Tuesday, May 29, 2012

"Faith" as a Universal Human Capacity

     "Unless we find a way of living constructively with the infinite, living in the infinite, unless we find the courage to have faith in that which we cannot begin to understand or begin to articulate, then we're going to suffer what Kierkegard called angst, we're going to suffer that anxiety."
    "Say No To Happiness" Frank Faulk's (~54 min) documentary on CBC Radio's "Tapestry" originally aired May 27, 2012 https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/2458656554

     “We human beings seem unable to survive, and certainly cannot thrive, unless we can make meaning. We need to be able to make some sort of sense out of things; we seek pattern, order, coherence, and relation in the disparate elements of our experience. If life is perceived as only fragmented and chaotic, we suffer confusion, distress, stagnation, and finally despair.
     This capacity and demand for meaning … faith … goes far beyond religious belief … the activity of seeking and discovering meaning in the most comprehensive dimensions of our experience. … a broad, generic human phenomenon … to dwell in the sense one makes out of life – what seems ultimately true and dependable about self, world, and cosmos (whether that meaning be strong or fragile, expressed in religious or secular terms). … has value for secular and religious folk alike. It addresses our culture’s current hunger for a shared language about things ‘spiritual.’”
     Parks SD. “Big Questions, Worthy Dreams. Mentoring Young Adults in their Search for Meaning, Purpose, and Faith.” John Wiley & Sons, 2000. SUPERB, VALUABLE BOOK!


Photo: boar   www.dpreview.com

2 comments:

  1. Humans love to make meaning through stories. And, meaning must be made to make sense of our lives. Interesting post.

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  2. Thank you Carol. Stories are indeed fascinating!

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