I feel that comparing the relationship one has with a sexual partner and that of a god fits well; because we are talking about faith in a relationship, and people that pull the faith-card claim to have a relationship with God. When I say "God" I am referring to the internal perception of an entity which may or may not exist (my position is obvious). Most people which do not possess faith, find it hard to understand it. Below is an analogy that gets at the heart of what faith is (if you are not a guy, then replace "girl" with "guy", actually just change it to whatever your sexual orientation is).....
You are in a culture that has arranged marriages. When you were a young child, your parents forced you into an arranged marriage; being that you had no choice in the matter, you obeyed. For the next five years you hear all kinds of stories about this girl. The day came when you would finally meet face-to-face with the person that you will be spending the rest of your life with. You are thinking "what will this person look like" and "what will she think about me?". Your parents take you into a room, and your father says "there she is". But you don't see her. "Where is she?" you ask, your father replies "she's all around you". And at this point you are thinking to yourself "what the f@#k?". But out of obligation you play-along. You think to yourself "are my parents insane? no, they can't be, they raised me — they must see something that I do not". After getting married to your invisible wife, you make a great effort to try to feel her presence. If you think about it enough, you can almost feel a warmness inside of you, but this is very unsatisfying.
A few days later your parents sit you down, and talk to you about how you must remain faithful to this invisible wife. You cannot be with any other girl, or even think about it. For if this happens you will become castrated by your invisible wife. Such a shame that you were brought up in a culture that forced marriage down your throat — not even giving you a chance to decide who you wanted to be with. You are stuck with this one girl that can not be seen. And the constant fear of becoming castrated keeps you from being with any other women. It has always been your dream to get married and have a family; you thought you would get this with the arranged marriage. But now you find yourself stuck with an invisible girl which may or may not exist. Your mind shackled out of fear of castration and the obligation you feel towards your family.
And that is faith, faith that the invisible girl is real, and the loyalty that it forces you to have -- this is the faith the religious claim is so great.
I find that a helpful definition of faith is to think of it as three components:
ReplyDelete1) Belief
2) Trust
3) Commitment
If we look at faith as the possessing of these three features, then we see that it doesn't have to be about something that can't be seen. The trust and commitment are obviously what distinguishes faith from mere belief or intellectual assent to a proposition. There are many things that I believe in that I cannot see, like electrons, but I am not committed to their existence and I do not put trust in them, so it is not faith.
I think your relationship example is a good example of faith in a material sense that most people are familiar with. For example, I believe that my fiancee is not cheating on me, I trust her, and I am committed to her, so I have faith in her.
However, using your example again, staying with the invisible girl out of fear of castration or social disapproval would not constitute faith since there is no trust or commitment on your part, just fear of consequences.
So faith is more than just true belief, it is a personal commitment to that true belief, something that can happen in many contexts, although the word obviously carries a religious connotation.
Personally, I believe in the Triune God, whom I trust as good and loving, and I am committed to God. It isn't something based on fear of punishment or hell or whatever. That wouldn't be faith at all.
There was a scholar and a young man who was an atheist.
ReplyDeleteYoung Man: I have 3 questions:
1. Does God exist? If so, show me His shape.
2. What is Destiny?
3. If satan (Devil) was created from the fire, why at the end he will be thrown to hell that also created from fire. It certainly will not hurt him at all, since Shaitan (Devil) and the hell were created from fire. Did God not think of it this far?
Suddenly, the Scholar slapped the young man's face very hard.
Young Man (feeling pain): Why do you get angry at me?
Scholar: I am not angry. The slap is my answer to your three questions.
Young Man: I really don't understand.
Scholar: How do you feel after I slapped you?
Young Man: Of course, I felt the pain.
Scholar: So do you believe that pain exists?
Young Man: Yes.
Scholar: Show me the shape of the pain!
Young Man: I cannot.
Scholar: That is my first answer. All of us feel God's existence without being able to see His shape.
Scholar: Last night, did you dream that you will be slapped by me?
Young Man: No.
Scholar: Did you ever think that you will get a slap from me, today?
Young Man: No.
Scholar: That is fate.
Scholar: My hand that I used to slap you, what is it created from?
Young Man: It is created from skin.
Scholar: How about your face, what is it created from?
Young Man: Skin.
Scholar: How do you feel after I slapped you?
Young Man: In pain.
Scholar: Even though Shaitan (Devil) and also the hell were created from the fire, if Allah wants, insha-Allah (God willing), the hell will become a very painful place for Shaitan (Devil). SUBHAAN ALLAH!