Sam Harris

I am just someone that try understand how things works and as student my job is work hard to find the best answers is possible, why so many people accept God is the truth? what is the point of believe in God? Susan Wise Bauer wrote:
“To concentrate on physical evidence to the exclusion of myth and story is to put all of our faith in the explanations for human behavior in that which can be touched, smelled, seen, and weighed: it shows a mechanical view of human nature, and a blind faith in the methods of science to explain the mysteries of human behavior.”
why put all of our faith? and how can I define faith?

Thanks for the opportunity to share my thoughts.

Al

Hey Al,
  I like your quote very much.  I think it is very telling of modern science.  First of all, modern science has to make an admission.  They put their faith in science.  They claim that they have unbiased evidence that proves all of their claims, but in actuality, they are simply putting their faith in science in the same way that Christians put their faith in God.  I think that a good definition of faith is believing in what we have not see with our senses or in what can not be physically seen with any of our senses.  For example, scientists have faith in evolution because they have never actually seen it occur.  Scientists have seen microevolution occur (such as varying beak sizes in the finches of the Galapagos Islands), but they have never in the history of mankind physically observed macroevolution (one species becoming another species).  So scientists put faith in evolution despite the fact that they have never actually seen it occur.  So we see that scientists actually do have faith though they usually deny it.  Second of all, Bauer’s quote reminds us that it is o.k. to not be able to understand everything.  The popular phrase tells us that we learn something new every day.  If this is true, it would imply that our knowledge is limited.  This implies that perhaps we weren’t meant to know everything.  This is something that scientists can not except, but even scientists themselves admit that they do not have all of the answers.  That’s why in the end, even for a scientist, it boils down to a matter of where are we going to put our faith?  Will we put our faith in the theory that states that the universe was created at random and by chance, or will we put our faith in the Bible that tells us that a loving God created the universe for a clear purpose?  Either way, we’re putting our faith in something, whether we admit it or not.   I look forward to talking with you more soon Al.

      In Christ’s Love,
          Cody Alan Rushing

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Hello Al

I enjoyed reading your post which is very honest.

It’s true to say that science is the best method we have in helping us to understand how things work. It allows us to build up a body of evidence that we can continually check.

As for “explaining the mysteries of human behavior”, again science is beginning to help us to understand human behaviour. But for millenia, art has been our main source of help here. Especially literature, and before literature, story-telling. Art has helped increase our self awareness since the first cave paintings.

I think of religion as art; specifically poetry. Poetry speaks directly to our emotions. It can move us deeply; it can provide very real comfort; it can inspire us. It can provide insight into the human experience in ways that science can’t. The difficulties begin when we believe it to be a source of evidence about how things work. That is, when we confuse it with science.

As for faith, my idea about faith is that it is an inner “knowing” that “all will be well”.  A very firm sense that “all will be well”, even in the absence of evidence. I think that for the luckiest ones among us, that “inner knowing” is taken in with our mother’s milk. If we were loved and nurtured as infants and children, we have an inbuilt resilience, a faith that we are supported in life. For many others, that sensation is first experienced through contact with religion. Through the “inner knowing” for example, that Christ loves us. This is clearly very real for those who experience it, which is why they often want to share it.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I hope mine are of some interest to you!
Very best of luck!
Ali

Hey Al !

I am just someone that try understand how things works and as student my job is work hard to find the best answers is possible, why so many people accept God is the truth? what is the point of believe in God?

If you look closer, you will find that science and the scientific evidence we have proves the existence of god.

Start by looking into the Second Law Of Thermodynamics, and into Causality and into the Big-Bang.

Best