Fundamental Faith to the Human Condition - Essay Example

Is faith fundamental to the human condition (or to what it means to be a human being)? Department Is faith fundamental to the human condition (or to what it means to be a human being)? It one takes a close look at the human civilization, one will be able to notice a considerable number of differences between it as well as any other group that is formed by the living creatures. Indeed, while there are some aspects that come to mind rather easily, such as ability to generate verbal interaction, they mostly describe the differences on a superficial level. In reality, the highly developed spiritual world is what really differs the humans from other inhabitants of this planet. Thus, such ideas as religion, God, spirituality are not found anywhere beyond the boundaries of the society. That is why it is highly advisable to analyze different spiritual concepts as they provide a valuable insight into human nature. This paper will argue that faith is fundamental to the human condition. To begin with, one should develop a rather broad perspective on the issue. It would not be an exaggeration to point out that the notion of faith belongs to the realm of abstract notions. In addition to that, it is quite understandable that it is one of the characteristic features of humans to perceive abstract notions. Indeed, while the majority of the organisms simply react to the stimuli that they experience in their life, humans are able to develop a reaction that the material stimulus of which does not exist. This is particularly true in the case of faith: life of a true believer is affected by numerous spiritual doctrines which have material manifestation, but non material origin. Indeed, for the point of view of biology, it is quite an irrational kind of behavior; however, there is not doubt in the fact that there are instances when adherence to the abstract principles regardless of logic is able to bring extremely positive consequences. Thus, this practice is usually enshrined in the form of religious guidelines that people are encouraged to follow. Since this may be found in the human society only, that is why faith might be regarded as a characteristic feature of a human being. What is more important is that the concept of faith is closely connected to a firm belief in a different reality. Indeed, if one takes a close look at both world religions as well as local cults, they all appeal to the idea that the world of men and the world of deities operate in different dimensions. This kind of thinking may also be considered to be unique to humans. Thus, it is largely thought that the idea of time, especially the future, contributed to the formation of the primitive groups which were brought together by the necessity to coordinate actions while hunting a game. However, unlike the future that the first people were communicating about and that would inevitable come true, the idea of religion presented a different reality that could not be felt directly, but only through the faith. Having examined the broad premises for the emergence of faith, it would be advantageous to turn to the idea of God. In the course of the history, numerous thinkers have presented their own view on the relationship between nature and God. It was de Spinoza who argued that “the power whereby natural things exist and operate is the very power of God itself” (De Spinoza). This is a rather important definition as it puts emphasis on the origin of the idea of God, namely personified natural powers. Indeed, the majority of religions that are practices at the present moment have made their way from contemplation of the natural phenomena. While this is quite understandable in case of different pagan cults, even world religions, such as Christianity, heavily rely on different natural phenomena like fire or lightning. Therefore, the peculiar way of analyzing the outside world by the human mind has been reflected in the idea of faith. However, it would not be accurate to point out that all the religions systems have the same origin: different approach to organizing spiritual life, such as Buddhism or Confucianism utilize an alternative perspective. Finally, one should also point out some of the characteristic traits of the human character that have emerged due to the concept in question. First of all, the majority of religions base their teaching on the idea of unity among the believers. Indeed, Christians believe that all people are brothers and sisters, the Muslims encourage people to unite in their prayers to God, even pagans emphasize the connections between the ancestors and the modern people. It would not be an exaggeration to suggest that such intertemporal and interlocal attitude towards unity is a peculiar trait of the human race. Indeed, while other creatures tend to recognize kinship based on a particular characteristic that is often conditioned by the environment, the believers are able to accept their brother and sisters in faith regardless of their consequences. The next point which should be taken into consideration while thinking about the way in which the characteristic features of a human being are reflected in faith is the constant need for personal development. It is quite understandable that every religion devotes a considerable amount of efforts, encouraging its followers to introduce changes into their lives and abandon the malpractices that are usually regarded as sinful. The mere concept of sin is unique to human culture, just like the morality. Indeed, a lot of actions that might be recognized as negative are performed in the animal world on a daily basis. So, one might point out that faith is a tool that people might use to make their character better – a kind of action that no other known creature is able to do. It is quite clear that this trait is largely based on the activity which is undoubtedly characteristic to human race, namely introspection. There is a particular reason for that: only the highly developed human conscience is able to facilitate such mental process. The third trait that should be discussed in great detail is the ability of people to deny themselves so that it would benefit the rest. An exemplary religion that can prove this is Christianity. According to it, God sacrificed His own Son, Who endured all the pain in order to show people the right way. However, in real life faith urges people to perform similar, but less grandiose steps. For example, lying is largely recognized as a sin and a person might refrain from lying, acknowledging that it would bring negative consequences. No animal would ever choose an option that would harm one, as the instinct of self preservation would not allow this to happen. However, the human conscience may find a particular pleasure in it. Indeed, those who are largely recognized as saints or people with strong faith have followed the path of self denial and became role models for people, showing them a way to exercise faith on a daily basis and bring positive consequences by this practice. As one can easily see on the examples which were discussed in the above mentioned paragraphs, faith should be considered to be a prerequisite to the human condition. Indeed, only our kind is able to develop abstract concepts that are able to have a direct influence on our lives. In addition to that, due to faith, people may exercise some of the characteristic traits in our character such as desire to achieve unity among all the individuals; the necessity to constantly improve one’s personality as well as the readiness to take a step that would harm the subject, but bring a lot of benefits to others. References De Spinoza, Benedict. "Political Treatise: Chapter 2." Constitution Society. Accessed November 19, 2014. http://www.constitution.org/bs/poltr_02.htm. Read More