Now here is a question that has come up since the Golden Age; What is faith? Opportunely we now have the Webster's dictionary, and it will state that faith is '1. A strong belief in a supernatural power or powers that control human destiny 2. Complete confidence in a person or plan 3. Institution to express belief in a divine power 4.Loyalty or allegiance to a cause or a person'
TCIS has been one of the most impressionable religious experiences of my youth. I have never questioned God so much in my entire life, because I had never really had to think about God or the whole blind faith that goes along with it. I have always been a skeptic and remain a secularist. However, seeing the faith that rises over the Christian community compelled me to gain knowledge and introduce myself to the Bible. My faith- or lack of it- prefers to read the Bible as if it were written by man rather than a supernatural being. One does not have to read the Bible and soak in its literal truth to appreciate the authors visions. To me, the Bible widens a world of morals and teachings, an understanding towards human nature, and most importantly for me it is a literary gift given to humanity from the translations made in the 17Th century.
I do not understand when people tell me they are praying for me to gain faith in God. There is not a specific moment when I stopped believing in God. I stopped believing because of the lack of evidence, for the same reasons I stopped believing in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. To me God is an energy which surrounds all living things - maybe to me God is just atoms. I do not ponder the unwarranted, immoral acts of the world, I am able to see everything as a result of nature and logic or as a result of human nature. The greatest gift man has been given is the ability to think and with that ability can come change. Don Richardson brought about change, and his ability to think and use his faith helped him do this. Some people need faith, it helps them along and makes the world a better place. But for me? ...I prefer the term free thinker.
6 comments:
Hey Sharssa,
Very well written post. I agree completely.
For me, at least, believing in God is something that can only rely on faith. Today, many researchers are finding new ways of challenging the many aspects of religion. It's hard to say who's right and who's wrong. Then I ask myself, what about other religions? Everyone can't be right. For me, it's believable to choose an existing spirit to represent the God we all worship. In accordance with what you said, it's true that there isn't enough pure evidence to justify the extensive belief of the Christian Faith.
Now that I have been exposed to different theories and explanations my mind wanders elsewhere; craving understanding and clarification.
I now only believe in a higher being above us all. Until bigger evidence is brought to the table to prove otherwise, I can't bring myself to justify the true Christian story.
Thank you very much, Sharssa!
Very good point.
Love you!
AWESOME! Yes, I said AWESOME!
The bible???
Well, let me abbreviate the meaning of it....”novel”, “just a book”, perhaps “random man writing opinions of nonsense?”
Uuhhh, I do believe in GOD, because GOD is in every person, GOD is every person.
I believe in myself, when things go well it’s because I DID IT and I thank myself (and the people that helped me, of course!).
If things don’t go as planned, it’s me, outside forces, maybe both, or it wasn’t meant to be; that’s it, nothing more and nothing less.
I take responsibility and don’t blame ”GOD” for situations, weather, accidents, blah blah blah, etc.
I don't believe in religion, it has proven to create negativity, hate and discrimination since the beginning of human life.
Sharssa, I am VERY proud of you.
DISCLAIMER: this is my opinion, you may not hurt (me), sue (me), cause harm to others or yourself, tell the police "I made you do it", I shall NOT be responsible of any actions claimed to be related to my views or/and if I scarred you in any way shape of form.
Well said Sharssa!
I remember when you did believe in Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. I remember the day you told me that Santa Claus wasn't real. I have been fortunate to see your beliefs evolve through the years. Your writings are insightful, coherent and reflect my own views.
I'm proud of you.
Dave.
Although it does feel awkward to be the only person NOT to feel proud of you, I'm bored, so I'll go on and put up a comment anyway. The way you say it, it almost seems like you are proud of being a "free thinker" because you do not need to depend on faith as much as those who follow a religion; is it just me, or do I smell a sense of superiority?
Of course, I may be completely wrong, so sorry if this offends you, but that's just what I think. It's just one of the wonders of the Internet, I guess, being able to potentially offend other people without letting them know who you are.
I'm not Kira, by the way.
Hello, Arc, firstly I would like to thank you taking time and reading my blogs and thinking about them.
I respect your opinions; I do not wish for everyone to agree with me. As for your comment on superiority, it is really quite ironic because being surrounded by Christians I feel as though they sometime see me as inferior to them because I do not hold a relationship with God. Perhaps they believe they have the experience of a relationship I may never know.
I - without a doubt - know I am not superior because if I was I would feel I know the answers however I question, and with questioning comes uncertainty.
Hmmm... I greatly enjoyed reading your blog, despite the fact that I bore easily. Anyways, I'm slightly confused about your statement that you are a 'free thinker' and don't need faith. I've probably already told you what I think about god and such, and my beliefs are pretty similar to yours. I think that god is no one specific being or entity. God is the connections between people. God is energy: everywhere and everything- god creates and maintains the perfect balance of the universe. I think that, even though I don't categorize myself into Christianity or any other sort of religion, I certainly do have faith. I also like to think that I am a free thinker... I don't think they have to be mutually exclusive. Anyways, excellent blog :) love u and miss u! especially the philosophizing
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