Systematically
The roles of faith and
rationality
This is the third and last blog entry inspired by
a certain discussion on one of my freedom lists, and the second one on this
blog. It's the third one of five in my "tool group" of posts. And now you know
exactly where you are, right?
Well, no.
I'm here to tell you why.
The person who created the original thread thought that some things should not be accepted on faith. Now he was talking about certain ideas on freedom that were accepted as givens, but the conversation diverted into a discussion on faith and belief in large part because of things he and I disagreed on. He wanted proof of those ideas, something more than a vague feeling of spiritual connection. He thought that faith was a flawed methodology and it didn't make sense to accept that two plus two equaled five.
Well, his language was stronger.
The thing is, faith isn't a methodology.
In this context, I don't mean the rites and rituals you may use. I mean the working assumptions that you may not fully understand but you accept anyway.
Obviously the big one of these is the existence of the Divine, however it may or may not manifest in your life. And yes, I've studied and used chaos magick. I know that there are explanations that do not depend on the existence of specific gods per se.
Faith isn't a methodology, but it can inspire methodologies. Later we go back and rationally draw the map to tell ourselves (and perhaps others) how we got there and what route we took.
But there is another reason, a deeper reason, one that he touched on but wasn't really ready to think about yet.
Faith opens you up to the experience, whatever it may be and wherever it may go.
I am not talking about the experience that you may read about, although that is one reason why he and I were having such a symbol mismatch in our discussion.
I'm talking about something I do not really have the language to discuss which is probably why I have been staring at this sentence for ten minutes.
I'm talking about the point where you surrender, where you let the touch of the Divine propel you into worlds and perceptions that you never dreamt of.
I'm talking in a sexual metaphor and it's really not explaining things well, is it?
I could talk about Drawing Down the God or Drawing Down the Goddess, I could talk about being ridden by a god, but I think this is the point.
What you think you know is not what you need to know.
If you had the maps to get to where you were going, you wouldn't be reaching beyond yourself, reaching beyond the world to touch the Divine.
Having reached out, you've had to let go of your expectations, you've had to surrender.
And you're not the one calling the shots anymore.
What you think you know is not what you need to know.
Where you are is not where you need to be.
We humans like our maps. We like knowing that this hill shown here is really that thing over there, that this little squiggly line in red is that blacktop over in the other direction, and if we orient ourselves correctly we can get to where we are going by putting one foot in front of the other.
The touch of the Divine shreds the map and gives us directions that we never saw before. The landmarks are totally different. We may not even recognize the landmarks. The language has changed. Maybe even the World has changed. All we really know is that we're not where we were.
What you think you know is not what you need to know.
Where you are is not where you need to be.
Who you believe you are is not who you were meant to be.
Faith should be the start, never the destination. Yes, it's the Journey instead of the Story. Faith opens the gate and gives you a direction, but it won't tell you what lies ahead.
That's your job, when you have gotten back from the mountain. Even if it's just for yourself.
What you think you know is not what you need to know.
Where you are is not where you need to be.
Who you believe you are is not who you were meant to be.
Have faith. Worry about the directions later.
Well, no.
I'm here to tell you why.
The person who created the original thread thought that some things should not be accepted on faith. Now he was talking about certain ideas on freedom that were accepted as givens, but the conversation diverted into a discussion on faith and belief in large part because of things he and I disagreed on. He wanted proof of those ideas, something more than a vague feeling of spiritual connection. He thought that faith was a flawed methodology and it didn't make sense to accept that two plus two equaled five.
Well, his language was stronger.
The thing is, faith isn't a methodology.
In this context, I don't mean the rites and rituals you may use. I mean the working assumptions that you may not fully understand but you accept anyway.
Obviously the big one of these is the existence of the Divine, however it may or may not manifest in your life. And yes, I've studied and used chaos magick. I know that there are explanations that do not depend on the existence of specific gods per se.
Faith isn't a methodology, but it can inspire methodologies. Later we go back and rationally draw the map to tell ourselves (and perhaps others) how we got there and what route we took.
But there is another reason, a deeper reason, one that he touched on but wasn't really ready to think about yet.
Faith opens you up to the experience, whatever it may be and wherever it may go.
I am not talking about the experience that you may read about, although that is one reason why he and I were having such a symbol mismatch in our discussion.
I'm talking about something I do not really have the language to discuss which is probably why I have been staring at this sentence for ten minutes.
I'm talking about the point where you surrender, where you let the touch of the Divine propel you into worlds and perceptions that you never dreamt of.
I'm talking in a sexual metaphor and it's really not explaining things well, is it?
I could talk about Drawing Down the God or Drawing Down the Goddess, I could talk about being ridden by a god, but I think this is the point.
What you think you know is not what you need to know.
If you had the maps to get to where you were going, you wouldn't be reaching beyond yourself, reaching beyond the world to touch the Divine.
Having reached out, you've had to let go of your expectations, you've had to surrender.
And you're not the one calling the shots anymore.
What you think you know is not what you need to know.
Where you are is not where you need to be.
We humans like our maps. We like knowing that this hill shown here is really that thing over there, that this little squiggly line in red is that blacktop over in the other direction, and if we orient ourselves correctly we can get to where we are going by putting one foot in front of the other.
The touch of the Divine shreds the map and gives us directions that we never saw before. The landmarks are totally different. We may not even recognize the landmarks. The language has changed. Maybe even the World has changed. All we really know is that we're not where we were.
What you think you know is not what you need to know.
Where you are is not where you need to be.
Who you believe you are is not who you were meant to be.
Faith should be the start, never the destination. Yes, it's the Journey instead of the Story. Faith opens the gate and gives you a direction, but it won't tell you what lies ahead.
That's your job, when you have gotten back from the mountain. Even if it's just for yourself.
What you think you know is not what you need to know.
Where you are is not where you need to be.
Who you believe you are is not who you were meant to be.
Have faith. Worry about the directions later.
|
Pagan philosopher, libertarian, and part-time trouble maker, NeoWayland looks at keeping truths alive despite a wash of nonsense. But don't be surprised when he's doing the "nekkid Pagan guy" thing.
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Published On: Apr 02, 2010 02:46 PM
Published On: Apr 02, 2010 02:46 PM
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