If there is no faith, what will happen to mankind?

I. Belief and Belief What Zhou Jianming pointed out in the article "What Do We Believe" that humanity is the value of human beings, faith is the ultimate value of human beings, what is the way to realize the ultimate value, and religious belief is the ultimate value of human beings with the purpose of transcending human nature (God). Animals only have the survival and competition of the jungle, and there is no belief problem, or animals have no humanity, no human values, only animal instinct. This is what the so-called "law of the jungle" says. It is based on this that a philosopher once said that people without faith are like wild animals. For China people, whether they have religious beliefs has never been a problem. The Confucian tradition is to stay away from ghosts and gods. Confucius has such a famous saying: "Fan Chi asked about knowledge, and Confucius said,' Serving the people and staying away from ghosts and gods can be described as knowledge'" (The Analects of Confucius Yong Ye); Another "Lu Ji asked ghosts and gods, and Confucius said,' If you can't convince people, how can you convince ghosts?' "(Advanced Analects of Confucius) This means that Confucius put forward that ghosts and gods should not be despised and inaccessible on the premise of acknowledging the existence of ghosts and gods, which is consistent with his attitude of emphasizing that personnel precede ghosts and gods in daily life and social activities. Zhu, a philosopher in the Southern Song Dynasty, commented: "Focusing on what is suitable for human beings is not the unknowable of ghosts and gods, but what is known. "But for westerners, whether there is religious belief has almost a decisive influence on a person. If a person claims that he has no faith, you may be considered a dangerous person. In the western cultural environment, a person without faith must be a person without spiritual constraints, so it is difficult to trust. Belief, commonly understood by westerners, refers to a certain religious belief, which is synonymous with religion. Different religions have different beliefs. Especially for Christianity, as the mainstream culture and religion in the west, faith is a belief in the sense of Christian theology and western religious philosophy. They believe that unbelief means no faith, and atheists are people without faith. In order to avoid this embarrassment, unbelievers often call themselves deists or deists. Religious belief is based on the worship of nature or God. The essence of religion is to exclude rationality and achieve wholehearted and unconditional belief without any reason. Political belief is not a religion, but based on a certain scientific analysis. Believing in communism is a kind of "belief" which is realistic and inseparable from reason, and is called "political belief". Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, most of us have received atheism education, and under the leadership of * * *, we have taken the socialist road and moved towards an infinitely beautiful communist society. This is a vision and a belief. * * * party member and Party cadres must swear to believe in communism and fight for it for life. As for before the founding of the Republic, under the leadership of * * * *, millions of working people fought bloody battles with the Kuomintang dictatorship and foreign invaders, and even more * * * * members charged ahead and shed blood. These all come from the political belief in communism. Whether there is faith and what is faith are two different levels, and what is the expression or realization of faith. Believing in religion or God is only the difference between specific beliefs, and it is a question of what to believe rather than whether to believe or not. Not believing in religion in the name of God does not mean not believing. Political belief, such as belief in communism, is also a way to realize one's own value. The premise of the emergence and existence of religion is also the rationalization process of human beings. Therefore, even scientists or philosophers will have different ways and degrees of belief, which is not essentially different from ordinary farmers or street vendors, but only in different degrees and ways. It is at this point that faith reflects the most universal human values. People who have no faith or give up faith are terrible people. They only believe in power, money and animal instinct. Faith and awe make people change from animals to people, while lack of faith and giving up faith make people become animals. Second, China's "culturology"-on mind. There is a folk proverb in China that says: Respect God as yourself. This sentence draws an equal sign between faith and human nature, which can almost become a theological truth of China. Therefore, if we can confirm the consistency between faith and human value, faith is the ultimate value of individuals. The difference between belief and value is that belief is intuition rather than concept, and value is both intuition and concept, which we have fully understood in our own lives. According to Zhou Jianming's article, unlike the conflict between belief and reason in western culture, the consistency of human nature and reason ensures the internal consistency of China culture. It is neither a transcendental existence in an incomprehensible relationship nor a rational relationship, but an existence and identity in the mutual understanding of experience, understanding and thought and reason. The perceptual component and the rational component of China culture coexist, not coexist, and rational reflection and intuitive understanding are mutually confirmed, harmonious and unified. Heart is such a humanized, rational and cultural existence state, and the theory of heart is the core of "culturology" or "China philosophy" of China traditional culture. "Heart" is the richest cultural expression in human culture, and it is also the most explanatory cultural concept. Whether in China or in western culture, the concept of heart is the most ambiguous and intuitive. It has no clear true reference and is often used to express thoughts, consciousness, will, emotions, attitudes and even personality. Except in certain circumstances, it does not really refer to important parts of the human body, such as the heart and chest, but refers to the core of human physical fitness, such as "ambitious" and "diligent in thinking", which are the most vivid expressions of this meaning; On the other hand, it does not refer to the specific head, brain and nerve, but broadly represents thought, reason and mind; It is not any specific feeling, but the driving force of all emotions. Today, the word "love" can almost be regarded as a synonym for human nature. The difference in understanding of "heart" between Chinese and western cultures lies not in its general use, but in its basic cultural and academic significance. In western academic circles, there is no such broad psychological theory, and even psychology is a clinical or social investigation discipline aimed at specific individuals or groups. The "heart" in China's traditional culture is a specialized knowledge with clear academic research scope and extensive social practice content. The theory of mind and nature in China's traditional culture is an academic and practical cultural phenomenon that can stand on its own feet outside all western academics. This position is just like Chinese medicine to western medicine. Western traditional scholarship cannot be tolerated, overcome or denied. On the contrary, what it brings to western academic circles is the cultural significance to the whole mankind. The theory of mind and nature is regarded as the essence of Confucian culture. Because of the unity of mind and socialization, such a mind is also the conscience of social significance. Because the nature of mind is the rationalization of human nature, and the human heart becomes a conscience, which is the main theme of the theory of nature of mind. Therefore, "destiny refers to nature, temperament refers to the way, and cultivation refers to teaching." "The golden mean", "Go all out" (Mencius), "Go all out" (Book of Changes) and "Go all out" (The golden mean) all explain the same essential process in different ways. Paying attention to the inner aspect of the mind is not only Confucianism, but also foreign and local religions rooted in China culture and with China characteristics. For example, the theory of mind and nature of Buddhism and Taoism is basically the same as that of Confucianism, and the so-called integration of the three religions has become China theology with rich principles and significance. Similarly, foreign Marxist philosophy rooted in China's culture has acquired China characteristics on this basis. There are obvious differences between the theory of mind and nature and western academic, religious and theological studies. First, the process of mind is not equal to or can not be reduced to psychological process, so it is not empirical science, but this does not hinder the absorption of mind, digestive psychology and psychoanalysis; Secondly, the mind is a rational socialization process of human beings, not a transcendental process of human nature. It is both free and self-disciplined, so it does not need a transcendental God, so it is completely different from religion and theology, but this will not hinder its profound understanding of human nature in theology. Third, the mind is the internal unity of human nature's rationalization and a realistic cultural process. In China culture, humanity, rationality and ethics are cultural consistency; In western culture, science and humanities, reason and belief always conflict, and human value can only be realized in a separate way. It is not that there is no similar study of "mind" in western culture, but that there is no or no convergence into a special theory and clear academic concept. In the field of philosophy, many philosophers pursue this ghost in various forms. The main idea in China's philosophy is similar to the exploration of "intellectual intuition" in western philosophy. China's theory of mind and nature focuses on rational understanding of human heart, so rationality and psychology are consistent in process; But in western academic circles, rationality and psychology are completely different fields, and it is incomprehensible to combine them. The interpretation of the mind is the understanding and proof of human nature, which is realized through human's own value. On the one hand, it is concrete, so Confucianism pays attention to the life in the world instead of pursuing transcendentalism. " I don't know life, I don't know death "and" I can't serve people, I can't serve ghosts "(Advanced Analects of Confucius). This attitude of Confucius has real Confucian significance. Confucianism naturally values life and kills far away, even "the body is fur, and parents dare not damage it" (filial piety). On the other hand, the value of human nature is also rational, and human value is human enlightenment or rationalization, so rationality has become the ultimate value; In this way, "sacrifice one's life for righteousness" and "conscience of heaven and earth" have become the ultimate meaning of life. This is the highest realization form of the unity of human nature and reason, which contains the ultimate pursuit of objective truth. Therefore, if logic is the way to achieve objective truth, then logic and objectivity naturally become a matter of course in China culture. To sum up, science has never been a factor of cultural conflict in China culture, and modern science is the bane of social and cultural backwardness. The rational essence contained in Confucian culture is the source of power for Confucianism to move towards modernization, positivism and science today. It is wrong to regard the backwardness of social culture as the essence of culture or the temperament of national culture. This misunderstanding has existed from the May 4th period to today, which is not only the misunderstanding of some China people themselves, but also the misunderstanding of some foreign scholars who have studied China culture in history. For example, "arrogance, servility, hatred, selfishness, dishonesty, deception, conservatism, stubbornness, snobbery, nepotism, empty talk about the past, unrealistic, narrow-minded, short-sighted and naive" are all regarded as China's "national inferiority". On the surface, although these things are individual behaviors, they are not individual behaviors, so they are a kind of social diseases. The above-mentioned social diseases in China are social and formed because of the relatively backward social environment, system and material conditions. "Warehouse know etiquette, food and clothing know honor and disgrace. "(tube) the rapid changes in people's mental outlook due to the improvement of material conditions can be realized within one's life or one or two generations; Just as the backwardness of science and technology can be caught up quickly after the improvement of the institutional environment, these are facts rather than inferences and assumptions, which is undoubtedly proved by the great changes that have taken place in the whole society of China in the past 20 years. As for the blockade and suppression of China's science and technology by feudal autocracy, it is beyond the scope of this article. China traditional culture is the historical and realistic cultural environment of China people in the cultural sense, so the belief of China people is an innate cultural tradition. The value of rational meaning is the source of power for the modernization of traditional culture in China, and it is also the channel for Confucianism to become scientific and global. Three. On the Crisis of Faith President Hu Jintao recently raised the issue of the crisis of faith, which attracted the attention of some scholars. Well-known scholars such as Cheng Enfu and Fan Liqun published special articles. To discuss the crisis of faith, we should first divide it into two levels: the crisis of faith of the party or the crisis of faith of the society. If there is a crisis of faith within the whole * * *, it is only a partisan issue; If there is a crisis of faith in the whole society, it is the problem of the whole society. Scholars believe that the crisis of faith in China today not only occurs within the Party, but also spreads throughout the whole society. Professor Cheng Enfu, dean of the Marxist Institute of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics and vice-president of the China Society for the History of Foreign Economic Theories, said that there is a saying in western countries that people without faith are prone to make mistakes and even commit crimes. This is also the reason why westerners consciously or unconsciously believe in religion. In socialist China, where atheism is dominant, the ruling party puts faith first when grasping this issue. To ensure that this party always represents the interests of the broad masses of the people, we must have a focus of faith and theory, that is, the direction of socialist faith, rather than selfish individualism with both capitalist profit-seeking spirit and communist spirit of sharing wealth. For the whole society, the ruling party should try its best to influence the whole society with its own beliefs, both mainstream beliefs and a certain degree of freedom of belief. For China, the biggest problem is how to solve the conflicts among various faiths, so that faiths can become true beliefs instead of superstitions, and all faiths can coexist peacefully and in parallel, thus building a tolerant and harmonious society. The ruling party should deeply reflect on the educational propaganda in recent years, and how not to turn faith into superstition and indoctrination? How to avoid dogmatic education and turn faith into voluntary behavior? Chen, president of China Academy of Social Sciences, said in an article published in People's Daily: "Of course, there are many reasons for CPSU's fall from power and the disintegration of the Soviet Union, such as rigid system, lack of economic vitality, and mistakes in decision-making, but the collapse of spiritual beliefs and the confusion of the Party and the people under the impact of' Westernization' and bourgeois liberalization are more profound roots. "From the comparative perspective of economic and social development. For several years, there was a big gap between Chinese mainland and Hong Kong and Taiwan, between North Korea and South Korea, between East Germany and West Germany, and between the Soviet Union and the United States and Japan. So we mistakenly think that socialism is not as good as capitalism, and then we doubt Marxism. Especially after the transformation of socialist countries in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. From the perspective that existence determines consciousness and economic base determines superstructure. Many local governments sell and give away public enterprises, and the proportion of non-public ownership economy is increasing, which makes more and more people doubt the necessity of socialism with public ownership as the main body, think that China will gradually move towards the capitalist society with private ownership as the main body that the Soviet Union and Eastern European countries have reached, and then doubt the necessity of the long-term existence of Marxism. Hu Changqing, a corrupt official who has been sentenced to death, once told his son in the United States that socialism cannot go on, and I will go to the United States sooner or later. Chen Dui said, "After years of struggle, we have a clear understanding of dogmatism, and its influence on inner-party and social change is declining. The other is superstitious about the ideological theory of western developed countries that reflects the mainstream ideology of the bourgeoisie, and regards the theories of some western bourgeois schools and even the policy propositions of developed capitalist countries as dogmas. The influence of this tendency in the ideological field and economic and social changes is rising. This dogmatism has long been questioned by theoretical workers and warned by the party, but it has not aroused the due response from the ideological and theoretical circles and has not been seriously recognized. Some even regard it as the result of theoretical innovation and penetrate into ideological, political, economic and cultural education. " Under the impact of this trend of thought, it is not surprising that the party and the people are confused and the whole society has a crisis of faith. Long-standing problems such as official corruption, democratic system and power supervision have made some people doubt the system of "one-party leadership", and then doubt Marxism and socialism. In particular, the bad demonstration effect of corrupt officials on the people and the social belief reflected by the social ugliness that followed hindered the sustainable development of China's economy and polluted the public's spiritual environment, which cannot be overemphasized. Seeking truth from facts, making corruption less and less, democratic life inside and outside the party will be greatly improved, and efforts will be made to improve the power supervision mechanism, and the resulting social belief problems will naturally disappear. The crisis of faith has quietly come to the present, but it has been more than ten years; But the shadow it casts in our hearts is hard to disappear for a long time. Fourth, the crisis of faith is fiercer than the tiger. Faith is the ultimate value of a person and the spiritual pillar of a person. The crisis of faith has fundamentally changed some party cadres and even senior leading cadres. Hu Changqing said to his son who emigrated, "China will fail one day." "With two nationalities, there will be room in the future." To this end, Hu Changqing's whole family has got an alias ID card and a passport to go abroad for personal reasons, ready to leave the country at any sign. Li Zhen, who is known as the "first secretary of Hebei", bluntly said: "Once the country changes hands and everything is empty, it is better to be in power and make economic preparations as soon as possible." Zheng Xiaoyu, the former director of the State Drug Administration, who was executed not long ago, still felt that his death was unfair before being executed. He believed that his bad luck and the corruption of a large group of subordinates, including Cao Wenzhuang, who was sentenced to death with a reprieve, sent him to the guillotine. Unsupervised power is terrible power, and institutional defects provide room for the development of this absolute power. President Bush of the United States has a famous political saying: "In thousands of years of human history, the most precious thing is not dazzling technology, nor the classic works of vast masters, nor the extravagant talk of politicians, but the taming of rulers and the dream of keeping them in cages. Because only by taming them and locking them up can they not harm people. I'm standing in a cage talking to you now. " In other words, absolute power is cursed power, and their power from village director to head of state must be supervised and restrained, and iron fences should be installed for possible evil spaces. If you don't put a halter on the person in power, he may harm others and the people will never sleep. Almost all of these corrupt officials are highly educated and educated. Once their power loses supervision and their faith is abandoned under the temptation of desire, they become slaves of material desires and bloodthirsty tigers and wolves. On the one hand, after selling their souls cheaply, they become as greedy as animals; On the other hand, they are born with China traditional culture, but they can't get rid of it. They feel that what goes around comes around at any time, which also makes them sleepless. Praying for the blessing of the idle gods who don't distinguish right from wrong has naturally become a choice for them, a mental anesthetic. Hu Jianxue, the former party secretary of Tai 'an City, Shandong Province, who was given a suspended death sentence for corruption, heard from the fortune teller that he would be the vice premier of the State Council in the future, but he wanted to change the geomantic omen in Tai 'an, so he built a dam on the reservoir. Yan Wu, the former director of Tunchang Industrial and Commercial Bureau, was afraid of being investigated, so he installed eight "magic mirrors" under his roof according to his position, bluntly saying that this was aimed at the Commission for Discipline Inspection. Cong Fukui, the former executive vice governor of Hebei Province, who was sentenced to death in the final instance for corruption, changed from claiming to believe in communism to becoming a Buddhist disciple. The abbot of a temple told him that he was promoted in three steps: to be governor, to be secretary of the provincial party committee, and then to be promoted to the State Council. He was overjoyed, took the dharma name "Miaoquan" and set up a Buddhist temple at home, where he meditated, recited Buddha and burned incense every day. Donate money for the temple and print "Miao Quan, a disciple of Hebei Sanbao" on the car given to the abbot. The evil deeds of officials are also an example. There are a group of evil officials who lead by example in front, and a group of ordinary people who follow behind, that is, party member cadres and ordinary people in party member, who have become terrible beasts after losing their faith. Kidnapping, robbery and murder, drug abuse and prostitution, kidnapping of women and children ... all kinds of evils. In their view, following the example of corrupt government officials and party member cadres, their evil deeds seem to be taken for granted. This situation is not accidental. Before the May 4th Movement, almost all the beliefs of China people can be found in Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. After the May 4th Movement, traditional culture became synonymous with feudalism in China. Especially in the decade of Cultural Revolution, traditional culture was slaughtered and destroyed in an organized and planned way. As a symbol of feudalism, traditional culture was destroyed, and traditional moral beliefs, values and ideal pursuits also collapsed. When there is no new belief to fill this huge gap, many people cannot find the meaning and value of life. People without faith are terrible people and can do anything. Without faith, a person has no fear, no conscience of heaven and earth, no fear of retribution, and no fear of God three feet above the ground. He is a soulless person. How urgent it is to call for the return of China's traditional culture, belief and pursuit of truth, goodness and beauty! "I found a penny by the roadside and gave it to the police uncle ..." When will such a song ring in my ear again?