From: speterson@fast.net
Date: Tue Oct 01 2002 - 16:47:54 BST
>From "speterson" <speterson@fast.net>
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From: "speterson" <speterson@fast.net>
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To: moq_discuss@moq.org
Subject: RE: MD Unofficial Rorty Dictionary
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Date: Tue, 01 Oct 2002 10:56:05 -0500
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erin writes:
> I think Scott is right. I think it is possible to
> eliminate 'faith based
> arguing' without eliminating religion.
I would rather keep faith while eliminating dogmatic
religion. Faith doesn't necessarily have anything to do
with making metaphysical or historical statements. Let=92s
consider a secular example, or what might be considered part
of our shared American faith: "We hold these truths to be
self-evident, that all men are created equal=85" I contend
that this is a statement of faith that we assent to as
Americans. First, recognize that as a statement of fact it
has no meaning, or we could even say that it is most
certainly not true in the factual sense. We are not all
born with the same genetic material and into the same social
and economic standing. None of us believe it in a factual
way. In fact, if it was indeed self-evident, it would not
even have been worth saying. This is a statement of faith
rather than factual belief in that by assenting to it we are
holding it to be self-evidentby choosing to assign the same
value to one another. The life of a king or president is no
more sacred than the life of a poor child. Assenting to
"All men are created equal" is recognizing that your self is
just as important to you as my self is to me. This idea
affects the decisions we make, the laws we pass, and how we
administer justice, and most importantly how we interact
with one another on a daily basis. Not bad for a statement
that we all know in are minds is not true. It is powerful
because we hold it in our hearts to be more than fact. This
is how faith works. Religious faith works in the same way.
Everyone chooses to live based on convictions that they feel
have value. Discussion of statements of faith must revolve
around arguing about the value of living as though a given
statement is true, not in whether or not it is factually
true.
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