"Now it has become clear to me that it cannot be wisdom to assert the truth of one faith over another. In our troubled world so full of contradictions, the wise person makes justice his guide and learns from all. Perhaps in this way the door may be opened again whose key has been lost."
-- Akbar the Great
5 comments:
Wise words, although it would seem impossible to me to have any faith unless one really believes it is the correct one. The problem seems to me to be when one faith denies the right of another. Sadly all the major faiths (including my own)
have been or are guilty of this to a degree. But of course, religious faith often gets cited as the root of all evil when they have also contributed much good and beauty to the world unlike the secular political philosophies and systems that have persecuted and oppressed them.
Michael Bolton is the root of all evil. You have been warned.
You are totally right about the problem being when one religion denies the rights of another. That's always when trouble starts and that arises from someone "knowing" that they are right and everyone else is wrong. As you so rightly say, it is impossible to have faith if one doesn't believe it is the correct one. that of course is the operative word: believe. In order to have faith, one must believe. But we all must also realize that belief is not knowing; none of us can ever "know" for a fact that what we believe in is true. We just have to believe; we can't know. I don't need to tell you or anyone else reading this that that's why it's called "a leap of faith"; if there is concrete scientific knowledge that one certain god or religion is the actual "true" one (whatever that means), then no faith is required. I know for a fact that this keyboard exists but I can't know for a fact that any particular god or religion is the correct one. I can only inquire and experience and investigate and then come to my own system of beliefs. And that's all that any of us can do. We all have to understand that we cannot know we are right in religious faith any more than we can know that someone else is wrong. We can only believe in what we believe and allows others the same courtesy.
Alternatively there is beer and sausage.
I believe I will smoke another doobie and I have faith that it will get me high....does any of this count?
The great cosmic head of lettuce named Herbert says it's ok. However, the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster (see side panel of links on my blog) prefers marinara and parmesan cheese. So I'm convertin'.
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