I look at Fail Blog daily to lighten the mood. Today, this picture made me a little sad and freaked out all at the same time.
It made me think that it's easy to generalize people in to groups: gay/straight, liberal/conservative, Axis/Allies. Unfortunately for me, I don't follow a mainstream religion and am typically categorized (by Christians) as an Agnostic or Atheist. Aside from being considered weirdos that don't believe in anything (that's actually a nihilist), it's not really what I am.
While Buddhism is the mainstream religion I identify most with, I tend to believe most closely with Nauralistic Pantheism. This is why:
- Facts don't lie
- Logic (through proofs) is powerful
- "Mother Nature" responds when you treat her poorly
- God does not respond ("Why do bad things happen to good people?")
- Culture decides which morals are right (relativism)
- Science is humble enough to say "We don't know that yet."
- Mainstream religion claims to have all the answers but has been wrong
Consider this example: sit in time-out for 1 minute and earn 15 minutes of recess. That's a 1:15 payoff ratio. Not great, but not bad. Heaven is a ratio of X:Infinity (X = your lifetime). No matter how long your life is the payoff is obviously worth it. So if the majority of Americans identify as Christians (and therefore believe in heaven), why are we so productive?
2 comments:
"I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ. The materialism of affluent Christian countries appears to contradict the claims of Jesus Christ that says it's not possible to worship both Mammon and God at the same time."
– Mahatma Gandhi
Belief is powerful. Believing there is greater good to bad things happening can give you strength. It also makes it easier to accept things that are out of your control. So did you get our patches yet? Must be an extra test from God to see how bad we want them...will you follow through to the end?
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