The Faith Paradox is the contention that nothing believed through faith is provable because if something can be proven then you don't need faith to believe in it. Faith excludes logic and reason and does not accept scrutiny. When one believes by faith then one is expected to stay faithful in spite of any facts, logic, or evidence.
The faith paradox is the contention than if two people believe opposite things that they can not determine who is right and who is wrong through faith and are forced to turn to reality to establish if what they believe is real. But in turning to reality the element of faith is undermined. Thus when one accepts faith one rejects reality.
Two people from two different religions are in a room who both believe different things that are mutually exclusive. They can not both be right, but they can both be wrong. both have accepted their position based on faith which can't be questioned. You are a realist listening to the claims of these two people. How do you determine who is correct?
For example, many Christians claim that you can only get to Heaven through Jesus. Muslims claim that you can only get to Heaven through Mohamed. Since both used the word "only" they are mutually exclusive. Since both want to convert me them how do I determine which one will get me to Heaven, if there even is Heaven?
The question really is - which one is real? How do we determine that using faith. Do we wait for the deity to speak to our heart (ie. use our emotions and imagination)? But both of these people did that can came to conflicting conclusions. One or both perhaps were influenced by Satan. But since each religion has a billion people then at least a billion of them failed to get accurate information using faith as a tool to determine reality. As an outside observer I would have to conclude that if I made my decision based on faith that there is at least a 50% chance that I will be wrong.
So - how does one determine the truth between two conflicting world views based on faith? Perhaps both people could pray to their deities and then have a contest with swords and the one who is victorious is the one with the stronger deity? But they've been running that test for centuries and the results are inconclusive. So what is left? The only way they can really determine who is correct is to turn to reality.
If one can prove scientifically that they are right then they win. But anything proven scientifically is part of the real world, the physical universe that does not require faith. So if people who have conflicting faiths want to determine what is real then they have to come home to reality.
So - let's just skip the faith crap and start with reality? Ultimately they have to come to us because reality isn't something that you can ignore forever. Reality doesn't go away when you stop believing in it. Faith is like kicking a rock and imagining that you are punishing the rock when you are only hurting your own foot. It's not about what you believe in, it's about what's real. Ultimately is about the one reality that we all share. |
