Posted by
Soulfire77 on Tuesday, July 03, 2007 11:56:24 PM
Sorry everyone, I'm rather new to the whole "blog" thing. So, please bear with me.
I posted this elsewhere on Townhall, but it got buried and I don't think anyone replied to it. I'm re-posting it here and I'd like to see what everyone thinks:
For Everyone's Safety
Thank You,
- Management
The problem with everyone of these (spiritual debates) is this: Open-minded people seem to agree that there are things outside of their understanding. Even an atheist will not claim to "know everything" even he or she believes that all things can (one day) be known... (I know, PRETTY CRAZY ideology, right?). Now, why this concept doesn't create this huge vacuum where tolerance and freedom exist, I'll frankly never understand.
It's like arguing over the differences between unicorns and leprechauns. Not that I'm calling any religious figure fictional, but... I expect rational, thinking people to at least tolerate the possibility that there are elements of folklore to their religious "history". Belief in a god demands faith. Faith in something(s) that you cannot prove, only believe.
I can post a list of scriptures from various religious texts from different religions that all point to the same concept:
"Treat others as you would want to be treated."
It strikes me that if there were One true God looking down upon us, THAT God would certainly want to be a peacekeeper. Bearing in mind that we are a primitive people who need to approach Him (or Her) in a variety of ways, that particular God might keep the message simple.
We sit here arguing over the details, completely unenlightened to the fact that ARGUING OVER THE DETAILS IS EXACTLY *NOT* WHAT WE ARE PUT HERE TO DO. You can find your own conclusions about why many scriptures exist that seem to contradict this claim. Myself, I tend to reason this way: If what was "written" seems to benefit the few, promote war or genocide or death... If it uses a God to justify harming another living thing... (Okay, here's a big concept, brace yourself everyone) If it promises harm from a God personally if the tenets of what was written are not followed... Then that scripture has obvious selfish motivations and falls into the same category as folklore. It contains perhaps useful lessons that I can learn from, but to absorb as absolute truth would be maddening because it would directly contradict what some might call a universal commandment (see above). |