The only weapon available to man to combat religious ideology is his intellect and his ability to reason.
Orthodox Jews ascribe to a fable at the time of recieving the Torah at Mount Sinai. Hashem, (the name) the deity revealed himself to the entire nation of Israel. He raised the mountain over the nation and gave them the option to accept the faith or die. The nation of Israel responded: We will do what you request, and follow your laws.
This may be the first recorded version of the “leap of faith” concept. Of course getting out of the way of a mountain would require a substantial leap!
Every faith based ideology must demand a leap of faith from their followers. A leap of faith is exactly where these adherents give themselves permission to abandon logic, reason and knowable phenomena. Ideas that would prove implausable outside the context of the faith, are now acceptable. Since for many religion becomes the highest priority and the ideal, the ability to temper their position is compromised.
The adherents to a religious ideology are rewarded with the knowledge that they are following the true pathway. They believe they have aligned themselves with the deity and his wishes. With an adopted moral and ethical plan these adherents can also relax their need to evaluate and consider many choices in life .The more closely someone adheres to their faith the less they need to think or make decisions for themselves. As a matter of fact in the most fanatical “religious” communities individuality, thinking and even education is limited and shunned.
The leap of faith is the moment when a person chooses to abandon logic and reason. It is as though a switch is thrown and the individual decides that they no longer need to rely on the only tools they are given as humans, logic and reason. Human intellect is no longer sufficient. Yearning for the comfort of a loving, supreme being we interject a story, a mythology and an ideology filled with rituals and commandments. Now we have a higher power where we place our hopes and dreams. The only problem is that there is no revelation and no human alive has ever experienced one.
If we rely on our intellect then we understand that the specific gravity of water is not adequate to hold up the weight of the average human. To believe that the opposite happened even once is inconsistent with our reality. There is no precedent that will allow us to believe humans can walk on water, unless we abandon reason. It is dangerous to create a context that gives people permission to accept that which is otherwise ludicrous. The leap of faith is what turns a fairy tale into a religion. What takes ordinary conscious people and turns them into fanatical adherents who have wagered their entire existence on someone elses unknowable, unsubstantiated version of a deity and ideology.
Some may be tempted to say that a leap of faith is desireable and even necessary to bridge the gap between the known and that which is unknown. People tend to make leaps in their personal lives all the time. Sometimes these actions do result in surprisingly good outcomes. In this regard I would agree. The distinction however is like understanding historical Jesus as a man who said many incredible things, who challenged the values and the authorities of his time. Jesus the man made a leap and changed humanity through his vision and foresight. However, those responsible for turning Jesus into a god were looking for ways to subjugate others. They bare responsibility for wars, murders and decades of corruption.
Human beings are capable through our great gift of intellect, reason and logic to make breakthroughs and provide insights that will improve and benefit the lives of many on this planet. Scientific inquiry is often based on leaps and intuition that is then tested and modified to prove useful. The distinction is that religious leaps of faith are based on stories and superstitions that are thousands of years old. They are based on times when people knew very little of the natural world. Most people were uneducated and any hope to relieve their condition was welcome. Intellects of their day were well aware and used their position to control and influence others. What better way then to convince people that they were doing gods bidding. In the process the prevailing religions acquired a great amount of wealth and influence.
In todays world choosing a lifestyle of subjugation to a deity that was imagined by people thousands of years ago is ludicrous. The result is that the savagery and corruption of that era is visited on us today. What other force other than religious intolerance can tempt an individual to blow himself up in a crowded place. For a parent to praise a deity for selecting their child to be the latest suicide bomber or to abandon a close family member because they choose not to worship as you do. Freedom to choose a lifestyle and the respect and dignity that accompanies those choices is the hallmark of a modern life.
Big Brother Burt sees the leap of faith as the defining moment, the slippery slope as people choose to take leave of their minds. He sees faith based communities and those who encourage the ideologies as forces which do more to harm than heal our societies. It is natural that we as humans search for answers and understanding in a world which is difficult and posses many challenges. It would be very comforting to know that there is a loving deity with one pathway to eternal bliss. The problem is that we as humans do not know and cannot comprehend any real answers. I assert that most wholesome way to live is to use our facilities to the best of our abilities, to accept what we do not understand, and strive to make this existence as comfortable and bearable for ourselves and those around us.
BIG Brother Burt