It's been two weeks since surgery and today I'm heading down to UPenn Medical to pick up my MRI/CT films so that I can carry them to MD Anderson in Houston, TX this Tuesday. Two weeks since surgery. Three weeks since the seizure. Over the past two weeks I've had many people tell me how inspiring this blog has been, and I imagine that it's mostly because of my openness and honesty with the whole process. But to be completely honest, this blog has also been very cathartic in allowing me to divulge my feelings, thoughts, and concerns to you all as well. Thank you so much for that.
If/when we really internalize mortality, illness, and death, how should we react? Will we find religion, faith, "philosophy," or nothing? They seem to all claim superiority over the others in different ways, while usually refusing to find common ground. My take is that philosophy leads to, and informs, faith, which can be systematized through religion and religious ritual. Somewhat like Catholic, Islamic, or Buddhist institutions taking the nugget of faith upon which they work and creating a beautiful halo of thought and principle around it. It can be corrupted, and our history shows many many examples of how. Even to the point of destroying the faith around which it is built. I suppose that's when human ambition gets in the way and kills ones relationship with God. Tragic. I couldn't even imagine what it must feel like to have ones faith in God corrupted and/or killed by any kind of philosophical or religious-based rationality. Faith is not rationality, even if some might so desperately wish it to be so. Descartes' mind-body problem alludes to this; telling us that though our experiences from God are "kept" at the epiphysis and then somehow transferred to our bodies, we just simply don't know where that separation lies. I have no idea if that's true, but I am quite certain that both God and myself exists, and that any rational or empirical means to try and explain away that fact is merely working with a flawed human mind anyway.
Finally, "nothing" informs nothing, and unfortunately for the nothings has nothing to say. Lost? Cynical? Angry? All three. That's how it seems to me, anyway.
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Why did you single out Catholic and Buddhist religions over all the others? Are they more easily corrupted, or do they have a more "beautiful halo of thought"? What "empirical" evidence is there for the existence of God? Can someone have faith without a religion or God?
ReplyDeleteHey Erik!
ReplyDeleteGood points, sorry to not be so clear. I only singled out those two religions because they're what popped into my mind (though I've since added "Islamic") at the time. "Empirical" evidence for the existence of God does not exist except through experience-that's exactly where faith comes in, especially when one is really confronted with real mortality and real life right in front of their face. Faith is an essential element of a belief in God, there's unfortunately no way around that. Can faith exist without religion or God? Of course, but then what foundation does that faith have? Faith in religion is kind of pointless without any underlying faith in God, and any kind of faith without God seems to be nothing more than a faith in humanity-which really means faith in reason, rationality, or empiricism. Basically, a faith in proven, empirically flawed individuals. Where that gets (and has gotten) us seems to be in a circular direction without any kind of real resolution. If you have other ideas then I'm certainly all game to hear them!
~B
Hugs Brian, love ya! Cuz Pete
ReplyDeleteHow are individuals empirically flawed?
ReplyDeleteI am not sure that a personal experience in the existence of God is empirical evidence. What kind of resolution are we supposed to going towards? How do know there is a "circular direction", or any direction?
Are you driving all the way to TX?`
Hey Erik!
ReplyDeleteI responded to you via Facebook, I hope that's okay. And no, we're flying out to TX this Monday (thank God!-I really couldn't stand the drive.) instead of driving-I've got to be back in Philly for class on Wednesday.
paz,
~B