Greetings to all--and a special welcome to students enrolled in RS 110 at Marymount Manhattan College, a course called Faith and Doubt.
It seems fitting to start a discussion about the status of religious belief on September 11. For many, the events of eight years ago today utterly and in some cases irreparably shattered their faith. Others returned to religion or found their faith strengthened in the face of inexplicable tragedy. The excellent documentary "Faith and Doubt at Ground Zero" encapsulates this dichotomy with a moving 9/11 legend: As the situation grew impossible on the upper floors and people started jumping from the building, it is reported that two people, probably two strangers, were seen grasping hands and jumping together. The question: Were they seeking solidarity with each other, because they knew at that moment that they were utterly alone--no God, no heaven, no meaning? Or were those clasped hands a symbol of abiding faith in something beyond them--almost like hands clasped in prayer?
Big themes, big ideas. Difficult ones. Let me leave this with some more prosaic questions for possible discussion: Who would you identify as the great doubters in history? And who were the most faithful? Are faith and doubt stark opposites, two radically different operations in human consciousness? Or is there some connection or relationship between them?
I remember watching that moment live on television in my 9th grade history class--the hands clasped together, jumping into the unknown. It's interesting that you bring this up because at the time, the thought of a religious moment never crossed my mind. You could hear the people observing from the ground screaming, "Why are they doing this?" They couldn't understand why someone would want to end their life. I know if I were there, my biggest fear would be that I was alone, away from the ones that I love so dearly. I would never get the chance to say goodbye.
ReplyDeleteMaybe one was a co-worker the other never talked to but always saw around the office. Maybe in that final moment, this one person extended their hand to the other and said everything was going to be OK. Maybe they hugged and talked about their loved ones and what was going to happen next. Maybe they both decided that they wanted to take control of their fate and not let someone else decide for them. Then they walked over to the window, opened it, looked out, took a breath, and leapt.
While they both could have been in a.) an isolating final moment, realizing that there was no higher power to save them, or b.) in a relaxed state, believing that something from the beyond was going to protect them; I believe that they weren't sure what was going to happen next which, is absolutely terrifying. If everything was spelled out for us--there is an afterlife or there isn't--at least we would be prepared for our final hour. The fact is, as much as people profess their belief in one outcome or the other, we still don't know for certain what happens next. That's why it's called faith, and this was the ultimate leap of faith. Maybe one believed they would enter heaven and the other didn't, but for that final moment, they knew one thing for certain: they had each other. So they held on tightly and never let go.
In response to the above comment, I too remember sitting in my 9th grade English class watching the twin towers burn before my eyes. I had goose bumps from head to toe and the phones were down in NYC so I could not reach family members who worked in close proximity to the towers. As a spiritual person I turned to prayer and I put my faith to use...Thank G-d that evening I was able to reach my family and everyone was safe.
ReplyDeleteWatching those innocent people jump to their deaths was one of the scariest things I’ve ever witnessed. As far as the two strangers seen grasping hands before they jumped, I feel can be interpreted in several ways. The way I would describe it could be that they saw faith in one and other that by holding hands they would gain the strength they needed to jump and to not die alone. It was almost as if they confided in one and other. It’s also known to many that the power of touch can be very strong and maybe these individuals needed that feeling as a distraction to the pain and death surrounding them at that very moment.
I also remember September 11th in which i was sitting in class in middle school when i heard the news from a bunch of kids who rushed through the door. At first I didn't believe what they were saying and thought it was some kind of prank. In response to the above comment, I also turned to prayer and just watched the news with my family. I agree that the two strangers were both unaware as to what was going to happen but found comfort in each other. Looking back on that day, these two strangers grasping hands, proves that their particular religion was not as important as comming together to face the future. I believe that both faith and doubt are connected in which there can’t be one without the other. For instance those people jumping out of the buildings on September 11th must have had doubts about what was going to happen next, but that only made their faith stronger.
ReplyDeleteI was in 5th grade when the twin towers were struck. That day at school, they let all of the students and teachers out early. I was confused as to what was happening until i turned on the tv. I was in comeplete shock and disbeleif. As I watched, I prayed for the people in the buildings that day. I can't even imagine what it would be like to be in the towers, trapped with no other way to escape than to jump to my death. I think that people came together and held hands to jump came together because they didn't want to feel alone right before there death. No one has seen God in the modern world,God is not Tangible, so instead of jumping and hoping that god will be with them, they jumped and knew another human being with the same fears and emotions would be there, in the flesh.
ReplyDeleteAlthough the story of the two strangers is a new one to me, it does not surprise me at all. I think that at the end of the day humans just want to have contact with other humans. These two strangers knew that they were approaching death , and because of this , the things that normally separate and turn people against one another did not matter. All they saw when they looked at each other was another human who could offer them comfort during their last moments.
ReplyDelete*I believe that every person experiences periods of extreme doubt and extreme faith at some point throughout their life. Because the terms faith and doubt can apply outside of religion I think it would be impossible to prove otherwise. For example, someone might doubt that God exists as others do but they still have faith. They have faith in loved ones , faith in their talents etc.
I do believe that faith and doubt are related but only in the sense that they are opposite. We would not be able to understand the concept of faith if there was not something like doubt to define what it is not. I attended a Catholic school throughout both elementary and high school. Faith and doubt were reoccurring topics. I will always remember one of my teachers describing faith as "the absence of doubt."
I don't necessarily think the account of the two strangers ending their lives together has to be a question of faith or lack thereof. Like most have commented before me, it would seem that the two simply found comfort in one another during a horrifying experience and chose to die together rather than alone.
ReplyDeleteIn a way, their story could stand as a testament of humanity instead of religious faith. You could argue that if the two strangers believed in God and an afterlife they would not have needed to seek solace in each other. Personally, I would rather have faith in my fellow man than an entity in the sky.
Faith and doubt are connected by the fact that you cannot be sure of the things you either have faith in or are doubting. These types of opinions are founded on belief or instinct, maybe a few facts, but the conclusions themselves typically cannot be proven as fact.
In every history book, we learn that science disputed religion. In ancient eras, governments were led by religious authorities. These authorities-whether they be high priests, prophets, kings, czars, and the list goes on- held a respective belief in a "god" of some form, the formation of the earth, and their ideas of how the earth functions. Most citizens under these rulers followed with faith; others doubted. Those doubters were indeed shunned in one way or another. Case and point: when Galileo put his telescope to the sky he saw that the earth was not the center of the universe, disproving his religious authorities who said that "God" made the earth epicenter for a particular reason. With his scientific discoveries, Galileo was subject to excommunication.
ReplyDeleteFrom ancient times to now, it has always been that the people of faith are affiliated with a religion. I think it is important to point out that, in Galileo's case, he held a belief that went beyond faith to the point of certainty. Those who doubted were the authorities trying to hush his science with their outdated religious belief. I believe the real question is: How can someone who titles him/herself as a person of faith deny certainty in an instance of doubt?
Faith and Doubt, nonetheless, fall hand in hand. You cannot have one without the other. I believe it is a mere impossibility to put your faith on the line without having questioned, hence doubted, it beforehand. Without our instinct to doubt, we would not exist. (Example: the fire provides warmth-what is stopping us from putting our hand in it?) At the same time, without our gift of faith, what would be the point of life at all?
I, too, grew up in a Catholic community. I learned that faith was the ability to doubt, but the strength to believe instead. And believing in something with faith alone is out of my grasp.
I was in the 7th grade when September 11th happened. I remember the principal announcing over the intercom what had happen and a good hour later I remember parents starting to pull their kids out of school. I also believe the same thing as Victoria about the jumpers. They saw their lives coming to an end. Together they might have thought about all the good memories they had in their lives and the people were about to lose forever. They might have seen jumping as God's plan for them and how he might have wanted them to end their lives.They had faith that jumping was the way God might want them to end their lives and also how they might want to die. They didn't doubt whether or not they wanted to die another way.
ReplyDeleteIn response to the reading of Job in Mondays class:
ReplyDeleteYou can really learn a lot that way, it will change you in the middle of the day, though your confidence may be shattered, it dosen't matter.
- neil young, obviously.
The more I read Job the more I think it's highly disturbing: God's "bet" with Satan, the "comforters" who did nothing (positive) but attempt to prove Job guilty, God's response to Job (especially when He talks about the "mountain goats"),and the ending -- where Job's patriarchy and goods are restored and multiplied. We see the problem of evil in the Book of Job, but the ethical question about innocent suffering is almost trivialised by the happy fairytale-like ending. I wonder how the Book of Job made it into the Bible? What's the story supposed to convey?
ReplyDeleteIn response to Shantaya's post I too was raised within a "very" Catholic school environment and find that I would associate people with either having strong faith or an absence of doubt. What that means I am not completely sure but I do know that I can't put people in those categories anymore.
ReplyDeletePerhaps the people that held hands jumping out of the towers had some sort of revelation that they are going to lose their lives, but at least they were going together. They were venturing into the unknown afterlife. That must have been a sense of comfort for them. I'm not going alone. I will never be able to even conceive what was going through their minds.
They had faith/doubt that September 11, 2001 was the worst day of their life.
A comment for Emily F.: Galileo was not the first to profess the sun as the center of the universe, it was Copernicus. Galileo strongly pressed his agreement with the ideas of Copernicus, which was opposed to that of the Church's geocentric model. And it turns out that the sun is of course not the center of the universe either. Galileo Galilei was a devout Catholic. He had a personal relationship with the Catholic Cardinal that would become Pope at the time of Galileo's publications. His exploitation of the relationship and a severe miscommunication led to Galileo's arrest, trail and recantation. Galileo's house arrest was a complicated scenario and a complicated time for the Catholic Church. My point is that Galileo was not a doubter, but rather a seeker of truth.
ReplyDeleteI would argue Nietzsche as a doubter and one who questioned the Judeo-Christian God. As for believer, there are many. Prof. Herling asks, are doubters and faithfuls diametrically different. My contention is no. By being the "extremes" they can be seen together as strong believers in their arena. I would argue the critical mass of the population falls in the middle ground, those who believe and doubt, those who follow many of the tenets, yet doubt the blind following that some faiths entail. Without doubt, how can one aspire to be completely faithful?
It is my belief that everyone enters and exits the world alone. Despite one's faith or lack there of, leaping to ones death (under these circumstances) would be one of the scariest most horrific ways to end one's life. Wouldn't it only be a"Human" response for a person to reach out to another person? Clasping hands with a stranger and trying to make a connection with another individual during those final moments would help them feel as if they didn't have to face death alone.
ReplyDeleteI remember everything that I did on that day. When my mom picked me up from school, she didnt say a word to me in the car. I knew something was wrong. I didnt ask any questions because I knew I would find out eventually. We went to my aunts house which was only 5 minutes away from my school. When we walked inside, most of my family was sitting in the living room with their eves fixated on the TV screen. I hadnt even looked at the TV yet, but when I did, the first image I saw on the news were people jumping. I thought it was a mass suicide. I thought people set bombs off, i thought people set a fire, i thought it was fake. I saw people jump to their deaths even before I saw the planes hit the towers. I remember seeing the news for over an hour of the same things happening. To this day i cannot get those live images out of my head.
ReplyDeleteIt is hard for me to openly talk about that day. It is something that i dont think i will ever be able to wrap my mind around. None of my questions have been answered and those of us who are still left here on this earth after that day will never know what really happened.
With that said, I agree completely with the first response that peter left. It seems the most logical. The people decided to jump, and they did what they had to do. That act right there is an act of faith in human choice. Nothing else.
The fear i experienced during that horrific event,will never be forgotten! I couldn't believe that this was taking place in the USA. Watching those people holding hands jumping out from windows was inconceivable. I was wondering what was actually running through their minds while plunging to their deaths.The need to hold onto someone at a time like that is completely a natural instinct.Im sure they closed their eyes and prayed to land in heaven.
ReplyDeleteI would hold on to someone if I were the one jumping. I wouldn't have the courage to do it alone, and the thought of that puts a lump in my throat. The panic they must have been going through, that by itself would be incredibly painful, all the uncertainty , but then to think about jumping to your death without anyone there to be beside you.... ughh. I can't imagine. I don't know if it has to do with faith in God, sadly enough, I must admit that God wouldn't be on my mind in my final moments. I would only be thinking about everyone I love. I would need someone to jump with me, just to have a person, a relationship or something with me right before I was about to die.
ReplyDeleteLooking at the footage from the documentary, I cant believe how the imagery can remain so hauntingly in my brain. I myself wonder what I would have done if I had been in the building that day. Would I have jumped, or would I have thought of an alternate route through the debris that remained of the building.
ReplyDeleteIts a horrible thought to think, but I suppose I would have jumped. I think it has nothing to do with heaven or God. It is merely a sense of closure for your conscience.