Faith and the Modern World
I have recently been thinking about how Churches often wank and moan about how young people dont go to mass often enough/ever, and claim that this is because the younger generations are forgetting the importance of faith. Normally I dismiss this as the bitching of archaic institutions that are more concerned with orthodox beliefs than with the Christian messages of love, and forgiveness.
The more I think about it, the more I realise that many of my friends who have experienced hardship and strife have come through it with stronger belief and a re-newed faith. While I will give u, most of my friends are not normal, a lot of them are typical run of the mill kind of people when it comes to ideas and belief structures that are difficult to prove or disprove.
I have met fanatics in my life, not all of them are religious fanatics, many were right wing fanatics/nut cases. Most (but not all) define their beliefs as a set of rigid rules and practices set down from above with little/no room for independent thought or new ideas, a sort of belief structure that has never attracted me.
It is interesting that the most powerful religious organisations are those that suppress unorthodox thinking in their ranks, while the people who in my experience that have the strongest faith are usually those who are open to debate and new ways of interpreting the world, while living within a strong framework of simple principals.
My main thought to take away is that maybe we are simply evolving as a species, we can accept that there may be many answers in the world on a personal level but are not yet ready as a community to accept an institution that is anything but orthodox in what it preaches.
Take this away along with my other thoughts on the topic and get back to me on the different ways of thinking and on faith!
Regards
James
The more I think about it, the more I realise that many of my friends who have experienced hardship and strife have come through it with stronger belief and a re-newed faith. While I will give u, most of my friends are not normal, a lot of them are typical run of the mill kind of people when it comes to ideas and belief structures that are difficult to prove or disprove.
I have met fanatics in my life, not all of them are religious fanatics, many were right wing fanatics/nut cases. Most (but not all) define their beliefs as a set of rigid rules and practices set down from above with little/no room for independent thought or new ideas, a sort of belief structure that has never attracted me.
It is interesting that the most powerful religious organisations are those that suppress unorthodox thinking in their ranks, while the people who in my experience that have the strongest faith are usually those who are open to debate and new ways of interpreting the world, while living within a strong framework of simple principals.
My main thought to take away is that maybe we are simply evolving as a species, we can accept that there may be many answers in the world on a personal level but are not yet ready as a community to accept an institution that is anything but orthodox in what it preaches.
Take this away along with my other thoughts on the topic and get back to me on the different ways of thinking and on faith!
Regards
James