Prudence and Madness

“Let me tell you why you’re here. You’re here because you know something. What you know you can’t explain, but you feel it. You’ve felt it your entire life, that there’s something wrong with the world. You don’t know what it is, but it’s there, like a splinter in your mind, driving you mad.”

- Morpheus, The Matrix

In as much as I believe that the topic of faith should not be shielded from the crucible of human reason, I’ve intently avoided talking or arguing about faith or the lack of it, except with a few trusted friends. From experience, I know it only ignites a series of heated arguments that almost always leads to exchange of below-the-belt comments and holier-than-thou/superiority-inferiority attitudes. I suspect that if the participants of such debates will not agree to certain basic rules before it started, the discussion will go nowhere. I mean, how could a person who believes a holy book contains the truth (and nothing but the truth) use the bible to argue his case if the other person he’s debating with, who believes in logic and evidence, do not believe that it is credible source of evidence?

And so, imagine my surprise when, one day, a colleague whom I know to be a member of Iglesia ni Cristo asked me one day if I know Richard Dawkins.

I said I’ve read Richard Dawkins’ work, The God Delusion. At the same time, in my head, my thoughts were circling around the possible direction where the conversation was headed to. I know how some INC members could cling hard on their faith and would not suffer anyone questioning their beliefs. I’ve quietly debated within myself, if I’m going to strike fast and hard, or just let go.

I guess he wasn’t quite aware of that brief, inner turmoil going in within me because he kept on asking about Dawkins’ works, “The God Delusion”, and other atheist writers. I told him briefly about “The End of Faith: Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason” and “Letter To A Christian Nation” by Sam Harris, “God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything” by Christopher Hitchens, and “Atlas Shrugged” by Ayn Rand in any decent bookstore. Or I could lend it to him.

He ranted on how he have these “dangerous” ideas that he had been cradling for a very long time. He was brought up believing the principles of INC, because his parents are members of INC. But for a long while he had some questions on what he supposedly strongly believes in and the questions continue to grow and multiply as time passes.

Then he went on to ask what my religion is.

I’ve to admit it took me a moment to answer. “I’m a baptized Catholic,” I replied, after what seemed to be a long intake of breath.

“Ah, I see,” he said. “But what are your inclinations now?”

I think that was the moment when I’ve to decide to call myself something.

“I’m a Doubter,” I told him.

“I think I am, too”, he said. “A Doubter with many questions.”

“Well, then, don’t be afraid of those questions.” I promised him that next time we see each other, I’ll lend him my books. In a sense, he reminded me of myself before. Those questions, I thought, plagued me. But in time, and after much contemplation with open eyes and mind, I saw that it wasn’t a plague. Rather, it’s as basic as the fuel we feed our brains, if I accepted that what could be mundane can also be awesome and inspiring. I think that stage of doubt and thirst for knowledge was described beautifully by Morpheus, in the film, The Matrix.

Perhaps in future posts, I could further elaborate. But for now, for my colleague, I hope he finds what he’s looking for in the book. Or even if not, at least, it can help him to free his mind.

Remember the little philosophical experiment I posted several days ago?

Okay, I’ll just repost the experiment here so you don’t have to go back and forth my site:

Life dependency

Dick had made a mistake, but surely the price he was paying was too high. He, of course, knew that level six of the hospital was a restricted area. But after he had drunk one too many glasses of wine with his colleagues at the finance department Christmas party, he had inadvertently staggered out of the elevator on the sixth floor and passed out on one of the empty beds.

When he woke up, he discovered to his horror that he had been mistaken for a volunteer in a new life-saving procedure. Patients who required vital organ transplants to survive were being hooked up to volunteers, whose own vital organs kept both alive. This would continue until a donor organ could be found, which was usually around nine months later.

Dick quickly called over a nurse to explain the mistake, who in turn brought over a worried-looking doctor.

“I understand your anger,” explained the doctor, “but you did behave irresponsibly, and now you are in this position, the brutal truth is that if we disconnect you, the world-renowned violinist who depends on you will die. You would in fact be murdering him.”

“But you have no right!” protested Dick. “Even if he dies without me, how can you force me to give up nine months of my life to save him?”

“I think the question you should be asking,” said the doctor sternly, “is how you could choose to end this violinist’s life.”

Source: The Pig That Wants to Be Eaten: 100 Experiments for the Armchair Philosopher by Julian Baggini

Here are some of the reactions to this little experiment by some of my blog readers:
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And so the countdown begins.

A lot of people are anticipating the movie adaptation of Philip Pullman’s first book in the trilogy, His Dark Materials. However, this movie is being heralded by a lot of controversies. Protests are increasing about the atheist content of the book and most fear that even the “watered-down” version of the book in the film will still be inappropriate for children.

However, I note that most people who’re protesting the movie and the trilogy are those who haven’t read the trilogy IN ITS ENTIRETY. Now, it is common sense to think that the opinion of someone who’s not even read or seen what he’s proclaiming judgment over does not have the same credibility as someone who did read and see it.

Most are making a fuss about God being killed in this trilogy by two children.  Let me quote from the third book of the trilogy, The Amber Spyglass:

Will and Lyra didn’t stop to look; they stumbled over the rough ground at a crouch, intent only on getting away unseen.

But they had to keep their heads low to see where they were treading and avoid twisting an ankle, or worse, and thunder exploded overhead as they ran, so they couldn’t hear the screeching and snarling of the cliff-ghasts until they were upon them.

The creatures were surrounding something that lay glittering in the mud: something slightly taller than they were which lay on its side, a large cage, perhaps, with walls of crystals.  They were hammering at it with fists and rocks, shrieking and yelling.

And before Will and Lyra could stop and run the other way, they had stumbled right into the middle of the troop…

…The cliff-ghasts heard Lyra’s exclamation of dismay, and their flat heads all snapped around at once.

Will sprang forward and slashed the knife at the nearest of them…

…”Will,” said Lyra behind him, “will, look at this…”

She was gazing into the crystal litter.  It was unbroken, although the crystal was stained and smeared with mud and the blood from what the cliff-ghasts had been eating before they found it.  It lay tilted crazily among the rocks, and inside it…

…”He must be so old - I’ve never seen anyone suffering like that - oh, Will can’t we let him out?”

Will cut through the crystal in one movement and reached in to help the angel out.  Demented and powerless, the aged being could only weep and mumble in fear and pain and misery, and he shrank away from seemed like yet another threat.

“It’s all right,” Will said, “we can help you hide, at least.  Come on, we won’t hurt you.”

The shaking hand seized his and feebly held on…

…but as Lyra reached in, too, to help him out, he tried to smile, and to bow, and his ancient eyes deep in their wrinkles blinked at her with innocent wonder.

Between them they helped the ancient of days out of his crystal cell…but in the open air, there was nothing to stop the wind from damaging him, and to their dismay his form began to loosen and dissolve.  Only a few moments later he had vanished completely, and their last impression was of those eyes blinking in wonder, and a sigh of the most profound and exhausted relief.

Then he was gone.

Source:  The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman, chapter 30: The Clouded Mountain and chapter 31: Authority’s End 

Obviously, Lyra and Will did not kill God.  He died.

I just cannot emphasize this enough.  READ FIRST BEFORE PRONOUNCING JUDGMENT.  Do not simply rely on what other people say that you must believe in.  For all you know, they haven’t read the books and are merely repeating what others have told them who also did not read the books.  It only perpetuates ignorance and it’s unhealthy.
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