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Though I have some worries that the OP has stopped reading ... I'll address his question anyway. But all the talk so far has been Judeo-Christian focused. Where's the love for the eastern stuff? : D
If you're considering dipping your toes into religion you have a lot to chose from. Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Ba'hai, Modern Spiritualism, Deism, Taoism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Paganism, etc. Count in all the various denominations, sects, cults, and heresies and there are more flavors than in your average ice cream store.
As to whether to actually try one ... I'd say go for it.
What harm can it do? At the very least you'll come back with a neat story and some insight into human nature. And what if it clicks? What if it fulfills you? And if doesn't ... then you go back to your current state, or try a new faith. No harm no foul.
That's the gist of it, but there's more here if you care to read:
Spoiler! :
Personally, (warning: sappy testimonial inbound) I'm Nichiren Buddhist. It helps that I was raised to it. It washes away a lot of the instinctive doubt that crops up when one crouches in front of a mandala and starts chanting in Japanese. But if you can get past that doubt, or live with it, or not believe at all but still take solace in the beauty of it, then there' are great rewards on the other side. When I'm practicing I'm happier, healthier, and more centered. And several times I've been about to do something pretty awful, stopped, thought "This would mean sacrificing my religion", and walked away. Community support is also pretty huge, especially in a small, personally involved congregation.
Regarding your concern about that religion = mental weakness, how do you define it? If you mean intellect, consider that many, if not most, of history's greatest minds have subscribed to their local faith. Religion is really irrelevant to intelligence. If you mean inner resolve, well, I know people that could stare at that idea until it curled up and died.
But if you mean human frailty, then yes, we're all weak. The world constantly throws stuff at us that we have no hope of getting through unscathed. Life is a battle, what's wrong with picking up a sword?
That's my pitch. Whatever you end up doing: good luck with all the terrible stuff going on in your life.
I agree. If you can give me some sort of proof of a god, no matter what type, I'll believe in it. I admit, sometimes it seems as if the universe is much too orderly to NOT have some sort of all powerful masterful creator, but it just doesn't make sense to me to blindly follow in something like that.
I'M GONNA'-insert chemical reaction- IN YOUR-insert lab tool- UNTIL YOU-insert explosions- AFTER I QUICKLY-insert lab tool-IN A-insert chair- ALL OVER THE-insert classroom-!!!!! Look for 'CEWorld' soon!
by magnetic-porcupine » December 25th, 2010, 7:45 am
I guess that's the whole point of faith, right? To believe in something without concrete proof. I believe in God not because there's solid evidence he exists. I believe in God because I want to, and it makes me feel safer and less alone in the world. If there WERE hard facts that pointed towards God's existence, everyone would believe in him. Religion/Belief is a choice. It's something you want, not something you follow because all the evidence points towards it and it's right and you're screwed if you don't.
I can understand that. However, in my mind, it makes absolutely NO sense to me to believe in something that may or may not exist. Yet, I am much more flexible than many atheists, as I am willing to accept proof. I think faith is a beautiful thing, and it was the only thing that made my Great Grandmother dying fine with me, as she had a firm belief in God, and that when she died, she'd be with Him and her husband. And faith seems like such a comforting thing as well, to believe that there IS something out there seems extremely comforting. But that there is no ABSOLUTE proof, makes it just seem silly to me.
I'M GONNA'-insert chemical reaction- IN YOUR-insert lab tool- UNTIL YOU-insert explosions- AFTER I QUICKLY-insert lab tool-IN A-insert chair- ALL OVER THE-insert classroom-!!!!! Look for 'CEWorld' soon!
Gleamofpower wrote:I can understand that. However, in my mind, it makes absolutely NO sense to me to believe in something that may or may not exist. Yet, I am much more flexible than many atheists, as I am willing to accept proof. I think faith is a beautiful thing, and it was the only thing that made my Great Grandmother dying fine with me, as she had a firm belief in God, and that when she died, she'd be with Him and her husband. And faith seems like such a comforting thing as well, to believe that there IS something out there seems extremely comforting. But that there is no ABSOLUTE proof, makes it just seem silly to me.
You do realise absolute proof destroys the concept of belief? Belief means you don't have proof, but you still accept it as true anyway.
Snuffan and on a separate occasion, my dad wrote:"don´t be a girls who needs a man, be the girl a man need"
When we are through hard times, we always try to find help, even in this god figure. And i don't mean hard times "My DS is broken", but more like "Lost my house, i'm sick, and my boss said i was fired because they can't pay my health care plan".
UpDatin' at least once every 42 hours! OR THE COMIC ENDS FOREVER.
Okay, so I feel like being philosophical now. So, supposedly, God is good. But in order for God to be good, there must be the bad. For is it not true that if there was no such thing as bad, or in your words, pain, then there also would be no good. It like the phrase that there can not be light without the dark. So in a way, there can be no knowing of God without pain, for if everything was fine and dandy, there would be no reason to care whether there is a God or not.
On my personal belief, I believe that everything is God. Forget about this devil and hell stuff. If God is all powerful and good, then God would never condone anyone to burn in hell for all eternity. Since God is everyone, then God suffers with us as well. This is the natural work of karma. But of course, from suffering comes joy, which could never be felt if everything was perfect. Of course, since God is ultimately good, then we are ultimately safe. But very few realize this and those who do, have reached the state of nirvana.
