I probably drew more comfort in my disbelief from the doubt of religious icons in magic books than anything else. The authors have these people witness miracles, and still they lack faith. It was obviously a prescient dilemma from the word go....and I've never seen any miracles in the first place. Theres an amount of discomfort involved when you're surrounded by the religious. Plenty of wondering whether you missed something everyone else™ sees.
Ultimately, I realized that we all see the same things. You find that expressed in the notion of this life as a test, in gods masquerading as normal people, when cavarka declares all of the priestly caste to be frauds, or when a demi-god cries out to his father. The religious may feel that this fits their ideology, but it's also a plain admission of the fact that no demonstration of divinity is forthcoming.
It's a damning current in every religious narrative. You have to work to keep the faith. You have to look to normal people to manifest what are taken to be divine initiatives, religious institutions are rife with fraud and abuse, and even the gods themselves can be abandoned by the gods.
Ultimately, I realized that we all see the same things. You find that expressed in the notion of this life as a test, in gods masquerading as normal people, when cavarka declares all of the priestly caste to be frauds, or when a demi-god cries out to his father. The religious may feel that this fits their ideology, but it's also a plain admission of the fact that no demonstration of divinity is forthcoming.
It's a damning current in every religious narrative. You have to work to keep the faith. You have to look to normal people to manifest what are taken to be divine initiatives, religious institutions are rife with fraud and abuse, and even the gods themselves can be abandoned by the gods.
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
