Bede the Venerable

[AllanS]

Suicide bombers have no doubt, either.

Such certainty is quite subjective, indicative of a certain type of personality. I wish you good luck and fair weather. But since others also have no doubt and nonetheless disagree with you, it doesn't look good.

[Kolbitar]

::Faith is what makes you certain. Looks like something is missing. To clarify that - I don't just live in hope - I HAVE NO DOUBT. Do you?

Hi Rus,

I think faith and hope are what motivates love; love is living your faith and hope--giving it certitude by giving it momentary existence. Otherwise hope is no longer a Supernatural virtue.

Christ had certitude and no need for hope because, being pure in heart, he saw God... Our faith and hope will be removed when they're replaced by vision, direct vision--the Beatific Vision, but love will remain which is why it is the greatest virtue.

If love indeed establishes, or verifies, or gives certainty to our faith and hope, then, conversely, it would seem to follow that every sin we commit professes an internal--though perhaps momentary-- doubt...

Sincerely,

Jesse

[Pete]

[rusmeister]

Semantics can be part of the problem. To avoid potential misunderstanding, I'll try to clarify by saying that hope, in and of itself, is not enough. eg: "I hope it doesn't rain tomorrow."

"Faith is the substance of things hoped for; the evidence of things not seen."

By doubt, I mean doubt in general. I'm not referring to doubts that assail all of us in moments of trouble - they are the result of our emotions. (Think of Lewis's doubts in "A Grief Observed".) It is based on my reason when not assailed by emotions, and by my choice - faith - that I hold on to what I believe "in the teeth of anger, lust, doubt, etc...".

[AllanS]

I don't think reason and emotion are so easily distinguished. When a man falls in love with a sweet, beautiful woman, is that reason or emotion?

My reason tells me my wife might be a psychopath-in-waiting. She might be. Such things are not unheard of and I might strike it unlucky. However my intuition (is that reason or emotion?) inclines me to trust her. So does my experience. And emotionally, I would no longer have the strength to remove myself, even if I wanted to. Which I don't.

It's the same with my belief in God. Reason tells me that I can never be sure if God is GOD, but my intuition, experience and emotional attachment keep me on board the boat. In a word, I hope in God, not because I find him reasonable, but because I find him beautiful.

[rusmeister]

[AllanS]

I've read all of Lewis. I think he knew he was being less than honest in his apologetics. He said that he never felt more wretched than after he had 'successfully' defended the faith.

"Reason?" Kierkegaard asked. "Reason cannot even tell me if the sun will rise tomorrow!" So much for reason.

Omnipotent, immortal God, killed on a cross. This is not reasonable. It is a flat contradiction, an absurdity grasped by faith alone. Because it is sublimely beautiful, because it reveals a God worth loving, I believe it.

[Tony]

[soul101]