Plenty of people believe that faith is not only the way to heaven, but the truest reason for why any of us even exists. We are here, as far as such "believers" are concerned, as simply a means by which God tests our faith, while teaching us all the lessons we need to know to get back to God, and heaven, forever after. That there are no lessons a mortal can learn that have any applicability or relevance to an immortal is completely ignored by the faithful, of course, but that is besides the point.
The problem with faith, however, is that even thought it can give people meaning and help people see light in the darkest of situations, it also opens the door to every lie that has ever been told, let alone believed. Accepting truth "on faith," in this respect, is the very means by which every lie ever uttered throughout human history has succeeded in controlling how people think and what they believe. And by doing so, opened the door to every false hope and fear, as well as war, genocide, and oppression, humanity has ever been enslaved by.
Faith asks, indeed for many it even requires, that we accept something to be "true" even if there is not a single shred of evidence to prove it, and even (and sometimes especially) when every atom of evidence in the universe may stand agaisnt it. In a world where "faith" is the highest virtue in determining "truth," any degree of skepticism is consider the greatest sin of all (unless that skepticism is used for the exclusive purpose of doubting anyone who tries to suggest that our own sacred brand of "religion" comes directly from God, of course).
Take the theory of evolution. While such a theory is in fact, a fact, it obviously does not explain everything. If it did, it would be no better than God as an explanation to any and every question. "Why are we here?", "where did the universe and everything come from? and "why do miracles happen?" could be answered with "because of evolution" as easily as they could be answered with "because of God." Yet neither answer tells us much, by itself.
Instead, the answers tell us very little indeed, and require us to continue our investigation. The difference, however, is that the answer of "god" takes us into a realm that we accept we can never actually prove, but rather is one that we can only simply continually, and creatively, "intelligently design." And we can "intelligently design" our ideas of God using all or none of the evidences around us, and by interpreting and connecting those puzzle pieces in pretty much any order we wish.
In such a world, every conceivable answer is equally as plausible as any other. But to suggest that an infinite number of competing, and often conflicting, answers to every question are all "true" simply because people are willing to believe them, is in no way "proof" that any such "beliefs" are in fact true.
Yet once enough people are willing to accept a belief as "true," that belief becomes the sheep's skin by which all actual truth is subordinated in favor of the belief. It's how everyone can have their ideas about everything overthrown from within, by virtue of everyone around us believing the same thing, no matter how insane. This, of course, is not "truth" in any kind of "objective" sense independent of all people, it is simply subjective "truth," even if it is accepted by everyone.
A lie does not become true simply because everyone is willing to believe it, after all, but the willingness to accept that a mere "belief" is necessarily an undeniable "truth," regardless of how helpful or harmful such a belief may be or seem, opens the door to letting all truth be used as part of a much greater lie.
And in this way, "faith" is only as much a road to heaven, as it is the doorway to hell.
The problem with faith, however, is that even thought it can give people meaning and help people see light in the darkest of situations, it also opens the door to every lie that has ever been told, let alone believed. Accepting truth "on faith," in this respect, is the very means by which every lie ever uttered throughout human history has succeeded in controlling how people think and what they believe. And by doing so, opened the door to every false hope and fear, as well as war, genocide, and oppression, humanity has ever been enslaved by.
Faith asks, indeed for many it even requires, that we accept something to be "true" even if there is not a single shred of evidence to prove it, and even (and sometimes especially) when every atom of evidence in the universe may stand agaisnt it. In a world where "faith" is the highest virtue in determining "truth," any degree of skepticism is consider the greatest sin of all (unless that skepticism is used for the exclusive purpose of doubting anyone who tries to suggest that our own sacred brand of "religion" comes directly from God, of course).
Take the theory of evolution. While such a theory is in fact, a fact, it obviously does not explain everything. If it did, it would be no better than God as an explanation to any and every question. "Why are we here?", "where did the universe and everything come from? and "why do miracles happen?" could be answered with "because of evolution" as easily as they could be answered with "because of God." Yet neither answer tells us much, by itself.
Instead, the answers tell us very little indeed, and require us to continue our investigation. The difference, however, is that the answer of "god" takes us into a realm that we accept we can never actually prove, but rather is one that we can only simply continually, and creatively, "intelligently design." And we can "intelligently design" our ideas of God using all or none of the evidences around us, and by interpreting and connecting those puzzle pieces in pretty much any order we wish.
In such a world, every conceivable answer is equally as plausible as any other. But to suggest that an infinite number of competing, and often conflicting, answers to every question are all "true" simply because people are willing to believe them, is in no way "proof" that any such "beliefs" are in fact true.
Yet once enough people are willing to accept a belief as "true," that belief becomes the sheep's skin by which all actual truth is subordinated in favor of the belief. It's how everyone can have their ideas about everything overthrown from within, by virtue of everyone around us believing the same thing, no matter how insane. This, of course, is not "truth" in any kind of "objective" sense independent of all people, it is simply subjective "truth," even if it is accepted by everyone.
A lie does not become true simply because everyone is willing to believe it, after all, but the willingness to accept that a mere "belief" is necessarily an undeniable "truth," regardless of how helpful or harmful such a belief may be or seem, opens the door to letting all truth be used as part of a much greater lie.
And in this way, "faith" is only as much a road to heaven, as it is the doorway to hell.
Comments
Post a Comment