Quote:
Originally Posted by Robbie Key
Most people do, think or espouse views that feel good, rather than what's rational.
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Life's a bitch; we're all aware of that. And to all too many the promise of an eternity in paradise as compensation for the pain and anguish we endure in the here and now helps to ease the passage through our miserable earthly lives. That, coupled with the hope that we'll one day be reunited with our deceased loved ones, is motivation enough for many to reject reason itself and cling to any one of the so-called revealed religions; to antiquated notions of salvation through suffering in the name of their particular god. (Speaking of revelations, Thomas Paine, in
The Age of Reason, points out that a revelation can only be a revelation to the person it's revealed to; all else is hearsay, gossip more or less. And how do we know that this enlightened one isn't full of shit, or just plain crazy? Or if neither, that he simply got the message wrong?)
Religion is a crutch; one which enables those who can't deal with reality, with the fact of their own mortality, to cope with the harshness and unfairness of life. Honestly, I really do wish I could subscribe to the tenets and beliefs of a religion that promised a heavenly reward, but for the life of me I can't; reason tells me it's simply not true. And if reason truly is "God-given", then how, if I be wrong in denying the existence of God, can he fault me, or condemn me to an eternity of damnation if I put his divine gift to use?