Something crossed my mind a day or so ago. It's been something that crossed my mind a few times in the past throughout my life, and just recently I figured it may create an interesting debate.
I'm talking about the logic and reasoning of some christians on their beliefs and why they hold to them. Why don't they accpt other people's views and/or criticisms? Why is it that the majority of the time when you ask them a question, they reply back with some quote from the bible or what someone else has already said, never really having a voice of their own to defend their beliefs?
Now this isn't just Christians who do this, but since I have a better background with Christianity, I'll focus on them for now.
In order for me to find a ligit answer to the above, I had to take a step back in time and think about my own position when I used to follow/believe in the religion. What made me believe it back then? Why don't I now?
And the thing that always comes back as a generic answer is "Fear"
The only reason why I ever followed, let alone believed in the faith was out of fear. If I didn't believe what I was told, then I goto hell. If I question "God's Actions" I goto hell. If I am angry at God or Jesus, I goto hell..... all because I have a lack of faith and trust in their abilities if you will.
And I wouldn't allow other people with different opinions which opposed my own opinions to think any differently, because I always thought that if I started to think that what they were saying makes more sense or puts to question what I believe in, then that was a "Test" from God in regards to my "faith and devotion" to everything I was told to believe as true. If I failed that test, then I figured once again, I'd goto hell in the end of this life. You're taught this is the one and only true path to "Getting Into Heaven" ~ Which is pretty well explained as a paradise where everything/anything you ever wanted can come true, you meet all your lost loved ones past and those to come.... basically there wasn't anything to complain about in regards to Heaven.... this was the reward for all the hard work in your life, all the things you avoided that were "Bad/Evil/Sinish" but if you lost faith, or you question things you are not supposed to question, then you lose this chance of getting into this great place, to be put in a totally opposite place, AKA: Hell.
So to me, when looking back at it all..... It was fear of losing something great when I die if I didn't follow and believe what I was told to follow. Seperation from friends and family.... put in a place designed for continual suffering and torture for all eternity.
But the funny twist was that you're not supposed to follow the religion and expect to goto heaven for selfish reasons, and you shouldn't be jumping from one step to the next to simply win a seat into Heaven, because that is a bit of a selfish approach, so you're not supposed to say or think of doing all of this simply to cover your ass and get into heaven..... you're supposed to just believe it to be true, not to worry about the consequence of hell, live your life according to the bible and such, and it will all fall through..... but we all know it's not that simple. If you give a human a set of rules and explain to them that in the end they can get the greatest reward ever imagined possible, regardless if it's religious based or in a game show, if the person feels that is a great reward to have, then they will usually strive to follow those rules to get what they selfishly want, thereby countering the whole logic of the situation.
But in the end..... why are people who follow religion so closed minded and not all that willing to accept any other concepts other then their own? Because if they did, it would go against everything they were taught, and if they don't believe in all or at least 98% of everything they are taught, then their chances of getting into heaven with a pure frame of mind deminishes, as it begins to raise doubts...... and for many, that's a risk they are not willing to take..... so they will continue to respond in debates with more quotes from the Bible, or other religious text books.... because they can't screw up in their faith if they do that.
How did I come to this conclusion? Because I used to be one of these people. Then I eventually got fed up, started to question everything, started to listen to what others have to say about the topic, and eventually they and my own reasoning began to make much more sense then anything I was ever taught in church....... and my life is of course filled with very little fear of the unknown, I am more at peace with myself, and I feel I am finally doing what is right for me, not what is right dictated by others by their own fears and guilts of things they can't even explain, just like I couldn't.
It's a fear of focusing on actions possibly taken beyond our control in our lives, compared to focusing on the then and now, yourself, those around you, and what directly you do know in the now that is right in front of your face. It is a fear that perhaps there is no real order or control beyond our knowlege and that perhaps we are more responsible for our own actions and the way we interact with the rest of the world around us.
It's a baby mentality if you will.... dependence..... dependence on something greater then ourselves for having all the answers, to protect us in our time of need, that some level of responsibility can be shed off to an unknown being we may never hear or see until we are dead.
It's fear of the unknown..... a basic instinct had by all in all situations where unknowns exist.... the only thing that gives this unknown situation power, is it's fear based on what we have been told by many others, who in turn, don't know any better either.
But it's better to be safe then sorry I guess..... play it safe.... believe in the faith, believe there is something up there in the clouds that actually cares about you.... believe that if you follow all these rules and procedures in life as they laid it out for us, then you will be rewarded in the end. You're life seems perfectly fine now, it all must have been by the hands of God if that is the case, so why fix something that ain't broke? In other words, it's better to play it safe and follow the faith without question, because then if God and Heaven does exist, you covered your ass through your life and therefore you shouldn't have a problem getting in. But if you don't, and you start doing things outside of what everybody has told you, and then there is a God and a Heaven in the end of it all, you just screwed yourself didn't you?
So out of that fear, they believe..... they believe and they respond with stone wall arguments with nothing to back them up then what they have already explained.... they get offended and put on the defense because it is the only real tactic they have that still gets their point accross, and at the same time, covers their ass in the eyes of God and their faith.
But that action in itself is also contradictory..... quite the conundrum/paradox if you ask me.
I'm talking about the logic and reasoning of some christians on their beliefs and why they hold to them. Why don't they accpt other people's views and/or criticisms? Why is it that the majority of the time when you ask them a question, they reply back with some quote from the bible or what someone else has already said, never really having a voice of their own to defend their beliefs?
Now this isn't just Christians who do this, but since I have a better background with Christianity, I'll focus on them for now.
In order for me to find a ligit answer to the above, I had to take a step back in time and think about my own position when I used to follow/believe in the religion. What made me believe it back then? Why don't I now?
And the thing that always comes back as a generic answer is "Fear"
The only reason why I ever followed, let alone believed in the faith was out of fear. If I didn't believe what I was told, then I goto hell. If I question "God's Actions" I goto hell. If I am angry at God or Jesus, I goto hell..... all because I have a lack of faith and trust in their abilities if you will.
And I wouldn't allow other people with different opinions which opposed my own opinions to think any differently, because I always thought that if I started to think that what they were saying makes more sense or puts to question what I believe in, then that was a "Test" from God in regards to my "faith and devotion" to everything I was told to believe as true. If I failed that test, then I figured once again, I'd goto hell in the end of this life. You're taught this is the one and only true path to "Getting Into Heaven" ~ Which is pretty well explained as a paradise where everything/anything you ever wanted can come true, you meet all your lost loved ones past and those to come.... basically there wasn't anything to complain about in regards to Heaven.... this was the reward for all the hard work in your life, all the things you avoided that were "Bad/Evil/Sinish" but if you lost faith, or you question things you are not supposed to question, then you lose this chance of getting into this great place, to be put in a totally opposite place, AKA: Hell.
So to me, when looking back at it all..... It was fear of losing something great when I die if I didn't follow and believe what I was told to follow. Seperation from friends and family.... put in a place designed for continual suffering and torture for all eternity.
But the funny twist was that you're not supposed to follow the religion and expect to goto heaven for selfish reasons, and you shouldn't be jumping from one step to the next to simply win a seat into Heaven, because that is a bit of a selfish approach, so you're not supposed to say or think of doing all of this simply to cover your ass and get into heaven..... you're supposed to just believe it to be true, not to worry about the consequence of hell, live your life according to the bible and such, and it will all fall through..... but we all know it's not that simple. If you give a human a set of rules and explain to them that in the end they can get the greatest reward ever imagined possible, regardless if it's religious based or in a game show, if the person feels that is a great reward to have, then they will usually strive to follow those rules to get what they selfishly want, thereby countering the whole logic of the situation.
But in the end..... why are people who follow religion so closed minded and not all that willing to accept any other concepts other then their own? Because if they did, it would go against everything they were taught, and if they don't believe in all or at least 98% of everything they are taught, then their chances of getting into heaven with a pure frame of mind deminishes, as it begins to raise doubts...... and for many, that's a risk they are not willing to take..... so they will continue to respond in debates with more quotes from the Bible, or other religious text books.... because they can't screw up in their faith if they do that.
How did I come to this conclusion? Because I used to be one of these people. Then I eventually got fed up, started to question everything, started to listen to what others have to say about the topic, and eventually they and my own reasoning began to make much more sense then anything I was ever taught in church....... and my life is of course filled with very little fear of the unknown, I am more at peace with myself, and I feel I am finally doing what is right for me, not what is right dictated by others by their own fears and guilts of things they can't even explain, just like I couldn't.
It's a fear of focusing on actions possibly taken beyond our control in our lives, compared to focusing on the then and now, yourself, those around you, and what directly you do know in the now that is right in front of your face. It is a fear that perhaps there is no real order or control beyond our knowlege and that perhaps we are more responsible for our own actions and the way we interact with the rest of the world around us.
It's a baby mentality if you will.... dependence..... dependence on something greater then ourselves for having all the answers, to protect us in our time of need, that some level of responsibility can be shed off to an unknown being we may never hear or see until we are dead.
It's fear of the unknown..... a basic instinct had by all in all situations where unknowns exist.... the only thing that gives this unknown situation power, is it's fear based on what we have been told by many others, who in turn, don't know any better either.
But it's better to be safe then sorry I guess..... play it safe.... believe in the faith, believe there is something up there in the clouds that actually cares about you.... believe that if you follow all these rules and procedures in life as they laid it out for us, then you will be rewarded in the end. You're life seems perfectly fine now, it all must have been by the hands of God if that is the case, so why fix something that ain't broke? In other words, it's better to play it safe and follow the faith without question, because then if God and Heaven does exist, you covered your ass through your life and therefore you shouldn't have a problem getting in. But if you don't, and you start doing things outside of what everybody has told you, and then there is a God and a Heaven in the end of it all, you just screwed yourself didn't you?
So out of that fear, they believe..... they believe and they respond with stone wall arguments with nothing to back them up then what they have already explained.... they get offended and put on the defense because it is the only real tactic they have that still gets their point accross, and at the same time, covers their ass in the eyes of God and their faith.
But that action in itself is also contradictory..... quite the conundrum/paradox if you ask me.
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