'Or as Montaigne put it: "Some impose upon the world beliefs they do not hold; others, more in number, impose beliefs upon themselves, not being able to penetrate into what it really is to believe," - "Apology for Raymond Sebond."'
What is it really to believe? Well, as I have said a number of times, it isn't necessarily the same as having faith. I am standing on a the shore of a lake, looking at an island that is, perhaps, several hundred yards away. I have reason to believe that I am strong enough and a skilled enough swimmer to make it to the island under my own power. But once I dive into the water, it is something else - faith, I would call it - that sustains me in that effort. And it is not grounded in ratiocination or statistics. Doctrinal formulations can with care enable one to articulate the content of faith, but if your faith is simply intellectual assent to a set of propositions, your faith is no faith all. Faith, in other words, is something you live. It isn't something you merely think.
Andrew Sullivan comments:
ReplyDelete'Or as Montaigne put it: "Some impose upon the world beliefs they do not hold; others, more in number, impose beliefs upon themselves, not being able to penetrate into what it really is to believe," - "Apology for Raymond Sebond."'
What is it really to believe?
What is it really to believe?
ReplyDeleteWell, as I have said a number of times, it isn't necessarily the same as having faith. I am standing on a the shore of a lake, looking at an island that is, perhaps, several hundred yards away. I have reason to believe that I am strong enough and a skilled enough swimmer to make it to the island under my own power. But once I dive into the water, it is something else - faith, I would call it - that sustains me in that effort. And it is not grounded in ratiocination or statistics. Doctrinal formulations can with care enable one to articulate the content of faith, but if your faith is simply intellectual assent to a set of propositions, your faith is no faith all. Faith, in other words, is something you live. It isn't something you merely think.