Our Judeo-Christian faith tradition would disagree with that. This tells us that God has given us the tools sufficient to seek and know the truth, namely our reason and faith. He's given us objective standards to follow. So, we can get far closer to the truth than merely "guessing." That's why its so important to inform our consciences and make the best determination we can on any matter of morality. That's also why it's vital to determine which faith tradition has the truth in its fullest and follow that.
But the “Judeo-Christian tradition” is not at all unified on Good and Evil and is in a perpetual debate and evolution about virtually everything which is why there are so many different churches and denominations.
As our Jewish sisters and brothers are fond of saying “Two Jews, three shuls.” Even among Catholics there is perpetual disagreement and debate. One liberal pope will disagree with things a previous conservative pope said and did. And it’s not like the Catholic Church of 2023 is going to agree with everything the Church of 1323 said and did. 😉
They do very much disagree about that. That is the very essence of what everyone disagrees about. "Faith" is about *guessing* what we *think* truth is not asserting that we *know for certain* what truth is.
As Christians we have faith that Christ died for our sins. We don't know for absolute certain that Christ died for our sins the way my doctor can know for absolute certain from looking at my brain scan that I have epilepsy.
I just have to disagree. Faith is about gaining certainty. I have far more certainty in my faith in Christ than I do in the educated opinions of human experts. I often have difficulties but never doubts.
He had faith that the hypothesis would be substantiated by fact.
ORIGIN OF FAITH
1
First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English feith, from Anglo-French fed, Old French feid, feit, from Latin fidem, accusative of fidēs “trust,” derivative of fīdere “to trust”
You can easily argue yourself into a corner on this topic. There's always a leap of faith in that we cannot be absolutely certain of anything. You cannot be absolutely certain of your doctor's diagnosis, but you trust it based on your faith in his expertise. He may be wrong, however.
I am saying that we can have a greater certainty with our faith because God is telling us we can.
But Alec, which particular faith we choose matters. And we can't always choose subjective faith over objective science.
If I chose to have "greater certainty" in faith than in science and medicine than that could have meant choosing to rely on priests, pastors, and exorcists to pray for me and try to cast out demons instead of doctors and neurologists to do brain scans and give me medicine based on what they found.
Exorcists and priests chanting to try and heal diseases - that's what faith alone gave the world for thousands of years and untold numbers of people perished because we didn't have modern medicine and modern science which could provide actual objectivity beyond subjective faith. Surely that's not what you're advocating. ;-)
There is a perfect, eternal, unquestionable answer to everything.
Yeah, but we can’t *really* know it until we’re dead. Before then we’re all just guessing.
Our Judeo-Christian faith tradition would disagree with that. This tells us that God has given us the tools sufficient to seek and know the truth, namely our reason and faith. He's given us objective standards to follow. So, we can get far closer to the truth than merely "guessing." That's why its so important to inform our consciences and make the best determination we can on any matter of morality. That's also why it's vital to determine which faith tradition has the truth in its fullest and follow that.
But the “Judeo-Christian tradition” is not at all unified on Good and Evil and is in a perpetual debate and evolution about virtually everything which is why there are so many different churches and denominations.
As our Jewish sisters and brothers are fond of saying “Two Jews, three shuls.” Even among Catholics there is perpetual disagreement and debate. One liberal pope will disagree with things a previous conservative pope said and did. And it’s not like the Catholic Church of 2023 is going to agree with everything the Church of 1323 said and did. 😉
They may disagree about many things, but not about whether we can know the truth in this life--that's what I was addressing.
They do very much disagree about that. That is the very essence of what everyone disagrees about. "Faith" is about *guessing* what we *think* truth is not asserting that we *know for certain* what truth is.
As Christians we have faith that Christ died for our sins. We don't know for absolute certain that Christ died for our sins the way my doctor can know for absolute certain from looking at my brain scan that I have epilepsy.
I just have to disagree. Faith is about gaining certainty. I have far more certainty in my faith in Christ than I do in the educated opinions of human experts. I often have difficulties but never doubts.
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/faith
noun
confidence or trust in a person or thing:
faith in another's ability.
belief that is not based on proof:
He had faith that the hypothesis would be substantiated by fact.
ORIGIN OF FAITH
1
First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English feith, from Anglo-French fed, Old French feid, feit, from Latin fidem, accusative of fidēs “trust,” derivative of fīdere “to trust”
https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/definition/english/faith_1#:~:text=%2Ffe%C9%AA%CE%B8%2F,do%20what%20has%20been%20promised
trust in somebody’s ability or knowledge; trust that somebody/something will do what has been promised
See what I mean?
To *trust* that Christ rose from the dead to atone for our sins is not to *know* objectively that it happened.
Just as to *trust* that murder is evil is not to *know* objectively that murder is evil.
You can easily argue yourself into a corner on this topic. There's always a leap of faith in that we cannot be absolutely certain of anything. You cannot be absolutely certain of your doctor's diagnosis, but you trust it based on your faith in his expertise. He may be wrong, however.
I am saying that we can have a greater certainty with our faith because God is telling us we can.
But Alec, which particular faith we choose matters. And we can't always choose subjective faith over objective science.
If I chose to have "greater certainty" in faith than in science and medicine than that could have meant choosing to rely on priests, pastors, and exorcists to pray for me and try to cast out demons instead of doctors and neurologists to do brain scans and give me medicine based on what they found.
Exorcists and priests chanting to try and heal diseases - that's what faith alone gave the world for thousands of years and untold numbers of people perished because we didn't have modern medicine and modern science which could provide actual objectivity beyond subjective faith. Surely that's not what you're advocating. ;-)