If Not Hell then what?

[smax]

smax wrote:Richard Dawkins provides a great explanation for the fairly common belief people have in god. Just about everywhere you go, people believe in some kind of god. But it's a different god depending on where you go and what the culture in that area is.

The reason for this is very simple: when we are very young, are minds are still very much in a basic developmental state. At that point, we are almost entirely vulnerable and prepared to believe anything we are taught. This is a necessary state of mind during the intitial development because, without it, we'd likely struggle to effectively learn important things like walking, talking, and basic behavior.

Unfortunately, during this stage of development, when we are willing to accept anything we are taught, many parents or close relatives teach their children to believe in a specific higher power, usually the one most socially acceptable for that particular region.

This explains a lot if you really think about it.

The belief in a higher power is so deeply rooted that many people have sacrificed their lives to preserve and uphold it.

Muslims and Christians have killed each other by the millions, both believing whole heartedly that they were doing so to uphold the values of "The one true god."

Neither side has ever even stopped to think about the irony in all of that.

Not only does it explain a lot, but it makes it damned hard to recover from. The problem is it gets so engrained that it really takes a herculean effort to get over. You doubt yourself. Everyone around you still believes, what is wrong with you that you don't. It still is not completely gone, and I do not think that it ever will be. But at least I got this far.

I'm with you 100 percent. Christianity was my life for 25 years. I don't believe a word of it anymore, but like you, I accept that it will forever shape a part of who I am.

Many are exposed to it early and never come out. Others are not exposed to it early and are never really in. Being in and finding your way out, that's a really cool trick.