Rufus doesn't say you shouldn't have beliefs. He just says it's better to have ideas because ideas can be changed a lot more easily than beliefs can.
This is in direct answer to the question "so we shouldn't have beliefs"? So it sounds a lot like a qualified "no".
This is dropping the anvil on the concept of Papal infallibility and that man's understanding of God must change as society moves from the medieval to the "enlightened". As for Serendipity — it's expressed in pop cliche, but "Don't matter what faith you have, so long as you have faith" is basically to wear the fundamental concepts of one's religion — hope, love, and charity — in one's heart rather than pay them as lip service, that God prefers what your heart inclines you to do rather than what you formulaically do according to childhood drilling.
Well I don't know how it can be "basically" that if that's not remotely what she said. "doesn't matter what faith you have" sounds like there's no obligation to hold dear hope, love, or charity; one could just as easily be committed to the opposite. If she's implying that hope, love, and charity are in some way the fundamental concepts of Christianity, or other mainstream religions, I have serious doubts about that. And who says that those things are what my heart inclines me to do?
This is complementary to Rufus's suggestion it's better to have ideas rather than beliefs; that you pay more attention to your conscience and to the intent behind the words than the literal words themselves.
Wouldn't it still depend on what the words actually were? Different words have different intent, after all. Thus once again, it really does matter what you have faith in. I still say it's Fridge Logic.
Also, an actual moment of Fridge Brilliance — Serendipity is a muse. It's her job to inspire people, not work out the fine detail — she gets writer's block the moment she comes to Earth. So of course she's going to push inspiration and faith — because they're what she is."
Very Fridgy, since in that scene she's presented pretty much as an Author Avatar. But if you wanna pin her lack of clarity in words to her laid-inIdiot Ball, I suppose that could work.
Catholic dogma's a little more flexible than that. Per the Nicene Creed, the Church — a human agency — only acknowledges one baptism for the forgiveness of sins, but it also accepts God's grace is wider than that, and all things being possible to God, that a person of another faith nonetheless living a good life might still (at God's sole discretion) be saved. The Creed does not say that Catholicism is the only available path; it only says that it doesn't recognise any others, but that God is omnipotent and might choose to save someone even though they're not Catholic.
Hence the "or whatever". Pick your favorite my-way-or-the-highway religion, and tell me what's wrong with having faith in that, if "it doesn't matter what you have faith in, just that you have faith".
From Fridge main:
- Rufus doesn't say you shouldn't have beliefs. He just says it's better to have ideas because ideas can be changed a lot more easily than beliefs can.
- This is in direct answer to the question "so we shouldn't have beliefs"? So it sounds a lot like a qualified "no".
- This is dropping the anvil on the concept of Papal infallibility and that man's understanding of God must change as society moves from the medieval to the "enlightened". As for Serendipity — it's expressed in pop cliche, but "Don't matter what faith you have, so long as you have faith" is basically to wear the fundamental concepts of one's religion — hope, love, and charity — in one's heart rather than pay them as lip service, that God prefers what your heart inclines you to do rather than what you formulaically do according to childhood drilling.
- Well I don't know how it can be "basically" that if that's not remotely what she said. "doesn't matter what faith you have" sounds like there's no obligation to hold dear hope, love, or charity; one could just as easily be committed to the opposite. If she's implying that hope, love, and charity are in some way the fundamental concepts of Christianity, or other mainstream religions, I have serious doubts about that. And who says that those things are what my heart inclines me to do?
- This is complementary to Rufus's suggestion it's better to have ideas rather than beliefs; that you pay more attention to your conscience and to the intent behind the words than the literal words themselves.
- Wouldn't it still depend on what the words actually were? Different words have different intent, after all. Thus once again, it really does matter what you have faith in. I still say it's Fridge Logic.
- Also, an actual moment of Fridge Brilliance — Serendipity is a muse. It's her job to inspire people, not work out the fine detail — she gets writer's block the moment she comes to Earth. So of course she's going to push inspiration and faith — because they're what she is."
- Very Fridgy, since in that scene she's presented pretty much as an Author Avatar. But if you wanna pin her lack of clarity in words to her laid-in Idiot Ball, I suppose that could work.
- Catholic dogma's a little more flexible than that. Per the Nicene Creed, the Church — a human agency — only acknowledges one baptism for the forgiveness of sins, but it also accepts God's grace is wider than that, and all things being possible to God, that a person of another faith nonetheless living a good life might still (at God's sole discretion) be saved. The Creed does not say that Catholicism is the only available path; it only says that it doesn't recognise any others, but that God is omnipotent and might choose to save someone even though they're not Catholic.
- Hence the "or whatever". Pick your favorite my-way-or-the-highway religion, and tell me what's wrong with having faith in that, if "it doesn't matter what you have faith in, just that you have faith".
Edited by NimmerStill