Monday, May 02, 2005

Why Do They Believe? Part One: Luck

Dear Internet Diary,

Why do people believe in Christianity? I don't know about everyone else, so I try and imagine why I at least tried to believe at one time.

The most honest answer is that I had, or thought I had, Christian parents. I believed because I was born in the right place, at the right time. I was taught in a chritsian school, went to sunday school, went to choir practice, went to church youth group, and of course I went to church potlucks, as you know by now.

It's not an easy thing to admit , if you're a believer. If you admit that, it's admitting that if you were born somewhere else, to some other parents, you would not be a christian. You could have just as easily been a Jew, a Muslim, an Atheist, or even a Raelian. (Of course, in reality, the chance of you being the you you are is 1, Unity, so there's nothing to worry about.) A person doesn't want to think that his beliefs are based on happenstance. There's an easy way to fix this as a believer, besides the obvious one of simply ignoring it. That is, that God, in His infinite wisdom, has a plan for each and (yawn) every one of us, and He chose YOU to be placed in your family. He chose for you to be a christian, to live in the Holy Blessed United States of America, to torch abortion clinics, and to tune in to Hannity and Colmes.

Problem there as well. If GOD has a PLAN for each of us, then He chose ME to be an atheist and go to Hell. He chose Ackbar to be a Muslim and go to Hell. He chose for Rael to go insane. So what about this claim about free will again? What about this idea that God doesn't want us to go to hell, but wants us to accept his free gift and love Him, but his poor li'l old hands are tied? What about that, Huh? Huh? Here's some cake, now eat it.

Whoops, there I go trying to be logical again. As the believers say, there's more to life than logic and reason. I should lighten up, go buy a tiny little book by the cash register about the cute kind of angels.

Then I'll go have some of that cake.

Thanks for listening, diary.

2 comments:

Aaron Kinney said...

Christians believe because it makes them feel good. It feels good to conform, it feels good to believe you will go to a "better place" after you die, rather than take responsibility to make this place as best as you can.

And whoever influences you the most in your life (other Christians) you tend to genuinely believe in theirworldview (Christianity).

Cute pic for this blog entry by the way.

Hellbound Alleee said...

I'm sure that the "it feels good" reason will creep in there eventually Although it kind of already did when I mentioned it gives comfort, like...Southern Comfort, I guess.