December 04, 2007
Faith VS ReasonScenario 1: Christmas is around the corner this year and you are getting a present for your significant other. However, on your side, you do not really know that your significant other would ever get you a present. Despite this question of doubt, you believed that he or she would buy you a gift for Christmas. This is an example of faith you have in your partner. The reason is because you have a relationship with him or her.
Scenario 2: Christmas is around the corner this year and you are getting a present for your significant other. However, on your side, you do not really know that your significant other would ever get you a present. Despite this question of doubt, you believed that he or she would buy you a gift for Christmas. Furthermore, you told yourself that EVEN if he or she doesn't buy you a gift, it may or may not be evident to show that he or she does not love you. Hence, you convince yourself that there are indeed quite a few possibilities for any delights or mishaps along the way, while at the same time, putting your trust in your significant other. This is an example of rational thinking.
Rational thinking is becoming an essential necessity to living a fulfilled and sane life in this horribly sick world contaminated by irrational fundamentalism, dogmatic extremism, and religious fanaticism. There have been accusations that free, rational, and critical thinking is pessimistic, skeptical, and doubtful. But unlike religious dogmas and beliefs, they do not emphasize a strong faith built upon supernatural coincidences (or some would call God-incidences), thinking or merely believing that they are right simply because their holy scriptures or religious texts say likewise. In short, religion thrives on the absolutes, but in the wide variousness of the human condition there are no absolutes, only competing goods and desires (Grayling, p.105). Take Christianity for instance, one has to believe in Jesus, and also receive Jesus into their life, as well as repent of their sins before becoming a Christian. The very first thing before one becomes a Christian is to say the Sinner's Prayer, which I am sure, is a ritual for many Christian churches even till today. Why is this so? Simply put, Christianity is yet another religion (regardless how any staunch believer would ever deny this). Not only that, it's main ideal is to despise the conception of sin and believers are to be grateful to their perceived saviour for delivering them from their sins by obeying God, in exchange of that favour. Whereas for morality, it usually comes in second to the deliverance of sins from humankind. But very often, morality is interpreted and emphasized in accordance and in context to the holy scriptures, which again, doesn't emphasize much of morality anyway. It is all about ridding sins from one's mind and body, or if you like, soul.
Free thinking and logical reasoning do not practice such dogmatic nonsense. Instead, they rely on human ethics, moral philosophies, and concepts about interpersonal relationships, responsibility, and concern. A rational mind usually question everything it sees, hears, or senses in its environment. It is independent in terms of opinion, thought, and judgement. It is not moderate, which also means, it does not weigh the pros and cons of a subject, then chooses the side which is determined not by rational decisions, but by dogmatic rules and religious laws. If religious laws and dogmatic rules do matter, then there is no longer any strong need for one of such faith to practice logical reasoning and decision making, especially when it goes against certain dogmatic views. On the contrary, if one is rational enough to put on some critical thinking cap, and equip oneself with the ability to reason with his or her mind, then there is absolutely no necessity for religious laws or dogmatic rules to take control of that rational being. Immoral crimes like murders, killings, genocides, and suicide bombings were committed in the name of an invisible God, are fine examples of irrational insane minds under the extreme control of irrational faith and pseudo-religiosity. Thus, their holy scriptures are to be solely responsible for such religious atrocities committed not for the sake of God whose existence is still questionable, but to put their own faith and reputations to shame. These fanatics are a disgrace to their family, the weed of our society, and a great example of serious mental illness. Many of them, needless to say, were intelligent people who were scholars, some of them even had doctorates from well-known universities around the world. Yet, their staunch belief in an irrational faith, which influenced them into having a narrow-minded dogmatic view of the world spelled a gradual doom to their future and beyond.
It is not fair just to blame the fanatics for their religious atrocities committed out of a babyish mental processing (or should I say, non-thinking). Every individual who embraces a religion has the potential to become a fanatic or a religious fundamentalist. It is just a matter of time to see it unfolding within their character. Even if some would not or never become a religious fanatic, they would most probably be the ones who are the most intolerant of many ideas put forth by rational people who just do not have any religious beliefs. These types of religious people are the most common in Singapore and in many civilized societies around the world. Because of their dogmatic faith and strong religious beliefs, they remain a closed door for many possibilities and solutions to their problems: all they need is God, and God is all there is in order for things to be alright. I really do fantasize about such an outcome, but one has to be realistic in the situation one is dealing with.
In a survey of 2000 doctors conducted about half a year ago, 35 percent of non-religious doctors, compared with 31 percent of religious doctors, said they were likely to care for people with little or no health insurance (
Chicago Sun-Times, 2007). According to that article, a study has shown that atheist and agnostic doctors are as likely to provide care for the poor as religious physicians. The reason for this paradox was later postulated that caring for the poor, which is an expression of faithfulness and commitment, is something that many religious individuals do not practice. Instead, they are solely committed to their God without being aware of their environment, situations, and people around them. Although individuals who claim to be spiritual could fare better than the religious, they have a likelihood of becoming ritualistic and religious, if they cease being aware of themselves.
As I have mentioned before, religion robs the minds of individuals to ever possess the ability to apply critical thought, logical reasoning, rational problem solving, and moral decision making. It is like cancer or HIV, which gradually eats away the good cells capable of battling against sickness, such as irrationality. Like racial identification, religion separates people into various groups of denominations and sectarians. However, unlike the former, religion divides people, society, and thoughts. Of all these three, the division of thoughts through the power of the church, or any religious authority, is a threat to human and scientific progress, especially when we are living in the modern age of the twenty-first century. The complete rejection of certain scientific or philosophical ideas is already a threat to progress, much less the rejection of other irrational and nonsensical faiths within the perception of these religious individuals. It is not wrong to reject certain ideas, however, it is rather insensible to completely reject an idea that holds a certain amount of facts, truth and reality. To reject an idea is to see the positive and negative sides of it, while making a stand for yourself what you think is rational and moral. To completely reject an idea is to say "NO" to such proposition regardless of its positive traits. Unfortunately, many religious Christians I happened to know completely reject the idea of evolution without even thinking twice about its positive applications and worse, misinterpret the idea of evolution altogether. Obviously, they know nothing about the theory of evolution, and its application in our lives today.
Faith is non-thinking. And one who does not think is a dead man. While faith involves the deep knowing and sensation of one's belonging to a supernatural realm that seems to be true only in the mind of this individual, it is but a gradual mental decay of a completely deluded being. Faith is believing what one knows is right, even when sometimes it could be wrong.
Reason, on the other hand, observes the observable, tests and confirms the unobservable, and relies on logic and individual perceptions. It is humble and democratic. A person of reason is one who does not claim to have the right answer to everything, or insist that his ideas are unquestionable and thus, always right. Reason frees you up from the narrow-minded or rather, frog-in-a-well view of life. It encourages free thought, which is good for the mind, body, and health. It lacks faith for being skeptical and doubtful, but at least, it does not agree without question.
In sum, although there is faith in everyone of us regardless of any situation that we are in, it would be a deadly mistake to rely on faith alone, without questioning faith itself. Faith should be questioned no matter what the situation is. After all, if faith and/or action alone is truly the solution to our problems, then there is no necessity for reason to exist.
