There have been several comments made on my recent posts and I'd like to thank those who bothered to explain their religious views and also apologize for not responding to many of the points made, I just haven't been in the mood. But your thoughts are appreciated; however, rather than address the comments made, for now I would just like to give my own explanations.
Ultimately, the questions of our existence- the nature of who and what we are, and why we exist- have no definitive answers. Seemingly, the easiest answers are found in religions. All religious concepts rely on faith. Many things in life are beyond our understanding, or at least beyond our grasp of reasoning at the time, meaning that in order to believe we must have faith. There are varying degrees of faith. Some things we may have enough evidence to reasonably conclude that a certain end is right, only exercising a small amount of faith based in reason. Other things in life we must have faith prior to gaining an understanding; this is the nature of religious faith.
What particular faith you attest is greatly determined by the culture you are raised in. A person born into a strict Catholic family will learn that religion. Religion is typically taught through ritual, and in a group setting (Sunday school, for example), as well as within the family. Just as with any value system learned from a young age, an individual can turn away from these beliefs, though many do not. Perhaps it is out of familial obligation, cultural respect, or genuine belief, but most accept and continue practicing the faith they are taught from birth. Granted, some select other religions to follow, some choose not to have faith, and some raised with no faith adopt religious views later in life. But for the most part, religion is dependent on geography and culture. The question is, how does one know which religion is correct, if any? What makes a person believe that their concept of God is the right one, or that such a being even exists? As far as I know, there is no proof of any religion's absolute Truth, nor is there any proof of God's existence. Thus, faith is integral. Devoting your life, something you [i]know[/i] exists, to the ideas of a religion in an attempt to appease a God, something you do not know exists, robs your life of meaning, value, and joy.
Who's to say that Islamic extremists are not favored by God? Perhaps it is the violent and forceful acts of militants that God desires of our devotion to Him. If this is the case, wouldn't it be best to live your life by murdering the infidels? To appease God and gain your eternal rewards, you must act in a manner conceived as being conducive to God's will. But how do you know what God's will is, particularly when you can't even explain God's motives in creating the universe? It seems risky to me to live in such a way. We as mere mortals; fallible, finite beings, must determine what is the best path for our lives.
An analogy was made by "cabdriver" in which he compared a cow in a field, obediently doing the farmer's work in return for food, to our faith in God. The difference between a human and a cow is that the human has the capabilities to [i]reason[/i]. In this analogy, the obedience of faith is represented by a lack of reason. Maybe that’s not so farfetched. But I’m not a cow- I can at least try and understand the reasons for what it is I do in my life, and I can also realize that I have no reason to consider some farmer, or some God, as master over me, requiring that I perform certain duties. I can feed myself.
As religion is open to interpretation by each individual, so is life. There is no real need for some bigger meaning to life than life itself. If we dwell on the prospects of some eternal life, that may or may not be realistic, we lose sight of the life we do know. If you want to think of life as capable of transcending time, of continuing in some respect for all eternity, consider ideas of great minds. Or perhaps there is a means of attaining immortality in the physical realm, only no religion has discovered the tenets of true immortality yet. In essence, religion is designed by man to provide answers to difficult, often elusive, questions. We won't know for certain what validity, if any, there is to any of our religions until death, so why waste what time we do have living trying to procure some life after death, that we may or may not be capable of achieving?
That cow analogy reminds me of Nietzsche's observation of Christianity as a 'sheep morality.' Although I find this true only of some understanding of Christian doctrine, there does seem to be a lot of Christians demanding that we surrender to God's will, since He has superior knowledge/wisdom/power.
Although I hate to sound like an animal rightist, please tell me, cabdriver, what happens to the cattle on a farm?
In another friendly debate, a Christian used an analogy saying that religion is a crutch, but that we all need it because we can't walk. I propose that we don't need a crutch- you are just convinced you do by the Church, because they just so happen to be renting out the crutches. Sheep go to Heaven, Goats go to Hell.
well, i obvisouly have a biased opinion, but i'm going to give being objectionary a shot for second.
i personally don't think any religion wll "...rob your life of meaning, value, and joy". i think living for something or someone gives much meaning, value, and joy to life. you get all of that because when you're living for something your life holds meaning, value, and joy. many people work toward goals, which are like relgions on a small scale. when you have goal you have something to shoot for, something to look forward to-meaning, and value. as you progress toward this goal, and succeed, a person lifts in spirits, and wears a smile as evidence to their joy.
Reply: therealspartacus007
glad the crutch made ya think :-)
posted by: mblog (reply)
post date: 04.07.04 (10:38 am)
At last night's seder, there was a quote about faith. I'm terrible about remembering these things or who said it, but it said something along these lines: Faith is not necessarily about believing in a God in heaven with a strong arm, but is about believing in yourself when you need to go on despite obstacles in your way because you know it's the right thing to do.
Do you have faith in your own beliefs? I can't predict the future, so when I do the right thing even when there's no personal gain, (or sometimes there's personal gain for doing the wrong thing) I'm doing it on faith. If I find money and turn it in to the police, I'm doing that on faith that it's right. It has nothing to do with God. It has nothing to do with rewards.
Faith is not inherently based on the lack of reason. One can reason that proper behavior will benefit society as a whole, but one acts upon that belief based on faith. The same is true with any abstract concept with no immediately tangible benefits.
"Tragically, a nation that was created by intellectuals and visionaries has now been completely taken over by venal corporate gangsters, delusional Christian fruitcakes and hopelessly shallow Texas shit-kickers." -Tom Robbins
