is faith pathetic?
A student once told me that they were not certain whether the widespread drive to believe in something otherworldly was sweet or pathetic. They had given this opinion, because I, in my response to another student’s question, ‘why is there religion in every culture,’ had said that I found it kind of sweet that humanity had become convinced of such a thing. I do believe that it is sweet, this desire that humans have to try to explain the unexplainable, but I wasn’t totally inclined to disagree with what the student had said either. Sure, it sounds a little awful, but I think I actually agree. It is a little pathetic.
But not in a bad way.
The human condition is pathetic. We are constantly fighting to do and be something that we may never reach, and things can be pulled out from under us in a moment. But that doesn’t make it not worth it. And to me, the concept of faith is similar. It’s the dedication to higher power, that vulnerability, that devotion and drive for something else other than yourself. It’s powerless, and thus pathetic, but it’s also freeing and enriching.
I think faith can be pathetic. It's vulnerable; you're trusting something other than yourself, you're giving up control. But letting go isn't all bad, and neither is having humility.
~nan