It looks like I haven't posted in a while, I need to do this more. But today on my birthday I am reflecting back on my life a bit. Yep that picture is me 53 years ago, I was a cute little thing, although I did look a little pouty when this picture was taken! Like everyone else my journey has had it's up's and downs, but I am thankful for the family and society that I was born into, that gave me my start. Sometimes I look back and wonder how my parents ever managed to provide for us the way that they did, both are gone now, but both lived well into their 80's. While I am thankful for that, and know that out of the whole universe and of all of time how lucky I am to have been born to the family I was, in the society I was, at the time that I was. BUT, I am also thankful that I was able to go a separate way from my family, and the beliefs that I was raised with. I am thankful that I had the courage to be able to question and challenge the beliefs I was raised with. This has made my life even better and richer in every way. And thus I have a challenge for you. Beliefs are really not very good if they can not stand up to sincere challenges and questions. Don't settle for unquestioned beliefs, question everything, it's amazing how much richer that can make your life. The best part of my life by far has been since I got the courage to challenge and ask questions of my life, it taught me that I can stand on my own two feet, thus I still see my best days as being ahead. And I intend to get the most out of it, in my own way. Remember the wisdom of the ancient philosopher Socrates "The unexamined life is not worth living." Make your life worthy of living, challenge and put to the test your beliefs, see if they hold up. I don't know about you but I only want to believe that which remains after my beliefs have been put to the test of evidence, reason, and logic. David
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I saw the above meme on my Facebook wall yesterday (without the red X) and had to respond. Of course this is the classic Pascal's Wager which assumes if there is a God, he is a really stupid one that can be fooled by people hedging their bets, but my initial response was this:
“If there is a god who is just and loving it won't matter, if a god would send someone to eternal torture simply for not "loving" him, there is nothing in me that could cause me to love such a god or want to spend eternity with such a vile being.” Then I was called lost and blind, etc. Blind? Really? I'm the one who is blind? I had to get a bit more serious and responded with this: “For most of my life I believed as Steven, Allen and millions of others do, breaking free of that was the hardest thing I ever did, but I am so glad that I did. I have no intention of arguing or getting in a debate, but perhaps I can ask a few questions to remove the blinders of faith from your mind. If you are a loving and just being who created a life that is self aware would you not even more than a mother giving birth do everything to care for, nurture, and protect that life? Would you not be more real to them than the earth beneath their feet, the sun in their face, or the wind in their hair? Or would you remove yourself from them, except for communicating in ancient writings (and “feelings”) that you love them but they will tortured by fire forever if they don't love you back? And that brings the question of what is loving or just punishment? Certainly that is different for different crimes, but I know of NO crime where a just, let alone loving punishment would be the eternal torture of hell fire, let alone for someone simply not believing something such as they by birth are deserving of such a punishment if they don't believe. Such a belief is to me now deeply offensive and vile, I am ashamed that I ever believed it. Sadly I did. Do you really have a grasp of what that belief means? If not, I recommend a video called Burn Victims it should be very hard to watch, it should make you sick, it should, I hope it does. A couple years before this video was even made I had asked myself the question it asks and I knew that even if real, and even if it meant I myself would go to Hell, there was nothing in me that could love or serve a god who would send ANYONE to eternal, never ending torture for ANY reason. I hope you are moral, decent, just, loving, and compassionate enough to reach the same conclusion.” Please, my friends if you believe there is a “loving” god who would send anyone to eternal Hell for ANY reason, please wake up and realize how blind you are, and how far from anything remotely “loving” or “just” such a belief is. It is sick, deluded, cruel, and very blind for any compassionate, just, or loving being. I was thinking about my family today and wanted to share this. My parents loved me and I loved them very much, I miss them greatly. But as I grew I embraced many different ideas and values from them and it was clear that they had trouble accepting that. Today as I am a non-believer and they where both strong Christians until they passed, I am sure that they could not have accepted that at all. In fact I had become a non-believer before mom passed, and I decided not to burden her with that as she had been hurt enough by other things, so I accepted and loved her as she was. But it would have been wonderful if I knew that could have gone both ways. As children grow they become their own people, and that often doesn't fit with the expectations and dreams of the parents. Often as kids come out as gay, they get thrown out of their homes, in fact that accounts for more homeless youth than any other thing. When children develop different political views it can split families. If children in religious homes change religions or reject religion altogether it it can and does often tear families apart. The same happens if a child falls in love with the wrong kind of person, due to race, religion, social status, etc. Often in these situations it is said that we “love” you but until you change to fit our views of what is right, you can't be part of our family. That is not love. I am not saying that if a child is doing something demonstratively harmful to themselves or others that that is to be accepted, but that is different. I am saying that no matter how different the values, beliefs, or dreams, and ideas of your child are from what you where expecting, accepting them as they are is the greatest gift you can give them. It is the power of love. Peace, David Blood |
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