Posted by Wayne Parham [ 65.69.120.122 ] on January 10, 2004 at 20:26:03:
In Reply to: Re: This will piss you off posted by wunhuanglo on January 10, 2004 at 15:54:47:
Got a big laugh out of that. BIG laugh!
Personally, I've come to a conclusion that religion is a system of beliefs, and that in itself, isn't bad. Even believing in science takes faith. Scientific certainty is really a sort of statistical thing, where something that is consistent is assumed to be a fact. But Einstein's theory was an example of the evolution of a scientific belief system.
So to me, religion is a model of life, the universe and everything (to quote one of my favorite authors).
In my model of life, the universe and everything, I've defined my God. It is everything, from the Big Bang onward. Just everything. And even before that, really. Some say that if your God is something you can understand, then your God isn't very powerful. Well, I don't understand everything in the universe, but I do think I can live with this definition and make it part of my beliefs. Everyone that lives believes in this God, at least in as much as they believe that the universe exists, and they exist in it. So there are no aetheists or heretics or whatever. Nothing to argue about for me.
This keeps me "right sized" too. It's a big ol' universe and I'm a tiny part of it. The laws of physics are inviolate, so that is to say God is immutable too. My understanding of this Law may change, but the Law itself, doesn't. Mt job is to fit myself into this Will, and to learn how to do that best I can. Prayer isn't to change outside events to match my expectation; Rather, it is to align my expectations with outside events. It is to help me learn better how to flow with it. Don't push the water uphill - Build a raft and ride the wave.
This philosophy also prevents me from worrying about the afterlife. If there is one, great. My job is to worry about how I'm living right now. What happens tomorrow or in fifty years is something I'll deal with tomorrow or in fifty years. That helps me keep my mind on what I'm doing and not in the clouds.
This is much too deep for the Dungeon. I think I'll resort to silly photos instead.
Check this one out:
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