Posted by fachad on July 11, 2002, at 0:29:41
In reply to Hey, Mrs. God..What's the deal?????, posted by jay on June 29, 2002, at 17:03:16
>It's like I have lead a life of pure denial, just because I refused Faith.
Umm, I feel that my agnosticism is a result of refusing to be dishonest with myself, and refusing irrationality, not from refusing faith.
I'd LOVE to have faith, to believe in God, and a glorious afterlife...but I just can't.
Imagine the predicament you would be in if someone told you that they would give you a million dollars and all you had to do was believe that the moon was made of green cheese. Not just say that you believed it, but really really believe it to be true.
You wouldn’t get the money, because you may not know for sure what the moon is made of; but you really do KNOW that it is NOT green cheese.
But back to your original question, praying is not all that bad; even if there is no God, praying may help you clarify your thoughts and feelings, and you may be communicating with your higher self or another part of your unconscious.
> This reminds me of some great Woody Alan stuff. Like, "If there is a problem...why can't the Higher Up tell me to my face???". Maybe I, who doesn't have a lot of Faith, needs to be much more imaginative. Man, when I was a little kid, I had an imagination that was just amazing! Maybe I shouldn't have tried to grow up so fast...or MAYBE, I didn't grow up, and am a man stuck in a boy's body.
>
> Looking up to an 'uncaring universe' in the stars, when you are so deeply suicidal, seems to have such mixed results. "What IS the meaning of this...what are You trying to do...was it something I said...something You'd like me to do?".
>
> Maybe it's time for me to realize that praying isn't such a bad thing afterall. It's like I have lead a life of pure denial, just because I refused Faith. Any other Agnostics (or former) feel this way? Like everybody else has been let in on the secret, except me?
>
> The Fatalistic Existentialist
> jay
poster:fachad
thread:269
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/faith/20020527/msgs/420.html