Originally Posted by CutterJohn
Its like the time I finally, after much hemming and hawing, got a rather devoutly christian buddy of mine to admit that his religion required I go to hell. Frankly getting it out of him was like pulling a tooth. Its like saying it was forcing him to acknowledge it in a way he'd never had to before, to realize how fucked up of an idea that really is. Sure its all fine and good to say a murderer is going to hell, but a decent fellow, and a friend at that?
I took pity on him and changed the conversation to movie trivia after that, but the conversation always makes me wonder how many really believe it all, deep down, and how many truly understand and accept the ramifications of those beliefs. I think many have a personal interpretation that they make work for them and their world views, and just sort of gloss over and ignore the rest.
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It has been my feeling, for some time now, that every single religious person on the planet is a Protestant in their own way; that every religion is a Cult of One. You may find lots of similarities, but I imagine it would be very nearly impossible to find someone who believes the
exact same dogma as another.
Your friend (and millions like him) probably don't really,
really believe that stuff. Next time you get in a car with him, check to see if he's wearing a seat belt. Ask him, if he thinks people really go to heaven when they die, why are funerals sad?
Think about it. Heaven is a place where everyone is happy, forever. It's paradise. It's 100x better than any vacation could ever be. No suffering, no stress, no worries, for all eternity. Sounds good, doesn't it? So why are we SAD when people die and get to go there? Why isn't everyone just... jealous?
It's because we know they're dead. We know deep down that when you die, you go to the same place you were before you were born. Nothing. That's not necessarily bad; I wasn't around during the civil war or the Jurassic period and I can tell you that I didn't find it all that inconveniencing. But heaven is a nice story we can tell ourselves because otherwise, contemplating the enormity of mortality can really ruin an afternoon.
So long story short, I find that most people really don't
believe. The ones who
do tend to be the sort of people who wear glassy, vacant smiles and say the word 'jesus like this: "Jeeeeesus. <3 <3
" They tend to be really creepy, mostly because our brains are very good at spotting poeple who are 'off'; they are delusional and it makes our reproductive bits go "No. No no no. This person is defective. Do not spread genes."
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