Letters to the Editor

Editors’ Note:
[Eds: Letters to the editor are only edited for considerations of length and standards of good taste. Nothing else in this letter has been altered.]

Re: Letter to the Editor by Jimmy Vallarta, March 23, 2007

Before I begin, I will state that this response will not reference the Bible or any other articles of Faith because they are impossible to prove or disprove.

I agree that there are problems with the idea that “whatever makes you happy” is the right thing to do. If I were to say it, I would change it to “whatever makes you happy, provided it harms no one else.” Whatever makes you happy may kill you, and is the cause of death of many people. People drink, smoke, eat fast food, drive over the speed limit, fight fires, climb trees, use heroin, and join the army. These things make people happy and are all risky things to do. I’ve done five of the eight above…Try to guess which ones.

The Truth is that there are many Faiths in the world, and most are leading to a common goal. Jesus can be seen in two ways. History books say that he was a man that lived around 2000 years ago and some Faiths say that he is the Son of God, just as some Faiths say that Muhammad is God’s final prophet. These Faiths are neither Truths nor Lies. Likewise, it is impossible to disprove that Hell is the destination for nonbelievers. It is also impossible to prove it.

This campus is not a dark and scary place. We live in a society where as long as no laws are broken, ideas and actions that offend people are tolerated. Laws are what a society puts into place to protect its citizens, while Faiths tell their followers the differences between right and wrong. The distinction between right and wrong differs for everyone. On this campus, if you are at least 21 years old, you can drink. You can drink as much as you want, provided you don’t harm or disturb anyone or their property. No one can say whether it’s right or wrong. They can only say if you are violating the rules or not. Many Faiths consider premarital sex a sin and tell you it’s wrong. Provided the sex is consensual, with no one under the age of 18, and not in public, it is perfectly legal. I can’t say if it is right or wrong. That is for each individual to judge.

“His Word” can never legitimately be taught as Truth, because it is Faith. It will always be Faith no matter what scare tactic is used to convince people otherwise. History teaches us facts and opinions through descriptions of events. History cannot be considered to be the complete and accurate Truth because it is distorted with time. The history of World War II is going to be much more accurate today than the history of the Trojan War. Truth can only be found in the present. For example, right now I am in my room typing at my computer with a cup of coffee next to me. This is the Truth. If I were to give you a description of what I was doing an hour ago, I would be probably 99% accurate, but it would not be the Truth. Just as accuracy is lost traveling back in time, it is lost going forward in time, except it is lost much faster. I can accurately predict that in about ten minutes, I will make a trip to the bathroom because I drank too much coffee. Ten hours from now, I can give you an idea of what I will be doing, but I might be far off. Ten years from now…not a clue.

The Truth is that Truth only exists in the present. The rest is just Truthiness (Colbert), or some inaccurate, distorted, manipulated version of Truth, or the direct opposite of Truth: a Lie. Faith cannot be put in the category of Truth or Lie. It is neither. It exists in the mind of the individual. Like the individual, they are all unique.

Jimmy, I don’t think you are crazy. I don’t know of anyone on this campus that is crazy when it comes to Faith. The crazy Faithful do exist, but not here. The crazy Faithful bomb abortion clinics and fly planes into buildings. All that exists here is many people of different Faiths living with each other, choosing what to believe, and doing whatever makes them happy.

Jered Piepenbrink ‘07