my criticism of Kierkegaard’s description of the movement and leap of faith

[laboredthought]

Kierkegaard (hereafter K.) takes up the gauntlet on the side of voluntarism in its long-standing debate against intellectualism.  Most if not all of K.’s arguments proceed from the assumption of the existence of God , and to the extent to which this assumption is granted, he is fairly convincing in his aim to show that the only viable way to

Comments

hi

[laboredthought]

faith is only required if it is necessary and assumed that God already exists, because as you said He cannot be proved or disproved. From my perspective its at the very least unnecessary to believe things without evidence.

and i have experienced faith, but the more i studied religion (especially at the catholic high school i went to in new jersey), the less convinced i was, until i realized, i didn't believe any religion at all.

i also realized when i lost my faith that i didn't lose my spirituality.

i just feel more strongly about people feeling so strongly about beliefs based on faith that they are willing to kill and die for them. because from my perspective any discussion without evidence is speculative. there is nothing wrong with having opinions based on speculation, but if they aren't held tentatively they (minimally) do injustice to new information about the world.

and it isn't surprising that people whose minds are already made up in a context in which belief without reason is considered an established value aren't as amenable to changing their respective minds. very rarely are "opponents" convinced in a debate, someone "wins" because they are more convincing to third parties (ideally impartial observers).

in discussing faith, what i don't understand is how someone is supposed to be convinced of any particular doctrine or dogma founded on faith or revelation. If Christians, Muslims, Jews, etc. all require a leap, how does anyone who wasn't raised in any specific tradition know which direction to leap?

that said, i can still very much appreciate your good will and your hopes on my behalf. but faith isn't something i'm fighting in myself, i struggled to keep my faith when i was losing it, and despite in those early years still wishing that i did believe, i couldn't believe in God without evidence any more than i could believe that 2 + 2 = 5.

forgive me for being unconvinced at the mutually exclusive beliefs that different people hold with their respective fervent direct experiences of God, or whatever the case may be.

i sincerely appreciate your comment, i'm excited when people have feedback.

i hope this message finds you well. take care, smile, tj