/ speed kills with presence of mind and / speed kills if you know what i mean /
well, i'm a terrible student, i'm bad at sleep but i think i've got some of the important stuff figured out, at least. i was composing a letter to a friend in my mind, the friend being the sort of terrified agnostic who wants so desperately for there to be answers to all his questions, but is afraid that the cost of them will be higher than he
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It is up to your friend to find his way, not yours, and conversion is the cruelest way of "saving" someone. You think you're doing good, but in reality, you're truly not. You're only trying to make someone else see things the way you do, and that isn't fair to them when they are just as capable of being able to find their way as you are.
The world needs less conversion and more understanding of the fact that all religions borrow from each other and eventually are just the same: everyone trying to find their way to divine understanding. To try and show your friend... that is YOUR way, not his, and if you want to teach him, that's fine, but you have to be aware that just because it works for you doesn't mean it works for everyone else. In the end, it's all the same. I don't think I need to repeat myself.
As far as yourself is concerned, it is no one's business but yourself where your faith is, because faith is that: faith. No one is allowed to judge, not even yourself, as to where, what, or how much it may be. If you let them ask, you're playing by their rules, not your faith's. The only thing in life that is certain is change and death. *shrugs*
I care about immensely, but sometimes I worry you think too much on what other Christians do and not yourself. As long as you are a good person, who cares what you do, how much faith your have, etc. Your relationship with Adonai is YOUR relationship, and anyone else who says otherwise deserves to be smacked a good one.
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You're right. I am Yuna. X.x It's sad.
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also, as i think you know, i am very reluctant to tell people "your path is WRONG!" especially considering my own flaws. but i do believe that my path is correct, and my friend is, by his own confession, looking for a path. i think mine could help him. he is interested in it, but has a lot of misconceptions about it (like many others, myself included). and i think what he's doing right now is hurting him, both emotionally and spiritually. and honestly, i think his wife agrees with me.
one of the last things i want to do is taint Truth with my own opinions and misconceptions. but i think it would be far worse to have a piece of Truth, and not share it with someone who needs it. that would be tantamount to denying water to a man dying of thirst in the desert because i used a brita filter instead of pure, and i'm afraid he won't like it. if he doesn't want it, he doesn't have to take it. that is his choice. if he tastes it, and doesn't think it's worth it, so be it. that is his choice. i think you know me; i will not drown him in it to make him love it--that's a poor way to "help" anyone. but whether or not i try in the first place is my choice.
i am a christian. that is what i have chosen. and you certainly don't have to agree with me, but please understand that everything i think about God, Truth, jesus, and life and death themselves are seen through christianity. if it is false, i have nothing and most of my life is a lie. a beautiful, tragic lie, a well-intentioned lie, but a lie nonetheless. and if it is true, then i have everything.
as i am now, i cannot be any other way, any more than yuna can be other than what she is ;)
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I won't argue too much here, and I want to say at the outset that I'm not attacking you. Ultimately, I think we'll have to agree to disagree, but I wanted to make a few points, if I may.
It may make things easier if I lay claim to a belief in absolute truth. This has several direct consequences in relation to your comment. Firstly, all religions cannot be "just the same", Allah, Jehovah, Buddha... all lay claim to very definite and contradictory methods by which a person can achieve "salvation" (i.e., a place in heaven, or an elevation in his place in the cosmos, or what have you).
While on the surface, some similarities are present: being good is better than being bad, do unto others, etc., the motivations and mechanics differ greatly.
Secondly, while this "way" is the way of a Christian, BECAUSE it works for us means that it absolutely MUST work for everyone else, otherwise our belief is invalidated. The apostle Paul writes that if we Christians are indeed mistaken in our beliefs, than we are "to be pitied above all men" for this very reason.
The defense of this view, I believe, has been borne out by apologetics written by people much wiser than myself.
You are correct to say that how much faith we have is ireelevant. I would add, though, that who (or what) we place that modicum of faith in is the crux of the matter. The mightiest faith, put in the wrong place, will avail us nothing, while the meanest faith planted firmly in truth shall overcome the world.
I know I'm getting a bit preachy. It's not entirely meant for you, I'm also trying to reassure aseariel, so I beg your pardon if I seem heavy-handed.
If I can believe all this, then I may also rest assured, in addition to change and death, that God is the same for everyone, and is unchanging in His love for us. I believe that those who seek the truth shall find it. I believe those that truly desire righteousness will be granted it.
Again, I probably come across as a sanctimonious ass, but I'm truly not attacking you, michi-san. If what I believe is true, then I am not superior to you in any way. With a few exceptions I agree with the last two paragraphs of your comment. aseariel is lucky to have you as a friend.
OOC Note:
If you are Yuna, that's hella cool.
Grace and peace to you.
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