Make a case for your faith (or philosophy)

[JA]

I generally dislike threads where the OP is asking someone to come make a case to them like they're a judge, so I hope no one interprets this thread in that manner. The purpose is quite simple: I'm looking for answers and, rather than simply read stale philosophical and theological treaties, I'd like to hear from people why they adhere to their faith or personal philosophy and what the fundamental ideas, principles, and teachings are of that belief system. Perhaps it could help others like me as well.

Basically, I was having a discussion with a Bosniak Muslim friend of mine and she made a very good point how me, along with others like myself, feel so lost and confused because we gather all this information, but don't have any worldview with which to structure it all. Sure, I may be liberal and hold basic humanist ethical values, but I don't have a fully developed belief system to really help guide or structure my life. Honestly, she's right. But I'd like to change that. This is why I'd like to hear from the Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Pagans, Secular Humanists, Atheist Existentialists, and so on about their belief system - their worldview. Why do you believe in that faith or philosophy? How do you adhere to it when there are so many other options available? What are the basic principles and beliefs adhered to in your belief system? How would you explain it to someone like me who's searching and has an open mind?

[JA]

I'm currently in the process of constructing my philosophical framework, so I can't really "make a case" for it as such. I can make a case for certain general principles I strive to follow, or even a case against many widespread philosophical ideas, though (in fact, I really enjoy doing that), but without a more specific prompt it's hard for me to know where to start.

What general principles are you striving to follow? Do you have any faith in an afterlife, spirituality, god(s), or anything supernatural? What makes you think that you're beliefs (principles, faith, etc) are more worthy of your adherence than a different belief system, such as Sunni Islam or Reformed Protestantism or even Atheist Existentialism? What philosophical or theological ideas do you most oppose and why?

[JA]

The idealism vs realism debate in philosophy is one of the most interesting to me, so I'm curious why you favor idealism over realism. Don't material things exist as they are, independent of the symbolism of human abstraction being applied to them? And wouldn't truth, then, be the accurate correspondence of thought with the physical world? I mean, the ideals and symbols formed by human cognition may at best be described as an approximation of empirical reality, so shouldn't empirical reality be considered more "real?"

Also, your opposition to materialism obviously makes sense from an idealist perspective and to a certain extent you're right, nothing in the material world makes sense without abstraction. But doesn't human consciousness arise from the material world (as in the activity within the brain that enables consciousness) and is able to reflect upon and develop symbolic thought regarding itself as a direct result of its material basis? It's true that nothing in the material world makes sense to us without symbolic thought applied to it, but that symbolic thought arises out of that physical basis, which precedes it - no?

[JA]

In its simplest form:
1. Christianity has a plethora of evidence and our stories are verified from sources not connected to our religion. (Re: roman records)
2. Even if Christianity is false, which it isn't, it has fulfilled me and is fufilling. Living my the values of Christianity is a wonderful way to live. It's full of joy, love, and fufillment.

How can you "prove" that Jesus Christ was the Son of God? That a triune God is real? Or that the Quranic account of Jesus Christ (essentially, no Prophet had ever been killed by man, so the Jesus on the cross was an imposter or that he was the one on the cross, but that God took him before he could be killed by man) is false? What about the Prophet Muhammad - he was real, there are independent sources that corroborate the facts of his life - why is he not accepted by you as a Prophet? How can you prove that he wasn't? What of the Jewish claim that Jesus was not the prophesied Messiah? Why are they incorrect? That doesn't even raise Atheistic questions about the supernatural or God, let alone Christianity conflicting accounts with other faiths.

[JA]

Justice TJ,

Thank you for your response! I enjoyed it quite a lot and found that it answered some of the particular questions I've been contemplating lately. While that helps me to better understand the argument for a God (which I will read more about), it doesn't quite clarify why the Christian God is that God. Why, for example, is Allah not the correct understanding of God and Islam the proper method of worshipping Him? What makes Christianity's case so compelling? And how does one acquire faith? Is it the result of personal effort, does God choose to whom He will extend faith, or is it some combination of the two?

[JA]

JusticeTJ,

I really enjoyed your explanation of faith and hadn't thought of it that way before. But there are so many factors that could still obstruct faith. For example, while faith in Jesus would rely on the testimony and conviction of his apostles, perhaps they had ulterior motives or there was a misunderstanding? We can't know those things for certain and, as humans, they're prone to error. But, I suppose that's the reason it's called "faith." That's quite an act of faith when there are so many incredible and serious claims being made in the story of Christ.

Assuming Christ is the Son of God, that'd only raising more questions for me. Why did the message of Jesus differ from the jealous, wrathful, genocidal God of the Old Testament? There are passages that describe God commanding children from other tribes to be dashed against rocks. It also justifies slavery and commands obedience of slaves to their masters - even those who treat them harshly. While it's no question many, if not most, western abolitionists were inspired by the Bible, slave masters also had passages they could cite to justify their position. There is also a passage concerning Lot's daughters being offered to a mob to be raped. Not to mention the harsh penalties the God of the OT commanded as punishment for various crimes. How can a God of such seeming cruelty also be the same one that came to spread a message of "love thy neighbor as thyself," "turn the other cheek," and befriended a prostitute? Those seem to be contradictions.