What's So Smart about That?

At lunch yesterday someone mentioned that she's smart and seemed impressed with herself. So I thought I'd try and see if that's really true. I told her that I need to ask her a few questions to see if that's true (from my perspective at least).

So I asked "Are you a Christian?"
Answer "Yes"

Question "So tell me why you believe in Christianity"
Answer "That's because I have faith in it"

Question "How did you get that faith"
Answer "That's because I spend time talking to God"

Question "That's it?"
Answer "Yes, that's all you need. Obviously you have not communicated with God before and do not have the faith in you"

I said "That's it? And you claim you are smart and that's all you need to believe in a religion?" The lady was obviously taken aback. And I told her that I know I was very blunt but I did that purposely to provoke her since she said that she is smart. The questions were meant to get her thinking about what thinking she had actually done on such an important matter. I asked if there is any smartness involved to say that one has the faith in something and therefore it must be right? Any Tom Dick and Harry could have done that! There's nothing smart about it.

Then yesterday evening I read a book with collection of articles contributed by various renown people as part of their views and hopes for the new millenium. In it was a letter contributed by a biologist who said it was intended for his 10 year old daughter. In the letter, he said that we should conduct ourselves based on rational thinking and not faith.

He asked how can faith be reliable if the faiths of a Mohammaden in an Arab country, a Catholic in Ireland and a Hindu in India are totally at odds with each other? How can all or any of them be right when their faiths which are no less stronger than the other's are in total conflict with each other? The biologist then proceeded to explain in the letter to his daughter that she should not believe all things passed down as tradition, revelation etc. as truth but needs to seek to understand the world around her better through rational thinking.