A recent Gallup study (http://www.gallup.com/poll/147887/americans-continue-believe-god.aspx) showed that more people with a “High School or Less” level of education don’t believe in God than those with a “College or More” level.
As I thought about this, realizing that Christians all over the nation silently celebrated solidarity with those more intelligent than themselves, I wondered why we put so much weight on the correlation of intelligence and faith. Frankly, I’m not sure that a higher IQ gives someone the corner on understanding what would be an ineffable reality (or the opposite, to be fair).
The fact is we are all scared.
Self-awareness and an ignorant understanding of mortality cause fear. These in the presence of ambition create a dire situation. I’m wont to say that faith is better understood as this fear, the product of too much capacity for thought but too little capacity for knowledge (even among the best of our brains); however, I don’t desire to live in a world where God is a contrived defense mechanism. I want to live in a world in which God is a reality.
Perhaps what faith I muster is better understood as variations on Pascal’s Wager.
And maybe that faith – faith enough to question, faith in my mind and my heart, faith in community and faith in a God that, if actual, will disbelieve my unbelief and claim me as his own, recognizing that my disbelief is more faithful than mindless adherence – what faith I can muster, maybe that is not faith at all. Perhaps it’s simply the outcome of waking up.
But then, maybe God is as organic as that.
Anyway, it’s clear that my thoughts surpass my knowledge.
It is in the tension of unknowing that we live.
freud wrote a book explaining how faith was a nonsensical mass human projection as a reaction to fear and a need for a father-figure. i think your response is smart and well-articulated. my favorite philosopher, kierkegaard, addresses this point too. faith is not anti-rational, but transrational. anyway, great blog.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate that you connected both of those perspectives on faith. I'm quite familiar with Freud's perspective (it is common to many atheistic systems) and I've read Fear and Trembling twice. I must say, though, I have no idea why Kierkegaard would be your favorite philosopher. Haha. Thanks for the thoughts!
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