Quote:Brings up a point I want to follow. I'm not exactly a full-blown Christian, though I take certain aspects of the faith to heart. I treat the Bible largely as an allegory.
Now having said that; most Christians do not follow the inerrant word of god; they cherry-pick the parts they like and ignore the parts that they do not feel apply.
For example, I think the early parts of Genesis are true, in the sense that it's a poetic way of saying, "We're here, and God made all of this." And couched in terms that people of the time would understand. However, I think the Big Bang is the actual way the universe started, and evolution and natural selection is how all the current life on this planet came to be in the state they are in now. It's interesting that the original Hebrew translations used a word that we've translated into English as "day" when the original word used in the "seven days and nights" description was far more ambiguous and arbitrary. You could interpret that to mean stages in the mind of God and his plan. Or something else. 7 days? Or 7 Epochs? Or 7 billion years?
And yeah, I cherry-pick the stuff I think is relevant from the Bible. I do that with other faiths and philosophies as well. Zen and Buddhism and Hinduism fascinate me. Though I have an intrinsic distrust of the central idea - the giving up of one's individuality to achieve "nirvana". I'm too much of an individualist to ascribe to that. The central theme of Christianity - of the redemption by Christ's sacrifice appeals to me far more and on a deeper level. Self Sacrifice for the greater good as opposed to sacrifice OF self.
As to whether any of this is real? Nope - got no proof. I have no idea if there is life after death. I'd like to think so. Since I want to be reunited with so many people in my life who have passed on. I don't think I'd want to spend _eternity_ in heaven, though. Seems like it'd get boring eventually. I'd opt for reincarnation eventually, if that were available.
If I'm wrong, I'm wrong, I guess. If I am, I certainly won't know it. In the meantime, the idea of an afterlife brings me comfort. Am I wrong in thinking that the alternative would be profoundly unfair?
One thing I agree with atheists on. One should live this life as if it really _is_ all there is. Don't make choices based on an afterlife that may or may not exist. Make choices based on what affects you and the people around you in the here and now and the future for your children and society.
Which is why religious fanatics like Bin Laden and Falwell and the head of the Aum Shinriki cult in Japan really make me angry. Their actions assume an afterlife for them of paradise and eternal torment for their enemies. And the world is a much poorer place because of their madness and insistence that the world bend to their will. -Logan
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"Wake up! Time for SCIENCE!"
-Adam Savage
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