I tend to disagree. It sounds too much like “faith is just feeling that you’re right!”
I’ve heard a lot of good definitions of faith. One of my favorites has been, “Faith is not saying, ‘I’m gonna jump of this cliff and God’s gonna catch me!’ Faith is when God tells you to jump off a cliff, and you do.”
Another goody is CS Lewis’. “Faith… is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods.” He continues, “For moods will change, whatever view your reason takes… Now that I am a Christian, I have moods in which the whole thing looks very improbable: but when I was an atheist I had moods in which Christianity looked terribly probable.”
I think that’s the exact opposite of what Ms. Flannery is saying. It’s knowing something is true when your feelings want it to be otherwise.
Oliveron May 22, 2017 at 8:58 pm
It’s possible that I’m misinterpreting. The words “know” and “believe” tend to have subtleties that are difficult to pick up on. If this quote came from a broader essay or article of some kind, it may make more sense to me in context.
I think you’re right Tom. I was told by a religious leader that EVERYONE knows there’s a higher being. Some just choose to deny that being out of willful disobedience. It’s uncomfortable(for some if not most) to acknowledge that we’re subject to the will & judgement of another. Like a kid putting hands over his ears and saying “I cant hear you.”, some of us feel we can dismiss from our world that which we deny and ignore. Faith lets us deal w/ what we’d rather not in a positive way.
I tend to disagree. It sounds too much like “faith is just feeling that you’re right!”
I’ve heard a lot of good definitions of faith. One of my favorites has been, “Faith is not saying, ‘I’m gonna jump of this cliff and God’s gonna catch me!’ Faith is when God tells you to jump off a cliff, and you do.”
Another goody is CS Lewis’. “Faith… is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods.” He continues, “For moods will change, whatever view your reason takes… Now that I am a Christian, I have moods in which the whole thing looks very improbable: but when I was an atheist I had moods in which Christianity looked terribly probable.”
I think that’s the exact opposite of what Ms. Flannery is saying. It’s knowing something is true when your feelings want it to be otherwise.
It’s possible that I’m misinterpreting. The words “know” and “believe” tend to have subtleties that are difficult to pick up on. If this quote came from a broader essay or article of some kind, it may make more sense to me in context.
I think you’re right Tom. I was told by a religious leader that EVERYONE knows there’s a higher being. Some just choose to deny that being out of willful disobedience. It’s uncomfortable(for some if not most) to acknowledge that we’re subject to the will & judgement of another. Like a kid putting hands over his ears and saying “I cant hear you.”, some of us feel we can dismiss from our world that which we deny and ignore. Faith lets us deal w/ what we’d rather not in a positive way.
Amen, sister.