Saturday, November 22, 2008

Four Points

I have a difficult time accepting Christianity as "the" faith. My main reasons include the following:

1. I don't think that I should believe in something just because my parents did or society tells me to. Most people just take the faith their parents give them and I don't want to be a Christian just because my dad is. Also, I think society sees Christians as better people than Atheists. You hear phrases like "good little Christian boy" and what not, but rarely good things about people who aren't Christians. (Then again, it might be that people with strong faith tend to be "better" people than atheists/agnostic, but then again.) I don't want to be that person who is just too lazy to think about religion, but that's the label I think society gives to Atheists.

2. There is plenty of evidence to show that God, or at least some deity, exists, but there is also plenty of evidence to show that there's nothing out there.

3. There are dozens of other faiths in the world that have just as much or even more merit than Christianity.

4. Sometimes, it seems that people only care about Christianity when there's a tragedy in their life or they need something to cling to. It would be a good things for society to have something to cling to, a sort of reassurance that there is good in this world when the world actually isn't.

Here's a video that I'm sharing as a metaphor of my current personal religious conflict. Both sides have their merits and their pitfalls and I can't decide which one has more pro than cons.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Interesting ideas. I did watch the Huckabee/Maher video as I'd heard about "Religiosity" (sp) and was pretty sure I wouldn't see it but now I'm convinced. Maher frightens the whey out of me. It appears he's taking very extreme and isolated examples and drawing global conclusions on them, which is unfortunate, because he's missing the point for the large majority of followers. He's doing that for attention and that's evident. But that's a commentary for a blog whenever I get around to creating one. Aside, I think it's awesome that you're attending other churches and questioning faith, and I hope you continue to do so. I've been around the "Wheel of Faith Fortunes" spinner, from being Catholic to Baptist to Presbyterian, and now finally (I hope!) to "Christian". I too questioned the "aerobics" in the Catholic church (as did my knees) but it wasn't until I got out to other houses of worship that I found that one way was not "the way". I am grateful for my parents having planted the foundation for me, and I think they would take no issue with the journey I've been on for the past 46 years, as I'm comfortable with my faith. I also struggle with the idea that people can be "good people" and not necessarily affiliated with a belief system -- in fact I'm married to one, and it boggles the mind. It boils down to faith being one of the most personal paths one pursues. Good luck in your journey - I hope it is a rich and satisfying one!