"But I have faith!"

I recently came across this article by Charlie Glickman. Glickman's post is about confronting religious people vis a vis their religious views and how one should properly approach such an affair. He writes that we should engage with respect to the believer, not necessarily with respecting the beliefs of the believer. I agree with much of what Glickman wrote and this is a topic that I've frequently commented on.

However, in the comments section, a user named Dawn Fortune writes:

I like the idea of challenging ideas and of challenging beliefs, and of questioning both without ridicule or shame, but I think what is missing is an understanding that matters of faith are that: matters of faith, and not all can be measured, quantified and duplicated using scientific method. Also what must be kept in mind is that faith is enormously important for a lot of people, and some traditions have doctrine that calls questioning of those beliefs an exercise in sin to begin with.

This reminds me of a common exaltation I've heard from religious believers: "But I have faith!" There are so many things wrong with this....

Christopher Hitchens (1949 – 2011): May his legacy be remembered

 

I was already having an emotional evening. Then I found out that Hitchens had passed away. I noticed that he had passed when I checked my Facebook, realizing that it was covered in messages about the passing of this great man. At the very least, he didn't pass silently. His passing was signaled with a cacophony of Internet chatter, mourning the man whose words had moved all of us so profoundly. He passed as an atheist, moving bravely into that great silent abyss we inhabit before we are born. I will miss his punctual wit, his gruff chain smoking and whiskey drinking, and his ever-articulate charm.