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There Is Mostly Only One Reason Why People Believe In God.

Quintessence

Consults with Trees
Staff member
Premium Member
"Outgrow?" My God, why do people make faith out to be a childish thing to be outgrown? It's rather demeaning, to me.

In cases like this, perhaps it is worth remembering that our tendency to use "childish" as a snarl word does a grave disservice to the virtues of youth. There are many childish things that perhaps we should not have viewed as things to be outgrown and cast away.

As an example, it is childish to be fascinated by everything. To the childish, everything is new and looked upon with fresh eyes, then explored with enthusiasm. Everything is magical and enchanted; enthralling and awe-inspiring. Then, as adults, we acclimate, loose our sense of novelty, and are indoctrinated into disenchanting the world. I'll take the childishness of limitless curiosity and inquisitiveness, that awe at the sublime wonders of all, that declaring reality as full of magic and enchantment over the disenchanted, monotone, dulled, and incredibly boring perspective of adults any day of the week. I can be entertained by staring at a pile of sand for fifteen minutes. Can you all?
 

ChristineES

Tiggerism
Premium Member
In cases like this, perhaps it is worth remembering that our tendency to use "childish" as a snarl word does a grave disservice to the virtues of youth. There are many childish things that perhaps we should not have viewed as things to be outgrown and cast away.

As an example, it is childish to be fascinated by everything. To the childish, everything is new and looked upon with fresh eyes, then explored with enthusiasm. Everything is magical and enchanted; enthralling and awe-inspiring. Then, as adults, we acclimate, loose our sense of novelty, and are indoctrinated into disenchanting the world. I'll take the childishness of limitless curiosity and inquisitiveness, that awe at the sublime wonders of all, that declaring reality as full of magic and enchantment over the disenchanted, monotone, dulled, and incredibly boring perspective of adults any day of the week. I can be entertained by staring at a pile of sand for fifteen minutes. Can you all?
You make a good point. I still have the stuffed dog my sister gave me at age 6, I never felt an urge to cast that off.
 

Quintessence

Consults with Trees
Staff member
Premium Member
Golly, what shape is it in?! *laughs*
I'm pretty sure my stuffed critters got loved to death and are no longer with us in this world. :D
 

Noel

Sensi
No child ever woke up one morning and suddenly ran downstairs crying: "I believe in God!"

Mostly the only reason why adults & children "believe" in God is because their parents and teachers taught them to do so.

Well actually in my case, I found God because of severe depression, and a horrible relationship with my Dad. Both my parents were Atheist (my dad still is my mother is a "holiday christian") but my walk with God was self chosen, I struggled to come to terms with God, until my freshman year, when I went from Atheism to Christianity.
 

Aupmanyav

Be your own guru
It has no eyes (buttons), it's tail is almost off, it's ears were sewn back on, and a huge hole was sewn up. :D
The tail also can be sewn back and eyes are just a matter of two buttons. Give it to your daughter, if you have one.
.. I struggled to come to terms with God, until my freshman year, when I went from Atheism to Christianity.
Good if that helped you. It is not that atheism suits everybody.
 

ShivaFan

Satyameva Jayate
Premium Member
In my case, while it is true my parents were not necessarily mainstream at the time and as a result I was exposed for example to Buddhism while at the same the family was not Christian nor did I ever go to church or any Abrahamic place as a child, so one could argue there was "already that 'Eastern Religion' thing" in the mix at a very young age in my case, yet I do not see it at all as my parents or (school?) teachers "teaching me God".

In my case it sort of WAS like a kid running downstairs and crying "I believe in God!"... but I wasn't crying nor did I run around to announce it, though it was obvious to my parents anyway but they didn't react to it. Nor was it exactly like I discovered an idea or had a mindshift, nor is it exactly like "believe in God" but more like one day out of the blue Ganapati introduced Himself, I said "oh, Hi!" then things sort of took off from there. I didn't even link Ganapati to Hinduism per say at first, but then suddenly I became completely mesmerized by India and Hinduism. All sorts of "Gods" became "friends" and "associates" in various adventures as well as next thing happening was all sorts of associations with "Hindu devotees" of every racial stripe came out of nowhere without even looking, they just ran right up to me, we bump into each others, there was an amazing number of them actually and we started having all sorts of fun even if I didn't even like some of them. That's how it was, just saying it started out all as various adventures and fun and that is my Hinduism.

Now after boring you with my answer, to get to my main point, even though my parents didn't "teach me to believe in God" nor any school teacher, yet I have come to really admire those who do. Parents passing down the "more advanced stuff" from one generation to the next, this is a really good thing. It preserves the entire history of humans and allows us, hedges us, to know our past and see a future (sort of like developing natural ESP powers) and to learn from our mistakes gone by. I have no problem with it unless you are just about teaching hate. Which I noticed is almost always an abberation from the old stuff, away from the original edition if you will, and some "modern" or recent "religion" that doesn't last very long as all those involved end up dead after a couple of eons doing it though these new things of hate do creep up again and has nothing to do with teaching one to believe in God.

Though even the old way does not have to do with teaching one to believe in God as much as sometimes just noticing yourself and being comfortable to enjoy the vast number of diversity of life and beings in the universes including beings "higher" than yourself in many ways.
 

Noel

Sensi
[QUOTE="Good if that helped you. It is not that atheism suits everybody.[/QUOTE]

Your right, everybodys got to find their own way in life
 

Blackmarch

W'rkncacntr
No child ever woke up one morning and suddenly ran downstairs crying: "I believe in God!"

Mostly the only reason why adults & children "believe" in God is because their parents and teachers taught them to do so.
Or someone had their prayers answered, and told their children about it.
 
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