Friday, September 22, 2006

Faith on Friday

From The Devil's Dictionary by Ambrose Bierce, as introduced to me by my friend JLO.

FAITH, n.
Belief without evidence in what is told by one who speaks without knowledge, of things without parallel.

On days when my understanding was less than pristine, I often turned to the primary song "Faith" to reassure myself. It says:

Faith is knowing the sun will rise, lighting each new day.
Faith is knowing the Lord will hear my prayers each time I pray.
Faith is like a little seed, if planted it will grow.
Faith is the swelling within my heart: when I do right I know.

*I know the sun will rise based on it happening every day for the span of my nearly 29 years.
*How can one ever KNOW the Lord will hear your prayers, for a fact? I think it's more likely to HOPE for the Lord to hear your prayers, and leave the faith/knowledge out of it.
*Obviously a little seed needs proper care in order to grow. But they say that faith does too. What about those one seeds that grow without intentional care? What are they?? And how about weeds? And can my faith seed be of the hemp variety?
*I think the "swelling" being felt is something primary kids shouldn't be singing about...
*When I do right I know. When I do wrong I know. When I don't care I know. When I drink coffee I know. When I use the bathroom I know. So what???

< /ramblings >

8 comments:

Sister Mary Lisa said...

I know, I know. Hemp, Ha! That's great.

Rebecca said...

I hate it when people say, "I KNOW God exists. The proof is in the sun rising every day, and in a baby's laugh ." Those people should shut up. Because hearing a baby laugh is proof that you have ears, and the rising sun is proof that the earth is rotating, and also that, even when proven wrong, people will cling to stupid things (the term "sunrise" sounds like it hearkens back to when people thought it revolved around the earth, rather than the earth revolving around the sun - which is what people thought until the New Science, which proves that everything revolves around ME).

Just one of many said...

I know nothing that's what I know!!!

Threads of the Divine said...

La, I think your examination of this song is right on. It may be more profound than we realize. Faith is not "Knowing the sun will rise". Faith is not "Like a little seed". Both of these things happen regardless of faith and are no way connected to faith. It really makes you wonder if songs like this are written to intentionally misrepresent or slant gospel principles and to twist our minds. How deep does this rabbit hole go?

Sideon said...

Great post - well though out and rational. I love how you included the dictionary definition.

Of course, any time someone talks about Faith, all I can think about is how hunky and yummy George Michael is/was.

"Before this river
Becomes an ocean
Before you throw my heart back on the floor
Oh baby I reconsider
My foolish notion
Well I need someone to hold me
But I'll wait for something more

Yes I've gotta have faith...
Mmm, I gotta have faith
'Cause I gotta have faith, faith, faith,
Mm 'cause I gotta have faith-a-faith-a-faith"

I don't think G. Michael was referring to anything holy, though. The lyrics infer that he was a big ole size queen. :)

Bad time for a joke?

How are men and snowstorms alike?

You never know how many inches you'll get or how long they'll last.

Sister Mary Lisa said...

LOL, Sideon. Have you heard this one? Why did the snowman smile? He saw the snowblower coming...

Did I just screw up this joke?? I usually ruin punchlines...

Just one of many said...

La, I think my new religion will be the Rastafarians!! At least I can plant some good seeds in some fertile soil and reap the rewards!!
Hey, maybe then I would actually want to eat my food storage! Yuk!

Bishop Rick said...

That's great, that Faith is positioned as something that someone knows. That is all wrong. Faith is something you expect. You expect the Sun to rise. You expect chocolate chip cookies to taste good. But, what if you forget the sugar? I guess you didn't really know that one.

JOOM is right. No one fargin knows anything.

ccrqq