I know that millions have asked this question, and thousands have written to various extents on the matter, but I would like to make a small claim here.
Would you, just for a second, amuse me with this? Just read each question and think about it before moving on to the next (not including the one just asked... only think long about that one if your initial answer is no :-) )
1: Have you ever known something to be true, then later discovered you were wrong?
(You can replace "wrong" with "mistaken" if you like to mask your fallibility)
2: Why, then, do we say that belief and faith are less than knowledge?
If knowledge can be wrong, than anything we know is known by faith! Everything we "know," "believe," "think," it's all based on our experiences in life, all based on some stimuli, some starting point, some reason, however false the point or faulty the reasoning is!
Now, please don't misconstrue my meaning, "faith" and "knowledge" are taken to mean different things at different times in different contexts. A teacher is not going to "test your faith of the material," though, I could say they are testing whether your faith and theirs line up on certain material, aka, if your faith, if your knowledge, is correct.
And before I go further: THIS IS NOT ABOUT RELATIVISM!!! All I'm saying is that faith and knowledge are not polar opposites as some, especially those who call themselves scientific, would have you believe. Really, what I'm saying is directly against relativism: faith, like knowledge, can be judged as right and wrong, true and false.
One more thing: head/heart knowledge: I think these are bad terms... They simply mean what you do and don't believe! Knowledge in your head isn't real if it's not also in your heart! And if something hasn't become real to you it's neither faith nor knowledge!!! It's just memorization!
Thank you for reading, this has been another journey through Chris's crazy word-mush. If you agree, I hope you have enjoyed this, if not, mush some words together in the comment thingy. :)
Just and Unjust Wars & the Ukraine Crisis
2 years ago
Heb 11:1 "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."
ReplyDeleteMany things we know come from faith- because we can't see them doesn't mean that they are false.
I think I understand what you're saying(from this and previous conversation): that people insult faith all the time while having to use it to make sense of much of the world. And it is not such a silly thing as people make it out to be.
The only way to respond is not in disagreement, you know? ;-)