Saturday, July 21, 2001

Believe or Not Believe?

Okay, first off, I'm not going to make any promises on writing in this regularly. Considering the fact that this is a one way street for me, I don't see why I should even try. I'm not even sure if this is helping me grow in any way, so, why even bother, right? Second, I don't know what day is, I just know we're in July. My nights and days are all mixed up since I don't have school right now and I enjoy sleep a lot.

I'm now fifteen years old, and currently on summer vacation after my freshman year. The school year wasn't so bad, though I must say, I still very much hate going. I'm not a perfect kid. Got into smoking both pot and cigarettes, but I really don't care. I was kept busy with extra-curricular activities, like JROTC and choir. I still study a lot about witchcraft, but I have to keep everything hidden from my mother. I know she means well, but I believe she is horribly brainwashed into thinking that anything that is not Christian is devil-worship. The thing is this, Wiccans don't even believe in a devil. Let's play this out logically, as logical as religion can get, anyway. If a person doesn't believe in an entity, can they really worship it? For example, can you truly worship God if you didn't believe in him? The logical answer would be no, right? So why doesn't that go both ways? The Buddha once said, ""Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense." Now the reason I like this quote is that so many religious teachings in this world contradict each other and all say that they ARE the truth. I strive to believe -or reject- none of them unless I understand them and see if they fit in my own personal views.

Do I think all religions are wrong? Nope. I actually think a lot of what is shared in every religion has some truth in it. I haven't researched a lot of it yet, since I've been focused on only one religion and only know thoroughly one other, but in my studies I found out that the Biblical Armageddon is almost identical to the Norse Ragnarok. Both are depictions of the end of the world, or at least of this existence. They both end with a battle where the bad guy gets bound and then later slain; Lucifer and Michael, where Lucifer is locked up for 1,000 years then released and killed by Michael, then Loki and Heimdallr, where Loki is bound to a cliff, released, and then slain as well. In the Bible, it's angels vs. demons; in Norse mythology, it's gods vs. giants. Sure, not exactly the same, but pretty damn close if you ask me.

Why do people get so wound up about whether their religion is right? I mean, aren't we all just trying to get through life the best way we can? Aren't we all trying and seeking happiness? Why waste energy trying to prove something that's based solely on faith?

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