Can Faith stand up to proof?
Is it opposed to empiricism?
Does it falter under the weight of the palpable?
How are faith and reality related- does faith allow you to see what reality is in its "truest" form?
These are questions one of my classes has been pondering, spurred by the great and inimitable Don Quixote. They are very applicable to the kinds of faiths discussed in the book (which is all kinds, really), but I find them to be applicable to Christianity and Religion especially.
I do realize that I should probably give you some basis for the conversation, but I don't really feel like it. I think the questions can be interpreted how you like and that they'll still be important.
I think these are questions that don't necessarily have absolute answers, that don't necessarily HAVE to be answered, but I think they should be considered. I think it is important to know what you believe about your faith- and I'm not talking the details of your religion at all or however it is you exercise the muscles of your faith, throw that out (if it is possible to separate those base realities that you take stock in from your faith, which in many ways is completely impossible, I grant you).
I do recognize the duality here- faith is exactly the OPPOSITE of proof. If it had anything to do with proof it wouldn't BE faith, and yet, I believe the question is valid.
For what YOU believe, does empirical evidence have any bearing on your faith? Do you think your faith creates a kind of world view (lense, if you will) that prohibits you (me) from seeing the world "as it is"?
I know, abstract, but maybe you follow. Maybe this isn't interesting at all to you, and that's ok. I like stuff like this, and I don't think I want to settle for the easy answers in regard to my faith- I don't want to be accused of a casual faith. If you feel so inclined, share with me your thoughts on the matter, even if it is "yo, you's crazy gurl". Let 'er rip.
(Ps. BZ- yipes! you are reading this in espagnol, do you analyze all this stuff in your spanish class too? It just goes around and around- and in spanish I can't imagine! Amazing!)
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Faith Vs......
Posted by Claire at 11:03 AM
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6 comments:
Random I jsut started reading Don Quixote, how weird you brought it up. I will get back to you on the questions you posed.
Yo, yous a crazy gurl.
For me...to live is Christ, to die is gain. That's how I explain my Faith.
Thinking about it a little bit but not that much...yo, yous a crazy gurl.
are you going to expound on this thought for the dirty dish? you should.
I think that's so funny that we both blogged about this! I love exploring topics like this, and learning not only more about what I think and value, but what others think and value. What I've wanted, since I was little, is not just to gain knowledge, but to gain depth. To gain depth, you have to ask yourself the Big Questions-- and you don't have to have the answers to learn from the question.
yes well it does seem to go round and round, but i do think that there's a profound repeition throughout the novel with the ideas of faith. Cervantes uses that repetition to really make us think of this faith/proof idea. As far as empirical evidence, I believe that it's inevitable not to have our experiences and observations affect our faith. . .isn't that how our faith grows after all? and yes...let's just say I spend A LOT of quality time with my spanish dictionary! BZ
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