Δευτέρα, Μαρτίου 21, 2005

A semi-productive Monday

Le me see...What did I do today?
Well, I woke up at 11.00 am (I actually woke up at 6.00, I guess my sleep cycle is determined by the sun) but after thinking that was too early for me I went to sleep again). At around 13.40 I got to school and I spent most of my time at the computer lab checking e-mails and talking to Raph and Gustavo.

Then I got to the library where I copied some papers and borrowed a book about clitics (a topic I know nothing about (could somebody tell me why do languages have clitics in the first place?) that will help me with a project I am working on. The main issue is the following:In the acquisition of Greek, children, contrary to other languages, do not generally omit clitics and of course the problem is why. I hope in the 200 pages that I will have to read till the end of the week, an answer (i.e., a convincing one) will reveal itself...

After becoming disappointed and a bit stressed, I got back to the department and went with Gustavo for dinner to some Italian restaurant (I do not remember the name, but it is at Sherbrooke close to the the corner of McGill College. ) The food was good but what was better was the discussion I had with Gustavo about sin (yes, the thing that gets you into trouble!!) and mainly what is sin, and why is there in the first place? (Why doesn't God wipe it out, since it is a bad thing after all, isn't it?)

I have to be honest; though I have some ideas about the first part (what is sin), the second part is tricky. And if you think "free will" and stuff like that, you might address a part of the question but not the whole. What I told Gustavo is that I really do not know why there is sin in the world (why God allows it to happen in the first place) or why generally there is so much evil. I am not sure that there is a satisfying answer to these questions. You can always resort to the belief that "God works in mysterious ways" or that "everything falls under a divine plan, that we at the present moment are unable to comprehend", but still the questions remain.
All that I can think right now is what St.Paul says in Corinthians 1 (13:9-10) "For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when which is perfect has come,then what is in part will be done away" and (13:12) "for now we see in the mirror dimly but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known."
I know that many of you will not find that satisfying at all (I am not sure that it works for me 100%), but if I could try to give the "take home message" just in two phrases, I would say that God is love and whatever nasty happens in our lives (our misfortunes, our failures, our "sins") if He allows it to happen, there must be a reason and it must be a good one, for He really loves us and believes in each one of us. Otherwise, what would be the point?

2 Comments:

Anonymous Ανώνυμος said...

Wow Athanasios. I never seem to come across people who can quote the bible, and was wondering, as you can and do, if you could answer me this....why does one believe in a god in the first place?

8:37 μ.μ.  
Blogger Immortalis said...

This is a truly tough question! Can man live without a god? Again,I believe this depends on what you define as god in the first place.
A traditional definition would evoke reference to a supreme being, but that is not always the case.
There are many gods in this world and we all believe in something.
You can believe in yourself and turn human nature (or at least a perfect version of it) to god. You can believe in money, power, or why not?, love and turn these notions to god as well.
I guess that since the very first day man realised his status of being, he started asking a number of questions. Science generally deals with the "How" (i.e:"How does it rain?") but religion tries to address the "why" i.e.,"Why am I here?", "Why do I Iive?", "Why do I die?" and of course the main theme keeps on emerging: "what is the point of everything?"
I guess that for most people a story about a god (any god) and a plan (any plan) for the world makes sense.
There is an argument that states that God created man under his own image, so faith again is the effort of man to reach the creator.
You can always deny the notion of creation (as a deliberate action of a supreme being).However, this does not in fact cancel god, it just redefines him in a different way.
In the end, it all comes to faith. Things happen in our lives that do not make sense (in other words, they are beyond our logical comprehension of the world).
How does one overcome something that is beyond logic? (Note that beyond logic does not mean lack of logic).
The most common answer to this question is by constructing a "defense" mechanism that is also beyond, namely faith. Faith does not have logical grounds. Whether it is addressed to a supreme being or to the abilities of the human nature, it is still not rational and is inherent. Everybody has faith in something (even if tou believe that you do not have any faith at all!!).
And if you wonder if faith is a weakness or a good property of human nature, I will quote not the Bible but one of my favorite movie characters, namely Captain Spock in Star Trek (VI). When he talks to another Vulkan (I believe that is Lieutenant Volaris or something) he says to her: "You must have faith" and she answers him back "But is this logical?" and then Spock says something that is one of my favorite punch lines: "Logic is the beggining of wisedom, not the end of it."
We believe because of faith, but the way we define our faith (our beliefs) is completely personal.

3:18 π.μ.  

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