But! Now I want to hear others' thoughts in response to mine!
Struggling with faith is hard, perhaps the hardest of all since it's so Important. :( Feel free to email (username@gmail) if you would prefer not to post.
Hrm, the details are fuzzy. I don't think B actually demonstrated or taught any techniques, but she did tell me what went where. To the relief of my partners, by the time a couple years went by and actual experimentation was required, my disgust had faded...
That's a good point, that LJ posts are not so numerous that cuts are so necessary!
How do you imagine you might find what you believe, without external influences? That question simply asks for musings and possibilities, not definite plans. I'm imagining that it feels more possible to explore your own belief without external influences if you're sure you never believed in the same theology as those very same external influences!
> Is my faith in God a survival tactic, or my own belief?
This is pretty hard to figure out. :^/ That difficulty moderates my criticism of believers: On the one hand, I haven't experienced anything that would lead me to think that something like the Christian God exists, so I think that believers are probably believing wrong things, and that's probably bad; on the other hand, if makes them happier and more able to do things that I think are good things -- even if they do them for what I think are wrong reasons -- maybe that's ok.
...but that's maybe the opposite of what you're saying -- I think I'm saying that religion as a survival tactic is better than genuinely believing that Hank wants you to kiss his ass. :^) (http://www.jhuger.com/kisshank.php)
Yes, this is a next or related step a friend just nudged me to explore recently, what does a belief in a Christian God give me or allow me to do? I have no idea, so far.
Huh. I was raised Unitarian by a Catholic and a lapsed Jew. Questioning and exploring faith are, in many ways, the tenants of my beliefs. I think accepting other viewpoints is key (as my parents did) and the rest you just have to work out on your own somehow; choosing the souces that resonate with you and leaving behind the rest. At least that's what I did.
Choosing sources that resonate... yes, this resonates with me. ;) I enjoy going to Catholic or high-church Anglican services for the ornate ritual, and I'm cautiously exploring that ecumenism also seems right to me. But it's hard to trust that, when questioning faith has never been been part of my experience of faith!
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Struggling with faith is hard, perhaps the hardest of all since it's so Important. :( Feel free to email (username@gmail) if you would prefer not to post.
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Fair enough, that comment was meant as shorthand that they didn't teach me everything.
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How do you imagine you might find what you believe, without external influences? That question simply asks for musings and possibilities, not definite plans. I'm imagining that it feels more possible to explore your own belief without external influences if you're sure you never believed in the same theology as those very same external influences!
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This is pretty hard to figure out. :^/ That difficulty moderates my criticism of believers: On the one hand, I haven't experienced anything that would lead me to think that something like the Christian God exists, so I think that believers are probably believing wrong things, and that's probably bad; on the other hand, if makes them happier and more able to do things that I think are good things -- even if they do them for what I think are wrong reasons -- maybe that's ok.
...but that's maybe the opposite of what you're saying -- I think I'm saying that religion as a survival tactic is better than genuinely believing that Hank wants you to kiss his ass. :^) (http://www.jhuger.com/kisshank.php)
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