Yup, I'm pushing all the hot buttons in an attempt to get someone to reply.
You have a religion? Great, good on ya. Seriously. I think belief in some sort of deity has created a lot of good works and caused a lot of people to live their lives according to a pretty reasonable moral and ethical standard.
I do have a few problems, though. You might have guessed.
First, I don't have that faith. I see no reason to believe in your personal or institutional mythology. And, honestly, you don't have such a reason either, except what you call faith and that really is nothing more than a decision to believe with no evidence at all. There's nothing, no rational argument or observable evidence, that would lead anyone of rational mind to believe in the existence of a deity.
So, okay, so what, then? Well, nothing. Except that I'm expected to have "respect" for such beliefs. Why? Even worse, I have to tolerate legislators and agitators trying to force me via the government to live according to such unfounded and preposterous beliefs. Then there's the notion of "religious freedom," which so often seems to be a code word for "don't pass laws that force people to behave rationally." There's a "war on Christmas?" Seriously? You have to be out of your mind to even consider such a notion.
No. Do not expect me to respect or believe in your fairy tales. Not even the ones based on a book cobbled together 2,000 years ago by politicians and shamans. The shepherds and fishermen who wrote those stories on parchment were no better able to determine the existence of a deity than I am, and they were considerably less educated and rational. If you want me to respect your beliefs, you have to back them up with something better than mythology and sophistry.
Do I say there is no deity? No, absolutely not. I have no idea. There's no way short of some kind of personal burning bush experience--or death, I guess--that I could ever answer that question. So let's all admit that, okay? And can we stop passing laws based on irrational mythology now?
I attended the traditional church school classes and got confirmed in a Protestant church These days I am not a regular church goer. I don't think it matters which god people look to....Allah, Jehovah, Elohim, King of kings.....but I think the important thing is what you said...belief has caused a lot of good works and reasonable morals.
ReplyDeleteI do wonder about life after death...and sometimes think there must be a larger picture that we don't understand until we get there.
Thanks for your comment, Susan. We agree; it's about behavior, not what book you follow.
ReplyDeleteLife after death? I sure hope so. There's a lot of dead people I hope I get the chance to hang out with. And I'd sure hate to believe that this is the only shot we get, that tomorrow if I get nailed by a car or something, that would be my last moment to tell my family how much I love them. But no matter how much I hate that idea, I have to accept that there's no evidence otherwise.
As I read this, I am eating some of the best Brussels sprouts that I have ever eaten in my life. They are miraculously tasty, and I have no idea who cooked them; they just appeared in the office kitchen.
ReplyDeleteI may be discovering religion. I'll have to see after I go get more Brussels sprouts.
Sallie has a way with Brussel's sprouts that would rock yer sox. Silpat, it's all about the Silpat. Do you have a Silpat?
ReplyDeleteSilpat? My new religion has many mysteries.
ReplyDelete