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:: Friday, October 28, 2011 ::
Don't all religions lead to God? Response to Chapter 2:
Sincerity is the foundation of belief. In some respects it can become a truth - in others, a potent lie. If you believe in something enough, it becomes true for you, even if it doesn't match reality (unless we consider the multiverse theory - you'd be right about what you believed in at least one universe). This makes it a very dangerous tool, since it can be used to create truths as well as destroy them. I've always valued sincerity higher than truth, in many cases to my detriment, I admit, since it's easy to delude yourself this way. I have put my trust in the wrong people and the wrong things before. Problematically, I'm not such a devout/learned Christian that I can identify sincerity without truth until after I'm burned.
I believe in believing what makes you happy, which is hardly a Christian perspective, since one could very well believe in french fries or doughnuts - something our God most likely would be none too pleased with. Despite the frequent feel-good aphorisms we spout that non-Christians (sometimes) roll their eyes at, many of us, I think, don't realise what sounds good isn't necessarily good and isn't necessarily true either (hark back to "Class 90.5" ads).
In the realm of religion, it would be nice if the only thing that mattered was sincerity. We'd be rewarded with the validation of our beliefs and obviously, whatever reward our faith system names. The disadvantages of this would be of course that there'd be in-fighting because people hate it when other people don't agree with them. Problem 2: This is just religiousity - I don't foresee there being an actual God if everyone was free to believe whatever they wanted. Religions arise because there is a God, not the other way round.
My gut feeling is that love for God isn't that simple. Based on what I do know and my experience - it is not that easy. It is difficult, and trying, and meant to build various strengths of character. Just belief isn't and shouldn't be enough. It's a very hard thing to base sincerity on truth, because there are some truths that fly in the face of what we WANT to believe - like, say, how women are supposed to be subservient/obedient to their husbands. It takes a supreme effort to stand by what is correct AND do it wholeheartedly when human rights are more highly valued than God rights in society.
My personal anecdote? I know all these things logically, but I just can't bring myself to believe them. I struggle to put myself below what God wants. I struggle to accept that a Christian woman must marry a strong Christian man who will be her leader. I struggle to believe that there is an eternal reward for me for my believing in the right things. I do feel sometimes that I've chosen a difficult path being Christian (or claiming to be).
Yet this being what I've chosen, I have to get behind it with all the sincerity I have or else what's the point? I can only hope that my saviour is the way, the truth and the life, and that I've put my heart in what is true, rather than being a delusional idiot.Labels: Philosophy
:: And that's all she wrote 7:20 AM [+] ::
2 comments
2 Comments:
don't believe.
have faith.
That's an interesting response. Which do you do?
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