Your personal faith is your own business, Chaz, I have not tried to provoke you in any way and you don't need to explain it to me. However, any time I post anything critical of organised religion - which I consider to be a malign influence on the world - you seem to take personal offence. How is my experience of life not relevant?
It isn't that it's not relevant, it just reads (to me) as less about 'organised religion's and more about anyone who professes a faith. That's just how I read it, not necessarily how you mean it to be read. It's worth considering that a large majority of people across the world have a faith of some description. The people that generate your criticism make up such a tiny fraction of a percentage point, that their actions would be insignificant were they not so heinous.
My wife, who teaches Catechism class for the kids, pointed out to me that there are subtle differences regarding the terminology of Faith, Spirituality, Belief and Religion. Faith, Spirituality, Belief, Religion…What’s the Difference? May 5, 2014 by Dr. Greg 2 Comments please log in to view this image Conventionally, we tend to use words like, “faith”, “spirituality”, “belief” and “religion” interchangeably and, generally speaking, there isn’t anything wrong with that. But it may interest you to know that for those who study the psychology of religion, these words do have different meanings. More than just an academic distinction, these differences can actually be quite enlightening and helpful for you in making clearer sense out of the different aspects of your own faith journey. Let’s look at some of the differences between these common terms. Faith— Most of us think of “faith” in supernatural terms, as in “faith in God.” This is actually more of what psychologists of religion would call “belief” (see below). Faith, from a more naturalistic, psychological perspective, is merely the innate drive to search for meaning, purpose and significance. From infancy, every human person has an innate sense that “there is something more than just me” and a drive to discover what that might be. The baby calls out for the mother even when the mother is gone from view. In the same way, all people, whether they are believers or not, seek the deeper meaning, purpose, and significance that exists in life, relationships and the things that happen to us. We recognize this basic striving as “faith” and it is a universal part of being human. Even atheists have this kind of faith. I think this is an especially useful understanding of the term because of its universality. We often hear that “faith is a gift” but when we see so many people who do not believe in God, we wonder if God simply did not gift those people with faith. The answer is that everyone has the gift of faith–that innate drive to seek meaning, purpose and significance–but some people have exercised this innate gift more than others, allowing their faith to be better defined than others. Spirituality—For psychologists of religion, the term “spirituality” represents both the things on which a person focuses his or her faith (e.g, God, church, nature, etc) and the things he or she does to try to make a connection with those things (prayer, sacraments, hiking). In other words, spirituality represents the paths a person’s faith (as defined above) travels as it seeks meaning, purpose, and significance. In these terms, faith is an internal feeling, a sense that there is “something more.” By contrast, spirituality represents the effort to find out what that “something more” might be. Spirituality results when one’s faith that has been activated. Belief–Belief represents the truths claims I make as a result of my spiritual journey. When, as a result of my spiritual striving, I decide that “this is true” and “this is not” I am articulating various “beliefs” that I hold because of experiences I have had while trying to satisfy my innate sense of faith (i.e., that innate human longing for meaning, purpose, and significance) by engaging in various spiritual practices and pursuits. Religion–Religion refers to the community of people who share similar beliefs and who work together to provide both support for going deeper into those beliefs and accountability for living up to those beliefs. Religions codify beliefs into sacred texts and–by means of rituals and moral practices–seek to facilitate the deepest possible connection with the beliefs the particular community holds. Of course you should feel free to use whatever terms you want in your conversation with your friends and family about these issues, but these distinctions can be helpful in discussions with people who wonder why so-and-so “doesn’t have the gift of faith” or what it really means when someone says they are “spiritual but not religious” or any number of other exchanges that can get bogged down when people use words in poorly-defined, little understood ways. If you’d like to learn more about these terms or the psychology of religion, two great resources are James Fowler’s Stages of Faith: The Psychology of Human Development and the Quest for Meaning and Kenneth Pargament’s The Psychology of Religion and Coping. please log in to view this image Taylor • 2 years ago I like how you mention that atheists have faith as well. As an atheist, I often hear religious people posit that atheists worship science or hold it up as their religion. To me, your definition helps explain the application of science to understand our history and evolutionary purpose and significance, and frankly, the beauty of sharing "star dust" with everything around us, and how that relates to my faith, and lack thereof. http://www.patheos.com/blogs/faitho...-religion-whats-the-difference/#disqus_thread
There is a solution for the pointless but very real search for meaning and significance outlined in the description of 'faith'. It's called absurdism, prime exemplar Albert Camus. And to give some balance Soren Kierkegaard gives some powerful arguments for suspension of rationality in his descriptions of the 'leap to faith'. Unfortunately the definitions only work if everybody accepts them. I'm pretty sure many people who describe themselves as having faith would not agree with the definition above, however elegant it is.
I take a simple view on these matters. No one knows enough to believe. No one knows enough not to believe. Agnosticism is the only logical position to adopt. When man's brain becomes sufficiently sophisticated to explain infinity, then he might make a better fist of exploring the meaning of life. Until then, most of the religion, faith stuff is tribalism.
On a few days break here in Berlin, and have done a fascinating bike tour of the city today Incredible how often the city has been fought over However, it is an interesting microcosm of much of the debate on this thread. Not all the conflict here was caused by religion, but it certainly doesn't appear to have helped. More alarming was Hitler's rise to power and what he then inflicted on Europe and his fellow Germans (albeit he didn't see them as such) in the single minded pursuit of a German dominated Europe. And how many Germans bestowed upon him almost god-like status and a fervent belief that he could do no wrong Therein lies my concern in some followers of organised religions - that they commit atrocities and use their belief as an excuse, but if that belief were taken away I would bet that many would never even countenance such acts
I'm no philosopher. There are meanings within a life, and so as a minimum, I would say the "meaning of life" must be to enhance your own life and the lives of others while you have breath
Pretty good that definition. I'd like to add other living creatures when we don't feel a need to eat them.
I've eaten horse. By mistake. Not bad, like lean beef. Also had goats brains. Served in situ in its head. Unsurprisingly ordered in error. Lot of chilli sauce helped.
My dear mum died this morning, and whilst I'm struggling to cope at this time, your post made me think a lot and I might very well, with your permission, use it in her eulogy. Thank you
Really sorry to hear that Stainesey. Puts all this bickering over nothing into perspective. Take care buddy.
I'm desperately sorry to hear of your devastating loss of your mum Stainsey. My thoughts are with you and your family at this difficult time.
My sincere condolences Staines. It's an unbelievable thing, the passing of a life. I hope it was a good one and a loving one. Take care mate.
My sincere condolences Stainesey, very sorry to hear of your loss, may you and your family find strength in this difficult time.
