Alaina: Well I hope you're not assuming that I don't know the God I'm following, I hope you're not assuming that I don't know what he's like because I do. And John, I don't understand it all. I don't have all of the answers. I don't know how it works that God creates people and they go to hell anyway, I don't know! All I know is that God wants His people to live in eternity with Him in Heaven because He loves them so much. You said that he punishes them for being the way He made them. He made us perfect, we screwed up all on our own. Additionally, he gave his son to die on the cross for us which he didn't have to do but did anyway because of his love. And another question, "most of the Bible was written a few hundred years after the actual event way supposed to have happened"? It did happen. And I'm sure history books are the same way- they're written after the fact.
John: He didn't make us perfect if He knew we'd screw up! He's all-knowing, alright.
Alaina: Have you ever read Genesis?
John: Nope.
Alaina: You've never read the stuff that you're so strongly opposing?
John: No. I will if you think it will help. But look, most of the times I read stuff like that, I find it so story-like that I just get really angry.
It's hard to read over a thousand pages when you're pissed off at it.
Alaina: So can I reject the info in my history book because it's too "story like"? Does that make it any less true? And why are you mad at the Bible??
John: I'm mad because it doesn't have any proof. It's all faith. All of it. Every little bit apart from the fact that we -know- a human wrote it, and we -know- some of the places are real.
The rest is all speculation. All trust in people we don't even know.
Alaina: So what's wrong with faith?
John: I lack it. Nothing's wrong with faith. I just don't see how so many people can devote their lives and change the people around them when they don't know if it can change anything. Like people who are converted from other religions. If those other religions happen to be right, you just screwed that person over.
Alaina: Or you saved their life.
John: You're taking a 50/50 chance there.
Or less, if you include the others.
Alaina: If you're right, and I am determined that you're not, that's better than nothing at all. Have you ever thought of Christianity as something that could be true? Have you ever thought of it as an answer to someone's hurt? To someone's search?
John: Think of historical fiction that you've read. You know how real some of those books are?
Alaina: Partially.
John: I have. I've looked at it as mine. But it lacks conviction.
I've seen so many fools argue meaningless points with me for hours on end. Perhaps I'm one of them.
Alaina: conviction of what?
perhaps
John: Conviction of truth. It's all building off of something you have to think is true. In history, many churches reject change with a passion.
Alaina: Is that what you think we are? I am? A fool?
John: No.
That is not what I think.
Meaningless points is not religion.
It has meaning, and a God damned lot of it.
Alaina: I just... I don't get why you're so opposed to what I believe. I know the reasons, I just don't understand them.
John: Look at the Roman Catholic church. Killed a man for saying that the world wasn't round. Oops.
Likewise, I don't understand your reasons.
Alaina: Is it because I'm not explaining them well enough or you just don't want to accept them?
John: In my opinion, if you introduce a man with no bias to Christianity and we both argue our points, we'd end at a standstill.
There's nothing to prove, and nothing to disprove.
Proof is a large focus.
Alaina: Well proof and religion don't exactly work the everyone thinks they should.
*the way
John: I think what bugs me.. Is that hardly anybody actually looks at religion out of their culture group before first saying "Hey, I'm a so-and-so."
Who's to say you couldn't be a Buddhist? Or a Muslim? Or a Mormon?
It all requires faith.
They all have morals.
They all. Have. The same. Damned. Thing.
Alaina: How can you even say that? Yeah, they all have morals. But the faith that religion requires is placed in different things. THAT'S what's important.
John: Different things.
Alaina: God, Allah, whatever the heck else there is.
John: All of the faith is put into the hope of historical events actually having happened and that there is an all-powerful being above. Don't forget Brahmin.
I study this. I have (had) three books checked out about religion. My mind is all religion nowadays.
I stay up at night. It's like I'm obsessed.
It just seems that either there's something I'm missing, or that everyone else is.
Alaina: You're obsessed with education yourself about religions? Or you're obsessed with proving it wrong?
*educating
John: I'm obsessed with finding the answer I'm looking for.
Alaina: *religion
John: Not necessarily proving it wrong.
I just want something I can stand by and say, "This is what I stand for."
Alaina: Okay, so you're searching for an answer... To what question?
Okay... And other people stand by ____ religion and say that's what they stand for. What's so wrong with that?
John: The obvious question that nags at the fibers of every human's mind. Why? Why are we here? Why does everyone follow things so -blindly-? And, there isn't anything wrong with that if they can give me a reason. But they can't. "I was raised that way." "It makes me feel good."
"It gives me hope."
I find my hope, my happiness, my love in every day. I have it. But for some reason, everybody else is blind to it.
Alaina: So the reason of it being my purpose in life isn't good enough? The reason of I know that I'm going somewhere better than you can imagine when I die isn't fine?
John: You -don't- know. You hope.
You have faith that you will.
Alaina: No, I know. I'm assured. And if I'm wrong, and I go to Hell or wherever, then that sucks for me. At least I held strong in what I believed. In what I knew.
I might as well have whole-hearted faith.
John: Assured by more faith! By more ignorance! You don't know, and you can't accept that. That's what bugs me. You haven't witnessed these events. They could all be fake, but you still believe. In a world where we started with nothing, we haven't broken the point of even a little knowledge. We have faith that the math system is correct in the universe. We have faith in Newton's laws. Faith. It's everywhere. So how do you know where to put your faith? You were raised that way. You were taught that first, and now and forever you will be biased because you were convinced at a young age and there's nothing else that can top something when that something itself has no proof.
We believe in those examples there because there's no other reasonable thing to believe in. There's no second to Newton or the math system.
Alaina: It's too bad that you think I'm ignorant. It's too bad that you think I'm naive. In the Bible, it says to have the faith of a child. And it's too bad that in today's world, we can't even have that because" it's too wishy-washy and we don't have enough proof". It's really too bad. And I would say I'm sorry, but that would be a lie. And yes, I grew up believing that, and yes, it's a part of why I believe what I do. But I could have easily walked away from it. I chose not to.
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