Faith

I shall never cease to be amazed at the lengths that people will go to to prove what they believe to be true; or to dismiss that which they do not believe to be true.

Such approval or dismissal rarely includes, or requires, knowledge that is rationally based; is pragmatic; or is simply authentic.

One of the biggest failures in the history of human non-rational thought is the reliance on faith.

Faith, by definition and unto itself is not a bad thing. I have faith that the Sun will rise tomorrow - very likely before I get out of bed. My faith in the rising of the Sun is based on science, personal observation and the historical experience of a thousand generations.

The word "faith" has been appropriated and imbued with false meaning - it has irrevocably been tied to belief without proof - most often in connection with objects and persons of supernatural origin.

I renounce this aberration of the word.

Belief in ANYTHING without evidence of its actual existence is ridiculous.

My faith in the sun's probable rising is not a reliance on any gut feel that I may personally have; on an oft-recited fairy tale; or on any ecumenical definition of the word "faith".

My faith is NOT solely based on science and on provable evidence - but also on rationality. Yet, in turn, my personal rational thought system is based on that which is perceivable and measurable and provable.

As such my belief in all things is based on my own sense of individuality.

I believe what I know to be true. I cannot believe in what I do not know. This is, of course, the very essence of ignorance. Yet my ignorance (and my self-awareness of my ignorance) can easily be rectified by acquiring new knowledge.

I realize that the ability and desire to learn should not end while a man still draws breath.

Yet there are those that believe in that which is not provable. There are those who will not believe that which is provable or has been proved. And both of these represent ignorance of a very different and far more insidious nature.

Should the sun NOT rise tomorrow, I will then have evidence that the rising of the sun is not such a reliable occurrence, as I had previously believed. I will no longer have faith that the sun's rising is an absolute.

And I will adapt.