A letter from a friend of mine who read my book.
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Dear Robert,
Your book has not changed my opinion that religions are forms of superstition. Most try to assure advantage on earth, or an afterlife.
They are valuable (and true) so far as they are believed by their practitioners, or help them in life. They all want to be exclusive of one another, and be the “true” way. None has more standing than another except in number, or importance, of its adherents.
If time of origination had mattered, we would all be pagans.
None have ever “proved,” nor have miracles been substantiated.
All in all, none of the unicorns in the race seem faster to me. I’m glad you found comfort.
Sincerely, William
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Dear William,
My, my ….you can still throw those roundhouse verbal curve balls. Right over the plate, I might add. Are you sure that we can’t just have a few Scotch cocktails, and perhaps you could come-up with something a little simpler for me to tackle? Oh well, what the heck – as I have said before, I’ll try anything!
As to religions being forms of superstition trying to assure an advantage on earth, or an afterlife, WELL I must say…….! And by the way, …… Have you considered ….? [Translated: shoot, I don’t have the faintest idea how to handle that double mouthful of words.]
Of course, religions are valuable to their practitioners, but it’s a bit deeper. The value of any religion is that age-old human craving to be reconciled to God, or some sort of eternal almighty Being; meaning, the very worst fears of all women and all men — death and eternal lostness! Furthermore, they may be young or they may be old, but all psychologists/psychiatrists notice the inclination, the yearning, for all women and men for peace in their hearts by being reconciled to God in this present life, also.
It’s innate, for goodness sake! Notice the numbers in my piece Religion: How America sees God. That says it all.
As far as each religion wanting to be exclusive, or the “true” way, you’re right. However, you’re trying to dump all religions in the same bucket, and as I present in my book, that is simply not the case. They are not the same – they are not on the same path. Heck, they are not even on the same mountain!
And you know as well as I do that all pagans had some form of worship to a higher Being, a Higher Power – every people group in history!
As to miracles, well ….you might want to give that some further study and thought. Most people are taught that God revealed himself to the Israelites, and later to the gentiles (all people not Jewish) in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. You might consider cutting this fella Jesus some slack in considering his life, his ways, and his teachings — his purpose, why he was here. He is accepted in Islam (big time!), in Hinduism, and in Buddhism.
Most of the major faiths, we agree, believe in miracles, the intervention of God into the natural order. In Timothy Keller’s book The Reason for God (www.TimothyKeller.com), his chapter Science Has Disproved Christianity – Aren’t Miracles Scientifically Impossible? handles this conversation on miracles quite nicely.
Scientific mistrust of the Bible begins with the premise that “Science has proven that there is no such thing as miracles.” But embedded in such a statement is a leap of faith. It is one thing to say that science is only equipped to test for natural causes, and cannot speak to others. It is quite another to insist that science proves that no other causes could possibly exist. And he goes on with further discussion.
Coming to the conclusion that God “isn’t” is a tough road – my reference is the Special Report in my book on the existence of God: http://www.majorreligions.com/special_reports_case_for_existence_of_god.php
Don’t forget, old friend, there is a fine line between having what one would perceive as a plausible foundational argument, and just flat-out not wanting to believe.
Yes. I’ll have another Dewar’s on the rocks with a twist, thank you.
Robert
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Tags: afterlife, Ashura, Bible, higher power, Hinduism, Islam, Jesus, Jesus of Nazareth, miracle, miracles, pagans, Religion, religions, superstition
