Location
Bristol
""we need to differentiate evidence from explanation" - very good point! I think we need to take this thought away from the comments and address it as a topic in its own article.
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"Mark, I'm not clear what you mean by 'there is absolutely no evidence', but it seems that the way you are using the phrase is not what I would mean, and the phrase itself could be misleading in this context.
When I say that all faith is based on…"
When I say that all faith is based on…"
"Mark, I have offered catching a bus as an example of ordinary, everyday faith being exercised. Clearly, many other examples could be chosen.
But if you want to say that faith in the real world - in the lives of people - often has no evidence,…"
But if you want to say that faith in the real world - in the lives of people - often has no evidence,…"
"I'm probably quibbling here - but I wouldn't call the idea of the bus driver acting to deliver us to our destination an act of faith, as such. For me, this excellent example has much more to do with "trust" - which for me is a weak form of…"
"I think perhaps one of the biggest issue that does, and probably always has, diminished political discourse is that so very many people opt out of it, either by refusing to seek engagement and understanding and simply reacting to events that are in…"
"I've just re-read my comment and I should first apologise for the grammar. Dreadful! I think you are saying exactly the same thing in different words - the woodland walk is a good illustration. How we feel is often massively influenced by our…"
"Mark, that is fair enough as a personal reaction. I'm not claiming everyone - or even that most people - feel this way. But I keep on having conversations with people, both inside organised religion and outside it, who tell me that this is their…"
"I am deeply suspicious words such as 'deeper reality'. By definition there is only one reality. If something isn't real it is false. People frequently credit deeply felt emotion to outside influence, when it is always a personal reaction to…"
[Back to Spiritual Challenges]
When we talk about religion or belief - almost any religion or belief - it is easiest to talk about the aspects which can be expressed in words. Obviously.
We can't talk in any meaningful way about the subjective…
When we talk about religion or belief - almost any religion or belief - it is easiest to talk about the aspects which can be expressed in words. Obviously.
We can't talk in any meaningful way about the subjective…
"Why bother. Sounds like a plan. But more seriously, I take issue with the term 'spiritual path'. It is meaningless, so in a sense they are all the same! If people were to talk about a journey into awareness of others, seeing self in the bigger…"
"Who we are is to me more important than what we do. I cannot claim to have been a great influence on my children, I have many regrets. However I take great pride in the fact that some of my values, empathy, care, intelligent thought and resilience…"
" We have faith the driver of the bus will deliver us to the published destination - but of course we know there is an outside chance he won't. They could have a heart attach, there could be roadworks or an accident, or in rare instances they could…"
"Some really good stuff here Brian, much better put than my clumsy attempt. However I don't really subscribe to faith being a state of knowledge - but of course that depends on how you describe knowledge! We know we believe something or don't…"
"Rereading your introduction above, Paul, it is very good indeed. But I think you prove the point made in my first comment below. You implicitly define both trust and faith in terms of belief. I will continue pondering this - in particular the…"
"This is an interesting article and certainly worth reading. However, for me, this article confuses some important things - perhaps it is initially useful to lump together "faith", "belief" and "trust" - but, in fact, there are considerable…"
" Quite a lot to talk about here. However for me there is one factor missing in the summary - the ability to share dependable knowledge that works (i.e. I can tell someone how to repair a tap, and provided they follow the instructions, they are…"
