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Originally Posted by Descended From Darkness  Actually Alestier has it right. It is in a sense an ego booster. It gives you closure from the things you fear and or hate the most. What's wrong with that? |
OK. Let's assume for the sake of the argument that faith, simply put, is "something that you believe in." We believe that the earth revolves around the sun. That's something we believe in, and scientifically it has been proven to be true. Some of us may believe that Obama would be chosen as the Democratic candidate, others still Hillary. That's faith, in yet another sense. Or it could be subjective. I for one strongly believe that New Orleans is a beautiful city, pre- and post-Katrina.
But religious faith, Descended from Darkness, is something similar to faith in the "ordinary" sense, but something different entirely. Allow me to demonstrate with a funny example:
Let's assume you're for Hillary. You live in a neighborhood in which a majority zealously supports Obama, even to the point of violence. Now, due to some mistaken notion that's gotten into their heads, they think that the more Dems they could rally to their side by any means necessary, the sooner Obama gets the candidacy. Or they could just off the Hillary people. So after finding out you're for Hill, a torch-bearing mob armed to the teeth marches into your home one night, and they drag you out.
They ask you: "Are you for Hill?"
Of course, you know that to say "yes" would mean suicide by mob-lynching, and probably even worse before that.
So you say "No, I'm not."
"Liar," one of them says. "I know you are, but you could change your mind and join us. If you do, we'll let you live." So you do.
So there. Things like those aren't what people would normally die for. (No offense to those from N'awlins, but I'd change my mind if forced to at gunpoint... Désolé, mes amis!) But as for religion, well, I could argue from history -- something the good people here at A.O. have failed to do so far.
Even good ol' Wikipedia would attest to the fact that Christians of all stripes since the beginning of Christianity have been persecuted to the point of death (and at times, extermination of entire communities) -- even to this day. Sure, it began as an apparent offshoot of Judaism, yet if it were just something renegade Jews could believe in to make themselves feel better, then Peter, James, John and Co. would've given it up after having been roughed up badly. But they didn't. Christians were gutted like fish, burned alive, and fed to lions in order to keep this new "cult" from spreading like the plague, yet
they simply refused to call it quits with their newfound faith.
So tell me, Descended from Darkness...
If all it was was something that made them feel better, something that simply made them feel proud and high n' mighty, then why didn't they recant? Why didn't they choose the easy way out and revert to paganism?
I'll wait for your response.
Oh, and fayt lingod, I agree with ya there.
