From Opinion to Faith What is Opinion?

Cant have opinion on things youre intimate with o Experience is so rich o Cant encapsulate it in a few words Reflect on how opinion develop (ex: stereotypes) P. 123-124 (reflects on structure of Opinion) Something that starts as an impression which turns into a claim (Impression maintenance depersonalized Claim) o Impression is not an opinion o Maintenance something that can be backed up Something that is asserted (reason to believe o Opinion when it becomes depersonalized o Depersonalized Claim Removing the I from the sentence Assuming that it is something everyone believes This occurs because of an absence of reflection Opinion Tends to act like an organism picking which information supports it and dismisses claims that destroy it. (Self affirming character of opinion) Gives example of political opinion o Can have opinion and not opinion o Actually are sincere (factual rather than opinion) o But some parts are still at the level of opinion Perhaps commitment and opinion are mutually exclusive Opinion experience of distance Opinions are maintained when distance is maintained Religious Opinion p.121 part of my metal furniture, nothing more

o It is not evolving anymore to the extent that I live my belief, it is in no way an opinion represents it to his mind but does not live it external to me Commitment to God o Prayer, challenge something central to your life, seeking to know God better Religious Opinion o Does not transform your life o Does not push you to have a relationship with God p. 129-130 Atheism as Religious Opinion God does not exist Suppose God is all powerful, all knowing, all good o Existence of Evil At the heart of all arguments is a definition of God o opinion about how God should exist w/o knowing him o Against an Idea of God rather than God itself Two Arguments If he exits I should have an experience of God If God exists then there wouldnt be bad things o Presupposition of knowing what God would do o When you think someone would do something in a certain situation it requires a bit of experience that someone has acted that way Conviction p.130 A limit, an end, a bar that has been drawn The inalterability of Conviction Ex: Politics There has been an attempt to ground it in empirical data but like opinion stops developing Everything is past anything from the future is treated as past Anticipated past, projecting ideas p.131 Something dishonest: Conviction

2 possible reasons I have considered all and I conclude o Impossible: no one can know everything I affirm there are objections but they wont shake my convictions o Dishonest why wouldnt you want a better understanding? o p.133: either I am delusional or I am choosing to believe this lie I can only say that with what I know now, I can conclude that Religious Conviction they treat it as the final and fixed version of religion limiting to what something is *Authentic faith and truth are not mutually exclusive a relationship (distance and closeness bad for relationship)

p. 135 Surrender of oneself If belief is without conviction isnt it a bit relative? Rather than conviction/certainty belief is based on trust Purely phenomenological not interested in deciding if God exists but discusses on what a believer goes through (very subjective) X is a thou x can respond p.135 Belief is also an experience of being disappointed 2 implications 1) Vulnerability to someone increase trust a. Level of trust b. Certain dept st I too am destroyed if my image of the X is destroyed 2) The fact that I am disappointed presupposed an assumption of how X should act (an opinion or conviction) a. Challenge of how one should react b. Leads to a pure faith

Belief not just a certain set of beliefs without conviction, is belief not realistic? Temporal difference between conviction and belief Faith becoming a unconditionality o Authentic Belief being open, growth o Even if X isnt what I thought it would be I will expand p. 134 my love to encompass the thou Clarifying terminology Believing in (not believing that) metaphor of credit Love and Faith likens it to marriage assurance based on trust between Creditor and Creditee There is possibility for unconditional love of creature for I am the person who is trusting (the bank) creature perhaps how is faith itself o I am lending myself to God or this x (fully or not) an invincible assurance bared on being itself o Trusting that this self will be returned to you o Allowing our worlds to be dictated to him Implies purification of Opinion Faith o Gives up his freedom because he trusts Growing of faith to unconditionality Not an Idea but a relationship the x can only be a thou not a thing Faith in science: an assurance (faith in scientist)