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Wed 13 Feb, 2008 03:24 pm
I would say, that to justify faith in a religion, you must believe that you have had some form of religious experience. If you have an experience, that you cant explain, when you consider all the possible explanations, and they all point to the experience being divine in nature, then that I think justifies having a religious faith.
I don't think a religious upbringing justifies faith, because your upbringing was down to chance. Just because your parents have a strong religious faith, does not warrant you having faith, because they may have aquired faith in a different way, and all they are doing is just imposing their faith on you, unless of course they give you the choice whether to have faith or not.
But your parents may justify faith through religious experience, so in order to justify your faith, you would have to believe your parents account of their religious experience, but a verbal account of a religious experience is far form adequate.
The only way to justify faith is through believing you have had a religious experience. I say believe you have had a religious experience because it is difficult to define what religious experience is exactly, so you could only reasonably say that "you belive" that you have had a religious experience. You could never know, you could only claim to know, then this whole thing comes down to epistemological enquiry.
The think that your whole experience either inclines you toward religion
or it does not. I suspect that specifically "religious experiences" are few
and far between, though I have no way of knowing one way or the other.
For those whose experience of the world so inclines them, the particular
religion they follow is mostly determined by their place and time.
The reports of religious experience are overwhelming.
Have you ever walked into a room and been truly moved by the emotion in it?
I believe religious experiences exist, and it is difficult to explain.
I don't believe that you have to justify your faith in religion.
So there is no rational justification for religious faith?
Is faith completely irrational?
Hi Phoenix, your reply was my point, although there are other points too.
Have you ever walked into / been in a church and at the moment of a particularly symbolic religious tradition/act, been struck by a sense of holiness?
I have, although I suspect the cause is not so much to do with holiness than with human spirit.
I do wonder how many people extend a basic feeling or experience of reverence for some moment or situation in time to then become a guiding factor into their lives as a whole, as an integral part of identity. That reverence is tough to explain though, it's not connected to any one thing, just a general feeling of something greater than individual concepts that is flowing in motion and we're a part of it and yet we're not a part of it at the same time as that implies distinction from...it. Well anyway, I think this reverence which can tie in closely with faith has the same justification as say, dancing, the justification is often in the doing, in the action or contemplation. That is of course very different to the faith some have in God, I'm thinking more about the faith many have in the intrinsic nature of life as change etc.
Why do you think anyone should have to justify their faith?
Hi Arella,
I think in the context of the original posters question (though I could be wrong), that the justification could as easily be directed inwards as explained outwards.
By that I mean, everyone has a reason for believing what they believe. In the original posters case, it seems to me that one could easily swap "Whats the reason" for "What's the justification".
Of course he narrows the question, which isn't necessary. Seeing and experiencing the workings of the world could be reason enough. Studying chemistry and still not being able to fathom how inanimate atoms become living beings could be reason enough. Or as he focuses on, a particularly holy or spiritual experience could be reason enough.
v Religion and church
1) The common purpose of religion is to aid the entity in its search for Truth.
2) Each entity's level of development and understanding is different.
3) It takes many different styles of religion to accommodate the growth needs of entities at various times.
4) The value of a religion can be judged by its operation and intended accomplishments.
5) Churches exist for the benefit of entities.
6) Churches are to religion what a bathtub is to water.
7) They allow the entity an opportunity to soak in the fellowship of like-minded entities.
8) Churches also allow an entity a method through which to share.
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