Again, I am no special pleader for the faith precepts of the Church of LDS. Yet when it comes to judging the spiritual faith of otherwise decent and moral people — I have learned to judge not lest you be judged.

Why? Because as an article of faith, I believe the following words to be true:

quote:

I believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.

I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the Only Begotten Son of God,
born of the Father before all ages.
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation
he came down from heaven,
and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary,
and became man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate,
he suffered death and was buried,
and rose again on the third day
in accordance with the Scriptures.
He ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory
to judge the living and the dead
and his kingdom will have no end.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.

I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.
I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins
and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead
and the life of the world to come.

Amen.

Now, on a purely logical level, this is a wholly fantastical and preposterous proposition. However, I believe these words to be true as much as I believe that tomorrow will be Monday.

Now of course my faith devotion may periodically wane and wax based on the variances of life. Yet I return again and again to this creed and indeed find comfort in it during times of stress and tribulation.

What can possibly account for my steadfast belief in these words? I look to the philosopher Søren Kierkegaard for an explanation.

Kierkegaard’s concept of a “Leap of Faith” — a phrase which never appears in Kierkegaard’s writings yet perfectly captures Kierkegaard’s philosophy of faith — holds that religious faith is a blind leap over the chasm of logic, a close-your-eyes and suspend-your-mind moment, where, in the face of insufficient evidence, you must trust God to reveal himself to you.

Kierkegaard’s concept is based in his belief that rationalism, reason and empirical evidence alone can’t fully encapsulate the complexity of human existence. Such a commitment necessarily requires a willingness to realize that ambiguity is a component of faith, and likewise to accept the possibility that your belief system is wholly subjective and can’t objectively be proven to be true.

Kierkegaard’s “Leap of Faith” thus represents a radical commitment to an idea, regardless of whether or not it can be rationally or empirically proven. Kierkegaard’s critique of rationalism and his embracement of subjectivism means then that uncertainty is a necessary component of all faiths.

This post was edited on 1/14/24 at 7:01 pm