[thechat] Mythology was comics

[Andrew Forsberg]

>  > From: "isaac" <isaac at members.evolt.org>
>
>>  there was never any suggestion from my parents that i should have any faith,
>>  which i certainly appreciate.
>
>Time for the old dictionary (Oxford American)...
>Faith (fayth) n  1. Reliance or trust in a person or thing.
>
>Life without faith? How is that possible?
>
>If you don't have faith, how can you trust that the earth will hold you up
>when you place your foot upon it? It's a pretty basic issue.

Yea, but he sure seems to be meaning a more specific interpretation 
of 'faith' -- ie, faith in a religion.

And the Oxford American isn't the only reference, from the Concise 
Oxford (not that I'm pretending that it's *authoritative*):

faith
1. complete trust or confidence.
2. firm belief, esp. without logical proof.
3. a. a system of religious belief (the Christian faith).
3. b. belief in religious doctrines.
3. c. spiritual apprehension of divine truth apart from proof.
etc...

I've only a vague concept of Gödel's proof of the incompleteness of 
mathematics, but I'm a whole lot more sure of 1 + 1 = 2 than 'the 
world looks like it was designed, therefore it is -- and that 
designer is my god.'

Don't get me wrong, I'm not banging against people who do believe in 
a god, or have any other religious faith, but there are some things I 
feel I can depend on without faith. Like friends, partners, myself, 
and more often than not, mathematics.

I think that's what Isaac's getting at.

Best,
Andrew
-- 
Andrew Forsberg
http://www.thepander.co.nz/