Fragile Faiths

The bad thing about sleeping near churches is that early in the morning you’re awakened by fervent shouts seeking to affirm a truth that silence itself should be the herald of: we are lost and we are as certain of why we are here as a child that has just been born. These acts of self-affirmation make me think.

Why would someone want to lock me into a closed set of arbitrary and dogmatic beliefs? Perhaps because the systematic and self-centered way of dealing with personal beliefs provides a unified narrative to live by, and upon accepting it there is no more doubt or confusion about how a person should behave. This kind of facility, through “practical” or personal philosophies — or religious ones in this case — brings a false and shallow peace of mind.

People don’t realize that truth, knowledge, and genuine intellectual and/or spiritual fulfillment can never be found in superficial systems where absolutism betrays the human condition. Once these systems — beliefs or principles — that guide and claim to be the key to a dignified life, when observed more closely, prove to be merely preconceived conclusions or simply prejudices.

They are absolute ideas built around unique and particular characteristics that make them strong and credible, for they satisfy your weak need for philosophical and moral coherence.

Upon reaching this level of human mediocrity, where people feel they already know everything, they begin to self-proclaim themselves “wise” without a single drop of irony and end up consumed by the very idea that intellectual enlightenment has gratified them.

And reality is relentless in crumbling beliefs.