How many times have we heard that faith is a crutch for the weak and feeble minded? If you delve in the philosophical, you hear it often.
I love the way Thomas Doran over at Catholic World Report deals with the charge:
I once read an account of a student who challenged his teacher by stating that the teacher’s reliance on Christianity was a crutch. The teacher responded by admitting that Christ was his crutch, adding that he is a very good crutch, and then asking the student, “What is your crutch?”
One dictionary definition of crutch is, “Anything depended upon for support”.
As I’ve lived my own life, observed those around me, and read and heard about other lives, I have come to the conclusion that everyone has crutches, even those who project self-sufficiency. Some of these crutches are obvious; many are hidden from public view, with hidden crutches sometimes erupting into public scandals.
The question is not whether a person has a crutch, but whether this crutch is constructed of straw, of false hardwood, or of genuine hardwood.
Some crutches are known to be made of straw, even though many continue to rely on them: alcohol or food in excess; drugs; sexual compulsions and obsessions; greed to possess things and status; a long list.
Many insist they have no crutches. Often, atheists who reject belief in the existence of God claim that science and reason are their sole guides. These too are crutches. So, are they good crutches?
Other crutches on which people rely include the prominent “isms”: communism, nationalism, socialism, capitalism, epicureanism, stoicism, even feminism as an end in itself. Passionate cases have been made for each of these political, economic, and/or philosophical systems.
The problem with reliance on these “isms”, and even science, is that they are subject to human limitations, including the pervasive concupiscence that muddles and corrupts our thinking.
...
Where can a reliable crutch be found, a crutch that is not subject to human limitations, the limitations of the physical universe, or mere expediency?
There's much more and the ending is worth the trip over. Check it out. Learn something.
And carry on.
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