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Read a story called "Young Goodman Brown". If you do not understand the theme behind it PM me or post on here, I think it will solve most or all of the religious problems. Trust me on this; besides being a good read, it presents a very good theme(s). Get back to me.

Berserker wrote:Actually, my "argument" was that we infer understanding of the universe from the symbolism of things and events, and that the passion for life we feel from this qualia has a kind of personal universality that seems superphenomenal and as a result, supernatural (given that we strive towards it but never fully grasp it.) I suppose this concept is more like Buddhism than anything else, although theism can certainly be derived from it in some form.

I see your point, I was just talking about the whole thread in general. Your idea (or Buddhism's or philosophy's idea) of "qualia" seems interesting, and I want to investigate it.

MrDragon811 wrote:Read a story called "Young Goodman Brown". If you do not understand the theme behind it PM me or post on here, I think it will solve most or all of the religious problems. Trust me on this; besides being a good read, it presents a very good theme(s). Get back to me.

I read it online, and I thought it was a very intriguing and thoughtful piece of work by Hawthorne. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the most central theme that I found is that "the world is full of sin in one way or another, even among the most pure, and that faith/hope is our only chance for salvation/happiness/peace/utopia".

Gevaudan wrote:

MrDragon811 wrote:Read a story called "Young Goodman Brown". If you do not understand the theme behind it PM me or post on here, I think it will solve most or all of the religious problems. Trust me on this; besides being a good read, it presents a very good theme(s). Get back to me.

I read it online, and I thought it was a very intriguing and thoughtful piece of work by Hawthorne. Correct me if I'm wrong, but the most central theme that I found is that "the world is full of sin in one way or another, even among the most pure, and that faith/hope is our only chance for salvation/happiness/peace/utopia".

That is a theme too, but the way my professor in my English 102 class described another understanding of it: That taking Freud's Super Ego, Ego, and ID theory, Brown is fighting between himself in following his Super Ego and ID. Because of this he has a "child-like faith" based system where he has no dought in his religion. The "adult-based faith" system is where there is dought and the more correct one. Like what Thomas Aquinas says: "Knowledge is not faith. You do not need to be knowledgeble to have faith. That there is a cofusion between knowledge and faith. TRUE FAITH has to have an element of dought. When you think you know you have no faith." That happens to Brown in the story, he obtains dought. So he "graduates" from "child faith" to "adult faith".

My professor told this to us. All I know is, is that it makes damn good sense. If you want me to elaborate on anything, tell me.

MrDragon811 wrote:TRUE FAITH has to have an element of dought. When you think you know you have no faith."

That is very interesting, and probably very true. I will have to meditate over this.

I was thinking the same thing when the professor told my class. This was a real eye opener for me, and I hope it was for you guys.