For a while I have felt something vaguely troubling while reading posts about finding one's religion or losing one's faith or struggling with one's beliefs. I don't know that I am completely clear about what is troubling my mind, but I am going to try to articulate it. I honestly don't know where this is going.
I don't know that I have any religion, but I have a deep and abiding faith, so it seems apparent to me that religion and faith are not equivalent things. Furthermore, though my beliefs about life, the universe, and everything have changed over the years, my faith has not, so it seems apparent that faith is not the same thing as belief either.
To me, religion is simply a belief system. The system of beliefs may or may not include one or more deities, in my opinion, since deity is not necessary for religiosity. And beliefs? Well, that is what a person believes, and religious beliefs are usually internally consistent propositions regarding things not seen that are held to be true. This is not to say that such beliefs are a priori
I don't know that I have any religion, but I have a deep and abiding faith, so it seems apparent to me that religion and faith are not equivalent things. Furthermore, though my beliefs about life, the universe, and everything have changed over the years, my faith has not, so it seems apparent that faith is not the same thing as belief either.
To me, religion is simply a belief system. The system of beliefs may or may not include one or more deities, in my opinion, since deity is not necessary for religiosity. And beliefs? Well, that is what a person believes, and religious beliefs are usually internally consistent propositions regarding things not seen that are held to be true. This is not to say that such beliefs are a priori
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