This is a follow-up to my post in November 2022, The Belief In Your Mind - Sunday Orange Flow.
In Phillippe Petit's journey, he's defied limits and refused to be anchored by failure. Amidst Manhattan's morning rhythm, he experiences not a miracle but a harmony that resonates with his resolve. It's no act of serendipity. What was once mere trifles has now coalesced into this pinnacle of perfection.
Why do some people chase what might seem impossible?
What unique essence do these spirited souls possess?
As I journey further into life, I've come to understand that certain individuals harbor an unwavering conviction within their hearts. They are guided by an inner compass pointing toward their unique truth. It's clear Phillippe, too, carried this full faith and belief. That's not to say these people throw reason out the window, but the opposite.
I have personally struggled with beliefs that only come from the heart. I have wrestled with these steadfast internal beliefs. I've come to acknowledge that reason shares an equal seat at the table with faith. Thomas Aquinas, a strong voice in this discourse, championed the notion that faith and reason are not foes but complementary forces. He was a strong proponent of the idea that faith and reason are necessities in truth.
He saw reason as a tool to deepen understanding of the faith. However, he also understood that not everything can be comprehended by human reason and, in these instances, the heart's belief is vital.
Who was Thomas Aquinas?
St Thomas Aquinas was a key figure in developing Christian theology, and his work on the relationship between faith and reason is especially notable. Aquinas saw faith and reason as two distinct but complementary ways of knowing. He argued that faith comes from divine revelation, from God revealing Himself to humans, while reason comes from natural human knowledge derived from our senses and experiences in the world. According to Aquinas, both are necessary for a complete understanding of truth.
Aquinas often used the metaphor of a two-story building to illustrate this concept. The lower level, accessible to all, is the world of reason and empirical observation. The upper level is the world of faith, only accessible through God's revelation. The stairway connecting these two floors is the philosophical reasoning that allows us to understand and interpret the divine revelations.
There's definitely an inherent beauty to this interplay between faith and reason. This philosophy gracefully bridges the divide between intellectual reasoning and deeply-rooted internal belief. It especially holds relevance in our present-day "fiat" world. An emphasis on reason, objective truth, and the belief in faith offer a much-needed counterpoint to the prevalent waves of moral relativism and nihilism that I often navigate as a bitcoiner.
Nonetheless, I find no truth more profound than the inherent spark of divinity present in every individual I encounter, regardless of their belief in it.
“"The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.” - Michelangelo
