Life is Like a Box of Chocolates

            I had this thought while sorting mail Wednesday morning. I can get a lot of thinking done sorting mail, because basically all I have to do is read and count. If you think I stole it from somebody (I don't think I did) let me know.

            Imagine for a second that you like chocolate. You get a sampler box and you begin surveying your options. You heard they had a caramel filled one so you start to look for it. There is no list, so after staring at the chocolates for a while you decide you need help. There are 3 ways of determining the "truth" of which chocolate is caramel. First you call over a friend who has already tried these chocolates. He points to one, and says, "I think that was it." Do you know for sure? Of course not! You merely have agreement with an equal. You are trusting a different person's experience. This is not a verifiable experiment. So, you move to plan B. You pick up that one and pop it in your mouth. Now, how do you know its caramel? The only way is to compare it to other things you thought were caramel. Do you know for sure? Of course not! You may be able to associate it with something else that you thought was caramel, but absolutely knowing it is? Nope. That would be trusting in your memory, senses and experiences. Once again, only verifiable in so much as you are concerned, not absolutely. So, now the 3rd option, you call up the candy company and ask to speak to the Maker Himself. He says, "the 3rd one from the left on the second row is caramel." Aha! The one you picked up was it! Do you know for sure? NO! The premodern Neo-Platonist would say yes, and he would be relatively correct. You have agreement with a trustworthy source, that is the most trustworthy source possible. However, you are merely trusting that source. Is the maker ever wrong? No. But believing that and any trusting of Him, is faith. That is something I can only believe, not truly know. Because if I can know it, I am something. But I am nothing.

           So, the questioners are right. We can't know anything. But we can believe in something. You may be countering with "faith is rooted in facts" it is "evidence" not a "blind hoping." You are relatively correct. That is, at some point you must admit that unobservable events must be believed blindly, correct? Take that a step further because observations are not trustworthy. I believe that God is truth. That God has done real things. That God is real. But, there is categorically no way to prove that. I am not called to prove it. God does not say, "Think real hard, I'm real." He says, "I am." The burden of proof is not even considered in that statement. He does not leave his existence up to my discovering of it. It merely is. I must believe that to have anything. Epistemologically speaking, I say I'm a Christian Postmodernist. What do you think?

Next time, we'll talk about politics.

And, the Braves (8-1) have the highest run differential in the league! WOOHOO!
Follow me @PrinceofSaxony on twitter for Braves and other baseball stuff (among other things)