Faith: The Most Absurd And Perverse Idea Ever Conceived
By - J.D. Brucker
Christopher Hitchens once said, “Of all the supposed virtues, faith must be
the most overrated.”
Faith imprisons the mind, hindering its fullest potential. It forces its victims
to accept information blindly, without investigation. We have the ability to be
skeptical, to ask for good evidence, but faith convinces us, conveniently,
that good evidence not only isn’t necessary, but it should be abandoned
immediately. Are we not better than this? Can we not speak louder than an
ancient thought process that has held so many minds captive? I believe we
are and we can do so in an effective way. Many have walked away from faith
in hopes of finding clarity where it wasn’t once promised. Evaluating and
restructuring our beliefs in an evidence-based manner brings about the
clarity many seek. Faith is in direct violation of this, making it one of the
most absurd and perverse ideas ever conceived by mankind.
Defining Faith
Recently, I discussed the existence of God with a local non-denominational
Christian pastor. He was writing a sermon on creation and asked if I could
lend my thoughts on naturalism since I am an atheist author. I obliged,
regrettably. Almost immediately, we found ourselves in disagreement. Of
course, initially we came from opposing positions, but it was the definition of
faith that threatened to cease the conversation entirely. He claimed his faith
was nothing more than an elevated form of trust, but failed to say how it
was that he rationalized that trust. I stated that faith was nothing more than
the unreasonable foundation for any particular belief; a foundation made of
hope, not fact. He then gave me this definition: “And faith is the substance
of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”
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