A characteristic of a CLP (Causative Living Person) is that he resolves religious and philosophical paradoxes. We don't sweep them under the carpet, or 'not-is' them, or invalidate them; they need resolution in order to leave the obscurity of belief, non-belief, and 'not-is-ness' to come into the light of understanding.
When I first met Bil, one of his gambits was 'Let me introduce you to Satan!', & I thought 'O yeah! how can anyone introduce me to something that doesn't exist?' So I said 'Go ahead' and I waited.
What followed was that Bil gave me a definition, 'Satan is the programmed activity of the body', in other words the body-emotion system.
Now surely, the body-emotion system includes beauty and love as well as ugliness & hate, what the heck is he talking about?
Wow! I had never even considered everyday functions could be somehow anthropomorphised and I wanted to hear more.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Faith and Reason
What role do Faith and Reason have in causative living?
What is the function of Faith and what is the function of Reason?
This seems to be an age old debate, how can I contribute?
Nowadays, bar possibly for some Middle Eastern countries, expressing a view contrary to orthodox religion doesn't excite any real attention. So, we may ask, have any new views emerged under this freedom? The answer is not really. There have always been apostates from faith who suddenly discover some of their 'Father Christmas like' dogmas are difficult or impossible to entertain any more. Orthodox religion mostly no longer interferes with people who hold moderate views contrary to theirs, and there are now billions of people who were not even born into any structured faith at all, so we would expect some crystal clear epistemology to have emerged. Yet this hasn't happened, or rather there is no charismatic champion espousing such truth.
Rather, what seems to be happening, is a natural process of maturation. When still very young, to our disappointment we unmask myths like the tooth-fairy and Father Christmas, then we go through a rather cocky period scorning anyone who still believes in them, then we go through a period of indifference when we realise no one really cares, and finally with our children we renew the cycle and share in their childish delights. Still the tooth-fairy and Father Christmas myths have functions useful to our society. The tooth-fairy is a placebo to the natural, but painful, process of getting our adult teeth, and Father Christmas is the 'Spirit' of giving and of generosity fundamental to western society. Understanding these functions, I think, does more to keep them alive than to end them.
So too, I posit that faith and reason have functions useful to society, or they wouldn't stick around so doggedly. Knowing the tooth-fairy and Father Christmas are myths does not invalidate their use or stop their perpetuation, but rather, in understanding, they are perpetuated. Now I realised, as others have too, resolving myths like Father Christmas is a process of understanding gained through natural maturation, and further suggest that issues of faith may be resolved in the same manner. That is, they (issues of faith) are resolved on a personal level which will not necessarily end their perpetuation after resolution. Four reasons I now give why understanding issues of faith will not end a religion or dogma are:
1. Trying to force people, into accepting anything will be resisted.
Like Dr. Semelweis trying to force his ideas onto his colleagues. Even children, not ready to let go of the Father Christmas myth, will endure the scorn of other children until they themselves are ready. I know, I resisted in my youth!
2. Faith is an excellent people control weapon.
Someone who believes in Valhalla can be counted on to be brave in battle and can be manipulated into doing all sorts of inane things. Someone who believes in hell can be persuaded not to break certain commandments or laws.
3. Vested interests and livelihoods.
There are an awful lot of grocery bills paid by believers. Why tell the faithful that you have matured beyond belief and so lose your livelihood?
4. Religions try to guide their followings into good behaviour, and very often reason can do no better.
One function of both faith and reason is to guide our intentions and actions. However, in faith we are constrained and are not free to set our own course. With reason we are free, even if we set the same course that faith dictates, but now WE become responsible for our own choices and actions.
Faith and dogmas will stay for ever, as it is as natural as adolescence is in life, even if they are sometimes cruel and dangerous. In faith there is limited responsibility, but in reason we find full responsibility.
What is the function of Faith and what is the function of Reason?
This seems to be an age old debate, how can I contribute?
Nowadays, bar possibly for some Middle Eastern countries, expressing a view contrary to orthodox religion doesn't excite any real attention. So, we may ask, have any new views emerged under this freedom? The answer is not really. There have always been apostates from faith who suddenly discover some of their 'Father Christmas like' dogmas are difficult or impossible to entertain any more. Orthodox religion mostly no longer interferes with people who hold moderate views contrary to theirs, and there are now billions of people who were not even born into any structured faith at all, so we would expect some crystal clear epistemology to have emerged. Yet this hasn't happened, or rather there is no charismatic champion espousing such truth.
Rather, what seems to be happening, is a natural process of maturation. When still very young, to our disappointment we unmask myths like the tooth-fairy and Father Christmas, then we go through a rather cocky period scorning anyone who still believes in them, then we go through a period of indifference when we realise no one really cares, and finally with our children we renew the cycle and share in their childish delights. Still the tooth-fairy and Father Christmas myths have functions useful to our society. The tooth-fairy is a placebo to the natural, but painful, process of getting our adult teeth, and Father Christmas is the 'Spirit' of giving and of generosity fundamental to western society. Understanding these functions, I think, does more to keep them alive than to end them.
So too, I posit that faith and reason have functions useful to society, or they wouldn't stick around so doggedly. Knowing the tooth-fairy and Father Christmas are myths does not invalidate their use or stop their perpetuation, but rather, in understanding, they are perpetuated. Now I realised, as others have too, resolving myths like Father Christmas is a process of understanding gained through natural maturation, and further suggest that issues of faith may be resolved in the same manner. That is, they (issues of faith) are resolved on a personal level which will not necessarily end their perpetuation after resolution. Four reasons I now give why understanding issues of faith will not end a religion or dogma are:
1. Trying to force people, into accepting anything will be resisted.
Like Dr. Semelweis trying to force his ideas onto his colleagues. Even children, not ready to let go of the Father Christmas myth, will endure the scorn of other children until they themselves are ready. I know, I resisted in my youth!
2. Faith is an excellent people control weapon.
Someone who believes in Valhalla can be counted on to be brave in battle and can be manipulated into doing all sorts of inane things. Someone who believes in hell can be persuaded not to break certain commandments or laws.
3. Vested interests and livelihoods.
There are an awful lot of grocery bills paid by believers. Why tell the faithful that you have matured beyond belief and so lose your livelihood?
4. Religions try to guide their followings into good behaviour, and very often reason can do no better.
One function of both faith and reason is to guide our intentions and actions. However, in faith we are constrained and are not free to set our own course. With reason we are free, even if we set the same course that faith dictates, but now WE become responsible for our own choices and actions.
Faith and dogmas will stay for ever, as it is as natural as adolescence is in life, even if they are sometimes cruel and dangerous. In faith there is limited responsibility, but in reason we find full responsibility.
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