypocrisy, corruption, and other similarly repulsive factors in the prevailing “now.” Maybe because of convenience. Or maybe not.
I still choose to hold on to my faith simply because I believe and it is this faith that gives me hope more than anything else. It’s that simple. Nothing complex really. I don’t think there will ever be any form of literature or study that can make me turn away from it. Faith gives me someone or something to thank for the chance at a life I’m given to experience, warts and all (pun intended).
Brand me as weak, a sissy, illogical, and pathetic in this aspect of my being and I’ll let that pass. Besides, I’m a sucker for “the ultimate sacrifice,” “random occurrences,” “the chaos theory,” and the “great unknown” like that. Having this faith keeps me grounded, feeling like a speck of dust, despite what I’ve done in this lifetime so far .
As you may notice from this nosebleed inducing article, I’m not one to bask in countering arguments. Rockstars don’t. They just are. Right, Benj? :D
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21 March 2008 at 11:02 pm
Much respect.
Heavt stuff. di ako sanay.
21 March 2008 at 11:15 pm
high five!
22 March 2008 at 3:53 am
I’m an atheist but i don’t think there’s anything wrong with faith, ss long as people don’t make fallacious, illogical arguments or twist scientific facts to fit their beleif
22 March 2008 at 2:53 pm
It’s faith that makes me believe that one day I will be reunited with my loved ones. How else did my 6 year old say in his own words that there is eternal life just a few weeks before his death? I hold on to that promise. It’s faith.
22 March 2008 at 3:55 pm
And yes, I’ve been under the impression that hair products whre the things that you held dearest in your existence. :p
Kidding.
22 March 2008 at 7:11 pm
very well said, fritz.
i followed the link of the blog which you answered and before i even saw the site, i was thinking, seguro atheist ang sumulat. true enough…
a few years ago, i read “Powerful Prayers: Conversations on Faith, Hope and Human Spirit with Today’s Provocative People” by Larry King. (in case you may not have read it, the book was a compilation of interviews Larry King had with presidents, statesmen, religious leaders, celebrities, etc. Interesting one!).
somewhere in its pages there was a quote, saying to the effect that “it is better to have died believing in God/Higher Being than to have died a non-believer only to discover after death that there is indeed a Higher Being.”
Happy Easter!
22 March 2008 at 10:24 pm
Wait, did you just call me fat?! XD
22 March 2008 at 11:14 pm
I heard that time doesn’t run as slow there as it does here. A hundred years for us may only seem like the time it will take for them to blink in that place. Well said ms Noemi.
22 March 2008 at 11:38 pm
well duh.
22 March 2008 at 11:45 pm
That’s just a rip-off of the logically-flawed Pascal’s Wager – something that has been repeatedly rebutted on various grounds. People who don’t understand atheism make it so easy for atheists to hate and ridicule them.
It’s better… but the question is, is it feasible and is it even true in the first place?
22 March 2008 at 11:46 pm
Happy Easter Jojo! XD
22 March 2008 at 11:47 pm
someone just did.
22 March 2008 at 11:49 pm
I’ve attained Nirvana and I’ve no attachment whatsoever to things material. If you’ll excuse me, I go order stuff from Amazon on pre-order. Hair products. I’m not materialistic at all. I’m also not vain. Hear that?!
22 March 2008 at 11:51 pm
*surveys surroundings* Where? Away na to!
7 April 2008 at 5:58 am
Hi Fritz. I like very much what you’ve written here. I couldn’t have been more to the point myself.
Faith is indeed personal, and should not be equated with religion. However, people (especially our atheist friends), don’t diss religion just because it’s organized and can sometimes appear extreme or even insane. Humans are communal, after all. If faith is an expression of a personal belief in God, then by being social animals, it is but natural that religion follows.
Fritz, I’d like to recommend a blog to you. It’s written by my father, and I maintain it for him (uploading & stuff). It’s The Word God Spells (http://www.wordgodspells.com).
21 September 2008 at 12:39 pm
To being a speck of dust… Congrats, Fritz!