There's A Reason It's Called Faith.

You've all heard it before right? That truculent demand to acknowledge the concept of 'faith' as a legitimate basis for some religious or otherwise superstitious belief(s). I am somewhat of a fan of the TV show Becker and I just watched the episode in which Linda, who is searching for spiritual enlightenment, asks Margret about her (Baptist) faith. Surprisingly the usually shallow airheaded Linda, rises to the occasion when paraphrasing Margrets belief system and 'nails' the concept of faith to it's own cross.

I found the excerpt of this episode on Youtube and ended up reading the comments section (as you do) only to find myself (like that was a surprise) having to school some delusional believer 'Dave', on why simply choosing to believe something only betrays his lack of intelectual integrity.

The discussion below this video, turned to what has or hasn't religion done to set back the course of science in the past. Dave returned boldly with an equivocation based on the no true Scotsman falacy Ie: 'No true Christian' and proceded equivocating on the meanings of christian/religion/church. It seems Dave would have had us believe that every henious act that the church did was never a product of Christian doctrine, and that the church itself had no right to proclaim itself Christian.

Unfortunately Dave had already given away his own predjudice by proclaiming "I choose to believe" which is exactly what makes him religious Christian and delusional. He may dissagree with who is and isn't christian/religious to his hearts content, because there is no foundation in the truth for these beliefs and their proponents may simply make the most convinient yet unsubstantiated assertions on a whim, because as they themselves shamelessly proffess "I choose to believe". This is an insideious little device and we should rightly expect nothing but toxic results to come of it. IMHO, a person simply has not yet grown up, nor can they be capable of, or expected to take any responsibility for their own ideas or actions, as long as they are permitted to flout the bounds of reasonable justification. They are not rational and therfore not to be trusted. Nor should anybody hold their breath hopping to engage these delusional folks in a rational and reasonable debate.

As I pointed out to Dave:

"Well Dave you might like to check this video out just for starters:

"It's hardly any point debating with you though, as you have pointed out above, "I choose to believe". What inteligent, rational (or even sane) person, willingly proffeses that their innermost beliefs are subject to the whim of personal choice? How can you even expect to be taken seriously by other sincere openminded rational individuals, when you come to the table with the attitude that a personal conviction is something to be selected like the color of the paint on your walls? You are proffessing your own delusion from the outset. You are confessing to a twisted psycological game that begins by lying to yourself about the nature of truth and how a rational being can reasonably come to terms with it or expect to even move toward a better more cogent understanding of the world in which we inhabit.

"Heres the thing Dave, some of us out here in the real world actually give a fuck about the truth... ya know, the actual true nature of the universe in which we inhabit, because it may in fact be vital to our survival of our species. In any case the universe is awe inspiring and rewarding to learn about and that's because knowledge is it's own reward. Anybody who would utter from the outset the words 'I choose to believe', betrays their inner weaknes as an anti-intelectual agent and gives away their self-determination to manifest and maintain a self delusional impass.

"You have convinced yourself that shoving your head up your own ass is it's own reward and numerous falacies and irrational mental habits like confirmation bias, will bolster and protect the bubble of delusion that faith itself produces. You are actually ignorant of what religion has done to science, because you want to be. It's no use pretending that you are an honest and ernest truth seeker willing to examine the true nature of the world or the history of society with regards to religion and science. Games of equivocation about the semantics of words like truth, faith, religion, christian and science are futile here, so don't even bother. Your possition is entrenched from the outset and you mind can never be open to truth when you say such things as 'I choose to believe', which demonstrate that you have your head firmly shoved up your own arse."

The very idea that you can 'choose' what you want to believe on a whim, is anathema to the intelectual proces of reason, which requires you to learn, understand and come to conclusions about the world, based on a foundation of intelectual integrity, whereby your predjudice and bias are precluded from consideration. IMHO the world is a little sick, and it's due in no small part to this insideious, emotionaly biggoted, superstitious narccicism, that preordains the ego comforting 'will to believe' and swaddles it in confirmation bias, so the deluded believer can piously wallow in their own ignorance, all the while professing to have an open mind, despite the obvious fact - one that they themselves fail to conceal -that they have their heads up their own arse.

Sorry if that sounds a bit harsh or offends anybody's faith, but... wait a minute... NO I'm not. FUCK 'faith' (yours or anybody elses) and fuck anybody who isn't an advocate of free speech and intelectual integrity. Some of us have to live in a world wherein our honesty, curiosity and maturity are subverted by primative superstitious beliefs, underwritten by the petty egoistic predjudices that beliefs in and of themselves are somehow noble and that faith is somehow a good substitute for reason. We also have to live with the ignorant bigots who think this way. It's hard to reason with any person who willfully has their head up their own arse. There is a reason they call it faith. IT'S BECAUSE IT ISN'T REASON.

Reason is the only reason we need for our beliefs. Faith is the only excuse we need for our lack of reason.

PS: This is my first blog on this site and I have no spell checker working in my browser ATM, so I hope this post is still comprehesible enough to understand. So never mind pointing out all the typos pleaze. I well tyr too phix et suon! ;)