Topic: "Absolute Faith is Absolute Folly" [debate]
Requirement: Point for and against the given topic.
20pts.
Answers
Absolute faith is absolute folly.
Faith in something is very important if one is to make it in life. Faith enables someone to get from place to place, even if it is seen as impossible or not practical. Blind or absolute faith is not folly. It is a driving force that has seen people achieve being things, absolute faith gives people the boost and the belief that they could not get anywhere else. Faith is not folly, it is actually a wise decision that can only be seen by a few people.
Absolute faith can be absolute folly. This is when people follow things blindly without any logical thought. It is only good to believe what is rational. Folly is believing without questioning anything. Absolute faith also blinds people from facts. This explains why it is foolish to believe without thinking. Human beings should be able to weigh between what to believe and what not to believe. No one should be blind to facts and realities.
Many people have been duped because they believed without taking time to rationalize their thoughts. Losses that have resulted from blind beliefs are huge. Investments without questioning the other party for example has led to lots of people losing money. This is exactly why absolute faith is absolute folly.
➡️The journey to acquire our own building for Bethesda Workshops surfaced many challenging issues for me. I am sure that even if we hadn’t gotten the property, the process was well worth the headaches and investment because of the lessons learned. At the core, one key question was, “Is this an exercise of faith or a path of folly?”
➡️The faith part of me leaned into a belief in God’s goodness and God’s desire to bless God’s children. That part had, at times, an almost cavalier attitude about the financial realities of what we were considering. My thinking ran along the lines of, “What’s a million dollars to God?” The benevolent God who can part the Red Sea and heal the sick and feed 5,000 people with a child’s meager lunch can surely help Bethesda Workshops raise the money we need to buy this building. “Just go for it!” the faithful part insisted.
➡️Most of the time, though, the doubter was more prominent. I often heard my father’s voice saying, “Sometimes, it’s hard to know if God is leading or the devil is tempting.” I was plagued with fears of making a foolish decision and enticing other Bethesda Workshops leaders to join me down a path of folly. I rehearsed a long-standing internal speech about responsibility, prudent stewardship and not getting “too big for your britches.” (If you’re not old enough to recognize that mantra, you might substitute “don’t bite off more than you can chew.” If you don’t resonate with either saying, well, surely you get the gist, which is, “How in the world are you seriously considering making a financial commitment that you have no tangible way of paying for?”)
➡️It was interesting to walk at times with an odd detachment about the deliberations. I was both the person wrestling with how to proceed, and simultaneously the person observing that process. It’s a common experience for those who have learned to live deliberately, and I expect many readers are familiar with what I’m describing. Fascinating, yes, but ultimately not helpful. In fact, this dual perspective was only more confusing as the experiencer and the observer danced around the dilemma time and time again.
➡️Until a moment of absolute clarity. Astounding, really, when I think about it. I was explaining this faith-versus-folly debate to a dear friend, and he calmly responded, almost off-hand, “Well I don’t think the devil tempts us into something that’s going to glorify God.” Wow, of course! I was thunderstruck with the simple truth of that theology.
➡️I definitely wasn’t intentionally setting out to be foolish or fiscally irresponsible. I know with an eternal certainty that God brought Bethesda Workshops into existence and called me to be God’s voice and hands and heart and feet through this healing ministry. All of my being wants to honor God, which is one of the most precious gifts of transformation.
➡️I remembered a spiritual proclamation that had rocked my entire perspective 25 years ago when I was first entering recovery. Another dear friend had gently assured that God doesn’t measure us with the yardstick of success or failure. God isn’t nearly as concerned with the outcome of some specific decision as much as God longs to be welcomed as the central One in the process of our lives. There isn’t a “wrong” choice if our heart’s desire is to be connected with God in a deeply personal relationship of grace and trust. When that is the path, either fork will take you to the right destination.