Being raised in an irreligious family it was originally hard to understand the concept of God and how one can justify, believe and do things in his name. But my quest for knowledge inevitably has lead me on the trail of the Lord, where ever he may be I am the lord of the dance said he.. (But I didn't mention I went to a Church of England primary school !)
If you didn't understand that, oh well. But needless to say the idea of God is one which originally confused me, and in British society today it is easy to dismiss the idea of God on a verity of grounds which at one point I accepted as the norm.
Firstly, why do bad things happen to the most lovely of people, those who have only done good in life ?
Second, how can one believe in the story of creation and that man was made from dust, and women from Adam ?
Third, the Torah, Bible, Koran seem rigid in their laws and customs which can not really be tolerated in society today (like the some of the things in the Book of Leviticus for example), is this really the word of God ?
Four, Evolution seems to be against what God has apparently said.
I will state my response to these questions further down.
These views seem relatively, acceptable for the Western world who seem to be seeing a rapid wanining in the belief of the Judeo - Christian religion. But I for some reason became interested in finding religion and I thought that by reading the Torah, Bible and Koran I would find God but I didn't.
All these texts are greatly fascinating and I can understand why one would believe in each and everyone of them, there is a spirituality which seems only accessible through a belief in God it seems to me, although my constant studies will perhaps change my opinion over time.
But I will tell you what I believe, for what it is worth. While I will continue to research into Religion (specifically in its role in history and culture, for this is my true passion)
I believe there is a God, a God that we as Humans can not comprehend, a strange being of ultimate power, perhaps conscious perhaps not, but still. God in my eyes loves all those who did right, right and good, but this asks a question of what is good ? Who defines good ? Surely there are people who think good is what me or you would perceive as wrong, but I believe in innate goodness (A theory originally created by Chinese Philosopher Mencius, which states there is a Goodness which all Humans.
Many will think I'm foolish, and perhaps I am, but is this not as believable as the Creation idea, or the idea that everything came out of a point in the middle of the Universe ? For what created the point ? But then again, what would of created a God ?
Questions beyond my comprehension, and perhaps believers are correct, perhaps atheists are correct or even more scarily, perhaps I'm correct, but enough about me, I want to know what you think for that way, we can all become smarter people. Feel free to leave comments.
Thought/Question of the day: Why is Nationalism bad? This is a question that has always lingered on my mind. How did European countries, which had historically consisted of such diverse nationalities and religions (Austria Hungary, Ottoman Empire.. etc.) who had live hand in hand for centuries ended up destroyed and the creation of practical mono-ethnic entities, such as Germany, Ex Yugoslav states, etc.)
The answer is Nationalism. The idea of a Nation state. As soon as a nation chooses an official language, an official people tensions are inevitable. For example, lets take Turkey. Turkey was founded in 1922 by Ataturk, the Father of the Turks, not the Father of the Turks, Armenians, Kurds and Greeks. Just Turks. This destroyed the decentralization and neutrality of the Empires of old, and this in turn turned villagers, brothers and friends against each other, for one of the first times wars were fought on ethnicity and not the rivalry's of kings, or the honor of the realm as a whole.
Perhaps this was the final nail in the coffin of Empire, the Czechs being forced to speak German, the Sorbian language being suppressed by Bismark and the discrimination against Jews mixed with this new ideology of nation state, one where minorites were forced out, or rebeled.
Nationalism is still strong, and while I believe patriotism is not a bad thing, its imperative to see the value and the grandeur of being acquainted with foreign cultures and truly Humanity is better united, then divided by such a petty thing as race. But then again that might be a Naive thing to say, but I am the Naive Scholar.
P.S: I'm sure many will think I am being offensive and am wrong, and while I stress that I try to look at things without bias, that we all have our own ideas, and that I am open to learning, I hope that if you disagree with me, you will state why and give your reasons thoroughly, any comments are welcome.
Thank you for your time.
The Naive Scholar - Harry.
