Quote:
Originally posted by Cloudbringer:
Vaskie, you really astound me some days! [img]graemlins/kiss.gif[/img]
What a fascinating post. And you bring forth a concept my own priest mentions frequently. I am a believer and the way I see it, I'd rather be 'wrong' about that than be an atheist and be 'wrong' that way!  Your points are exactly the ones I'd have used. What harm if one lives a life of faith- or tries very hard to do what is right by that belief and leaves that legacy behind- with or without the afterlife? But if one lives as though there is no God, and in the end you find you've been grievously in error- well, that's not the end I'd prefer even if I WASN'T already a believer... but yes, Azrael's point is key here.
You cannot force faith and belief on anyone. It's something that each of us finds for ourselves. Our relationships with God are personal and individual. I can no more 'force' my beliefs on someone else than I could force a Camel to shoot water through it's nostrils and make elephant noises. 
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Well I don't really mean that someone is forcing their beliefs on me, but if I strictly believed in something because of that scenario, I would simply be forcing those beliefs upon myself, because deep down I still wouldn't believe in them. I would just try to logically convince myself that I should because of the alternative. I still wouldn't have real faith, which is after all, important in the end. I don't know if I am making any sense to anyone here, but if I am, and somone can explain it better, please do, my mind has been wandering as of late. . .
Afterthought: Ohh, I've seen a camel do that once, but I had to pay top dollar for the opportunity. Camels that act like elephants don't come cheap you know
[ 01-22-2003, 01:57 AM: Message edited by: AzRaeL StoRmBlaDe ]