I hate ruffling people's feathers, but I will inevitably do so when I broach the topic of religion and beliefs. See, the fact that it ruffles people's feathers in the first place is what's wrong. People find it immensely hard to realize that religion is theirs, and theirs alone. Sure, it's nice when you have others who share your point of view (or faith), but it is not necessary.
Let's examine something; what is religion? Faith. Belief. It is a decision you make, based on 'something' (be it reflection, introspection, family's handed-down beliefs, seeing God in a donut or a bagel), to have certain thoughts about the world around you. Perhaps you believe that there's a higher existence or a deity that created the world. Maybe you think that the world just came to be through some sort of cosmic incident that came along. You might be under the impression that the world is borne on the back of a giant turtle (If you do, then hello, Terry Pratchet! Glad to have you here.)
And you know what? It's totally fine to think so. We, as humans, are entitled to believe whatever it is we want to believe. Some might say that you need to have sufficient proof to have a well-based belief, and that's not entirely wrong, but it is not my right to tell you that your belief is wrong. I could say that your belief doesn't have enough proof for me to share it, but that would be my problem. My situation, not yours. You can continue to have those beliefs, or you can decide that you'd like to worship a monkey instead. Again, totally your right.
I am absolutely sick of two sorts of people. Ones who find it necessary to belittle other people's faiths, for any sort of reason. Not believing in your faith does not give me a metaphorical carte blanche to diss it as I see fit. I'm not even sure why I'm saying this. It is one of the most important pillars upon which human interaction rests: respect. You do not shove down your beliefs down people's throats either, because then you're encroaching upon my own rights.
It's funny, because the people who so adamantly champion their own beliefs and actively declare them superior to other faiths are usually the ones who - at the core - possess very little conviction when it comes to said beliefs. It comes down to the observation that loud arguments often are the most weakly-based, and all it takes is common sense (which is becoming increasingly rare) to bring down the house.
So, yeah, believe in whatever you wish. Just keep me and everyone else out of it.
Note: I decided not to delve too deeply into the more annoying situation of people belonging to the same faith who decree some sort of 'rules' or 'learnings' necessary for you to be an abiding member of that faith. To summarize what I would have to say about this: almost all faiths have primers that explain said faiths, it is again up to you to explore such primers and work through them to achieve the necessary level (determined by you) of abiding. You may rely on more well-versed members of the faith to provide you with their own insight regarding aspects, but in the end, it is a singular effort, yours, that counts. Do not let people arbitrarily decide how good your relationship with your God is, because last I checked, people didn't have hotlines to deities.
Let's examine something; what is religion? Faith. Belief. It is a decision you make, based on 'something' (be it reflection, introspection, family's handed-down beliefs, seeing God in a donut or a bagel), to have certain thoughts about the world around you. Perhaps you believe that there's a higher existence or a deity that created the world. Maybe you think that the world just came to be through some sort of cosmic incident that came along. You might be under the impression that the world is borne on the back of a giant turtle (If you do, then hello, Terry Pratchet! Glad to have you here.)
And you know what? It's totally fine to think so. We, as humans, are entitled to believe whatever it is we want to believe. Some might say that you need to have sufficient proof to have a well-based belief, and that's not entirely wrong, but it is not my right to tell you that your belief is wrong. I could say that your belief doesn't have enough proof for me to share it, but that would be my problem. My situation, not yours. You can continue to have those beliefs, or you can decide that you'd like to worship a monkey instead. Again, totally your right.
I am absolutely sick of two sorts of people. Ones who find it necessary to belittle other people's faiths, for any sort of reason. Not believing in your faith does not give me a metaphorical carte blanche to diss it as I see fit. I'm not even sure why I'm saying this. It is one of the most important pillars upon which human interaction rests: respect. You do not shove down your beliefs down people's throats either, because then you're encroaching upon my own rights.
It's funny, because the people who so adamantly champion their own beliefs and actively declare them superior to other faiths are usually the ones who - at the core - possess very little conviction when it comes to said beliefs. It comes down to the observation that loud arguments often are the most weakly-based, and all it takes is common sense (which is becoming increasingly rare) to bring down the house.
So, yeah, believe in whatever you wish. Just keep me and everyone else out of it.
Note: I decided not to delve too deeply into the more annoying situation of people belonging to the same faith who decree some sort of 'rules' or 'learnings' necessary for you to be an abiding member of that faith. To summarize what I would have to say about this: almost all faiths have primers that explain said faiths, it is again up to you to explore such primers and work through them to achieve the necessary level (determined by you) of abiding. You may rely on more well-versed members of the faith to provide you with their own insight regarding aspects, but in the end, it is a singular effort, yours, that counts. Do not let people arbitrarily decide how good your relationship with your God is, because last I checked, people didn't have hotlines to deities.
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