Posted by CarrieL on July 1, 2003, at 16:32:27
In reply to Re: Without the darkness..., posted by Mercury on June 30, 2003, at 22:31:37
Thanks for the great story :)
You are right that we cannot separate ourselves from our dreams. But what I meant when I wrote that you cannot find God "without" was... that you cannot be truly religious by simply having it forced upon you... or by simply adapting to the main religion(s) of your environment. I think that so many people in the world have been simply SOCIALIZED to "believe" in God. e.g. While a Christian in, say, England may argue that the Biblical God is the one true God, a Chinese man's argument that Buddhism is the one true "way" is just as valid (or invalid). One's religion is so often a "product" of one's environment. And I often wonder, of all the people in the world who CLAIM to believe in "God", how many of them are simply too afraid to say differently and admit their ignorance? I really don't think that anyone can CHOOSE to believe in God and be considered truly religous. You just either do or you don't believe... WITHIN you. It is beyond our control... and regardless of our environment. If one is truly religious, there is no question in his or her mind as to the EXISTENCE of God... Yet, to wonder what or whom God exactly IS is another story. Theism and Atheism are equally dogmatic. There is a sincere honesty in Agnosticism, I think. Who was it that once said something like "It is the journey that matters, rather than the destination...?"
Ohhhhh... sorry for the babbling. But this really is a great forum. :)
poster:CarrieL
thread:230734
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/faith/20030530/msgs/238534.html