Whether we like it or not, we are all ironists or
post-ironists, and probably unwilling to stand too firmly on any particular stone. The days of accepting a worldview of belief as given are over for most of us.
We all have to work at it, if we care, or just we’ll get indoctrinated into
whatever sub-par cultural belief system you are swimming in.
The academy did a good job on many of us, although I was an
engineer and escaped much of the humanities-psychobabble. But then again, I
ended up liking post-punk music and counter cultural women, so that was it for
me too. Now, I am trying to grow up and realize I need to look into my beliefs
more carefully, along with the doubt that accompanies it.
Doubt isn’t a new thing, and we can’t discount that even
most of our highly traditionally religious forefathers went through a mad dose
of it from time to time. In fact, it was probably more difficult then, because
you had to keep a stiff upper lip about it, and also feel a ton of guilt about
it.
These days having doubt leads to unliking your favorite facebook
meme or group. We have so many options as to where we lay our hat, and it’s
easy to get lost in the Chinese buffet without ever having to pay the bill. I
tried some Druidism last month, this month I’m going to take on Zen.
But that isn’t the doubt I’m talking about. That’s just
moving from one distraction to another and not taking any belief seriously. The
kind of faith I am referring to is one where you orientate your entire life
around it, and when you do that, any doubt that creeps in is going to be sort
of scary because the stakes are so high. You may have a whole community of
people that you’re associated with because of this faith. You may have married
someone with that faith. Maybe your children are part of it too. So when doubt
creeps in, you start to see structures around you starting to crumble that you
are not ready or willing to deal with.
But doubt can be a good thing too. It really forces us to think for ourselves in a way no outside authority can offer. It’s all about interiorizing and becoming self reliant, and that can only come about with some internal struggle. It’s like lifting weights for a few years until you’ve got some pipes. While the doubt may always be there, you won’t cave in to it. No pain, no gain: no doubt, blind faith.
(Note: I am using faith and belief interchangeably, but faith is more a product of soul while belief is more a product of mind. Still, they work together.)
But doubt can be a good thing too. It really forces us to think for ourselves in a way no outside authority can offer. It’s all about interiorizing and becoming self reliant, and that can only come about with some internal struggle. It’s like lifting weights for a few years until you’ve got some pipes. While the doubt may always be there, you won’t cave in to it. No pain, no gain: no doubt, blind faith.
(Note: I am using faith and belief interchangeably, but faith is more a product of soul while belief is more a product of mind. Still, they work together.)