As we have seen in part 1 of this discussion, there seems to be two kinds of truth; that which mankind establishes and that which transcends perceived experience. Mathematically, we have a problem if we allow two truths to define the same point of an idea or fact. If we say that truth is indisputable but demand that it be verifiable, then faith is not exercised; the triad of faith-trust-truth is incomplete.
The position taken by religion, when viewed as a philosophy, is that everything one believes is derived from faith built on trust, which may or may not be found in absolute truth. Modern science, as a religion, takes the realist view that truth is derived only from that which may be observed, while denying or ignoring the faith that underlies any law or theorem. Post-modernism, practiced as a religion, denies the existence of absolute truth, as such, the nexus in trust by faith and truth is destroyed. The end-result for the post-modern thinker is the loss of trust.
Suddenly, faith becomes ubiquitous within our existence. When we drop an object, do we expect it to ever fail to fall toward the earth…but, you say, “Scientifically, I know the object will drop. I have seen it drop every day of my life. The dropping object has been documented for several millennia by others, as well as on the Moon.”? Are you exercising faith or observation? Are you able to observe a dropping object in all the conditions that are possible in the universe? Yet, because of our limited observations, we say that gravity is an absolute, a truth. We, often, make absolute statements without considering the underpinning principle(s) of faith that those statements are built upon.
Why do you close your eyes when you sleep? The general psychological understanding as to why humans close their eyes when they sleep is that there is a “sense” of safety about the act of closing one’s eyes to sleep. Ask any soldier that has served on a battlefront how difficult it was to close their eyes, much less, sleep. Have a conversation with someone who has difficulty breathing regarding how difficult it is for them to close their eyes and sleep. This individual has no assurance they will continue to breathe if they close their eyes. These two examples are of individuals who have little or no “sense” of safety.
Basically, we close our eyes to sleep because we have a “sense” (faith) of safety (trust) that the earth will continue to turn (truth) on its axis appearing to make the sun rise so we may enjoy a new day. Where does this faith come from? We have no guarantee that the earth will continue to turn, yet, we trust that the earth will turn. Where does the trust come from? Perhaps, due to the repeated event, we develop a false trust upon which we can balance our faith and wrongly deduced truth.
The Spirit of Poohbear 