Why Can't others See?

[Pippy]

Hey,

Can I state to very few people are really agnostic or atheist? That a lot of people say they are, but have not thought it through? I live in a very, very secular part of the world, and I wouldn't go so far as to say very few people believe in god...

A belief in God would require 100% obsessive devotion, influencing every single waking moment of their lives of this brief life on earth. But none of these billions of people who profess belief in God live their lives in this fashion, save for a very few. The majority believe in the usefulness of their beliefs, an earthly and practical utility, but they have no belief in any underlying reality.

I disagree. There are a lot of people that are of one religion or another, and can be shown to be failing its tenement, rules and structures. But that does not make belief into something that requires obsessive devotion. I would be happy to tell America that if it wants to consider itself a christian nation, it needs to be pacifistic... And that is where we might agree. But the failure is not with belief in god, in my opinion. The failure is a personal one to live up to whatever moral and behavioral standards one adopts. I make my own standards, believe in god on my own terms (because that is necessary, not that I got to make that choice). My level of belief, although high, and quite integral to my life, does not border on obsessive devotion.

Another way, I am not christian, and I agree that they should be trying very hard not to fight wars and not to get rich (because it is an interpretation of thier adopted rules). But I try very hard to live peace, and not to take anything more than I need... Those are good goals, and it is not a slight on god that most cannot follow them.

The,
-Pip