The concept of Faith fascinates me. What is faith? One of my favourite attempts to define it can be found in a quote from Hebrews 11.1 " 1 "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen..." Essentially, it means believing in something you cannot see or prove even exists (like god).

Rationally this seems ridicules. Why believe in something that you cannot see or quantify? "Seeing is believing" after all…
But that's just it! Proof denies faith! If there were evidence, something to see or touch, believing in it would be easy, not requiring any effort or strength of will at all. Faith is meant to be a test or testament to the strength of your belief. It's easy to believe in something if there's proof, only those with courage can believe in something based only on their faith. In religious terms, it is meant to be a test I guess. Those who cannot be strong enough in their belief, who require concrete evidence, don’t deserve the rewards the faithful are supposed to get. I don’t necessarily subscribe tot hat belief, but I’m straying from my topic.

My fascination of faith is linked to my problems with Nihilism. It may very well true that life has no grand finale, no eternal reward. The nihilist (apparently “lacking in faith”) are acting in what I think to be a lazy fashion. I’m not even speaking from a religious standpoint. I’m not saying that they lack faith in “God”, I’m just saying they stop short with their system of beliefs. If nothing matters, all that matters is what you do. If you don’t have to live with “God’s” judgment, you at the very least have to live with yourself. If there is no absolute truths or morals, make some! I try to live a good life, be kind to those around me, not expecting any sort of reward, but because I choose to! In fact, being good just because you expect a reward is almost as bad! Of course if presented with a positive incentive, an animal will make the choice that leads to the reward. There’s no choice there, all life seeks gain, sentient or not. That, in fact, is why faith is important. We aren’t supposed to be sure there is a reward, or a caring god that wants us to do good. Uncertainly leads to choices, and the necessity of courage enough to make the right choices, not because we think it is expected, but because we think it is the right thing to do. Have faith in your own beliefs, and god can take care of the rest if he wants to, or not.

P.s I think I may have finally nailed down why I love cats. I kind see myself in them. I have often been frustrated by my own inability to accurately describe/classify myself (though I’m no entirely sure why I want to) because at times I contradict myself. This is what I like about cats, they are also contradictions. They can be elegant and graceful, but then almost simultaneously goofy and ridiculous. I love it