What I believe (by E.M. Forster)
You have faith (an ultimate concern) if you are devoted to someone or something as an end in itself, being willing—if the situation so requires—to sacrifice other interests and passions for the sake of what you believe in or hold to be most valuable. In this sense, both secular and religious persons have faith. The crucial difference, however, is
... See moreMartin Hägglund • This Life: Secular Faith and Spiritual Freedom
a powerful thread on the utility of faith.
Most of the intellectual energy around faith and people of faith is focused on the institutions of faith. And it’s pretty negative. Rightly so as the institutions are riddled with bigotry, abuse and hypocrisy. So little else gets said.
Beyond that though, it’s hard to overstate the positive impact faith has
... See moreBelief is not about intellectual assent to a creed. Belief—Emmunah—is about existential trust. ... Emmunah offers a middle way between the fundamentalist intuitions of the anti-rational and baby-out-with-the-bath-water rationalist skepticism. We can’t get it when we’re in the desert, being carried by God and Moses. We have to cultivate it as our... See more