Thinking on Faith, Credit, and Belief

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belief, credit, faith, god, nature, philosophy, prayer, religion, st. augustine, strength

Religion has long claimed to hold an unjustified monopoly on faith that makes those who do not believe in a God highly suspicious of the term. Believers see it as a requirement for salvation – whatever that salvation may be – while everyone else interprets the term as an excuse to do anything and everything for one’s belief. There is even a division within believers that boils down to bare minimum differences from one system of belief or another. Ideas such as: faith is enough for salvation, and faith is only good when complimented with works, have divided religionists of all creeds and backgrounds. In reality, faith is not the monopoly of religionists, nor the scourge of the atheists; it is a necessary emotional anchor which keeps us believing in the ever-changing indivisible element of humanity: the individual. That individual is the atom of our species, the basic element of culture, the person which could never be relied upon without that much needed dose of faith – though we may call it trust in a less religion-involved format, Faith plays an vital part in our everyday actions, interactions and thoughts.

Let us first dive into the meaning of the word ‘Faith’ in order to attain a minimum understanding of its roots and background. Faith originated in the Latin ‘Fides’ (Trust), and it shares a root with the verb ‘Fidere’ (to trust). This word however, has always had a monetary connotation in Ancient Rome; the term was used for a person who placed confidence on another’s ability to pay back a debt, that is, ‘Fides’ also was a word for credit. The term in the 13^th century was used for the duty associated with fulfilling one’s trust; ‘in good faith’ is still a term used for transactions today. The term then applies to trust indeed, but a trust not without investment; in fact, there would be no faith without the necessary extension of credit. Using this definition, we extend credit to others, or whatever deity we claim allegiance to, in expectation that said credit will be returned in the future. Faith is no more than a transaction, indeed a deposit, into an account from which we expect payment in full. Sometimes said payment does not return to us immediately, in others, the return is so great that we seem reticent to accept it, and yet, the vast majority of the time, we end up with our own account having suffered a withdrawal it will never recover, leaving us to our own devices in regards to building our Faith funds once more.

The religionist may say that whoever or whatever God is, he cannot be the entity we hold responsible to our credit. The question is, why not? No matter which religion one adheres to, the entity which is God wants us to improve and to grow. Whether the maxim of a religion is to reach the uppermost reaches of understanding, heaven, or some imaginary animal hierarchical chain, the god or gods leading them wish them to improve. Granted, we are speaking in general terms of a Judeo-Christian religion and in regards to a personified God, although polytheistic religions also have examples of greatness in their understanding of divine beings which their human counterparts attempt to imitate. However, ignore that, see these concepts as they apply to you. Our faith to these beings, money, power, or whatever moves you is but an extension of credit; and whether we expect to be paid in full now or later, before or after death, in the shape of cash or produce; our choices and expectations are but an accumulation of belief.

Both atheists and religionists may ask: What is the purpose of faith if it is dependent on the expectations of man and his god? Indeed, it may seem that we have little choice in regards to how nature and the divine work, so why should we have a choice on faith? However, if we are placing our faith on a certain subject or belief, giving that line of credit ac chance, aware of the circumstances that place our investment in jeopardy in order to have some sort of expectation, said expectation will compel us to act in order to defend our investment. That is our choice; that is our possibility. God, nature, atoms, they may be unattainable, but it is our choice to place face on one or another concept. It is our choice to trust or distrust, to care or not to care. Trust that atom of society, man; or trust that grand body of the world, nature or god. Either way, if we see belief and faith in this light, we will rise to a better tomorrow by trusting, once again, that life can be better if we only follow St. Augustine’s plea: Pray is if everything depended [on whatever you believe], rise as if everything depended on yourself.

Thinking on Fathers, Philosophers, and Strength

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children, civil war, destruction, fasces, fathers, friends, groups, philosophers, power, rome, strength

It is Aesop Series Monday, and we bring you one of the most used morals of the ancient writer.

Aesop tells the story of a “φιλόσοφος πατὴρ” (a father-philosopher) whose children were always fighting. In order to educate them, the father put together a bundle of sticks and asked the young men to break it; they could not. To make his point even clearer the father broke up the bundle of sticks and then told the children to break the individual sticks apart, which “ῥᾳδίως πράττουσιν” (they did easily). Aesop closes with the moral:

“Οὐκ ἔστι τοὺς φίλους ὑπο τὼν ἐχθρῶν βλάπτεσθαι, ἡ γὰρ ὁμόνται φυλάτει τούτους. Ἔστε οὗν σοφοί, ὦ τέκνα, καὶ μηκέτι στασίαζετε.”
They who are not friends on account of hatred are destroyed, for [only] agreement protects [you] from this. Do be, therefore, friends, children, and no longer fight.”
Aquellos que no son amigos son destruidos por odio, ya que sólo el acuerdo os protege de estos problemas. Sed amigos entonces, hijos, y no peleéis más.

A lot of Ancient Greek meaning is written in these two sentences; a moral out of the ordinary, with respect to length, for Aesop. The rub lies in the unity; not only of mind but also of purpose. Ὁμόνται, literally ‘to be of the same [mind]’ is then essential to the Ancient Greeks and their system of government. Not to be of the same mind caused men to stand opposite each other; from standing (in opposition) comes στασίαζετε (in English, stasis), meaning ‘to quarrel.’ However, this verb also meant ‘civil war.’ The fact that the ‘polis’ (or the farm) could not progress while men were standing around fighting was the deeper meaning of Aesop here. Agree, and progress takes place;disagree, and risk loss of progress, or destruction.

The Romans took this concept and created the ‘fasces’ (fag – from a bundle of sticks), a symbol of power from the age of the kings. He who was ‘in union’ was the leader of the Romans. Unity was strength, lack of unity was ‘bellum civium’ (civil war) for them as well.

On Life, Living, and Strength

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latin, Life, Living, martial, strength

It is Latin Tuesday, and Martial bids us ‘audīre’ (‘to listen’):

Vīta nōn est vīvere sed valēre.
Life is not to live, but to be strong.
La vida no es vivir, sino ser fuerte.

So many things come to mind, although we will focus on the ‘nōn’ here more than anything. Martial, in more than an admonishing tone, begs us to forsake life for what it is not meant to be: living. What? You ask. Well, consider that to Romans duty was everything; we even get our word ‘office’ from it (officium). To avoid your duties was ‘vitia,’ our modern ‘vices.’ In this context, life is not to be lived as a way to avoid duty (officium vitare – that’s just passive and lazy to the Romans), but to force it to work for you and make you stronger.

Strength becomes the end in itself to the citizens of Rome; they avoid life becoming such, making it a tool to achieve strength instead. In other words, those who want to live as the end-purpose of their lives will stop at nothing to see that end fulfilled, avoiding duties, cheating, stealing, stepping on others. However, Martial suggests, those who seek strength of character and body, and who use life to achieve it, make life a tool by which they can accomplish their task.

Valete (A typical Roman ‘farewell’ that had a more literal meaning: ‘be strong y’all’)