Truth
I am not sure when I stopped believing in Santa, the toothfairy, the Easter Bunny, etc. As the oldest, it was my responsibility to protect my siblings from the bitter truth (that there is no fat man in a red suit coming down our non-existent chimney) and to encourage their belief for as long as possible. This was for two reasons: 1) They are younger, and I should protect them and 2) More presents for me. The youngest believed for a long time, and I have been known to bold facedly lie about having seen Santa myself in order to keep the belief alive in her.
That is my problem. I am not sure that if I knew that God did not exist I could tell anyone.
I believe strongly in the little white lie. I think that some lies are not only OK but are also actually the right answer. (This leaves me in a bit of a pinch with the ten commandments, but that can't be helped.) I can't tell people the truth about themselves because I believe that lying to oneself is one's last line of defense. How much less, then, if I ever discover that Christianity is not true, will I be able to tell people that the whole basis for their lives is bogus? I would never be able to do it.
I was always puzzled by the book Silence, and I want to go back and read it again, but I've never been able to make myself do it. The book is about a priest who has to decide whether to deny his faith or to refuse to deny his faith and let hundreds of the people he's been working to save die. He renounces his faith, but the rest of the ending always puzzled me. Part of me believed that he did it so that all of the people had a chance, but part of me believed that he really lost the idea of God when he renounced his faith.
My problem is this: If I couldn't bring myself to admit to my younger siblings that there was no Santa, then how much less able would someone who has devoted his/her entire life to religion be able to admit to someone that there is no God.
Sometimes, I worry that I am lying to myself about the existence of God, too. I look around, and I don't understand, and sometimes, I just don't see how what I believe can be true.
That is my problem. I am not sure that if I knew that God did not exist I could tell anyone.
I believe strongly in the little white lie. I think that some lies are not only OK but are also actually the right answer. (This leaves me in a bit of a pinch with the ten commandments, but that can't be helped.) I can't tell people the truth about themselves because I believe that lying to oneself is one's last line of defense. How much less, then, if I ever discover that Christianity is not true, will I be able to tell people that the whole basis for their lives is bogus? I would never be able to do it.
I was always puzzled by the book Silence, and I want to go back and read it again, but I've never been able to make myself do it. The book is about a priest who has to decide whether to deny his faith or to refuse to deny his faith and let hundreds of the people he's been working to save die. He renounces his faith, but the rest of the ending always puzzled me. Part of me believed that he did it so that all of the people had a chance, but part of me believed that he really lost the idea of God when he renounced his faith.
My problem is this: If I couldn't bring myself to admit to my younger siblings that there was no Santa, then how much less able would someone who has devoted his/her entire life to religion be able to admit to someone that there is no God.
Sometimes, I worry that I am lying to myself about the existence of God, too. I look around, and I don't understand, and sometimes, I just don't see how what I believe can be true.
posted by GetMeThrough at
4:57 PM
5 Comments:
I respect your opinion, but I can't help my doubt sometimes. What keeps you from doubting?
By
GetMeThrough, at 8:28 PM
Never doubt a two-thousand year old character from a story? That seems an extreme opinion to take, esspecially considering that Jesus himself had doubts. One of the last things he purportedly said on the cross was to ask God "Why hast thou forsaken me?" I'm not a biblical scholar but that statement does not seem to imply an implacable confidence.
I don't mean to insult your faith, but I don't think that simple and unwavering belief is enough or even warrented in a religious being. Getmethrough's entry brought up the seeming conflict between faith and works. Can your work be meaningful without faith? Can faith alone be enough to attain a meaningful life? Since I ascribe to the former it's not surprising that I would find some flaws in the later.
To my mind if you do accept a religious faith then that doesn't mark and ending to your religious journey but just the beginning. Part of that journey is to wonder if you're actually on the right road. If you want to grow then you have to ask questions and that means having doubt. If your belief system is so weak that it can't withstand the toughest questions you can put to it then it probably isn't the right belief system for you, but that doesn't mean you should avoid asking the questions.
By
Anonymous, at 11:37 AM
Rhett-- I have always found that verse very comforting and scarey all at the same time. If the Son of God really felt forsaken, then he really understands us. On the other hand, what if this means that he is not the son of God after all?
I think you're right about faith being a journey. I have some thoughts on this that I may turn into an article for this week.
I think that you can have a meaningful life for yourself if you have only faith, but your life probably won't be meaningful for many others. I think that the works are not neccessarily required, but without them, you'll never leave a lasting mark on the world.
I have often said that my belief must withstand my doubt. Otherwise, I don't want to believe in that system anymore.
By
GetMeThrough, at 8:28 AM
check out this entry. the ending sucks, and i have a written apology for it. but the beginning is right on the same lines....
http://badmothercoitus.blogspot.com/
By
dr gonzo, at 10:59 AM
Interesting, dr. g. Thanks for sharing.
By
GetMeThrough, at 8:53 AM
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