Believe that life is worth living,
and live a worthy life…
For eons, deep thinkers have addressed the question of the meaning of life.
But two issues have not been settled yet!
Is ‘living for the sake of others’ the most worthy way of life?
What if one does not even ‘feel worthy enough’ of any kind of living?
This blog explores the discourse of some major influencers,
including that of my own mentor of many years, the late Rev. Sun Myung Moon.
It is not usually our ideas that make us optimists or pessimists, but it is our optimism or our pessimism, of physiological or perhaps pathological origin, as much the one or the other, that makes our ideas.
Miguel de Unamuno, The Tragic Sense of Life
My Faith
Am I − Tom F., the author of this site − a doubter, a skeptic, a spoiler of sorts? Yes, perhaps. I tried religion when I joined the Unification movement in 1975 way back in Berlin, Germany. Over time, however, all three Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam), with their dogmas and doctrines, seem to have missed their mark.
I read Paul Tillich during my early 1980s studies at the Unification Theological Seminary in Upstate New York and resonated with his writings.
Paul Tillich (August 20, 1886 – October 22, 1965) was a German-American Christian existentialist philosopher, Christian socialist, and Lutheran theologian who was one of the most influential theologians of the twentieth century. His grandson, Ted Farris, authored an informative essay about Tillich.
I quote the essay: “Tillich asserted that we can speak of God only symbolically. Humans lack the knowledge and capacity to speak directly and literally about what God is. Instead, Tillich interested himself in the human relationship to the understanding of God as an object of ultimate concern. His perspective is always that of the finite human looking up toward the infinite. Religious symbols for Tillich are earthly finite things, but they point toward the infinite and the unreachable Universe beyond human understanding. They cannot define or describe God, but only point to Him, and thus to our most fundamental concerns.”
What, then, are religious dogmas and doctrines about God’s Will and Providence good for but to mesmerize and herd plain people for various purposes, many of which may be dubious? I’d rather stick with the pragmatisms of Willian James and Richard Rorty.
In The Meantime, What’s Going On?
I cannot help but put in a plug for former Berkeley professor John Searle sharing his insights on the logical structure of human civilization. Why? I have always been interested in learning where human conventions come from, that is, the beliefs, laws, and norms of cultures, societies, and communities.
Humans fabricate things; that is, humans intentionally manipulate the natural world to a degree that sets them apart from animals. Sure, birds build nests, and beavers build dams, but only humans manage to build and drive cars. But all that industrious activity would not be possible without language and the establishment of social conventions like promises and contracts.
Hearing John Searle out will help the listener better understand the logical structure of human civilization, which also includes the realm of religion.
There is, after all, perhaps no need to amplify religious dogmas and doctrines to levels of categorical imperatives or maxims in order to compel folks’ behaviors into life-threatening self-sacrifices.
“Avoid intentionally hurting and/or deceiving yourself and others.” This idea may be the foundation of a most benign survival strategy.
What Others Say
