FAITH, HOPE, AND LOVE

Faith

The term “faith,” in its most general sense, simply means “belief.” To hold some belief or faith entails the mental acceptance of the truth of some thought, idea, statement, or the like, where truth is the correspondence between the thought, etc., and some aspect of reality. Simply believing or having faith in something does not make it true, however. Historically, there have been people who have believed that the Earth is flat, and there have been others who have believed that the Earth is round. Since these two contradictory positions cannot both be true, it follows logically that at least some of these people’s beliefs about the Earth must be false.

Because our beliefs and faiths can radically affect the choices we make and how we live our lives, it is prudent to attempt to carefully and properly evaluate their truth or falsity, or at least the probability of their truth or falsity. Empiricorationalism is the best means we have ever discovered for the evaluation of our thoughts, ideas, statements, etc.

Science, in the broadest sense of the term, involves the systematized empiricorational evaluation of all sorts of thoughts, ideas, statements, etc., about reality. Science, by its very nature, promotes empiricorational evaluation as a virtue, where virtue is defined as adhering to the proper practice necessary to achieve some desirable outcome. This would be more precisely identified as an epistemological virtue, in that adhering to it results increasing or maximizing our approach to knowledge, understanding, and truth.

Faith and belief are often used synonymously within the context of religion, but with a very important distinction: whereas the critical evaluation of beliefs is absolutely encouraged within the context of science, such critical evaluation is often quite strongly discouraged within the context of religion. “Having faith,” i.e., just believing in something – without “needing” evidence, or even believing in something despite overwhelming contradictory evidence – is itself actively promoted as a virtue. So, within the context of religion, faith is considered a virtue, and doubt itself is considered a vice. The reality, however is just the opposite: uncritically accepted faith in anything is an epistemological vice, and healthy skepticism and critical evaluation of beliefs is an epistemological virtue.

The false promotion of faith as a virtue, rather than as an epistemological vice, gives people a false and unearned sense of pride and even moral superiority when they are actually engaging in the epistemological vice of simply accept some empiricorationally dubious religious tenet as true. The reality is that one should rightly feel ashamed for relinquishing empiricorationalism, and proud for embracing it. And in this pride is power: knowledge is power.

Scionism differs from other forms of spirituality and religion in that it does not treat empiricorationally unjustified faith as a virtue, but instead recognizes it as the epistemological vice which it actually is. It elevates empiricorationally justified belief as the primary epistemological goal, and empiricorational thinking as the primary epistemological virtue.

Scionism thus has Faith in Mathematical and Cosmic Existence. The Faith of Scionism is a Faith based on the truly rock-solid foundation of reality and reason, entailing the Mathos and the Cosmos and the recognition of their infinite, eternal, uncreated, and Divine Nature.

Hope

Whereas empiricorationally unjustified faith may be viewed as the common epistemological component of traditional religions, hope may be viewed as the common characteristic emotional valence which often accompanies faith. This is because hope is used, by necessity, to emotionally bolster one’s feelings about (and adherence to) one’s non-empiricorational beliefs.

Just as faith can be oriented around empiricorationalism, hope can also be oriented around empiricorationalism. The adherence to faith and hope tends to be strongest, in fact, when faith and hope are empiricorationally justified, as opposed to the opposite. Thus, the Faith and Hope of Scionism are empiricorationally grounded in the Mathos and the Cosmos.

Our Ios, our “informational soul,” ever-changing throughout our lives (and the lives of our loved ones) is eternally preserved within the quantum-informational structure of spacetime itself. Nothing is more valuable to us than our own lives, and the lives of those we love. The resurrection of the Ios is a hope, the possibility of which is congruent with our most fundamental understandings of reality itself.

Love

Once one has faith and hope, however, what next? What principle should guide one’s thoughts and actions, in accordance with one’s faith and hope? In a word: Love. All of the infinite and eternal manifestation of Love within the infinite and eternal Mathos and Cosmos partake of the Divine.

We can (and should) relate to ourselves, to one another, and to the world at large with Love. We can manifest Love though our thoughts and actions, in ways that increase the amount of Goodness and Beauty in the world. We can be Loving manifestation of the Divine. We can experience Love.

Faith, Hope, and Love.

Faith is the Foundation. Hope is the Light. Love is the Way.

And the greatest of these is Love.