Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
This forum is in permanent archive mode. Our new active community can be found here.
A Question for the Theists
Why did you pick the particular religion that you belong to, or belief that you subscribe to? What convinced you that, say, Christianity was more valid than Islam, or Hinduism, or Odinism. I'm not asking why you believe there's a god, but why you believe it's your particular god. I'm really genuinely curious about this. No one I've asked has been willing to give a straight answer.
Comments
I was raised in a "Protestant" household (Mom is Baptist, Dad is Methodist) so straightaway the understanding was that, while people may disagree about the specifics, God is a given. Later, I switched to Catholicism - the thought at the time was that if you're going to do something, you should do it properly - Catholicism seemed the most authentic version of Christianity.
Being a scientifically-minded person, the complete lack of evidence for any religion is of course obvious when you really take a look. There are lots of anecdotal stories out there. Various family members and friends will have their own "experiences" which they bring up to support their beliefs, but these all ultimately boil down to coincidence if you try to really look at them. I myself have had "experiences" and I remain convinced that there is "something" at the root of the Universe (what was the Prime Mover?), but I also recognize that maybe I'm just seeing patterns in the noise or something. I am convinced that religion is simply speculation dressed up as authority, but I'm still convinced that there is "something" there... so how do I reconcile those two beliefs?
Probably I would not be classified as a "religious" person then, but I would not take exception to being considered spiritual (or at least open to it). I raise my kids as Catholics, knowing that I also raise them to be critical thinkers and that they, too, will have the same questions about faith and religion as they develop. I prefer to continue to speculate and debate religious topics, rather than just write them off as meaningless. Like Socrates, I subscribe to the opinion that we don't know the answers, but that we should ask questions and think about what the answers might be. Religion can provide a framework for such discussions.
I don't think you're going to get a straight answer from a "Fundamentalist", which it what it seems you're looking for. They don't have an answer to give, as they likely have not given critical thought to their position or just refuse to see the errors in their judgment. If there is somebody out there who actually had some sort of hard evidence for a particular religion, then I'm sure everyone here would love to see it.
So, back to the question, why did I pick Christianity over whatever else? It is because I was raised in that faith, and no other reason. There are good things and bad things within Christianity - I pick and choose, accepting nuggets of wisdom when I find them and tossing out anything useless. Life is too short to waste it betting on someone else's speculation.
Why not just be a guy who does nice things, follows his own moral code, and thinks that there may be some controlling power.
So why call yourself Christian? It seems to me the only thing you have in common with Christianity is "You try to be a good person". I mean your views on god existing are different, you don't follow the old scriptures, What about your belief is Christian? I only see the ethical decisions linking you with Christianity... that can't be all it takes in order to call yourself a Christian, can it?
When you have children, you have a responsibility to expose them to concepts at an appropriate pace. You don't just sit them down and regurgitate everything you know as if it's "gospel". You don't just start explaining that we have no evidence of an afterlife, but here are all the various speculations about it. There may be some event, like the death of a pet or something, and the child will ask questions, and then you can have a dialog. It's about what's developmentally appropriate.
We have "Santa Claus" at Christmas time, we have the "Tooth Fairy" and the "Easter Bunny", we give thanks at Thanksgiving and mealtimes in general, etc. These things are our cultural heritage. I would be doing my children a disservice to not allow them these things. I fully expect that, one day, they will discover that there's no Santa. Should I deny them that realization? Will they develop stronger critical thinking skills if I just dump answers on them, or if they discover truths for themselves?
Again, there are good things about Catholicism that I agree with. I also believe that the best mind is rational and open to all ideas - and there is room in the rational mind for religious and spiritual thoughts. I would never want my kids to blindly and unquestioningly submit to any supposed authority, be it religion or government or whatever. But I believe that Catholicism is a fine starting point from which to raise wonderful children, if for nothing else the moral compass and history. I am not convinced that Christianity is any better than Islam or Hinduism because I don't know enough about the others. Again, I want to raise my kids with spiritual and religious awareness, and Christianity is how I choose to do that. Great question. I've been asking myself that for a long time. I do not pretend to be a theologian, but even if I were and I knew everything there was to know about every religion out there, would I uproot my family's culture for some other one? Maybe, if there was evidence for any of it. I prefer to remain a Catholic in a constant state of "questioning his faith". You don't have to agree with me.
How could anyone seriously write down which religion they think is most correct, and at the same time be completely objective? Does any one have a superior moral code than another? How do you even measure that? I call myself a Christian because I identify with it, because of the culture in which I was raised and the way I live my life.
I see many people who really stick with religion for these non-religious benefits such as the friendly community of people at their church, but aren't able to separate one from the other. There are plenty of atheist parents out their responsibly raising awesome children without having them believe in easter bunnies or afterlives. It's not necessary for responsible childhood development at all. There's obviously an urge to raise children who share your culture, and your values, but there are other vehicles for doing that other than presenting fairy tales as truth.
You can't tell me you know the coloration it will have with their adult lives, but you may have some speculations on how it will affect their adolescence. May I infer as to what these effects are?
I can see 2 of them out weighting the rest in terms of making sense. You wish to be close with your children, and you wish for them to be accepted by their peers.
Will teaching them Christian believes achieve these goals better then every other path to these goals that you know? If the answer is yes, then lying to them is the correct choice... if you believe in "the ends justify the means". But maybe I am looking at this wrong and putting too much emphasis on things that don't matter.
and if you want to know what i will do with my kids, I can not tell you. I am 21, raising kids has not been on my mind as often as it needs to be to make these decisions. But I as of this moment would not tell them the lies about the tooth fairy or Santa, but I will teach them to be thankful and nice to people. I will celebrate X-mass, for if I didn’t they would be upset that their friends get presents and they don't... but flying reindeer won't enter the equation. There will be Easter candy hunts, but no magical bunny will have hid them.
Thus all the fun and games and learning, without the lies. We will watch the X-mass stories on TV, but they will be talked about just as any other cartoon is... it's just a cartoon with a moral.
(Wow I typed a bit too much. ^_^ I get carried away when I start thinking of new ideas and topics.)
But I think you're probably right.