Lately I have been thinking about the purpose of Religion (besides war and bigotry). It seems that we (people "with skin on") need a tangible way to acknowledge God. This is to our own benefit. Corporate worship and practices can facilitate that. Faith content is best taught, understood, protected, and "managed" in general in a community where there is opportunity to flush out and apply the ideas of belief, where accountability is natural, and where people are challenged and encouraged to live consistent with what they believe. This "living" thing only seems relevant in relationships. This is one of the only ways we get a regular opportunity to die to self. Community is just a larger expression of family. We need a safe community to encourage that and live it out practically.
I made a comment a couple nights ago that seemed to make Tom uncomfortable: I believe my particular understanding of God and the world to be true -- at least as much as reasonable (as everyone except the psychotic does) and I am comfortable identifying my religion with God, however, I have been less comfortable lately identifying the Creator of Everything with my religion.
It just seems unreasonable that a supposedly infinite being could be captured and explained, even by a very very long list of whatnot. "God", if such a being exists, could only ever be partially understood. Religious belief can never reveal the whole picture. I suppose that doesn't mean that religious belief can't contain truth; it just won't be able to contain all truth. Which makes me wonder about the difference between partial understanding, and incorrect understanding.
So what of this truth? Is there such a thing as objective reality when speaking of God? I was violently protective of that idea for as long as I can recall, until about 5 months ago. Slowly, I am beginning to wonder if a demand for objective truth is necessary, or even healthy.
The paradox of insular language
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We often develop slang or codewords to keep the others from understanding
what we’re saying. Here’s an example (thanks BK) of the lengths that some
are goi...
7 months ago
3 comments:
"nothing is easier that self-deceit". wow. that was a really great post. i know exactly, or my version of exactly, what you mean. i feel guilty for feeling uncertain of positivity. perhaps it was my upbringing. i always come back to 'maybe i'm deceiving myself'. do you know what you 'believe'? belief. i'm coming to hate the word. i feel deceived no matter what i do and it's frightening sometimes. well, i suppose the brief moments of clarity are probably more frightening than the more consistent ambiguity of thought. i wish noone would ever get uncomfortable by anything i said ever again. that would be a huge relief. i think your feelings are natural and honest. it's strange how admittedly humans use less than 1% of their brains, but so many of the same ones of us sure are certain of what our individual 1% has figured out. i feel horribly stupid. anyway, to sum things up: nice work. thoroughly enjoyable.
"Slowly, I am beginning to wonder if a demand for objective truth is necessary, or even healthy."
How would you know it if you saw it? Remember that a belief in objective truth is not a claim to it. If it doesn't exist why do we all want it so much? Your deepest, most humble desires reveal truth, that's what I think. As far as those who claim to definitively know absolute truth...feck-em!
I don't know that I am denying (or doubting) the existance of objective truth -- I'm just not so sure about the demand for it. If that's what you mean by "claim" ... then we are probably talking about the same thing.
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