Knowing God through Feeling Michael Lacewing Michael Lacewing

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Knowing God through Feeling Michael Lacewing © Michael Lacewing

Knowing God through Feeling Michael Lacewing © Michael Lacewing

What faith is not based on • The claims of religious belief and faith

What faith is not based on • The claims of religious belief and faith are not established by science or scientific investigation. Whatever is ‘known’ in faith is not known scientifically. • Nor is faith secured by rational arguments for the existence of God.

What faith is based on • Whatever we know in faith, we know through

What faith is based on • Whatever we know in faith, we know through our emotions. • ‘Religious experience’ and faith involve an emotional response to existence itself, to the nature of human life, etc.

Emotions are not ‘just’ feelings • Emotions are (usually) about something, and they present

Emotions are not ‘just’ feelings • Emotions are (usually) about something, and they present whatever they are about in a certain light. • E. g. I feel repulsed by a slug, I experience it as disgusting. I feel angry at a remark, I experience it as insulting.

Emotions respond to values • An emotion is a response to the values that

Emotions respond to values • An emotion is a response to the values that thing has. • We cannot show the existence of values scientifically. But we constantly respond to them.

The foundation of faith • Faith is not belief based on empirical experience (the

The foundation of faith • Faith is not belief based on empirical experience (the five senses). • Yet it does claim to be about the world (e. g. that God exists, loves us, etc. ). • Faith is a response to the fundamental value of God/existence. Faith experiences existence in the light of God (intention, purpose, goodness, meaning).

Knowing God through feeling • The kind of knowledge – of values – that

Knowing God through feeling • The kind of knowledge – of values – that emotions give us is not possible to have any other way. • Faith - knowledge of God - is only possible through our emotional response to God and existence.

What is the right emotional response to existence? • But the emotional response of

What is the right emotional response to existence? • But the emotional response of faith justified? Or is agnosticism or even atheism more appropriate? • We often have inappropriate emotions, e. g. we get angry at people when we shouldn’t, upset about things that don’t really matter. • Does religious faith invest existence with values it doesn’t have?