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1 " Only by having a sense of history's trajectory (even if one does not believe in Parousia) can one love earthly reality and believe—with charity—that there is still room for Hope. "
― Umberto Eco , Belief or Nonbelief?
2 " I'd be willing to bet that the notion of the end of time is more common today in the secular world than in the Christian. The Christian world makes it the object of meditation, but acts as if it may be projected into a dimension not measured by calendars. The secular world pretends to ignore the end of time, but is fundamentally obsessed by it. This is not a paradox, but a repetition of what transpired in the first thousand years of history.... I will remind readers that the idea of the end of time comes out of one of the most ambiguous passages of John's text, chapter 20...This approach, which isn't only Augustine's but also the Church Fathers' as a whole, casts History as a journey forward—a notion alien to the pagan world. Even Hegel and Marx are indebted to this fundamental idea, which Pierre Teilhard de Chardin pursued.Christianity invented History, and it is in fact a modern incarnation of the Antichrist that denounces History as a disease. It's possible that secular historicism has understood history as infinitely perfectible—so that tomorrow we improve upon today, always and without reservation... But the entire secular world is not of the ideological view that through history we understand how to look at the regression and folly of history itself. There is, nonetheless, an originally Christian view of history whenever the signpost of Hope on this road is followed. The simple knowledge of how to judge history and its horrors is fundamentally Christian, whether the speaker is Emmanuel Mounier on tragic optimism or Gramsci on pessimism of reason and optimism of will. "
3 " Is there a notion of hope (and of our responsibility to the future) that could be shared by believers and nonbelievers? What can it be based on now? Does an idea of the end, one that does not imply disinterest in the future but rather a constant examination of the errors of the past, have a critical function?If not, it would be perfectly all right to accept the approach of the end, even without thinking about it, sitting in front of our TV screens (in the shelter of our electronic fortifications), waiting for someone to entertain us while meantime things go however they go. And to hell with what will come. "
4 " نظرگاه دینی همیشه شیوه های آرمانی زیستن را عرضه می کند، در حالی که فرد غیر مذهبی زندگی آرمانی را در انتخاب آزاد می بیند، مادامی که این انتخاب، انتخاب آزاد دیگران را مخدوش نکند "
5 " امکان دارد انسان غیر مذهبی فکر کند شری که در خفا مرتکب می شود، نادیده می ماند. اما این را نیز به خاطر داشته باشید که اگر انسان غیر مذهبی فکر کند کسی از بالا مواظب او نیست، در عین حال درست به همین دلیل هم می داند کسی او را عفو نخواهد کرد....این شخص به مراتب بیش از دینداران امکان دارد بکوشد با اعتراف در حضور جمع خود را تطهیر کند. این شخص از دیگران طلب عفو خواهد کرد....و به همین دلیل پیشاپیش می داند باید دیگران را ببخشاید "
6 " i filosofi sono specializzati nel formulare domande di cui non conoscono le risposte, mentre un pastore d’anime è per definizione colui che ha sempre la risposta giusta. Fortunatamente "
7 " لن أكون موجود ولكني سأتركـ للآخرين قدوة، "لا أعتقد أنكـ ممن يفوتهم الإعجاب بالإيمان العميق لدى البعض باستمرارية الحياة وبالمعنى المطلق للواجب الذي حثهـ على هذهـ الإجابة. وهذا هو المعنى الذي دفع عدد من غير المؤمنين للموت تحت نير التعذيب من دون خيانة أصدقائهم، ودفع آخرين للإصابة بالطاعون في سبيل شفاء المصاب بهـ في بعض الأحيان الشيء الوحيد لذي يدفع الفيلسوف للتفلسف والكاتب للكتابة: أي ترك رسالة في زجاجة كي تتمكن الأفكار التي لا يؤمن بها أحد الآن أن تجد من يؤمن بها أو يستحسنها ممن سيأتي لاحقا إن عاجلاً أو أجلاً. "
8 " La iglesia no satisface expectativas, celebra misterios. "