An Essay on the Philosophy of Religion

by Russell Hasan

Overview

"What should it profit a man, if he gaineth the world, but loseth his own soul?" Mark 8:36.

Sometimes one gains the world, not by losing one's soul, but by keeping it.

This essay on the philosophy of religion makes the argument that, starting with Descartes, the Modern and Postmodern eras have been defined by the idea that it is always rational to doubt every possible doubt at all times, and that the hallmark of science is this omnipresent doubt, this sense that everything can be called into question and accused of any and every accusation and must always withstand the test of doubt and be attacked with any doubt at any time. The essay explains that to doubt something is to assert a condition of it, specifically, to assert a failure condition of it, to assert a condition under which it fails, and a thing, in a metaphysical sense, can be understood as nothing more than a set of conditions, which includes at a minimum a boundary condition which defines what is inside the thing and what is outside the thing, although a thing can have success conditions in addition to failure conditions.

The essay then argues for a surprising and controversial, yet perfectly rational, counterargument: that it is not always rational to doubt any and every doubt, and that, for a specific situation, there can be a set of doubts which it is irrational to doubt and which it is rational not to assert. Specific examples are given of times and places where doubt is deeply and profoundly irrational, ranging from math, to sports, to communication. Defining "faith" as the absence of doubt or as the choice not to doubt, the essay then ties up the two ends and connects them in a logical way, proving that, if sometimes it is rational not to doubt, and if faith is the choice not to doubt, then, at least some of the time, faith is rational. To the extent that faith is rational, the essay challenges the orthodox notion that faith and reason are in conflict or that religion and science contradict each other, and the essay argues that no conflict exists. But the essay then ties this concept of faith into the broader Judeo-Christian narrative of religion, showing how faith, when understood in this rational and logical way, can lead to faith in God. The essay is a self-help book to the extent that it explains having faith in yourself as the choice not to doubt yourself and not to assert failure conditions of yourself, but here, too, it is religious, and shows how and why self-confidence should be grounded in faith in God.

This book is a must-read for anyone interested in theology, religion, or philosophy!

Product Details

BN ID:	2940180865182
Publisher:	Russell Hasan
Publication date:	04/25/2025
Sold by:	Draft2Digital
Format:	eBook
File size:	233 KB

About the Author

Russell Hasan was born the son of a white Jewish mother and a dark-skinned Muslim father—and that isn't the strangest thing about him. His father had ties to the mafia—nope, not the weirdest thing about him. He thought he was a gay man for many years before realizing he is agender asexual—relatively normal compared to what truly makes him strange. Do you want to know what the weirdest, strangest thing about Russell is?

He's a WRITER.

Yes, that's right. He writes. Why? How? Why would he want to do that to himself? How could he allow this to happen to himself? He is still trying to figure that one out. Therapy can cure lots of things and alcohol and drugs can cure other things, but the only cure for being a writer is to write, so he writes. He's not into BDSM, yet for some reason he has chosen to punish himself by having a passion for writing and a need to write. Despite having made the huge mistake of choosing to be a writer, his books have sold over 10,000 copies, so perhaps it was not the worst mistake he ever made after all. He does not have one particular bestseller but has instead spread those 10,000 sales across many books he wrote. His magical journey of self-torture begins when he has the idea for a new book, and then continues when he wakes up at 6am to write from 6am to 8am before work every day (he has a day job—he's not insane! His day job is being a lawyer, the most boring, evil job in the world, by the way), and, after many cups of Starbucks matcha tea and Coca Cola (never Pepsi—yuck!) he somehow puts words onto a page. He has written 30 books, both nonfiction and fiction, but, as something of a twist on the traditional successful indie author model, he is known more for his indie nonfiction, not his fiction. But he does write fiction. Some of his fiction is good too, probably, he hopes.