I was responding to Betty Boop's statement,
The point is: In what does any given person believe? And how closely does it dovetail with, or correspond with, the actual Reality that we commonly perceive, in which we actually exist?....If a person has "faith" in the idea that we live in a random, chancy universe, I would describe that situation as a very "low-quality" belief. For it doesn't really explain anything.It seemed to me that if someone had "faith" in the idea that we lived in a chancy universe, and if we did in fact live in a chancy universe, then that belief would correspond with actual Reality. In which case it does not make sense to me to label it a low-quality belief just because it doesn't explain anything--there's nothing to explain!
Here, you arrive at the point of Betty, met mom, and myself. This is that you have faith that we do not yet have the knowledge to explain things, YET. This is your, and all metaphysical naturalists, article of faith.
Respectfully, I think you're wrong. What I said was that I wasn't sure that we know everything we need to know about the laws of nature in order to confidently label some things as transcending those laws. That is not at all the same thing as saying I'm sure we will eventually know enough about the laws of nature to rule out the transcendent.
But your leap to that conclusion has suggested to me one of the problems in communication here. You (and perhaps betty boop and metmom, though they haven't confirmed that you speak for them) have placed your faith (in Christ?) in a central role in your life. It underlies your perception and interpretation of the world. So you assume that everyone else must have faith in something occupying a similar role in their life. And if their interpretation of the world differs from yours, you assume it must be due to whatever you've decided their faith is. But those are incorrect assumptions piled on top of incorrect assumptions.
Actually, as I read TS's posts, he does speak for me.
That said, you are partially correct. I have put my faith in Christ. However, that is not the reason why I believe that everyone puts their faith in something.
Everyone DOES put their faith in something. It's not a matter of *if* they have faith, but what their faith is in.
Everyone has something they consider to be reliable and trustworthy, reliable and trustworthy enough to influence their decision making and life choices. To hang their hat on, so to speak.
For some it's religion, for some it's science, for some it's themselves, whatever. There is a belief in the system or object as being of inherent value and constancy, enough to feel that they can count on it to be dependable for the future.