There is a section of my mind that is frequently used, perhaps more than any other part, whether that's good or bad (probably bad). I like to call this section "THINGS I DO NOT KNOW." Perhaps you have a similar section in your own head. Perhaps you are omniscient and have no use for such a thing.
Unfortunately, the "THINGS I KNOW" section of my head goes on frequent vacations at the most inconvenient times, such as when I am taking an exam, or participating in a game show (which I have never done and do not plan to do). Thus, I am far more familiar with the first section than the last.
But first on the "THINGS I DO NOT KNOW" list is WHY religion is still so potent in our world today. Not that religion is bad, but I don't really know why some religions get so powerful and others just get labeled as "cults" and fizzle out. Doesn't everything start off as a cult at first, though? I mean, it's not like Christianity just sprung out of the ground in 50 different countries two thousand years ago. And why is it that ancient prophets are lauded as brilliant today when modern-day prophets are called frauds? Since when has age made something more accurate? If anything, you'd think it would be LESS accurate, seeing as the prophecy was re-told thousands of times between then and now.
Anyways, I'm Agnostic. It seems like a little bit of a cop-out at times, to be honest, but I seriously doubt any living person is going to find out for sure if God is real or not before I die, and I'd rather not devote my life to something I don't particularly believe in. At the same time, I can't be sure God ISN'T real, so I wouldn't go so far as to call myself an Atheist - I just kind of believe in whatever seems right to me. But I can't follow any one religion because a) I generally don't believe in them, b) I can't stand all the arguing within every major religion, and c) I think that religion would limit me more than it would help me.
In other news, I just went on the MJ ning for the first time in forever (I feel like, between the three of us, venturing onto the Ning in non-April months is an extremely important point that should be documented). It seems suspiciously EMPTY and STUFFY (do not ask me how something can be empty and stuffy at the same time; it just is). It also seems a bit different: I can't fine the "Blog" link at the top of the page and MJ's little "introductory page" is ABSENT. I am wondering if Maureen gave up on the whole "convert Blogger into Ning" thing - maybe because of the limited space in the - thingy. Character count. Limited. Yes. That. Hopefully it will be resurrected next year in April. SPEAKING OF, are you guys planning on doing BEDA next year, assuming that it resurfaces (I think it should)?
Do you like tuna? I LURF tuna. It is so very tasty. It is especially delicious when mixed with mayonnaise and a bit of dill. (My fondness for such a concoction is odd, considering that I generally do not like fish or mayonnaise.)
Whazzup? Nothing as exciting as your Cullen-stalking excursions, Alex, but my summer is quite nice all the same, thanks for asking. In fact, I am going to my friends quince tomorrow (15th birthday party, generally Hispanic) which should be very exciting. :D
Yessir, I have seen HP6 and it is AWESOME. I was a tad bit disappointed at the very end, but I thoroughly enjoyed it, and it succeeded in making me SO EFFING PUMPED for HP7 & 8. Yesssss!
Monsieur Questiono: Do you like back-to-school shopping? BONUS QUESTION: do you get annoyed when the back-to-school marketing frenzy begins at the beginning of July?
5 comments:
I agree with you about religion. Although I wouldn't even take the time to lable myself Atheist or Agnostic, because it seems pointless.
I don't think there's a God, but at the same time I don't think that it matters either way.
If some evidence did come through that there was a God I don't think it would change my life in any certain way. I'm not going to start praying or going to church, and isn't the whole point of religion and God that you don't KNOW, you just have to BELIEVE? It's called faith, isn't it? Wouldn't having evidence take the spirituality out of it and turn it into just plain old worship. Worship isn't fun. How does worship help you get enlightened, or into heaven, or whatever we're looking for.
Also, if we knew what was going to happened when we died, it would make life just a pitstop on the way to a bigger place. Or, if in fact, we go nowhere after we die, simple fall asleep and never wake up, it would make it a little more depressing.
Looooooong comment. :) Good blog.
Oh and also, I plan to do BEDA next year, regardless of whether MJ and her ning get back in motion. Blogging ever day is an exciting adventure, and thought I wouldn't do it every month, April seems like a good one to me.
Me too. I mean, I'm technically Christian, baptized and all that. I've been to church exactly twice. I don't really actively follow one religion, and my parents are "lapsed" Christians who don't want to "push their religion on me."
Really I think people believe because they're scared not to. They'd freak out knowing that all their decisions depend on them, that God doesn't "make things happen for a reason." And knowing that you just decompose when you die. It''s more romantic to think that you go floating up to paradise instead of rotting in the dirt.
Good point about "faith", Alex. This is why I dislike people who try to "prove" it, like that would change my decision. I really have no problem with religious people as long as they respect my "faith".
I think faith and religion are two different things. Faith is believing in something you don't know is true. For instance, I have faith the world isn't going to explode tomorrow. But hey, I COULD be wrong, and I accept that.
(But I sincerely HOPE not. What is praying but romantisized, fancified hoping?)
Wow that was long. But that deserved a long response.
Yes I'll do BEDA again if it's still around! (It'd be more fun to have a Ning-reuninon, but Blogger works too.)
I've begun to notice a trend.
A good blog will usually provoke long comments, because it's thought inducing.
Congratulations on being interesting, Vita.
For me, the (slightly) ironic thing is that my parents are annoyingly fixated on religion and basically make my sister and I go to church every week. They're NOT freakishly conservative, "if you're not Christian YOU ARE GOING TO HELL"ish people, don't get me wrong; they're actually really tolerant and all that, and they don't force religion down my throat outside of church. But I guess because we're family, they feel some kind of responsibilty in keeping the tradition alive? I'm working on getting out of that, though. It's kind of sucky because I believe that my forced church-going is starting to make me resent Christianity, which is generally not a good plan when you live in a Christian-dominated society (perhaps "dominated" is too harsh a word... after all, I have loads of Christian friends. I guess "filled" is more appropriate). :P
Rena, I so agree with you about people believing in religion because they're too scared not to. Maybe that's not the case for *everybody*, but it seems logical; I do think that people FREAK out over death and want some reassurance that everything will be okay, whether it's because they're scared of dying themselves, or because somebody they knew died. You know how everyone's all "you have one life, live it?" It's kind of clichéd, but it's so true - NOBODY can be completely certain if there is or isn't heaven/hell/whatever, so you might as well make the best of your life so you'll be prepared (for lack of a better word) for whatever comes next. Like Alex said, religion is supposed to help you reach enlightenment and such, so I tend to think of it as more of a moral compass type thing (sadly, most people don't seem to see it as such and don't follow the whole "peace and love" part of it).
Haha, merci beaucoup, Alex. I'm glad I didn't bore you to death FOR ONCE. ;)
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