Faith and Analytical Thinking: A misunderstanding of the meaning of Faith?

UBC social psychologists Will Gervais and Ara Norenzayan conducted an experiment among 650 subjects to determine the relaitonship between analytical thinking and belief. The experiment were conducted in two stages. In the initial stage, they asked the subjects to rate on a scale how important their beliefs were on God or angels. Once done, the subjects proceeded to the next stage and were asked to perform some "mathematical computations, answered questions posed in "hard-to read fonts" and were shown a photo of Rodin's sculpture of a man in a reflective position."

While the researchers had no intention of promoting atheism or degrading religion, their study indicated that analytical thinking weakens the subjects' faith.

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You wonder if St. Augustine or St. Thomas or any religious thinkers would have their faith weakened by thinking analytically on the tenets of their faith. You wonder whether their faith and the understanding of what faith is similar to that of the subjects. I am not on the side of the believers, but you need to ask yourself, in a critical way, whether they are talking about faith or a belief that is based on hearsay. A belief that is based on hearsay, a probability at best, can easily be weakened. It is quite obvious that that is not faith for St. Thomas Aquinas. Faith, to him, is a rational assent.

Analytical thinking is a tool. Two different persons could have a different purpose for using analytical thinking. The use of analytical thinking lies  would depend on the subjects' pre-understanding of their relationship with the world at large. Logically, if two persons hold 2 different or opposing world perspectives, then they wouldn't not apply analytical thinking in the exact manner.

From one perspective, the study shows that analytical thinking weakens the subjects' faith. However, it could also have revealed the weak or the shallow understanding of the subjects' faith.

What do you think?

Ann Barnhardt and Sam Harris: Cut From The Same Cloth

Watch Ann Barnhardt burn the 'Quran'. She claims that Islam is a religion of evil. She argues that Christians wouldn't feel bad if their Bible was burned, but would feel bad and therefore pray for those whose hearts are filled with evil and hatred. Yes, she would probably pray, but she went on to burn the Quran. So much for Christian forgiveness.

Sam Harris, the author of The End of Faith*, does not burn the Quran or the Bible, for he has a better idea. He does it philosophically. He argues that it is dangerous to uphold any beliefs that have no evidence or is hostile towards any empirical evidence that could prove once and for all the truth or falsity of such beliefs. These beliefs, if they were to be strictly followed, would entice fundamentalists to wage war - physically and mentally - against those who do not open their eyes and bow down to their superior beliefs. For as long as the people of faith insist on holding irrational and unreasonable tenets of faith, there would be no chance for understanding, dialogue, and good will among people.

If Sam Harris intended to change people's minds and hearts, especially those of the people of faith, then he's in for a surprise. It just won't work. It would work only on those who have already decided on their own to not believe in any or all the tenets of faith. Their numbers may or may not be growing. But, certainly, his criticisms of any religion would give the believers another reason for holding their ground.

I am reminded of a story of two different kind of truth sayers who took different approaches to teaching the people. Their story went this way: One of them went to the townspeople and told them outright that their beliefs and knowledge were very wrong. They killed him. The other person went to the townspeople, adapted to their ways, and respected their ways of doing things. Eventually, the people learned to trust, respect and even to love him. It was then that the people agreed to listen carefully and respectfully when he decided that it was time to teach them the right ways of living and doing.

If you intend to change people's lives, you first have to respect them, and follow up with genuine actions of respect and understanding.

But, I have you know that it's a tough act to follow.



*You can read the summary of 'The End of Faith". But I suggest that you read the book (pdf).

In The Name Of All The Jealous Gods ...

Let us pause for a moment, and reflect on two unusual moments in the life of Jesus Christ, whose teachings have been glossed over and mostly ignored, especially by those who professed to be his followers. Let us reflect on ‘love thy enemy’ and the act in which Jesus cleaned the feet of the people.

These acts are the purest expressions of love and compassion towards those who are different and who may harbor opposing views.

Now, reflect on the statements found in 3 major religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. They all state that God is a jealous being, who demands your pledge and allegiance, and who claims to be the Truth. So, for those who do not believe in Him shall rot in hell. These statements are drummed into every member of these religions. Whether the members are fundamentalists or moderates (whatever that term means), they see no conflict between believing in such a God and being taught ‘love’ and compassion. They reason that one should in fact love and be compassionate only to those who are willing to follow their jealous God. See how they perennially and selectively forget about the two unusual moments of Jesus (or any religious person for that matter, be he Lao Tzu, Gandhi, etc).

Love and compassion defies any religion that wages war on behalf of the jealous God. Love and compassion, therefore, is disruptive and subversive in the eyes of the members of organized religion.

It is no wonder that Jesus had to be silenced.

Except for some moments in history, love and compassion have been successfully crucified - in the name of a jealous God.

Should One Regret For Choosing Not To Believe In God?

When is regret a regret? When you see there is an opportunity - whether in business, personal relationships, or in being genuinely honest about something - and you don't grab it, you begin to regret.

It is not just an opportunity lost. It is an opportunity in which you know that taking it is the right thing to do. It is an opportunity in which doing something good for yourself or for the others is better than not taking it. For not to take this opportunity, nothing arises. You're still stuck in base one. You have not moved on. You became too complacent, wanting too much security. You became afraid. You chickened out.

It is an opportunity that could have gotten you to a better place, to become a better 'you'. But, it also opens up to the chance of falling short. Yet, if you don't grab that opportunity, one thing's for sure: nothing will change. And, you will be haunted by the heavy and pain inducing feeling of 'what would have happened if I had chosen otherwise?' You would never know because you never had the guts to find out for yourself.

For those who were brought up in a society that spoke of God's existence or non existence, the case of whether to believe in a God could mean immortality or eternal damnation in hell. It would have been very easy for many to believe in God because they have always wanted to be saved.

But what if you were serious about this case? What if you cherish intellectual honesty? What if, assuming there is a God, you want to tell Him that you needed to be true to yourself so to better present yourself as a substantial gift to Him? If God so too values intelletual honesty, then He would appreciate you as a gift even though you don't, honestly, believe in Him.

If He truly exists, but you had believed in saving yourself more than in Him, wouldn't that be a cause for great regret? If He were to truly exist, would he not be able to see your heart that had been darkened with selfishness and cowardice?

On the other hand, what if He were not to exist? Would you still regret for being honest to yourself?