Faith The question before us is
which method of looking at the universe should we use: REASON, or REVELATION? Or
as Ayn Rand put it,"Does man acquire knowledge by a process of
REASON-- or by sudden REVELATION
from a supernatural power?" Table of Contents:
Faith, Believing, and Pretending If I were to tell you to believe that I am invisible, you would rightly correct me and say that you can't believe that, but you could pretend that. To actually believe something, you'd have to be convinced- you'd have to really "see" it. In light of this, it becomes obvious that Christians have hijacked the word "believe". The word "pretend" would actually better fit the way Christians use the word. Of course, a person who has pretended for too long that something's true may indeed start to believe that it really is true. This kind of person has what is known as mental illness. They are starting to confuse pretend with real. Christians are often afflicted with this kind of mental illness, and in fact their Bible encourages it. In the book of Proverbs 3:5,6 is found the following:
Translated, what this verse is saying is this: do not use your brain, do not use your own reasoning. Instead, swallow without questioning everything your religion says regardless of how wacked it is. It implies that to "lean on your own understanding" (i.e. use your brain) is a bad thing. It implies you should not think for yourself. It implies the opposite of being rational- it implies total blind obedience to little voices in the night, as well as to whatever crap the motormouth behind the pulpit is spewing forth week after week after week.
The fact that they have to constantly, week after week, psychologically
reinforce their pretendings with songs, chants, prayers, public meetings,
holidays, Sunday Schools, bumper stickers, tee shirts, crusades, retreats,
ad infinitum- in short, good old fashioned BRAIN WASHING rather than
cold hard FACT, this is a strong clue that what they
"Faith is the commitment of one's consciousness to beliefs for which one has no sensory evidence or rational proof." ("Mental Health versus Mysticism and Self-Sacrifice", by Nathaniel Branden, Chapter 2, page 37, "The Virtue of Selfishness" by Ayn Rand, published by New American Library, Twelfth printing, Copyright 1963, The Objectivist Newsletter, Inc.) When someone is guiding their life based upon faith, actions don't matter, results don't matter, facts don't matter, and science doesn't matter. The foundation for all important decisions has already been laid for him- in a book. Because of this, people of faith tend to be arrogant, as having "all the answers" tends to make people.
Ayn Rand} What is reason? Reason is the faculty which perceives, identifies and integrates the material provided by man's senses. Reason integrates man's perceptions by means of forming abstractions or conceptions, thus raising man's knowledge from the perceptual level, which he shares with animals, to the conceptual level, which he alone can reach. The method which reason employs in this process is logic-- and logic is the art of non-contradictory identification. (Philosophy: Who Needs It? p. 62) Ayn Rand} Reason is the faculty which perceives, identifies and integrates the material provided by man's senses. Mysticism is the claim to a non-sensory means of knowledge. (Philosophy: Who Needs It? p. 63) Bertrand Russell} The important thing is not WHAT you
believe, but HOW you believe it. Dr. Leonard Peikoff} Augustine held that faith was the
basis of man's entire mental life. "I do not know in order to believe," he said,
"I believe in order to know." And an earlier church father, Tertullian, taught
that the truly religious man delights in
thwarting his reason. As he said, "I believe it because
it is absurd."....Augustine fought against secular philosophy, science, art- he
regarded all of it as an
abomination to be swept aside.
He cursed science in particular as "the lust of the eyes." Author Edward Gibbon} Early Christians who tried to combine
the two, reasoning & revelation, were condemned. "They presume to alter the holy
scriptures, to abandon the ancient rule of faith, and to form their opinions
according to the subtle precepts of logic. The science of the church is
neglected for the study of geometry, and they lose sight of heaven while they
are employed in measuring the earth. Euclid is perpetually in their hands.
Aristotle and Theophrastus are the objects of their admiration...Their errors
are derived from the abuse of the arts and sciences of the infidels, and
they corrupt the simplicity of the Gospel by the refinements of human reason." People who abandon reason and rationality have no right to expect polite acceptance of their irrationality, nor to have it politely ignored. (Graham L. Kendall, http://www.grahamkendall.net/Main_Files/B1-BibleA.txt )
Ayn Rand} What is mysticism? Mysticism is the acceptance of allegations without evidence or proof, either apart from or against the evidence of one's senses and one's reason. Mysticism is the claim to some non-sensory, non-rational, non-definable, non-identifiable means of knowledge, such as "instinct," "intuition," "revelation," or any form of "just knowing." (Philosophy: Who Needs It? p. 63)
An Unknown Christian} Faith is that which we hold on to when Reason tells us it isn't true. The Apostle Paul} "See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ." (Col. 2:8) William Tsamis} Faith is not verifiable knowledge... By definition, "faith" implies "belief" in that which we cannot see. (Online posting, May 24, 1999. www.kipertek.com/apologetics/boardmesg/186.html )
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