Seeing Is Believing, But Faith Is Something Much More

Being born with the ability to reason brings about certain difficulties when it comes to unseen truths.  Science has grappled with this problem for a long time.  Think of gravity, atoms, germs (before the invention of the microscope) and one of my personal favorites, quantum mechanics with its powerful uncertainty principle.  Each of these truths has had more than its fair share of disbeliever’s.

The problem is that our minds will rationalize (distort) whatever is in our own best interest in a way, so that it becomes virtually impossible to be sure we are actually using our ability to reason to it’s true potential.  This is why even in a disciplined area such as science, many thoughtful people have a tough time coming to grips with new evidence if it tends to disagree with a previous long-held belief.

In the  above video made by the BBC in collaboration with the Brazilian government, they are attempting to prove the existence of an uncontacted Amazon tribe in the Republic of Peru. However, since it is in the political best interest of Peru’s President to say that their claim is utter nonsense, they have been accused of fabricating and inventing the whole idea.  Why would they do such a thing?  President Garcia suggests it is because they are actually environmentalists who have an agenda to protect the Amazon from oil exploration.

Where Do You Place Your Faith?

With an estimated poverty level of about 36% and a nominal GDP per capita of about $5,195 (U.S. comparison $46,831) it is understandable why an elected official, such as President Garcia would want to believe otherwise.  There is potentially a wealth of untapped resources, like oil, available in this part of the Amazon.  Interestingly, he has little trouble in believing that these yet unseen resources could be there, just in the possibility of people.

However, we all have heard of the radical steps some environmentalists will take in order to achieve their goals.  Hence, if they are some group other than what the claim to be, then rationalization for their accused behavior wouldn’t be out of the question.

When it comes to taking a side in a situation where we are unable to determine with positive certainty where the truth lies, we must throw up our hands and place our faith in someone.  Sure we could be agnostic about the whole thing and walk away unmoved, but that doesn’t prevent there from being an ultimate truth.  We can also trick ourselves and be atheistic to a certain side so that we can claim we have no faith at all, but this is a lie, because by default we placed our faith on the other side.

It turns out that faith is a tricky business. At the end of the day, the question is not whether we have faith, but where we place it.  All I can say is, thank God someone believes in us.

“There was a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen and dined sumptuously each day.  And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table. Dogs even used to come and lick his sores.  When the poor man died, he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham. The rich man also died and was buried, and from the netherworld, where he was in torment, he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side.  And he cried out, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me. Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am suffering torment in these flames.’  Abraham replied, ‘My child, remember that you received what was good during your lifetime while Lazarus likewise received what was bad; but now he is comforted here, whereas you are tormented.  Moreover, between us and you a great chasm is established to prevent anyone from crossing who might wish to go from our side to yours or from your side to ours.’  He said, ‘Then I beg you, father, send him to my father’s house, for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them, lest they too come to this place of torment.’  But Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them.’  He said, ‘Oh no, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’  Then Abraham said, ‘If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.’”