My brain gets overly philosophical at times, and I spend periods of time "pondering the big picture". The latest grist for the millstones in my mind is a quote from the irrepressible ilonina in her entry last Friday:
One reason I started a master�s in philosophy was in order to give me a set of intellectually adequate tools to think about God; three years on, I have those tools and many more, but instead of allowing me to approach God, they�ve sent me hurtling into a cold realm of sceptical criticism, warmed by my still-faintly-glowing faith in the supreme value of friendship.
My dislike for my tendency to philosophize and my response to her quote go hand in hand: intellect in itself is a lousy way to try to comprehend anything relating to God or the nature of existense. The possibilities for getting lost in thickets of ideas are endless and logic is useless for clearing away the ideological brambles. For example, what is the nature of God? Well, in spite of the fact that the Hebrew Bible says that God created humans in his/her/its image, God is obviously not human. That's about the only tool that logic can provide. Reason and logic cannot even provide us with a firm proof for God's existence... much less any other proof concerning the true nature of existence.
No, I tend to think that life should simply be experienced. Reason and religion are merely useful for sharpening our perceptive abilities in order to better understand what happens to us. Alas, puzzling thoughts only get in the way and distract.
In the hope of distracting myself from these distractions, I am listening to the blues. Currently, it is The Blue Rider Trio. Soon, it shall be some Son House or Ray Charles. I think those will do nicely, thank you very much.
said drgeek
on 2004-05-25 at 11:26 a.m.
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