Why be a solipsist

[Partinobodycula]

After sitting here for the last few days observing a number of the ongoing discussions on this forum, I cannot help but feel further justified in being a solipsist. There are just so many questions to which I simply have no way of knowing the answers. I don’t know if the order in the universe is proof of a Creator, or simply proof of the fortuitous nature of physics. I don’t know if I ultimately have free will, or if that too is an illusion, or even if it matters. I don’t know how much of what men believe is wisdom, how much is foolishness, and how much is simply the result of men’s insatiable need to explain the unexplainable.

Solipsism is just about being honest. It’s about me, in my heart of hearts, accepting the fact that there are things that I simply cannot know. It’s not the denial of truth, it’s the acceptance of truth. We can argue about whether this is true, or that is true, but in the end we’re arguing out of our own foolish pride, because none of us really knows. Once you can accept this one simple truth, then it becomes much, much easier to do that which the bible implores you to do…do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with thy God. You can do this because you realize that you’re no wiser, no smarter, and no more enlightened than anyone else. We’re only human. We believe what we choose to believe. And so in the end it’s not the inerrancy of our beliefs that matters, nor the fervency with which we defend them, but rather it’s about the humility with which we live them.

Live as if you’re to be judged by your compassion, and not by your wisdom. For in truth, you probably have very little of the latter. So little in fact, that you too might be a solipsist.

 

[Gorgias]

“Christian solipsist” is an oxymoron, though, isn’t it?

If you’re a solipsist, then you believe that you cannot know that anything truly exists outside of your own mind. Yet, if you’re a Christian solipsist, then you’re implicitly admitting that the man Jesus Christ exists. Therefore, you defeat your philosophical stance: by admitting that something outside of your own existence truly exists, you are asserting that you’re not a solipsist. QED.

(More to the point, however, the assertion “I don’t know the truth” doesn’t imply that there is no truth to be known. As a Christian, if you hold to orthodox beliefs, then you assert that God’s self-revelation exists in the Scriptures, in the words of Christ, and (if Catholic) in the apostolic teaching found in the Church. Therefore, there is a means by which truth may be known.)

 

[Bahman]

After sitting here for the last few days observing a number of the ongoing discussions on this forum, I cannot help but feel further justified in being a solipsist.

It is rather very good to read and not be unjust than be simple mind, read and believe.

There are just so many questions to which I simply have no way of knowing the answers. I don’t know if the order in the universe is proof of a Creator, or simply proof of the fortuitous nature of physics.

Oh well, there is no need for God intervention if God could create a world who could stand on itself. Let them be busy with nonsense argument. The question of beginning might be related something so called God. We might not need this concept at all whether we can find an answer to it. The truth is truth hence you cannot be Cristian solipsist.

I don’t know if I ultimately have free will, or if that too is an illusion, or even if it matters.

You of course have a free will. Materialism is impossible. I have a thread for this but I can argue it for you in simple manner. Let assume that materialism is correct. This means that matter, space and time are primary and any state of universe is related to another one by laws of nature. There is however a unique feature in this world-view so called consciousness. The very fact that we experience things. There is however a fantastic precision always between what we experience, what we wish to do, and what happen in outside world which make materialism impossible. Hence consciousness is very real and you have free will.

I don’t know how much of what men believe is wisdom, how much is foolishness, and how much is simply the result of men’s insatiable need to explain the unexplainable.

Wisdom never fools you about who you are and what you can do. That is foolishness.

Solipsism is just about being honest. It’s about me, in my heart of hearts, accepting the fact that there are things that I simply cannot know. It’s not the denial of truth, it’s the acceptance of truth. We can argue about whether this is true, or that is true, but in the end we’re arguing out of our own foolish pride, because none of us really knows. Once you can accept this one simple truth, then it becomes much, much easier to do that which the bible implores you to do…do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with thy God. You can do this because you realize that you’re no wiser, no smarter, and no more enlightened than anyone else. We’re only human. We believe what we choose to believe. And so in the end it’s not the inerrancy of our beliefs that matters, nor the fervency with which we defend them, but rather it’s about the humility with which we live them.

Live as if you’re to be judged by your compassion, and not by your wisdom. For in truth, you probably have very little of the latter. So little in fact, that you too might be a solipsist.

Hence you cannot be solipsist and Cristian at the same time. You have to pick up one, being honest with yourself or accepting a God you have no proof for it.

 

[Partinobodycula]

“Christian solipsist” is an oxymoron, though, isn’t it? If you’re a solipsist, then you believe that you cannot know that anything truly exists outside of your own mind.

Just as there are differences in beliefs among Christians, there are differences within solipsism as well. I’m what’s known as a “soft” solipsist. A hard solipsist believes in an absolute, that nothing exists outside of one’s own mind. A soft solipsist on the other hand simply believes that nothing can be known to exist, outside of one’s own mind. It’s not really a statement about the objectivity of what is, but rather it’s a statement about the limitations of what I as a conscious being can know. It’s more a statement about the nature of me, then it is about the nature of you.

Yet, if you’re a Christian solipsist, then you’re implicitly admitting that the man Jesus Christ exists.

In Christ, I accept an ideal to which I aspire. There are many things about Christ that I don’t know. That I can’t be certain of. But I don’t need to know the veracity of the stories to be inspired by them. I don’t need to have been there, and to have seen the nail scars in His hands to choose to emulate Him, and to pick up my cross and follow Him. What I cannot do however, is to judge you, based upon what I believe. I can only judge whether you’re compassionate, and humble, and merciful. And through these things I can judge whether Christ is in you, as He is in me. It doesn’t matter to me what you believe, it matters to me what you do.

(More to the point, however, the assertion “I don’t know the truth” doesn’t imply that there is no truth to be known.

This is true. I make no claims about there being an ultimate truth, only about my ability to find it. I’m human. I make mistakes. I accept this. And so I walk with the humility that such a nature merits.

As a Christian, if you hold to orthodox beliefs, then you assert that God’s self-revelation exists in the Scriptures, in the words of Christ, and (if Catholic) in the apostolic teaching found in the Church. Therefore, there is a means by which truth may be known.)

As a Christian I believe that there is within me the same mercy, the same compassion, and the same forgiveness that there was in Christ. And in this manner, I know Him. The things of Christ and of His word, of which I can be certain, are the things that I find in the best of me, and in the best of you. You may believe that are things of grave importance in every jot and every tittle, but I believe that the things of true importance are found in the spirit of the Word, and not so much in the letter of the words.

 

[pianistclare]

I never will believe that I can possibly know everything about God. To me, that is just vanity.
What I need to know, I can find in His church. In the Church I find His True Presence, the Eucharist, good and holy examples of how to live, the proper interpretation of the Scriptures, and the most charitable organization of all time.
You see, a lot of what you are seeking has already been done for us.
We only have to believe and accept on faith all the that God has revealed to us.
Some things He has not revealed. That’s ok by me. I can wait.
God bless.

 

[Partinobodycula]

We only have to believe and accept on faith all the that God has revealed to us.

I believe that we have to do far more than that. I believe that we have to test, and question, and examine, not only the beliefs of others, but with far greater diligence, we must examine our own. If you’re just as servile in accepting your beliefs, as others are in accepting theirs, then what difference is there between you and them? Of what greater merit is your faith?

In the words of Macbeth:

“It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury
Signifying nothing.”

The unquestioned belief is of little value, save only to mollify oneself.

 

[Linusthe2nd]

After sitting here for the last few days observing a number of the ongoing discussions on this forum, I cannot help but feel further justified in being a solipsist. There are just so many questions to which I simply have no way of knowing the answers. I don’t know if the order in the universe is proof of a Creator, or simply proof of the fortuitous nature of physics. I don’t know if I ultimately have free will, or if that too is an illusion, or even if it matters. I don’t know how much of what men believe is wisdom, how much is foolishness, and how much is simply the result of men’s insatiable need to explain the unexplainable.

Solipsism is just about being honest. It’s about me, in my heart of hearts, accepting the fact that there are things that I simply cannot know. It’s not the denial of truth, it’s the acceptance of truth. We can argue about whether this is true, or that is true, but in the end we’re arguing out of our own foolish pride, because none of us really knows. Once you can accept this one simple truth, then it becomes much, much easier to do that which the bible implores you to do…do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with thy God. You can do this because you realize that you’re no wiser, no smarter, and no more enlightened than anyone else. We’re only human. We believe what we choose to believe. And so in the end it’s not the inerrancy of our beliefs that matters, nor the fervency with which we defend them, but rather it’s about the humility with which we live them.

Live as if you’re to be judged by your compassion, and not by your wisdom. For in truth, you probably have very little of the latter. So little in fact, that you too might be a solipsist.

Can’t think of a single reason, its just about the dumbest idea I ever heard of.

Linus2nd

 

[pianistclare]

I believe that we have to do far more than that. I believe that we have to test, and question, and examine, not only the beliefs of others, but with far greater diligence, we must examine our own. If you’re just as servile in accepting your beliefs, as others are in accepting theirs, then what difference is there between you and them? Of what greater merit is your faith?

In the words of Macbeth:

“It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury
Signifying nothing.”

The unquestioned belief is of little value, save only to mollify oneself.

Well, as a person with a theology degree and 20 years experience teaching the faith to people of all ages…I have done all that. And I still accept everything.
Why would you assume I am some airheaded person that doesn’t ponder these things deeply?

I think this is your real issue. You believe all people of faith must be simple minded.
Not true.
Honestly.

 

[Charlemagne_III]

Live as if you’re to be judged by your compassion, and not by your wisdom. For in truth, you probably have very little of the latter. So little in fact, that you too might be a solipsist.

But it is wisdom to be compassionate!

 

[Charlemagne_III]

In the words of Macbeth:

“It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury
Signifying nothing.”

The unquestioned belief is of little value, save only to mollify oneself.

Try to understand these words in the context of Macbeth’s character.

He was an assassin. Not a nice man. Why should we be impressed by his despair?

 

[MPat]

After sitting here for the last few days observing a number of the ongoing discussions on this forum, I cannot help but feel further justified in being a solipsist. There are just so many questions to which I simply have no way of knowing the answers. I don’t know if the order in the universe is proof of a Creator, or simply proof of the fortuitous nature of physics. I don’t know if I ultimately have free will, or if that too is an illusion, or even if it matters. I don’t know how much of what men believe is wisdom, how much is foolishness, and how much is simply the result of men’s insatiable need to explain the unexplainable.

Ah, but there are many things that you do claim to know:

Solipsism is just about being honest. It’s about me, in my heart of hearts, accepting the fact that there are things that I simply cannot know.

We can argue about whether this is true, or that is true, but in the end we’re arguing out of our own foolish pride, because none of us really knows.

Once you can accept this one simple truth, then it becomes much, much easier to do that which the bible implores you to do…do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with thy God.

You can do this because you realize that you’re no wiser, no smarter, and no more enlightened than anyone else.

We’re only human.

We believe what we choose to believe.

And so in the end it’s not the inerrancy of our beliefs that matters, nor the fervency with which we defend them, but rather it’s about the humility with which we live them.

So, how do you know all that? How do you know that you can only know that you exist? How do you know that it is humble and not, let’s say, prideful to believe that?

For if you do not really know all that, if those are just guesses, maybe it is not so good to claim that everyone should still accept that?

 

[Ben_Sinner]

If you are the “soft” kind of solipsist, the kind where you don’t actually believe you are the only mind, but you are not willing to believe in other minds… then why not just believe in an external world with other minds instead?..

I don’t understand why anyone would want to be a solipsist if they don’t think they can prove it. Quite honestly, there are few things I can think of that would be worse than realizing I am the only person in existence. How depressing of a life that would be…

This concept has bore nothing but bad fruit for me when I started having fears that this concept could actually be true.

If you are the only mind, then it doesn’t matter how you treat others, how charitable and humble you are to others, because they don’t exist. The “others” don’t benefit one bit from your charitable works because they don’t exist.

In a solipsist existence: Empathy is completely worthless. Love is completely worthless. These are worthless in a solipsist existence because the “others” from your imagination don’t have their own thoughts, feelings, or actions. You can imagine and pretend that they benefit from your actions, but they actually don’t…it would be the same thing as doing an act of charity to a loaf of bread… It’s basically like having one of the old electronic games kids played with where you had a digital pet to feed and care for…if you neglected it, it would die. (I forgot the name of the game), but it is just a game. The pet isn’t real.

Basically you would have to go through life doing two things to stay happy: 1) Seek self-pleasure because you are the only one who could actually experience pleasure, 2) Play ‘make-believe’ your entire life and pretend the people you interact with are not illusions, even though deep down inside, you know they aren’t really there.

Before I had this fear, I was a very introverted person who took the existence of others for granted, including my family. I didn’t like my family and didn’t like being around them. I was rude to a lot of people and did all I could to not interact with a lot of people. I just wanted to be left alone and didn’t want to be bothered by these people I didn’t really care about.

Ever since I had this fear though, I have realized what a gift it is to actually have other people around who exist, whether you like them or not. It’s kind of like the opposite of ‘Its A Wonderful Life’ of thinking this is what life would be like if nobody else other then myself actually existed. I have now started getting closer to my family and forgiving enemies…because quite frankly, I just want them to be around. I pray to God every day that these people exist and are not just figments of my imagination.

This is the ONLY good thing that came out of my fear of solipsism being true.

I would rather believe in an external world, with people with other minds, and an external objective God with his son Jesus Christ. If I had a million dollars, I would give it all away in order to gain assurance that all these people exist.

 

[Gorgias]

I’m what’s known as a “soft” solipsist. … A soft solipsist on the other hand simply believes that nothing can be known to exist, outside of one’s own mind.

In Christ, I accept an ideal to which I aspire. There are many things about Christ that I don’t know.

You know He exists, though. (Otherwise, you wouldn’t be a ‘Christian solipsist’, but a ‘Partinobodycula’s-mental-construct-of-Christ solipsist’.) That there are “many things about Christ… that [you] can’t be certain of” is immaterial: if you know that Christ exists, you cannot even claim to be a ‘soft’ solipsist, right?

I believe that the things of true importance are found in the spirit of the Word, and not so much in the letter of the words.

Fair enough. Yet, if you admit to the existence of the Christ – even if your knowledge of His existence is something you posit as being in your own mind – then it seems that you cannot claim the title ‘solipsist’…

 

[Partinobodycula]

Can’t think of a single reason, its just about the dumbest idea I ever heard of.

The idea that a Jewish carpenter from Nazareth has risen from the dead might seem pretty dumb to some people as well. I’m willing to admit that my beliefs may be mistaken. Are you willing to do the same? And therein lies the difference between you and I, I’m willing to admit that I might be wrong. I’m willing to say three simple words…I don’t know.

Well, as a person with a theology degree and 20 years experience teaching the faith to people of all ages…I have done all that. And I still accept everything.
Why would you assume I am some airheaded person that doesn’t ponder these things deeply?

I assume that you’re the same as millions of other “believers” throughout history who have thought themselves wise. Who have thought themselves learned. And yet Christ didn’t come to priests and elders, He came to fishermen. Wisdom and learning it seems, doesn’t count for very much. I don’t believe that you’re airheaded, I simply believe that you have mistaken self-assurance for faith. And all that I ask, is that you consider again, that it might be possible, that you’re wrong. I’m not asking you to abandon your faith, I’m asking you to understand that that’s what it is, faith. And I’m asking you to understand that there’s a humility that comes with such faith. There’s a humility that comes with knowing that you might be wrong.
":

I think this is your real issue. You believe all people of faith must be simple minded.

No, I don’t believe that people of faith are simple minded. I believe that they’re humble, and unpretentious, and understanding. I believe that they’re like Christ. I believe that they’re less like a Pharisee, and more like a Samaritan. I believe that people of faith want to do what’s right, but they’ve been taught that questioning their beliefs, is tantamount to denying their faith. But if you don’t have the courage to sincerely question your beliefs, every hour of every day, then don’t expect others to have the courage to question theirs. Remove the log from your own eye, before asking your brother to remove the speck from his.

Ah, but there are many things that you do claim to know:

Yes indeed, I know a great many things. I know that men suffer. I know that they endure. And I know that they die. I also know that they love, and that they forgive, and that they pray. But what I don’t know, and what I would dearly love to know, is why. Why do men do, what my heart beseeches them not to do. That’s the most heartbreaking question of all.

So, how do you know all that? How do you know that you can only know that you exist? How do you know that it is humble and not, let’s say, prideful to believe that?

Because I wish that it were not true. I wish that I could be as certain, as you claim to be, but I can’t. Because the one thing that I always strive to be, is honest. If I can’t do that, then how can you ever trust me? And if you can’t trust me, then what good am I? I’m but a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And so I try to take the most humble position of all, I try to be honest.

 

[Partinobodycula]

In a solipsist existence: Empathy is completely worthless. Love is completely worthless.

Ah, but this is where you’re wrong, for without you what am I? I’m nothing. I’m alone.

Because of you I love, and cry, and hope, and pray, and grieve, and persevere. Solipsism doesn’t make you worthless to me, it makes you priceless to me. I am, because you are.

It’s not that you’re nothing without me, it’s that I’m nothing without you.

Fair enough. Yet, if you admit to the existence of the Christ – even if your knowledge of His existence is something you posit as being in your own mind – then it seems that you cannot claim the title ‘solipsist’…

It’s enough for me to know that Christ exists in me. If that’s the only place that He exists, then He exists.

I’m a solipsist because of what I can be certain of, I’m a Christian because of what I can aspire to.

 

[MPat]

Yes indeed, I know a great many things. I know that men suffer. I know that they endure. And I know that they die. I also know that they love, and that they forgive, and that they pray.

And you know all that without knowing that they exist?

Because I wish that it were not true.

I have asked you why what makes you think you know many things. And you answer that you think you know them, because you wish they were not true?

What you need is an argument, not just a feeling or desire.

I wish that I could be as certain, as you claim to be, but I can’t. Because the one thing that I always strive to be, is honest. If I can’t do that, then how can you ever trust me? And if you can’t trust me, then what good am I? I’m but a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And so I try to take the most humble position of all, I try to be honest.

But how do you know this position is humble? Is it just because you feel it is? But just look at it from a different side and it will start looking prideful and not humble. Let’s see:

I assume that you’re the same as millions of other “believers” throughout history who have thought themselves wise. Who have thought themselves learned. And yet Christ didn’t come to priests and elders, He came to fishermen. Wisdom and learning it seems, doesn’t count for very much. I don’t believe that you’re airheaded, I simply believe that you have mistaken self-assurance for faith. And all that I ask, is that you consider again, that it might be possible, that you’re wrong. I’m not asking you to abandon your faith, I’m asking you to understand that that’s what it is, faith. And I’m asking you to understand that there’s a humility that comes with such faith. There’s a humility that comes with knowing that you might be wrong.

So, you say that there is humility in knowing that you might be wrong. And yet you argue as if solipsism itself cannot be wrong… Is that humble or prideful? How do you know?

On the whole I get the impression that in your case “solipsism” is based on feelings and not rational arguments, and that it is not a consistent (or even well defined) position… Can you demonstrate that this impression is wrong?

 

[Partinobodycula]

Forgive me for taking so long to respond. I get busier as the days grow warmer.

And you know all that without knowing that they exist?

A solipsist comes to know things in the exact same way that anyone comes to know things, through experience, and observation, and education. And these experiences are just as real for me as they are for you. I care, and grieve, and hope, and pray just the same as you do. But for me every experience, every joy, and every sorrow is a gift. It’s not just the good times that define who I am, it’s the bad times as well. I learn and grow through each and every one of them. And although it’s true that some lessons are agonizingly harder to endure than others, they’re no less precious. For they define the breadth of life. They define me. The only difference between you and a solipsist, is that a solipsist understands that there are mysteries in life that can never be explained. Questions that can never be answered, neither by reason nor by faith.

There are things that you can believe with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. But believing them, doesn’t make them so. The heart cannot change, what the heart cannot change. So although believing has the power to change the heart, it can’t change the truth. The world is full of people who believe. People who are certain that they know the truth. Who have no qualms about dividing the world into who’s right, and who’s wrong, who’ll go to hell and who won’t. But life’s not really about who’s right and who’s wrong. It’s about who’s compassionate, and who’s gentle, and who’s merciful. Because these are the things that define your life, and these are the things that define the essence of what you are. Beliefs are merely the window into a man’s soul. For as he believes so shall he do, and it’s what he does that reveals what he is. I can tell you to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. And your neighbor as yourself, and you may claim that you do, but it’s not your words that reveal your heart, it’s your actions.

Men believe in many different things, and in many different truths, but they can all be judged in the same manner. By what they do.

I have asked you why what makes you think you know many things. And you answer that you think you know them, because you wish they were not true?

Excuse me for the confusion, but my response, “Because I wish it were not true” wasn’t in reference to how I know so many things, but rather it was in response to your final question, “How do you know that it is humble and not, let’s say, prideful to believe that?”

But how do you know this position is humble? Is it just because you feel it is? But just look at it from a different side and it will start looking prideful and not humble.

So, you say that there is humility in knowing that you might be wrong. And yet you argue as if solipsism itself cannot be wrong… Is that humble or prideful? How do you know?

In truth, most any belief or ideology can lead to pridefulness, no matter the meekness of it’s sentiment, and the same is true for solipsism. The same is also true for me. The whole philosophy of solipsism is based upon one simple concept, that there are things that you and I cannot know. And no amount of faith, nor reason, nor revelation can change that. As much as you may believe that you know the truth, you don’t. But in the end it doesn’t matter. Because it’s not necessary to know the veracity of what men believe, to be able to judge the character of what they do. The true spirit of a man is revealed by what he does, moreso than by what he believes.

This is the essence of solipsism, that there are things that I cannot know. Whether this is prideful or humble I can’t say. It’s simply the truth. As for it’s humility, I’ll leave it to others to judge.

What you need is an argument, not just a feeling or desire.

On the whole I get the impression that in your case “solipsism” is based on feelings and not rational arguments, and that it is not a consistent (or even well defined) position… Can you demonstrate that this impression is wrong?

Solipsism isn’t based upon impressions or feelings, it’s based upon the simple truth that there are things of which you and I can never be certain. Not out of ignorance, nor a lack of faith, but simply because we’re human. We can never gain a perspective outside of ourselves, and thus we can never be certain if anything outside of ourselves exists at all. You can’t be certain of eternal life, and you can’t be certain of God. Everything that you believe to be real, is real only in so much as you believe it’s real. Everything is an act of faith. And yet men judge, and persecute, and condemn, based solely upon what they believe, even though they have no way of knowing if they’re wrong. Men judge others out of ignorance, out of misconceptions, and out of simple foolish pride. Solipsism merely attempts to end this, and to judge men more justly, by what they do.

You and I could argue the rationality of solipsism forever. We could provide argument and counter-argument ad infinitum. But if these forums are any example, then it’s likely that neither of our views would change. For men believe what they choose to believe. And so my argument is a simple one, that there are things that I cannot know, and among them is the nature of God. You may claim otherwise, but I will humbly disagree.

 

[MPat]

Forgive me for taking so long to respond. I get busier as the days grow warmer.

That’s OK.

You and I could argue the rationality of solipsism forever. We could provide argument and counter-argument ad infinitum. But if these forums are any example, then it’s likely that neither of our views would change.

Perhaps. But I would say that it is so because so many of things you say are incompatible with solipsism (even “soft solipsism”) anyway.

For example:

The world is full of people who believe.

You cannot claim that while staying a solipsist. The whole point of solipsism is to deny that other people exist or at least to deny that one can know that other people exist.

In one post you yourself have said:

I’m what’s known as a “soft” solipsist. A hard solipsist believes in an absolute, that nothing exists outside of one’s own mind. A soft solipsist on the other hand simply believes that nothing can be known to exist, outside of one’s own mind.

It looks like you have gotten close to abandoning this belief.

In fact, the things you wrote seem to be closer to “Truth doesn’t matter.” than to “Nothing can be known to exist outside of one’s mind.”… I am not sure if that is an improvement…

 

[Partinobodycula]

Partinobodycula:

The world is full of people who believe.

You cannot claim that while staying a solipsist.

Why not? It’s simply the truth.

The whole point of solipsism is to deny that other people exist or at least to deny that one can know that other people exist.

No, the point of solipsism isn’t to deny that other people exist. It’s to understand that there are limits to what I as a conscious being can know. It’s a statement about the nature of me, not about the nature of you. It’s about what I as a conscious being can know. Once you understand this fact, then you can begin to understand just how much of what you believe, is based solely on faith. And you begin to understand that you’re judging others based upon things that you can never know to be true. Now there’s nothing wrong with having faith, so long as one remembers that that’s what it is, faith. It’s a belief in that which one doesn’t know.

In fact, the things you wrote seem to be closer to “Truth doesn’t matter.”

Ah, this is far, far from true. For the truth means everything to me. And the truth is, that what you believe, is born of faith, and so you should never forget, that "with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again."

Many is the man who has judged unjustly, because he mistook faith for truth.

 

[Gorgias]

Why not? It’s simply the truth.

No, the point of solipsism isn’t to deny that other people exist. It’s to understand that there are limits to what I as a conscious being can know.

Well, maybe that’s the point of your take on ‘soft’ solipsism, but really, the point of solipsism is to address the ‘problem of other minds’, and generally, the resolution is “I can’t say they’re there.”

Here’s the problem, though: it’s not possible, it seems to me, to claim to be both ‘solipsist’ and ‘Christian’. The claim of being Christian is the claim of knowledge that Christ exists. The ‘belief’ part of Christianity isn’t the statement “Jesus Christ exists”, but rather that “Jesus Christ is God”. Without the knowledge that Jesus is real, the faith claim that He is the Son of God makes no sense. Therefore, you might make statements about other people, but your claim of being Christian means that you acknowledge the existence of at least one other person – Jesus. (To look at it from another perspective: if we claim to be saved by Jesus, then we implicitly claim that He is real. Otherwise, our claims to Christianity reduce to “I am saved by this construct in my mind – that is, I am saved by me.” :sad_yes